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Oregon City became severely rent-burdened in 2020, meaning that more than 25% of its households spend more than half of their income on rent. However, the city has refused to revise its new annexation process, which has significantly stymied housing production. As reported in a recent Portland Tribune article, HBA encouraged the city to remove its voter-approved annexation policy, which is a barrier to land for new housing and creates upward pressure on housing costs. Unfortunately, the Oregon City Commission unanimously decided to keep the policy in place last month in direct violation of Senate Bill 1573, which was upheld in a recent Court of Appeals ruling. SB1573 is critical to meeting Oregon City’s expected housing needs. No land has been annexed into the city since the commission implemented the restrictive annexation process last year. To learn more about HBA’s involvement in Oregon City, contact Roseann Johnson at roseannj@hbapdx.org.