The apartment complex 959 Franklin is located across from the University of Oregon at Franklin Street in Eugene, Ore., on April 10, 2024. (Eric Becker/Emerald)
Following Oregon Senate and board meetings in early March, Senate Bills 1530 and 1537 were officially signed on March 5. Both of these bills look to address homelessness and housing issues by investing money into possible solutions that involve extending affordability.
SB 1530 appropriated large funds of money to the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department, which was highlighted with $65 million being administered to emergency shelters and $40 million allocated to homelessness prevention services.
In addition to the money distributed to different programs, the bill will issue millions of dollars to different cities in Oregon for infrastructure projects to support the housing production process.
SB 1537 will address the housing supply and affordability crisis by allocating for increased housing production. The bill includes a $500 million investment package to provide funding for new housing developments.
Other provisions of the bill include establishing an urban growth boundary to retain the state’s urban development and land growth and requiring at least 30% of all homes to be affordable based on income levels. SB 1537 will also provide resources for climate-friendly homes that incorporate energy-efficient designs to lower energy costs for low-income residents.
“I agree that we should give that kind of money towards projects like that,” UO student Wesley Krier said. “Especially students that can’t necessarily afford it right now, but are trying to better themselves by going to college and making money in the future. I think we should help them out with keeping them in their houses.”
In an email statement, OHCS Public Information Officer Delia Hernández stated the bill would also distribute $75 million to establish the Housing Project Revolving Loan Fund. These loans to cities will award grants to housing developers’ low and moderate-income housing projects to cover the eligible cost.
Sections 5, 17 and 55 of SB 1537 each discuss the enforcement and detailing of affordability requirements. Essentially, establishing this program and its award grants will authorize programs for affordable housing developers and support housing development.
“The intention for this fund is to maximize housing production outcomes,” Hernández said, “driving Oregon closer to the ambitious housing production goals Gov. Kotek set in Executive Order 23-04 to address our state’s housing shortage.”
In a statement by SEIU Local 503 on March 30, the union showed evident support for these bills and is “committed to working with coalition partners and elected leaders” to address Oregon’s lack of housing crisis, and believe all residents should be able to afford rent and basic necessities.
“We feel that [these bills] will help our members be able to stabilize their living situation,” Johnny Earl, SEIU Local 503 vice president, said. “Large groups of our members have always lived in Springfield, but more are forced to even live further out outside of Eugene to be able to afford to live in these areas.”
For SEIU members, the components on these bills were the number one item on their list of needs when they were surveyed over the last few years, and was the number one thing that they pushed in their legislative campaigns.
“It’s a great win for all of us. It’s a great win for students, it’s a great win for our community and our members,” Earl said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to actually have some sense of something to fall back on if times get really tough to stabilize their living situation.”
