Dear Advocate,
Thank you for your continued 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 this addition of the HLA newsletter, we have stories to share.
Oregon is in a state of crisis. Almost half the state’s renters are cost burdened, and despite this the state permitted less multifamily last year than in any of the 12 years prior. Reporters and politicians’ site the high cost of construction, and the lack of investor capital. However, while these may be factors, a little known project on a shoe string budget, reviews every post acknowledgement plan amendment (PAPA) in Oregon. The PAPA project reporting tells a different story. From Stayton using an over 10 year old document to recommend turning down a zone change due to potential “overproduction of multifamily housing” to Veneta vetoing garage to ADU conversions because “cars sitting in the open is not attractive,” the PAPA project observes and speaks out using the oldest trick in the book: Statewide Planning Goal 10.
Read about these stories and more below, and learn the history/impact of the PAPA project here in the latest technical report.
Do you also believe that Oregon’s existing housing laws should be enforced, and that these stories of cities knowingly blocking needed housing should be shared? Due to federal and state funding cuts to Fair Housing initiatives, the PAPA project is facing a $25,000 budget deficit and is in peril of shutting down. Please consider a charitable contribution, and help us help all Oregonians.
