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Oregon housing agency launches county housing profiles data dashboard

Read the original article from KTVZ here.

Oregon housing agency launches county housing profiles data dashboard

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Oregon Housing and Community Services has unveiled the County Profiles data dashboard, a tool that provides key data about housing dynamics in the state.

The County Profiles aims to tell a comprehensive story about housing in Oregon while addressing questions frequently posed to the agency regarding affordable housing, home purchasing costs, and homelessness. 

“Housing is a pivotal aspect of people's lives and communities. We are excited to launch this new tool in helping us address complex housing issues decades in the making,” noted OHCS Director Andrea Bell. “As we strive to make data-informed decisions, we also recognize the best solutions come from local community members who have experienced the issues we are trying to solve.”

OHCS uses data to inform policy solutions. The agency created these profiles to provide information about various topics connected to housing, such as the race and gender of people living in poverty or the population of a specific county.

“As a community action program serving rural communities in Oregon, these county profiles will provide much needed data to inform our work and provide resources where necessary,” said Paula Hall, chief executive officer of CAPECO (Community Action Program of East Central Oregon). “Oftentimes rural counties and organizations don’t have the capacity to collect information that is key in helping us to continue to serve our communities.”

Each County Profile has five data sections:

• Population
• Poverty
• Homeownership
• Rental Housing
• Homelessness

The data is primarily sourced from the US Census Bureau's annual surveys. The dashboard presents many of these statistics by race, ethnicity, and gender when the data is available. For example, through this data, we can see 66% of Oregonians who are white are homeowners while only 44% of Oregonians who are Hispanic/Latino/a/x are homeowners. 

“Decades of research shows the impacts of institutional racism and racist policies that have resulted in disparities in housing outcomes, especially for Black and Native American communities,” said Director Bell. “For local governments, this data offers one way, amongst many, to facilitate shared progress so everyone has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.“

The dashboard will be updated annually and continue to evolve to improve transparency. Individuals, organizations, and policymakers are urged to explore the County Profiles and email feedback, questions, or recommendations to [email protected].

Kotek’s Housing Advisory Panel Proposes Gutting Wetland Protections, Outraging Environmentalists

View the original article from Willamette Week.

Kotek’s Housing Advisory Panel Proposes Gutting Wetland Protections, Outraging Environmentalists

The governor wants to build 36,000 new housing units. Something may have to give.

by Nigel Jaquiss. August 9, 2023.

Gov. Tina Kotek got elected last year with strong support from environmental groups. But since taking office, she’s made housing production her top priority—putting her at odds with them.

In June, Kotek teamed with Senate Republicans to try to preempt long-standing land use protections. Environmentalists blocked that bill, but they’re already facing what they see as another war—a draft proposal from a subcommittee of Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council that advocates scrapping state law to greenlight the development of “marginal or degraded wetlands.”

That, say many environmental leaders, would be a grave mistake.

“Oregon has been a leader in protecting its remaining wetlands,” says Quinn Read, conservation director for Portland Audubon. “This proposal would undo that legacy. We are in the midst of a housing crisis. But we don’t have to indulge these ‘either/or’ proposals that falsely imply we can either have housing or thriving wetlands and urban ecosystems.”

WHAT CHANGED? On May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sackett v. EPA that the feds could only regulate wetlands that had a “surface connection” to navigable waterways. That meant isolated wetlands cut off from flowing water could be filled. (Willamette Riverkeeper conservation director Bob Sallinger says local examples include wetlands on Sauvie Island, in the industrial Columbia Corridor and along Johnson Creek.) President Joe Biden said the decision “upends the legal framework that has protected America’s waters for decades.” On June 5, the Oregon Department of State Lands, which regulates Oregon’s wetlands, issued an unusual statement. “Sackett v. EPA has been a source of heartache and confusion for people who care about protecting wetlands,” the agency said. “Oregon has strong state laws to protect wetlands and continues to require permits for projects that remove or add materials in wetlands.” But last week, Kotek’s panel, which is developer-heavy, instead cited Sackett as an opportunity: “The state of Oregon now has a viable path for development of marginal or degraded wetlands to allow for needed housing development,” the panel wrote. “Federal protections adopted by the DSL should now be relaxed to the maximum extent possible as an emergency measure.”

WHY DOES IT MATTER? Oregon has 1.3 million acres of wetlands, state figures show, down from 2.3 million acres in the late 1700s. As scientists have learned more about climate, they have come to appreciate the vital role wetlands play. “Wetlands provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife, reduce flooding, manage stormwater, improve water quality, protect us from extreme heat, and sequester enormous amounts of carbon,” Audubon’s Read says. “Oregon has already lost almost 1 million acres of our historic wetlands. This proposal would pave the way (literally) to wipe out even more, making Oregon less resilient to the impacts of climate change.”

WHAT’S THE CONSEQUENCE? “This proposal is a handout for developers who seek to make huge profits from developing in high-risk, flood-prone areas while also burdening communities with the added social cost of eliminating wetlands, which are tremendously important for preventing the worst impacts of flood events,” says Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Federal law provides the floor for how Oregon must treat wetlands, not the ceiling. The worst thing Oregon could do in the face of the climate change-induced, severe flooding that we’ve been seeing nationwide is to weaken its standards.”

WHAT DOES KOTEK SAY? Kotek’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Shepard, says the draft proposal is simply that. “Currently, there are no recommendations to the full council regarding wetlands,” Shepard says. But she reiterates that Kotek is deadly serious about putting roofs over people’s heads. “Gov. Kotek set a new goal of building 36,000 housing units per year over the next decade,” Shepard adds. “There are all kinds of conversations happening to be bold on meeting this goal.”

WHAT’S NEXT? Peggy Lynch of the Oregon League of Women Voters watched Kotek’s advisory panel meeting, but just by chance. As her group’s longtime natural resource advocate, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing and sounded the alarm. Now, the panel will hear from more experts. “The League appreciates that the work group will be learning more about the role of wetlands,” Lynch said in an email. “Although we understand that the Housing Production Advisory Council holds open meetings, each of the work groups have not been noticed to the general public. The presentation on wetlands is an example of why all Oregonians should be aware of these meetings.”