The conversation shared below was part of the YIMBYtown 2022 conference, cohosted by Sightline Institute and Portland: Neighbors Welcome.*
Lorelei Juntunen (ECONorthwest). Screenshot from a livestream of a YIMBYtown panel.
Oregon, Washington, and California each have laws on the books to mandate that municipalities explicitly plan for and make space for new housing. Yet implementation is tricky, and advocates are continuing to work with policymakers to close loopholes and ensure that every community is taking on its share of new growth to alleviate the housing crisis across the West Coast. This panel features advocates, policymakers, and researchers to compare each state’s approach to regional housing allocation and discuss opportunities for future policy improvements.
- Lorelei Juntunen, President of ECONorthwest, presents the draft methodology that Oregon will use to calculate each region’s and city’s housing need as required under HB 2003.
- Oregon State Representative Julie Fahey gives the legislator’s perspective on the importance of strong regional housing targets.
- Jamie Ptacek, Lead Organizer at Futurewise, describes the status of housing allocation policy in Washington, including the ways in which HB 1220 strengthened local governments’ requirements under the Growth Management Act.
- Aaron Eckhouse, Regional Policy Director of California YIMBY, moderates the discussion and provides a primer on California’s recently revamped Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process.
*YIMBYtown 2022 occurred April 11–13 in Portland, Oregon, the fourth annual gathering (after some COVID delays) of “Yes in My Back Yard” (YIMBY) community leaders, organizers, planners, policymakers, educators, and housing providers eager to share resources and strategies for building more affordable, sustainable, and equitable communities.
