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Supporters back revolving loan fund to finance infrastructure for housing in climate-friendly areas
Summary
Witnesses representing cities, conservation groups and local advocates testified in favor of Senate Bill 1103, which would task Business Oregon with a revolving loan fund to provide below-market loans to cities or tribes for housing-supportive infrastructure in climate-friendly areas inside urban growth boundaries.
Senate Bill 1103 would direct Business Oregon to establish a revolving loan fund to provide below-market loans to cities or tribal councils for infrastructure projects that support housing development in climate-friendly areas within urban growth boundaries, proponents told the Senate Committee on Housing and Development on March 31.
A local representative for the city of Bend described an infrastructure funding shortfall that has constrained infill and driven up costs for builders and cities, saying many cities need flexible debt tools to finance complex infill projects. The witness noted House Bill 3031 (a separate measure) would create a housing-supportive infrastructure fund with a proposed $100,000,000 allocation; SB 1103 was presented as a complementary vehicle focused on public-works-level investments for climate-friendly areas and infill.
Corey Harlan, cities and towns program director with Central Oregon LandWatch, testified in support and argued that targeted infrastructure investments in climate-friendly neighborhoods deliver co-benefits: more housing choices, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and improved walkability. Harlan and other witnesses urged funding that spans site-specific and larger system-level needs to unlock infill development.
Witnesses told the committee that infill projects often face high remediation, demolition and right-of-way costs, undersized or failing infrastructure and complicated public-works requirements, and that a revolving loan fund could lower financing costs and make more land shovel-ready for housing.
Ending: Proponents asked the committee to move the conversation forward and to consider SB 1103 alongside larger infrastructure funding proposals to accelerate infill and climate-friendly housing development.
