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6/30/2021 Member News

HBA Briefs Stakeholders on Oregon City Annexation Code


This month HBA provided further analysis and educational briefings to stakeholders regarding Oregon City’s recently-adopted annexation code amendments. This followed the city’s legislative findings in response to HBA’s formal letter opposing the amendments and voter-approved annexation policy. HBA's position is that the adopted revised annexation code violates clear and objective standards for housing pursuant to Oregon Revised Statute 197.307(4). HBA believes that annexation code regulates the development of housing which would require a clear and objective path for bringing residentially-designated land into city limits. Unfortunately, Oregon City’s annexation code amendments would allow the city unfettered control to deny annexations, which are critical to providing land to accommodate the city’s housing needs.

The adopted amendments are in response to a 2020 Court of Appeals ruling, which upheld Senate Bill 1573, and requires cities to process certain qualifying annexation applications without a vote. Unfortunately, the city’s current annexation policy still requires voter-approved annexation notwithstanding SB1573, and continues to stymie housing production. No land has been annexed into the city since the commission implemented its restrictive process last year. Following the Court of Appeals ruling, HBA encouraged the city to remove its voter-approved annexation policy, as reported in a recent Portland Tribune article. To learn more about HBA’s involvement in clear and objective standards for housing, or in Oregon City, contact Roseann Johnson at roseannj@hbapdx.org.