Early Years 2018-2020 – pioneering a model of cooperation
To ensure inclusive communities statewide, HLA and FHCO recruited volunteers and hired part time contractors to review all post acknowledgement plan amendments with fair housing/Statewide Planning Goal 10 implications submitted to the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). During review, jurisdictions received feedback on their Goal 10 findings with emphasis on utilization of their Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) and Buildable Lands Inventory (BLI). Feedback could come in the form of technical assistance, both negative and positive comment letters, and potential legal action depending on the individual circumstances of each case.
While required by law, during these early stages Goal 10 findings were often absent from planning staff reports or present in a cursory manner. Jurisdictions made housing decisions without taking into account their mandated commitment to provide an adequate number of needed housing units (at both the needed housing type and affordability level) or their buildable lands inventory. Advocates also faced many barriers with respect to obtaining the information behind, or understanding the bases for these amendments.
The PAPA project approached these shortcomings with an attitude of cooperation. Outreach was conducted early and often, to educate planners before they had invested significant time in their staff report findings. Additionally, the request for planning staff reports from a watchdog group was a novel concept for many planning departments. The PAPA project motivated planning departments to post materials online, and create the infrastructure for any concerned citizen to download and read staff reports straight from a website in advance of planning commission meetings.
As a result of these efforts, the PAPA project achieved two large wins
- Within 2 years, more than 90% of reviewed staff reports contained Goal 10 findings, whereas before, only about 15% contained Goal 10 findings.
- Within 2 years, 95% of jurisdictions were posting their staff reports and planning commission reports online in advance of planning commission meetings.
Hitting Our Stride 2021-2023 – Housing for All
Once jurisdictions were making the rationale behind their decisions clear through Goal 10 findings, and available to the public, the PAPA project was able to begin the work of educating planners and planning commissioners. Local government staff and planning officials knew they were being watched for plan and zoning changes and accurate reporting of their housing needs. The PAPA project expanded into development code changes and documenting systematic ways jurisdictions were regulating multifamily and affordable housing to places with less resources and more environmental hazards. The PAPA project pointed out language that was not clear and objective (as required by statute), took the lead in reviewing mandated changes from state housing legislation, and reported findings quarterly to DLCD. With no full time staff, the PAPA project reviewed between 200-300 amendments every year, comprising over 1000 pages of text. Continually, the PAPA project was the only organization commenting on changes, and showcased again and again that, without oversight, statewide rules and regulations could easily be ignored.
Due to the PAPA projects work, it became standard for local jurisdictions to
- Consider housing needs and affordability when changing parking minimums
- Consider housing needs and affordability when changing development code, for example were the local design regulations prohibitive towards smaller and more affordable apartments?
- Consider housing needs and tenancy needs when creating maximum sizes for ADUs
- Quantify the impact of changes through consideration of maximum and minimum numbers of units that could be built due to the proposed changes
Present Day 2024-2026 – Statewide Housing Advocacy Leadership and Anti-Segregation
In 2024, the PAPA project presented Segregation Alive and Well at Housing Oregon. Combining now years of experience, PAPA project volunteers, part time staff, and members of HLA and FHCO detailed how jurisdictions were driving their minority and disabled populations into the outskirts of cities, far away from opportunities and resources. The finale to that presentation was the example of an adopted ordinance in Happy Valley, prohibiting cottage clusters in only its older, wealthier neighborhoods. HLA and FHCO announced during Segregation Alive and Well the appeal of that ordinance to the Land Use Board of Appeals. That litigation led the 2025 Oregon Legislature to prohibit these practices.
By this time, the PAPA project has grown far past its original scope of work. While it still reviews over 1000 pages of staff reports annually, it now also runs a robust mentorship program with Portland State University graduate students in the Masters in Urban and Regional Planning program, and sends out technical advice and comments on planning and zoning change proposals to an email listserv of over 800 active subscribers. HLA is the only watchdog organization consistently reviewing Housing Production Strategies (HPSs), and is a key advocate for system development charge waivers, construction excise taxes, and upzoning. HLA built upon the momentum of Segregation Alive and Well with a follow up presentation at Housing Oregon in 2025 (Segregation Alive and Well in Oregon Update), and a comprehensive HPS review document showcasing that no jurisdiction reviewed had dedicated itself to upzoning a piece of single family zoned land to increase density or otherwise promote affordable housing.
The PAPA project is currently in the midst of creating a Fair Housing framework for Housing Projection Strategies, and a comprehensive document reviewing the lack of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing within the reviewed HPSs. Affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) means addressing patterns of segregation, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty, and disparities in housing needs, choice, and opportunity. The process that mandated HPSs also set forth the requirement that AFFH be incorporated into these documents, and therefore also the respective jurisdiction’s plan for housing production. The PAPA project remains a tireless advocate for anti-segregationist policies, and is committed to ensuring an adequate and appropriate supply of affordable housing, and housing free from discrimination, for all Oregonians.
