Committee hears competing testimony on bills to allow additional rural dwellings outside urban growth boundaries

The Senate Committee on Housing and Development held a public hearing on Feb. 26, 2025 on Senate Bill 438 and Senate Bill 878, companion measures that would permit a homeowner outside an urban growth boundary to build an additional dwelling on the property under specified restrictions.

Under both bills, an additional dwelling would be allowed on land outside an urban growth boundary and would be subject to limits described in the bills. The bills differ in how they treat the owner and occupancy: SB 878 requires the owner of the tract to occupy a dwelling on the property; SB 438 requires the owner be an individual but would not require the owner to occupy the original dwelling. Proponents and opponents appeared in person and remotely and offered contrasting views about farmland protection, local planning processes and practical barriers to current approval pathways.

Proponents: Senators and local residents. Multiple senators and several rural residents and trade associations advocated for the bills. Vice Chair Anderson (Sen. Anderson) described a statewide housing shortfall and argued the bills would allow…