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Hillsborough council adopts Housing Production Strategy; staff to begin code audits and fee studies
Summary
After public testimony and staff presentation, the Hillsborough City Council unanimously adopted the city’s Housing Production Strategy, a state‑required plan with 21 actions spanning regulatory, land, partnership, incentive and investment measures; staff will send the plan to the state and begin implementation steps such as a housing code audit and SDC/fee studies.
The Hillsborough City Council unanimously adopted the Hillsborough Housing Production Strategy (HPS), a planning document required by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development that sets city policy priorities and implementation actions for the next six years.
What the HPS contains: City staff and consultant Cascadia Partners summarized 21 actions organized into five categories—regulatory actions, land actions, partnership actions, incentives, and investment actions. Actions include undertaking comprehensive plan amendments, adopting pre‑approved housing plans, streamlining design standards to expedite housing production, analyzing development‑ready lands, and pursuing fee/SDC scaling studies. Staff said the HPS lists implementation leads and target years for each action.
State input and revisions: Staff briefed the council on preliminary Department of Land Conservation and Development comments received in November that asked the city to clarify or remove an action tied to pursuing urban growth boundary expansion; staff replied that statute does not prohibit including a coordination action on UGB expansion and strengthened equity analysis language in the draft. Staff revised some action wording to be more committal ("undertake" vs. "evaluate") and confirmed the HPS is not a land‑use decision and so would not be subject to appeal.
Public comment and council discussion: Three written submissions and a handful of in‑person commenters addressed engagement timing and implementation urgency. Speakers from housing advocates and Strong Towns Hillsborough generally supported ambitious actions; at least one community member and staff emphasized the need for clear timelines and public engagement during implementation. Councilors asked about long‑term timelines, new council onboarding and how staff would carry actions forward; staff said many implementation steps will return to council for policy decisions and that onboarding plans are in place to brief incoming councilors.
Implementation: Staff said they will submit the adopted strategy to the Department of Land Conservation and Development for review (120‑day review window) and concurrently begin implementation work, including a housing code audit and a system development charge (SDC) and fee study to be started in early 2025. Some actions, such as land‑capacity analyses and code amendments, will require subsequent council policy decisions and public hearings.
Ending: The council voted unanimously to adopt the HPS (roll call) and staff will move forward with the next steps and state submission.
