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West Linn council adopts housing production strategy, delays construction excise tax implementation
Summary
The council adopted West Linn's housing production strategy (Resolution 2025-02) with two edits to address accessible housing; members agreed to delay implementing a construction excise tax to allow more study and community engagement.
The West Linn City Council on May 12 adopted the city's Housing Production Strategy (HPS), voting to approve Resolution 2025-02 with two modifications to improve policies for accessible housing.
Darren Wise, the city's planning manager, told the council the HPS "identifies strategies the city will pursue over the next six calendar years to meet the community's housing needs and comply with ORS 197.800." Consultant Matt Hasty summarized three broad categories of actions in the plan: (1) increasing land and zoning capacity for medium and higher-density housing, (2) incentives and tools to encourage smaller and more accessible units, and (3) funding and programs to support affordable housing.
Hasty described the construction excise tax (CET) in detail and how jurisdictions typically allocate revenue: "There's a cap that can't be more than 1% of the value ... 0.5 of that needs to then be put back into incentives for development," he said, noting 35% of residential CET revenue must fund affordable housing programs and 15% goes to the state under current rules. He also said the Department of Land Conservation and Development asked the city to call out actions addressing accessible housing in the document.
Council members debated the CET's timing more than its inclusion. One councilor said the city is "strapped for resources" and needs revenue, while also warning that a CET can raise development costs; another said she preferred shifting the CET's implementation later in the HPS time frame to allow more analysis and outreach. Ultimately the council adopted the strategy "as recommended by the planning commission with two minor changes, strategies 2 and 9, to address accessible housing," and voted in favor by roll call.
The council's adoption starts the reporting process to the state; staff said the planning commission made its recommendation on April 2 and that the HPS is required by state administrative rules. Next steps include follow-up studies and public engagement on any future CET proposal and implementation details.
