Hi John,

Yesterday I had to testify at the last minute against an amendment to HB 3414. This bill to address the housing emergency had a last minute amendment introduced to allow for a one time expansion of urban growth boundaries without even showing need for the expansion––a change that makes it a Major Threat now. Will you take action today to urge your state lawmakers to vote no on this bill with the -19 proposed amendment?

One of the things that makes Oregon exceptional is our innovative land use laws that have created urban growth boundaries––helping preserve the natural beauty and agricultural abundance of our state. Every year we at OLCV along with our partners in the Oregon Conservation Network have to fight to protect our land use laws against big developers and other special interests attempting to pass bills that roll back these laws. They are at it again, with the last minute -19 amendment to a housing bill, HB 3414.  

While we fully support taking urgent action to address Oregon’s housing crisis, we know that expanding our urban growth boundaries without following the existing laws is not how we get there. This amendment would lead to more urban sprawl, making it harder to reduce climate pollution and address climate change. And, crossing into the wildland-urban borders will expose more Oregonians to fire risk. Please take action today to stop this terrible amendment from moving forward.

Developing land outside of urban growth boundaries would be expensive and hard to access for those who need housing the most. The best kind of affordable housing should be on lands within cities where there are existing roads and amenities like schools and supermarkets. If anything, our cities and towns need more resources for infrastructure for new climate friendly and affordable housing. We have land inside our cities, such as underused parking lots and strip malls, that could be converted to more kinds of housing and more affordable housing. This kind of development would make the most of our underutilized urban areas while addressing the housing crisis, abiding by our land use laws, and preserving our green spaces.

HB 3414 is currently in committee, and after a public hearing yesterday, it is open for written testimony. At this stage of session, bills can move very quickly from a committee to a full vote by all the members of the House of Representatives. This is why it’s important that your lawmakers hear from you right away. Please take a moment of your day to urge your state lawmakers to vote NO on HB 3414 with the -19 amendments.

Thank you for all that you do!

Julia DeGraw

Coalition Director, OLCV