SB 1537 - NYU Furman Center

State Land Use Enacted Legislation

Bill #	State	Year	Party	Topic
SB 1537	OR	2024	D	Affordable housing incentives and financing, Appeals, Enforcement, Other streamlining, Planning Requirements, Technical assistance, Waiver of Fees

Provided by Furman

Summary

Section 1 establishes a Housing Accountability and Production Office to support and enforce housing laws and support local governments with housing production. Specific responsibilities for HAPO include reducing permitting and land use barriers to housing production.

Section 2 requires HAPO to receive allegations of local governments’ violations of housing laws that impact housing production.

Section 3 allows HAPO to require a local government bring its comprehensive plan, land use regulation, limited land use decisions or other land use decisions into compliance with a housing law.

Section 8 and 9 allows a housing developer with a pending application for a permit, limited land use decision or zone change relating to opt-in to amended local land use regulations that become operative while their application is pending.

Section 13 requires the Oregon Business Development Business Department to provide capacity and support for infrastructure planning to municipalities to produce housing units at greater densities.

Section 25 allows cities and counties to adopt by ordinance a program for awarding grants to developers for certain costs of eligible housing projects. Requires jurisdictions to outline the types of eligible housing projects for the program.

Section 24 limits eligible housing projects to housing projects that are affordable to households with low income or moderate income (or between 50 percent and 120 percent of area median income); for-sale property with the same affordability provisions for at least the term of the loan; rental property that is middle housing, a multifamily dwelling, an accessory dwelling unit, or any other form of affordable housing that is affordable to households with 120 percent of area median income for at least the term of the loan.

Section 30 exempts eligible housing projects from property taxes until the property tax year following the date on which the fee payment obligation is repaid in full.

Section 28 requires the Housing and Community Services Department to develop a program to make loans to local jurisdictions for the purposes of the Section 25 grant program.

Section 38 requires local governments to grant adjustments to existing land use regulation and design and development standards for housing development. Limits adjustments to specific conditions such as meeting minimum density requirements, making all units subject to affordable housing covenant for 30 years, making at least 20 percent of units subject to affordable housing covenant for 60 years, and other conditions. Specifies the types of development standards local governments shall grant adjustments to, including side and rear setbacks, parking minimums, minimum and maximum lot sizes.

Section 39 allows local governments to apply for an exemption to the mandatory adjustments exemptions process.

Section 44 includes approval or denial of applications for replats, property line adjustments, and extension alterations or expansions of a nonconforming use in the definition of “limited land use decision.”

Section 48 through 60 establishes a temporary, limited process by which a city may amend an urban growth boundary (UGB) for qualified housing development, without going through the typical urbanization process and rules. The bill specifically grants a special process for immediate expansion than the existing ability to amend UGBs.

Section 52 limits additions to urban growth boundaries to situations where city demonstrates need for additional land, based on: lack of urban growth boundary expansions in the past 20 years; lack of undeveloped, contiguous tract larger than 20 net acres zoned for residential use within existing boundaries; lack of available lands for development within urban growth boundary expansion areas for residential use adopted by the city in the past 20 years; demonstrated need for affordable housing based on greater percentage of severely cost-burdened households than average for state, or based on at least 25 percent of renter households being severely rent burdened.

Section 55 requires cities to adopt a conceptual plan for urban growth boundary expansions larger than 15 net acres, which must establish a diversity of housing types, minimum net residential densities, and requirements that ensure at least 30 percent of residential units are subject to affordability restrictions of not less than 60 years. Allows cities to require greater affordability requirements than required in this Section.

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