West Linn Planning Commission Meeting: Housing Production Strategy Recommendation, April 2, 2025

The West Linn Planning Commission held a public hearing on April 2, 2025, to consider a recommendation to City Council on the adoption of the West Linn Housing Production Strategy (HPS), a six-year plan required by state law (ORS 197A.100) to address identified housing needs. The meeting included a staff presentation, commissioner discussion, and a unanimous vote to recommend adoption with a delay on one controversial strategy.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Alice Richmond spoke during public comment on non-agenda items, expressing concerns about insufficient notification and outreach to long-time residents, particularly regarding development changes in the city.

Discussion Items

• The main item was Public Hearing PLN-25-01, a proposal to adopt the West Linn Housing Production Strategy. Staff (Darren Wyss) and consultants Matt Hasty and Brendan Buckley from MIG Consulting presented a truncated version of the 12 recommended strategies, emphasizing the context, process, and specific actions to meet housing needs identified in the city's Housing Capacity Analysis.
• Key statistics noted: 33% of needed housing over the next 20 years is for low, very low, or extremely low-income households; about two-thirds of projected needed housing units are for owner-occupied housing.
• The 12 strategies include rezoning land, encouraging smaller dwelling units, updating system development charges (SDCs), property tax exemptions (MUPTE, low-income rental, homeownership), tax increment financing (TIF), land acquisition, zoning incentives, construction excise tax (CET), and fair housing education.
• Commissioners expressed concerns primarily about the Construction Excise Tax (CET, strategy #10), citing high cost and effort, potential burden on residential development, and limited commercial construction in West Linn that could offset revenue. Commissioner Tom Watton noted that single-family new construction costs around $675,000 for a small home, and that the city's code does not currently allow the higher-density development seen in other cities. Commissioner Gary Wolvetney questioned the holistic impact, noting high land costs. Commissioner Chris Schulte-Hillen asked about tiered exemptions for certain housing types.
• Staff clarified that CET is flexible, can be tailored, and revenues go into a separate fund for affordable housing. They also noted that several other cities have implemented CET, but Lake Oswego did not and is still under state review.
• Commissioner Wolvetney made a motion to recommend approval of the HPS with a modification: delay consideration of strategy #10 (CET) to the next update cycle (2028-2030), aligning with the three-year state assessment. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Tom Watton.

Key Outcomes

• The Planning Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to recommend that City Council adopt the West Linn Housing Production Strategy with the recommended change to delay the Construction Excise Tax (strategy #10) to the future update cycle.
• The complete record of the hearing will be sent to City Council. Council will hold its own public hearing and decision on the HPS on May 12, 2025. The final decision is not appealable as it is not a land use action.
• Upcoming meetings were announced: a Vision 43 work session (April 16), and in May, work sessions on FEMA model code and a targeted code amendment on density calculation and lot design.