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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2020)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020 ❚ 3A Housing Continued from Page 1A Why is there a problem? Oregon’s population is growing rap- idly. From 2010 to 2019, the state grew to 4.2 million people from 3.8 million, but according to state economist Josh Lehner, Oregon built fewer new housing units in the 2010s than at any point since World War II on a growth-adjusted basis. Affordable housing is commonly de- scribed as 30% of household income be- ing spent for housing for a family that earns 60% of an area’s median income for apartment or 80% for home owner- ship. In Jefferson, an affordable rent for an apartment would be $856 per month and monthly mortgage for a house at $1,141. That's in an area where the aver- age sales price was $295,652 in 2019, ac- cording to the Willamette Valley MLS. In the 2000 to 2016 time frame in Marion County, there were 89 units built for every 100 households formed, ac- cording to an ECONorthwest Report. That number is lower in Polk County where it was about 70 units per 100 households. The issue isn’t limited to the Willam- ette Valley, though. A 2018 report by Lehner showed that while incomes in rural areas of Oregon are equal with other rural areas of the United States, home prices are 30% higher – $179,400 vs. $137,500 – and rents are 16% higher – $580 vs $500. At the same time, rural areas of Ore- gon have seen faster population growth than in other rural areas in the country. Construction of new high-density housing, such as apartments, duplexes and condos, can be one solution to the lagging housing market in smaller cit- ies, as can single-family homes being built on smaller lots. But many new homes are being built at the higher end of the price spectrum. “Homeownership, especially among millennials, is low,” Willis said. “Home- ownership is a building block of build- ing wealth. I would like to see more own- er-occupied multi-family housing.” In a 2017 report, Donald-based agri- cultural machine company GK Machine estimated it loses employees every 24 months in part due to long commute times for many of its employees who work in the city. Apartments and houses are scarce in the city and the median rent of an apart- ment was $1,995. Many smaller cities have aging infra- structure, and many are already at ca- pacity in their water and sewer systems. When more single-family homes are added, it strains an already stressed system; multi-family residences could extend that infrastructure past capaci- ty. In unincorporated communities such as Brooks, the only land zoned for hous- ing is single-family as its sewer and wa- ter systems are already at or near capac- ity. In small cities with no apartment complexes, finding project funding can be a challenge. “You don’t have that kind of compa- rables so that may not be able to get that loan,” said Ariel Nelson, a lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities. By Oregon law, cities and counties charge fees called system development charges for new construction to pay for things like the additional use of existing infrastructure — water filtration and distribution, recreation and transporta- tion. Those fees differ from city to city and by type of development. In Jefferson, the systems develop- ment charge for a single-family unit is about $12,000, which is on the low range of the spectrum. “SDC’s are just one element of the cost for developers,” Willis said. “One of the things that happened is because of the way our cities have developed, it’s most cost efficient for a developer to roll out 500 or 1,000 homes.” Where is the problem the worst? Jefferson, Mill City and Mt. Angel are the areas areas where affordable com- plexes are needed the most, according to the Mid-Willamette Valley Communi- ty Action Agency’s ARCHES Project. But those are not the only cities where work is being done. New home construction is booming in Turner, a city five miles southeast of Salem. A new 205-unit subdivision is under- way on the north side of town on the banks of Turner Lake, a 47-unit subdivi- sion south of that is progressing and smaller subdivisions are sprouting around the city as the housing market booms. As people have spread out of Salem’s city’s boundaries, Turner, population 2,200, became a desirable destination to live, but those homes are selling for over $300,000. Turner is becoming a bedroom com- munity for Salem with fewer of its resi- dents working in the city, and it is quick- ly running out of land in its urban growth boundary to develop into new housing. Oregon’s land use planning laws date to 1974 when the state created a set of standards to control urban sprawl and allow for controlled growth based on 20- year population growth projections. Cities with a population over 10,000 are required to periodically review their housing needs and growth projections, but those under that size are not and cit- ies under 2,500 are not required to have a broader range of housing types. For Donald, population 990, to ex- pand its urban growth boundary by about 80 acres in 2018, the city received grant money from Marion County and the state, and it took two years to com- plete. “They’re an example of a city that ac- tually did take the initiative,” said Gor- don Howard, Community Services Divi- sion Manager for the Department of Land Conservation and Development. Before cities can expand their urban growth boundary, they must consider if land already inside their border could be redeveloped into high-density housing; land on the edges of the existing bound- aries may not be suitable for high-den- sity housing. Cities are required to look at land in its proximity that isn't deemed high val- ue farmland first for inclusion. And many smaller cities don't have the staff to take on such tasks and con- tract their planning. "Looking at a buildable land supply to meet needed housing is a multi-prong effort and requires many steps before a UGB expansion can be approved," said Renata Wakeley, the community devel- opment coordinator for the Mid-Wil- lamette Council of Governments. What is the solution? Larger cities such as Bend, Medford and Newport have employed strategies such as fees (1/3 of 1%) to fund afford- able housing programs, deferring sys- tem development charges and property tax exemptions for units earmarked for affordable housing. But those policy decisions may not be as effective for smaller cities. “I know that a lot of the smaller, more bedroom communities, it can come down to their planning and zoning and the last time they did a housing needs analysis,” said Ariel Nelson, a lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities. Turner’s city council adopted an or- dinance that will give a 20% reduction in system development charges for sew- er and water for apartments, the first time the city had adopted a policy to en- courage multi-family housing. A developer is proposing to build a 130-unit apartment complex in Turner, which would help make up for a short- fall in affordable housing in a city that has little. Sublimity, population 2,900, has had significant new home construction over the years, but the majority has been sin- gle-family homes. Its planning commission is sched- uled to consider a variance that would allow a 32-lot medium density residen- tial subdivision. In Lyons, a city of 1,200 in the San- tiam Canyon on the south side of the North Santiam River, the city has been considering allowing accessory dwell- ing units since last year. Donald's project with GK Machine is part of a pilot program with the state. The city received a grant from the state to purchase land, it intends to up- grade its water and wastewater treat- ment plants and plans to support 95 new homes with the hope of 465 total new residences. Marion County has undertaken a re- gional planning effort to increase hous- ing production within its cities. State Rep. Rick Lewis of Silverton said he is going to offer up for consider- ation a bill that would allow cities and counties to waive system development charges for affordable housing units for multi-family development in rural com- munities and be reimbursed by the state. “What does that do to our communi- ty," askes said Alison McIntosh, Policy and Communications Director of Neigh- borhood Partnerships, "when your pre- school teacher or the nice lady who fixes your coffee can’t live in the communi- ty?” bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler L2501HST • 24.6 Gross HP,† 3-Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine • Hydrostatic Transmission (HST) • 4WD E V A H WE A.P.R. % 0 , N 0% DOW G FOR UP TO IN * FINANC H OT S AS T N O M 60 ECT NEW KUB R U O Y ON S E L ! 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