Agenda Packet 2-20-19 Work Session

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ADU Guidance ‐1‐ March 2018 Introduction As housing prices in Oregon go up, outpacing employment and wage growth, the availability of affordable housing is decreasing in cities throughout the state. While Oregon’s population continues to expand, the supply of housing, already impacted by less building during the recession, has not kept up. To address the lack of housing supply, House Speaker Tina Kotek introduced House Bill 2007 during the 2017 legislative session to, as she stated, “remove barriers to development.” Through the legislative process, legislators placed much of the content of House Bill 2007 into Senate Bill 1051, which then passed, and was signed into law by Governor Brown on August 15, 2017. In addition, a scrivener’s error1 was corrected through the passage of HB 4031 in 2018. Among the provisions of SB 1051 and HB 4031 is the requirement that cities and counties of a certain population allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as described below: a)A city with a population greater than 2,500 or a county with a population greater than 15,000 shall allow in areas within the urban growth boundary that are zoned for detached single‐ family dwellings the development of at least one accessory dwelling unit for each detached single‐family dwelling, subject to reasonable local regulations relating to siting and design. b)As used in this subsection, “accessory dwelling unit” means an interior, attached or detached residential structure that is used in connection with or that is accessory to a single‐family dwelling. This new requirement becomes effective on July 1, 2018 and subject cities and counties must accept applications for ADUs inside urban growth boundaries (UGBs) starting July 1, 2018. Many local governments in Oregon already have ADU regulations that meet the requirements of SB 1051, however, some do not. Still others have regulations that, given the overall legislative direction to encourage the construction of ADUs to meet the housing needs of Oregon’s cities, are not “reasonable.” The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is issuing this guidance and model code language to help local governments comply with the legislation. The model code language is included on its own page at the end of this document. 1 The scrivener’s error in SB 1051 removed the words “within the urban growth boundary.” HB 4031 added the words into statute and thus limited the siting of ADUs to within UGBs. February 20, 2019, Work Session – Item 1