Housing

A new bill aimed at increasing affordable housing construction has an important backer: California’s carpenters’ unions. The state’s formidable Construction and Building Trades Council, which represents most other construction unions, is opposed. The battle comes down to how stringent labor requirements under the new bill would be.

After decades of traditional economic development efforts, authorities are now trying some unusual experiments to spur activity in rural Oregon.

Cities around the state are trying to circumvent California’s new law allowing duplexes to be built on properties previously zoned as single family. Their methods include everything from removing parking and forbidding vehicle ownership to requiring arbitrary amounts of mature vegetation.

The proposed 115-unit complex would begin to address a chronic housing shortage in the region that was made worse by the 2020 wildfires in the Rogue Valley.

A bill moving through the Oregon legislature could expand locations where prefabricated and manufactured homes can be sited in the state.

Short sessions of the state Legislature were originally designed for budget adjustments, but Democrats have the majority and major policy goals.

Buffy Wicks, the new Assembly Housing Committee chairperson, talks about her priorities for strengthening California's response to the state's acute shortage of affordable housing.

A letter signed Wednesday by more than 50 organizations and local jurisdictions from across Oregon urged legislative leaders and Gov. Kate Brown to step in on behalf of 12,000 households facing the threat of eviction.

When the Almeda Fire tore through Southern Oregon last year, manufactured home parks were among the developments that were damaged most. More than a year later, assistance for these communities is slowly starting to appear.

A letter drafted Wednesday by legislative housing committee chairs Rep. Julie Fahey and Sen. Kayse Jama outlines the need for intervention as the state continues to chip away at a massive backlog of applications for rental assistance.

In overheated real estate markets, personal letters from buyers to sellers can help tip the scales. Now, Oregon is restricting them because they may violate federal fair housing laws.

The California eviction moratorium ended Sept. 30, but tenants still have some protections and can get help paying the rent. Here’s a FAQ.