Governor-backed infill and middle‑housing bill aims to legalize thousands of units, but stakeholders flag traffic, infrastructure and process concerns

The committee’s third public hearing on March 26 addressed House Bill 2138, the governor’s housing and infill policy bill. Matthew Schawbold, identified as the Governor’s Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director, told the committee the bill’s core goals are to legalize thousands of additional middle-housing and infill units, eliminate barriers tied to siting, design and process, and create an optional local density bonus for developers who deliver affordable or Type A–accessible units.

The dash-2 amendment made technical changes based on stakeholder feedback. DLCD staff and the governor’s office explained adjustments related to traffic impact analyses, clear-and-objective standards for public works (water, sewer, stormwater, transportation), and the cottage-cluster courtyard requirement. The dash-2 clarifies that small-scale middle-housing projects should not be required to perform major traffic intersection upgrades, while preserving local governments’ ability to collect system development charges (SDCs) and require site/frontage improvements in appropriate cases. DLCD staff said subdivisions created within the prior five years or developments of 12 or more units remain subject to standard traffic-analysis and infrastructure requirements.

Witnesses from cities, neighborhood associations and statewide organizations expressed conditional support for the bill’s goals but asked for technical fixes and local flexibility. Representative Bosshardt Davis (House District 15) offered a dash‑4 amendment (introduced at the hearing) to add local guardrails aimed at ensuring middle housing is used primarily for infill rather than greenfield conversion, to remove a proposed redefinition of plexus that would have included detached units, and to restore local authority to require traffic studies when appropriate.

City of Albany officials, including Community Development Director Matthew Rutgers, described specific infrastructure constraints in North Albany and South Albany, including a single bridge crossing and limited transit options. Albany and North Albany witnesses urged carve-outs or local flexibility to avoid overwhelming constrained transportation networks. North Albany neighborhood association chairman Brad Dennis requested an on-site hearing and additional time to review rapidly issued amendment language.

Others supported statewide removal of barriers. Mary Kyle McCurdy of 1000 Friends of Oregon and representatives from cities that have prepared for middle housing said the bill removes glitches left after earlier middle-housing legislation and can expand capacity. Some witnesses — including neighborhood associations and local planners — urged retaining tools such as traffic-impact analyses and careful appeals processes to ensure infrastructure and safety are preserved as development patterns change.

DLCD and governor’s staff committed to follow-up work on clear-and-objective public-works language and to provide a bulleted list of elements retained from the original bill. The committee closed the public hearing and scheduled related work sessions; no committee votes were taken during the hearing.