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HBA HOME BUILDING NEWS
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PROTEcTING YOUR INDUSTRY
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NOvEMBEr, 2012
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HBApdx.org
very good job at connecting in-
dividual members to the issues
that are most pertinent to them.
However, there are just too
many gaps to fill and although
member participation is hugely
beneficial, our real power comes
from the strength of our staff
advocacy and their ability to
provide focused attention early
in the discussion.
Many of our members, espe-
cially those that aren’t builders
or developers have little if any
direct contact with this system.
It is important for all of us to
recognize that this work is ben-
eficial to each and every HBA
member. It is no secret that our
resources are limited and I am
in no way advocating that one
program be eliminated for the
benefit of another. However, it is
imperative for the future of our
local industry that the Govern-
ment Affairs program become
priority one, above all others.
We understand that the city
is going through an update
of its comprehensive plan. It
is important for City staff and
elected leaders to educate
neighborhoods about zon-
ing, infill housing goals and al-
lowed redevelopment during
this process and on a regular
basis. Otherwise, neighbor-
hoods believe a builder is
doing something improper
when he/she demolishes a
home and builds a replace-
ment in accordance with the
City’s zoning code.
In addition to our signa-
tures below, please see the
attached page of signatures
from infill builders and others
who make their living from
inf ill housing in Portland.
Addressing these issues and
solving the challenges we
face are of vital importance.
Otherwise, we risk damaging
the fragile economic recovery
of the City while hurting the
very infill development and
housing affordability our re-
gion desires.
Sincerely,
Gordon Root
HBA President
Matt Wellner
Chair, Government
relations Committee
Laurie Butler
Chair, Infill Housing Group
Justin Wood
Associate Director of
Government Affairs
We’re getting ready for the next
legislative session, which is always
an exercise in tea leaf reading
since preparations have to start
long before the elections are held
and we consequently don’t know
if we’ll be playing offense or de-
fense.
We’ll have more on OHBA’s 2013
agenda in a future post, but we
know already that there are sev-
eral broad topics that the legisla-
ture, and Governor, will be work-
ing on that will affect us. Here are
a few of them, and as always, if
you have ideas or thoughts, please
let us know.
Land Use
There has been a work group
meeting for several months which
has been looking at ways to sim-
plify the process of analyzing
land needs and expanding ur-
ban growth boundaries, both for
residential and employment land.
Also under discussion are annexa-
tion policy, provision of urban
services, and the whole process of
creating population forecasts.
It looks like there will be pro-
posals coming forward that we’ll
be able to support, at least for
the most part. There will likely
be a stronger emphasis on short-
term land supply and less on long
range, as well as more focus on
making sure that jurisdictions
provide opportunity for needed
housing.
Unanswered questions include:
• How to ensure adequate public
facilities given that some cities
don’t have much funding capac-
ity and others face restrictions
like annexation voting
• How to balance market reali-
ties with the land use system’s
historic push for higher density
development
• How to provide adequate land
for industrial opportunities
which might not exist at the
planning stage (in other words,
how to make sure that big op-
portunities can be accommo-
dated and aren’t forced to look
at other states for land)
• What differences should be al-
lowed between differing sizes of
cities, or between cities in west-
ern Oregon and elsewhere in the
state
We are guardedly optimistic
that some good things will come
out of this effort, but the details
will be critical and they won’t be
provided for several months.
Tax reform
The Governor has indicated that
some sort of tax reformwill be un-
der discussion in 2013, but it isn’t
clear yet what that’s going to look
like. The feds will also be talking
about the same issue, and since
Oregon’s income tax mirrors the
federal income tax pretty directly,
what the Congress decides to do,
or not do, will have an impact on
Oregon’s process. There is also the
issue of whether tax reform should
only address state level finance or
if it will include local government
tax issues also; we have argued
and will continue to do so, that lo-
cal government’s need more help
than does the state, given the re-
strictions imposed by Measures 5
and 50, but there are some pretty
daunting political issues involved
with fiddling with the property
tax system.
Energy
The Governor has also signaled
an intention to do something
pretty aggressive with regard to
energy policy, and there is a 10
year energy plan that is getting a
lot of attention, but at this point,
neither the plan nor the Gover-
nor’s public pronouncements
provide a lot of detail as to what
exactly might be brought forward.
We have an obvious interest in this
topic, because there could be a lot
of benefit to our industry and our
members if a viable program for
energy efficient remodeling were
to come out of the discussion.
We are also interested because a
poorly designed energy efficiency
program, or just more govern-
ment mandates without any sup-
port, could be disastrous for us…
so we’ll be paying close attention
to this one.
Regulatory reform
There was a high level task force
that worked during the interim on
a report looking at the way Ore-
gon’s agencies did their business,
and it came up with some pretty
impressive recommendations for
changing the regulatory and per-
mitting processes so as to be less
burdensome and costly. Whether
anything comes of it or not, we’ll
be involved in trying to move
some of the key pieces forward.
Education reform
Normally, this wouldn’t be a key
OHBA issue, but we’ll be involved
because (a) it will likely be a cen-
tral focus of the legislative session
and therefore on everybody’s
radar, and (b) because programs
we do care about – like increas-
ing workforce training through
shop and mechanical arts classes
in high schools – will be part of
the package of reforms, in all like-
lihood.
More initiatives from the Gover-
nor will no doubt be forthcoming
in the next couple of months We
know there will be additional work
done on health care, for example,
but it’s likely that he will daylight
some other ideas – and of course
the legislators will have their own
priorities which may or may not
correlate to the projects the Gov
has been working on. As the ses-
sion gets closer, we’ll be talking
about what the landscape looks
like and coming up with ways to
keep you all posted and involved.
News from the Oregon Home
Builders Association
Jon Chandler’s
Oregon
Update
Inside Line:
member participation critical
Continued from page 9
Open Letter:
Local builders
call for infill building reform
Continued from page 9
This annual confer-
ence held January 22-24
is a highlighted event
for builders across the
Nation. For more infor-
mation visit www.build-
ershow.com. register
before December 3 for a
reduced registration fee.
The HBA has reserved
a block of rooms at the
MGM Grand Hotel – res-
ervations are $99 a night.
For more information
contact Helen Lewis,
helenl@hbapdx.org.
Mark your calendars
for the OHBA Hospitality
Night hosted by the HBA
of Metro Portland,
Tuesday, January 22,
at the MGM Grand!
Don’t forget
to register
for the 2013
International
Builders Show
in Las Vegas!