SALEM, Ore. — Oregon’s housing crisis could see relief if House Bill 2138, spearheaded by Gov. Tina Kotek, is passed. The bill, designed to combat the state’s ongoing housing shortage, seeks to streamline permitting processes, reduce construction costs, and allow denser development for middle housing types such as duplexes, triplexes, and townhouses.

Introduced to the Oregon Legislature, HB 2138 is a product of more than a year’s worth of collaborative work aimed at addressing the state’s significant housing issues. Kotek has placed this housing reform at the forefront of her administration, making it one of her key priorities since taking office. In a statement, she said, "The goal of HB 2138 is to build on the bold, bipartisan policies already in place and continue to work on those to make Oregon a national leader in innovative housing policies that will bring down the cost of housing."

If passed, HB 2138 would make sweeping changes to housing regulations in Oregon, including legalizing more housing options that align with middle housing development. These would include duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses, and cottage clusters. The bill also proposes zoning changes, allowing for more housing in urban unincorporated areas, and preventing local governments from reducing housing density within urban growth boundaries. By allowing for multi-unit housing on existing land, the bill aims to alleviate the housing crisis without expanding cities outward, which could create new urban sprawl.

Gov. Kotek continued, "The bill also cuts unnecessary red tape so it's easier to build more kinds of affordable homes. Developers still face too many requirements that slow or stop their projects." With the bill's focus on denser, more affordable housing, it could help meet the demand for homes without disrupting the environment or leading to excessive urban sprawl.

Jesse Russell, a developer with Hiatus Homes in Bend, shared his experience with the inefficiencies that slow down the building process. "If we can reduce the time from one year to six months just to get through what's really pushing paperwork, that can save hundreds of thousands of dollars," he explained. Speeding up the approval process for permits and land divisions is also a major part of the bill, with the hope that it will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to get new housing off the ground.

Kotek also expressed the importance of the bill for Oregon's communities: "Generally, if we don't have more housing options and better affordability, our communities will not be able to thrive."

Despite the support, there is some opposition to the bill’s narrow focus. Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson (R-Prineville) supports the concept of middle housing but believes the bill doesn’t go far enough. “HB 2138 is a good start, and it does just what you're talking about—it focuses mainly on middle housing, which is those multiplexes, quadplexes, etc. It doesn't also include single-family housing,” she said. "We need to do this with single-family homes, so that we have more homes available to answer the housing crisis."

Republican lawmakers, including Breese Iverson, argue that Oregon needs more land and significant infrastructure investments in addition to regulatory rollbacks in order to support all types of housing development. She continued, “We need to look at the whole spectrum of housing for Oregonians, and middle housing is a great place to start.”

Further Republican bills have also been introduced to relax regulations and help first-time homebuyers with more financial support. “We’ve got a couple of bills in session that have been heard that had good feedback, and they’re going to make some dollars available for first-time homebuyers,” Iverson added.

Despite the ambitious goals set by Kotek for addressing the housing crisis, Breese Iverson emphasized that much more needs to be done. “She hasn't answered the goal, but she is definitely looking at what it is that we need to do to answer the goal,” Iverson said. “We can put a lot of things on paper, but if what we pass doesn't translate to easier processes and more homes being built, then we need to figure out where those fixes need to happen."

As HB 2138 makes its way through Oregon’s legislative process, its final form will ultimately determine how effective it is in providing a solution to the state’s housing challenges. Advocates are hopeful the bill will mark a major step in making housing more affordable and accessible for Oregonians in need.

Originally reported by Devon Haskins in KGW8.