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  • October 2025 Newsletter – A Comprehensive HPS Review, Presentation at Housing Oregon and More!

    Dear Advocate,

    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.

    Know someone who could benefit from this newsletter? Have them email jdahlqu1@gmail.com with their name, email, and organization to become a subscriber!

    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!)

    We’re always looking for new members who are passionate about housing and land use! If you’d like to learn more about the HLA Board or are interested in joining, email us.

  • HLA Boardmember Andrée Tremoulet published on Shelterforce

    Boardmember Andrée Tremoulet makes headlines describing why Oregon needed its own AFFH rule. Read or listen to the article by clicking the link below.

    Why Oregon Created Its Own AFFH Rule 

  • HLA Challenges Metro UGB Expansion in Oregon Court of Appeals

    Housing Land Advocates recently submitted its opening brief in the Oregon Court of Appeals challenging the adoption of the urban growth boundary expansion for the Portland Metropolitan Area by Metro and the casual approval of that expansion by Oregon’s Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). As set forth in the brief, HLA is concerned that local governments will follow Metro’s roadmap to avoid increasing density to accommodate affordable housing by endorsing the adoption of density limitations by way of plans, ordinances or charter amendments to further exclusionary zoning restrictions in violation of state law.

    HLA is looking to the courts to assure that LCDC and Metro cannot be let off the hook so easily, and that Metro must also look to existing neighborhoods to determine whether these areas can accommodate needed additional density before turning to expanding the existing urban growth boundary.  The question that Metro has avoided is whether these neighborhoods can accommodate a 3% increase in buildable lands instead of a boundary expansion that once more results in providing luxury housing for the wealthy instead of needed housing for those less well off. Metro must lead instead of turning a blind eye to housing exclusion. That effort begins in the outer suburbs such as the City of Happy Valley and include other high-priced areas such as Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Sherwood, among others, to determine whether there are buildable lands that could increase density to allow affordable housing. Only then, will Metro start to lead the region out of exclusion to the equity goal to which it purports to aspire.

    HLA notes Metro’s conversations about equity, but “conversations” do not replace those actions and hard planning work necessary to end local exclusionary zoning practices. The years between UGB expansions should be spent less on toolkits and more on identifying and leading member cities to expansion proposals that aim to end exclusion and gentrification, and stanch the forces that push marginalized communities to the edge of the urban growth boundary. The equity issues that HLA’s all volunteer-board argues in this UGB appeal provides the court with what is needed to make the right decision in this case, that is to send Metro back to the drawing board and transform its “conversations” about equity into practice in housing supply solutions.

    Unless the LCDC’s approval of the subject UGB expansion is overturned, the Commission will have undermined a pillar of Oregon’s state land use program for compact UGBs. Beyond Metro, LCDC’s decision in this case, if sustained, will have provided a roadmap for local governments throughout Oregon to avoid the command of the Urbanization Goal (Goal 14) “to ensure efficient use of land,” paving the way for unnecessary UGB expansions, continued regulatory redlining, and other charter-based evasions of state land use policy across the State of Oregon

    HLA wishes to applaud its pro bono attorney, Micheal Reeder, and volunteers like Al Johnson and other allies who helped formulate the arguments set forth here, as well as its lawyer board members for their leadership in this appeal.

    Opening Brief – HLA Appeal of Metro UGB Expansion

  • HLA Objects to HUD’s Proposed Disparate Impact Rule

    On August 16, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a proposed rule to amend the agency’s interpretation of the Fair Housing Act’s (FHA) disparate impact standard. HLA joined with with a host of other fair housing and civil rights organizations to oppose the rule.

    HLA believes that HUD’s proposal would make it nearly impossible for people to bring disparate impact claims. As the Supreme Court recognized in previous cases, the FHA “was enacted to eradicate discriminatory practices within a sector of our Nation’s economy.” HUD’s proposal would allow discriminatory practices to continue unchecked as long as the business, housing provider, or government actor did not state an intent to discriminate. HLA supports and adopts comments submitted by the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and other national organizations who strongly urge HUD to withdraw this Proposed Rule.

    Among multiple other troubling provisions related to disparate impact cases, HUD’s proposal would improperly shield zoning and planning decisions from scrutiny under the FHA. As an organization focused on the impact of land use decisions on protected classes, this is exactly the kind of blinders HLA seeks to remove. Instead, HUD is embracing the blinder approach to insulate local decision makers for disguised prejudice through piecemeal land use decision making.

    See below HLA’s full comment letter:
    HLA Comments on HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard

    We encourage all organizations and individuals who advocate for the FHA to read the full text of the proposed rule and submit comments:
    Federal Register: HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard

  • HLA Supports HB 2001

    HLA submitted written testimony in support of House Bill 2001, the proposal to require larger Oregon cities to allow “middle housing” (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and cottage clusters) in all residential zones. We support HB 2001 because it aligns with our mission: to ensure that Oregonians of all income levels can obtain adequate and affordable housing. We believe HB 2001:

    • Supports Fair Housing and mixed income communities;
    • Promotes housing affordability;
    • Fosters housing diversity and options; and
    • Addresses climate change by reducing the carbon impacts of housing.

    To read the full letter, see here: HLA’s Written Testimony in Support of HB 2001.

    Visit the state legislature website to learn more about HB 2001. To voice your support, consider using this tool made available by 1,000 Friends of Oregon.

  • OAPA Presents a FHCO Housing Opportunity and Discrimination Bus Tour

    OAPA Presents a FHCO Housing Opportunity and Discrimination Bus Tour

    Join the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA) and the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) for a Portland bus tour that highlights historic discrimination and how it relates to challenges we face today. The four-hour guided bus tour will feature sites around Portland. A facilitated lunch discussion will follow the tour, including an opportunity to reflect on how planners can better perform inclusive, culturally competent, and equitable planning practices.

    When: Tuesday, June 4, 2019, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

    Where: The tour will start and end at the June Key Delta Society Community Center, 5940 N. Albina Ave., Portland, OR 97217

    Cost:  $100, including guided bus tour followed by a facilitated discussion with lunch. 

    CM’s: 4.5 CM’s pending, including 1 Ethics credit.

    Register at http://www.oregonapa.org/events/ (registration opens Tuesday, 4/2/19). Scholarships are available.

  • HLA Objects to Metro UGB Expansion

    On January 30, 2019, HLA submitted written testimony to object to Metro’s proposed Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion. HLA believes that it is imperative that Metro recommit to providing present and future urban Clackamas, Washington, and Multnomah County residents with greater access to affordable housing. By Metro’s authority within Oregon’s statewide land use system and its own code provisions, and pursuant to state and federal requirements, as set forth below, HLA believes the time for Metro to integrate these obligations into any plans to expand the urban growth boundary is now.

    HLA argued the following points in objecting to the UGB expansions:

    • Metro and the state Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) are subject to federal fair housing obligations. Yet, the UGB expansion decision does not meet those obligations to affirmatively further fair housing.
    • Metro failed to demonstrate that the UGB expansion complies with Goal 10, the Needed Housing Statutes, and planning obligations under Metro Code Chapter 3.
    • Metro failed to justify the need to expand the UGB because it did not analyze what is already happening across the region in relation to buildable land supplies and housing needs analyses. This final argument explores:
      • the incorrect calculation of existing capacity by failing to take into account Accessory Dwelling Units, as required under SB 1051 and ORS 197.312.
      • that Metro cannot hide behind its charter limitation to suggest that it cannot require increased densities and HLA contends this charter provision is preempted by state and federal law,
      • Metro failed to prepare a comparative analysis of social consequences for housing affordability, suitability, and location as required under Goal 14,
      • a region-wide HNA should be considered prior to the expansion, and
      • the conditions imposed by Metro do not accomplish affordable housing goals.

    HLA’s full letter objecting to the UGB expansion can be found on the DLCD website:

    HLA Letter to DLCD – Metro UGB Expansion (January 30, 2019)

    More information about the proposed UGB expansion can be found on this page of the DLCD website.

  • HLA Collaborates with Home Builders Association of Lane County and Community Advocates in Successful Appeal of Restrictive City of Eugene ADU Ordinances

    Recently HLA joined local community, conservation, and business groups in an appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) in a collaborative effort to contest the City of Eugene’s attempt to limit the provision of state-mandated affordable housing.The appeal successfully blocked the City of Eugene’s feigned attempt to implement the statewide accessory dwelling unit (ADU) mandate under Senate Bill(SB) 1051. This recently enacted state legislation requires cities to allow at least one ADU for each detached single-family dwelling in zones allowing those dwellings subject only to “reasonable local regulations relating to siting and design.” Instead of following the letter of the law, the City of Eugene passed ordinances that allowed new ADUs in the City, but regulated them stringently in violation of the new affordable housing law. HLA filed a Petition for Review with LUBA, and argued that the City’s newly adopted ADU ordinances were inconsistent with state law, local comprehensive plan policies, and the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act because they illegally limited affordable housing that was otherwise required by Senate Bill 1051.Specifically, HLA argued:

    1. The ADU ordinances contain regulations that do not relate to siting or designand regulations that are unreasonable, resulting in a de facto prohibition ofADUs in some locations, in violation of SB 1051.
    2. The ADU ordinances are inconsistent with applicable comprehensive planpolicies, including policies that require the city to remove barriers to highdensity housing, consider housing problems of special needs populations, andconsider impacts of zoning regulations on the cost of housing.
    3.  The ADU ordinances violate protections of the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act because the prohibitive nature of theregulations constitutes disparate treatment and/or results in a disparateimpact on protected classes, including familial status, race, national origin,and disability.

    On November 29, 2018, LUBA remanded the ADU ordinances, effectively nullifying the City’s ill-conceived attempt to circumvent SB 1051. LUBA determined that SB 1051 restricted the City’s ability to regulate ADUs in zones that newly allowed the affordable residential use. LUBA remanded because the City of Eugene had not made adequate findings to demonstrate that the ADU ordinances were consistent with SB 1051 and local comprehensive plan policies. LUBA did not weigh in on what reasonable siting and design regulations means, and directed the City on remand to apply and explain the application of the state-mandated ADU requirement to any newly adopted code provision that regulates ADUs. Below are links to Senate Bill 1051, HLA’s Petition for Review and LUBA’s final opinion and order.

  • HLA board member Ed Sullivan quoted in Sightline Institute article

    HLA board member Ed Sullivan quoted in Sightline Institute article

    HLA board member and co-founder Ed Sullivan was recently interviewed for an article published by the Sightline Institute. The article focuses on the possibility for state-led action to increase housing supply. Check out the article here:

    Could state-led upzones happen here? 7 lessons from modern Cascadia
    By Michael Andersen, Sightline Institute

  • 2018 Farmworker Housing Conference

    2018 Farmworker Housing Conference

    CASA of Oregon and The Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing are hosting the 2018 Farmworker Housing Conference. They have a variety of interesting speakers lined-up to cover a range of topics. Margaret Salazar, current Director of Oregon Housing and Community Services and former Director of the Portland Field Office of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is the featured speaker.
  • The Challenge of Housing Affordability in Oregon: Facts, Tools, and Outcomes

    HLA board member and co-founder Ed Sullivan co-authored a paper recently published in Journal of Affordable Housing. The paper evaluates the causes of the housing crisis in Oregon–and unique tools that the state of Oregon may use to fix it–in the context of national housing law and policy. The paper is available for download here:

    The Challenge of Housing Affordability in Oregon: Facts, Tools, and Outcomes
    Paul A. Diller and Edward J. Sullivan
    Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law
    Volume 27, Number 1

     

     

  • 2018 HLA Conference: Presentation Materials

    2018 HLA Conference: Presentation Materials

    Thanks to all who attended the 2018 HLA conference. A recap of the conference agenda and presenter slides are available on the Annual Conference page.
  • Cameron Herrington Awarded Second Annual Ed Sullivan Housing Advocate Award

    At HLA’s Nov. 4, 2016 conference, the board presented Cameron Herrington, Antidisplacement Coordinator for Living Cully, with the second annual Ed Sullivan Housing Advocate Award. The award is named for Edward Sullivan, lifelong housing advocate, co-founder of HLA and former legal counsel to the Governor of Oregon. Cameron Herrington exemplifies Mr. Sullivan’s deep commitment to thoughtful land use planning and access to adequate and affordable housing. Through his work with Living Cully, he helped lead Anti-Displacement PDX, a coalition of more than 40 community organizations that successfully advocated for the inclusion of two dozen measures that address gentrification and displacement in Portland’s Comprehensive Plan update. In addition, he leads the Cully Housing Action Team, a grassroots committee that gathers regularly to learn about and advocate for policies that address the housing needs of residents in the Cully neighborhood. Cameron has also played a pivotal role in organizing residents of the Oak Leaf Mobile Home Park, who successfully advocated for City of Portland funding that allowed them to cooperatively purchase the park and prevented it from redevelopment and the associated displacement of some of Portland’s lowest income residents. We applaud all of Cameron’s efforts and congratulate him on the award.

  • Yes for Affordable Homes Bond Measure Passes!

    Thank you to all the advocates, volunteers, and community members who helped pass the Yes For Affordable Homes Bond Measure in Portland. Through your work, thousands of Portlanders will be able to access safe, healthy and affordable housing in our community. We know that everyone deserves a safe and stable start to each and every day. Together, on November 4, 2016, we stood up and loudly announced that Portland will be a place that everyone can afford to call home.