Great summary! But an important note: there's a big difference between "raw supply of land" and "buildable land." The concept outlined in HB 3414 doesn't add buildable land; it adds raw supply of land, something we are not lacking. For example, in 2016, Bend added 2,380 acres in ten different expansion areas to its urban growth boundary (aka added raw supply of land). Over the past six years, less than 10% of the total possible housing has been built in these expansion areas.
Adding the raw supply of land outlined in HB 3414 won't do anything for our housing crisis and it may even put a strain on local resources and ignore important factors like wildfire risk or water supply. The most direct path to addressing our housing affordability and availability crisis must focus on solutions that turn our existing supply of raw land into buildable land.
Great summary! But an important note: there's a big difference between "raw supply of land" and "buildable land." The concept outlined in HB 3414 doesn't add buildable land; it adds raw supply of land, something we are not lacking. For example, in 2016, Bend added 2,380 acres in ten different expansion areas to its urban growth boundary (aka added raw supply of land). Over the past six years, less than 10% of the total possible housing has been built in these expansion areas.
Adding the raw supply of land outlined in HB 3414 won't do anything for our housing crisis and it may even put a strain on local resources and ignore important factors like wildfire risk or water supply. The most direct path to addressing our housing affordability and availability crisis must focus on solutions that turn our existing supply of raw land into buildable land.