Thank you for your continual dedication to housing for all Oregonians. Because of your support, Housing Land Advocates (HLA) in partnership with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO), continues to drive needed change at both the local and state level.
In September 2025, HLA/FHCO continued upon their previous 2024 presentation by delivering “Segregation Alive and Well in Oregon Part II”, complemented by a comprehensive publication on the latest Housing Production Strategies (Read it here!). The situation is dire, yet both locally and at the state level Oregon is failing to take the necessary steps to desegregate our land use practices and policies. In addition, HLA presented a similar presentation to the Real Estate Land Use Section of Oregon State Bar in a presentation entitled “Challenges and Opportunities in Affordable Housing.” At both presentations Board President Jennifer Bragar shared a recent article entitled “Affordable Housing, Planning, and the Environment: Why Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Needs Teeth”, which you can access here.
There are glimmers of hope however. In the recent approval with conditions of West Linn’s HPS, there was a surprising fair housing mandate. Read on to discover more.
This work furthers HLA’s mission as an advocate for thoughtful land use planning, and as a watchdog to ensure that state and local governments fulfill their obligation under adopted housing policies, goals, and statutes.
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Taking a Stand: HLA and FHCO present “Segregation Alive and Well in Oregon Part II” at Housing Oregon
Bringing together legal experts, FHCO, and the City of Portland, HLA lead a no holds barred critique of the most recent Housing Production Strategies and the statewide housing status quo.
Housing Land Advocates President, Jennifer Bragar, moderated and participated on this panel to update Housing Oregon on HLA’s latest work. Other panelists, Steve Crawford of Fair Housing Council of Oregon, Joshua Hall, independent attorney, offered varying perspectives on land use litigation strategy, and Ariel Kane offered Portland’s perspective on its Housing Productions Strategy. Overall takeaway is that segregation is very much alive, and perpetuated through exclusive neighborhoods and rental deserts.
To complement this work, HLA and FHCO published a comprehensive review on 12 HPSs and the corresponding feedback they received from the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). Their findings uncovered the below deficiencies:
Dire needs articulated but proposed actions did not fully take into account stated needs
Seniors and residents with disabilities were completely left out of the analysis at worst, lumped in at best with middle housing options
Complete lack of commitment in any reviewed HPS to upzone single family zoned land
Good policies and ideas present undermined by lack of commitment and long, ambiguous timelines for implementation
Through this work and the work of other advocates, there is a growing awareness of the housing crisis, its affects, and a mass consensus that something should be done to ameliorate the situation. There is public support for change, and now is the time to use the approved framework of the HPSs to drive meaningful and timely action. Based on their analysis, HLA and FHCO deliver their recommendations for change in the report. Please read and share.
HLA and FHCO send a big THANK YOU to their volunteer speakers and writers that helped make this presentation and publication possible!
Read HLA/FHCO HPS Review
HLA News: West Linn HPS Approved with Conditions
While HLA and FHCO recommended the remand of West Linn’s HPS, DLCD approved the HPS and required West Linn to take action to further fair housing.
DLCD required four Conditions of Approval for West Linn, detailed below. Notable is condition 2, requiring West Linn to choose at least one, and suggested all three, options to further fair housing. These options include partnering with and funding FHCO to educate planning staff, property owners, policy makers, and the planning commission on applying fair housing principles to planning practice.
Condition of Approval 1: The city must work with Department staff to develop an addendum to the HPS that reflects the city’s commitment to specific anti-displacement mitigating actions that will be implemented alongside Action 1 (“Rezone Land”) and Action 5 (“Tax Increment Financing”)… This addendum will be submitted to the Department within 90 days following this decision, no later than December 11, 2025.
Condition of Approval 2:
Considering this, the department finds that there are three clear and actionable pathways, including:
• Add additional fair housing protected classes by amending the city’s development code;
• Partner with and fund Fair Housing Council of Oregon to provide periodic Fair Housing Audit Testing; and,
• Partner with and fund Fair Housing Council of Oregon to provide customized outreach and education and other specialized services to different audiences including Council, Planning Commission, and other relevant policymakers, city staff, property owners, property managers, realtors, lenders, and others involved with real estate transactions, and residents
Accordingly, the department is applying the following condition of approval:
Condition of Approval 2: At the time of the Midpoint Report, the city will demonstrate progress on Action 12 by initiating or advancing at least one of the three proposed steps from the list above. The department strongly encourages the city to implement the other identified steps as well.
Condition of Approval 3:
As noted in the CHN, the percentage of West Linn residents who have one or more disabilities is well below that of Clackamas County and the state, possibly indicating that significant barriers to people with disabilities accessing accessible housing exist within the city. It is therefore unacceptable that no actions commit to expanding accessible housing opportunities, with Action 3 “Update SDCs” and Action 4 “MUPTE” noting that they “may” or “could” be used to encourage accessible units (emphasis added). Accordingly, the department is applying the following condition:
Condition of Approval 3: To meet the requirements of OAR 660-008-0050(4)(c), the city must adopt and implement one or more of the following committal actions in a way that increases production of accessible housing units:
• Action 3. Update SDCs
• Action 4. MUPTE
• Action 9. Zoning Incentives for Workforce and Affordable Housing
Conditions of Approval 4:
…As with Action 10, however, additional explicit committal language that prioritizes households at or below 30% AMI in the implementation steps was not found.
While the department finds that OAR 660-008-0050(4)(d) may be minimally satisfied, in order to confirm compliance, the following condition is being applied:
Condition of Approval 4: The city will describe which of the adopted actions that include broader income ranges (specifically Actions 3 “Update SDCs”, 5 “Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for Affordable Housing”, 6 “Surplus Land, Land Acquisition, and Banking for Affordable Housing, 8 “Low Income Rental Housing Tax Exemption”, 9 “Zoning incentives for workforce and affordable housing” and 10 “Construction Excise Tax (CET)”) will be tailored to meet the needs of households at or below 30% AMI.
Read DLCDs Full Approval Here
Guest Article from FHCO:
HUD blames “Radical Left” amidst fair housing pullback
“This statement was publicized on the website on Tuesday morning, ahead of a midnight deadline for avoiding a federal government shutdown. HUD’s decision to release this statement has received criticism from ethics experts who claim the website’s rhetoric violates the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity. It is likely the banner also violates a provision preventing funds from the executive branch from being used for publicity and propaganda…” (read on!)