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State advisory group formed to direct housing construction

By: Alex Jensen//March 7, 2023//

State advisory group formed to direct housing construction

By: Alex Jensen//March 7, 2023//

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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced her appointments to the Housing Production Advisory Council (HPAC) on Monday. The 25-member group will be charged with developing an action plan to meet a new goal for home construction throughout the state.

Kotek’s executive order established an annual housing production goal of 36,000 units to be available at all levels of affordability to address Oregon’s housing shortage. It is about an 80 percent increase from current construction rates.

“I know too many Oregonians are struggling to find stable housing or on the verge of losing it,” Kotek stated. “Employers, particularly in rural and suburban areas, are struggling to hire and keep staff because there is nowhere for them to live or they are commuting from hours away. This is not sustainable. We must build more housing.”

HPAC members include housing industry leaders, local government representatives, two Democratic legislators and two Republican legislators, a tribal member, and relevant agency directors.

Gubernatorial appointees include: J.D. Tovey (co-chair), rural Oregon and a Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation member; Damien Hall (co-chair), Metro area; Daniel Bunn, Southern Oregon; Thomas Cody, Metro area; Deborah Flagan, Central Oregon; Ernesto Fonseca, Metro area; Elissa Gertler, Oregon Coast; Riley Hill, rural Oregon; Natalie Janney, Willamette Valley area; Robert Justus, Metro area; Joel Madsen, Columbia River Gorge; Ivory Mathews, Metro area; Erica Mills, Southern Oregon; Eric Olsen, Willamette Valley area; Gauri Rajbaidya, Metro area; Karen Rockwell, Oregon Coast; Margaret Van Vliet, Metro area; and Justin Wood, Metro area.

Legislative appointees and agency members include: Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City; Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Portland; Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River; Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Portland; Oregon Housing and Community Services Executive Director Andrea Bell, and Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Director Brenda Bateman.

On Friday, the HPAC will convene for the first time. It’s scheduled to provide a recommended framework for its action plan by April.

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