I want to take a moment to thank lawmakers and Gov. Tina Kotek for their commitment to addressing homelessness and our state’s housing crisis. There is no doubt this year’s legislative session has taken some positive steps toward progress. Now it’s time to go a step further. If we are ever going to successfully make Oregon a more affordable place to live, we must address the longstanding land use and regulatory hurdles that have contributed to the current crisis.
Gov. Kotek’s recent executive order establishing a housing production target of 36,000 per year is an ambitious, needed, and appropriate goal. But we will never reach it out without meaningful housing policy reforms. Later this month, thousands of Oregon Realtors will travel to Salem to advocate for exactly that as part of our organization’s annual Realtors Day at The Capitol.
Realtors have solutions to our state’s housing crisis. Now we need our elected leaders to act. Let’s work together to make Oregon a more affordable state to live and raise a family.
Jenny Pakula, West Linn
Pakula is CEO of Oregon Realtors
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