June 2025 Monthly Newsletter from Partners for Affordable Housing

Below are the highlights from our June newsletter with what the Partners for Affordable Housing coalition is up to! Click here to read the full newsletter.

DO: Prep for the new City of Bend Housing Production Strategies Committee.

For our partners in Bend, the Bend City Council will be launching a Housing Production Strategies Committee later this summer to evaluate cost reduction and housing production approaches in Bend.

Members of Partners for Affordable Housing are excellent candidates for serving on this committee, and we’re hoping to see solid representation from our coalition within the ranks of the committee.

Do take the time now to discuss whether someone from your organization has the capacity to serve on this committee.

Applications for positions on the committee will likely be posted in July with the committee likely getting started in September. Let’s be ready to jump on these opportunities to shape housing policy in Bend!

SHARE: The “Shot Clock Bill,” SB 974, has been signed into law.

In a major step forward for housing affordability and availability—the Governor signed Senate Bill 974 into law on June 16.

The law establishes a timeline for local jurisdictions to process applications for residential development. Now, applications must be approved within 120 days of being deemed complete—instead of many languishing for long lengths of time.

This bill passed because of supporters like YOU! Thank you to everyone in our coalition who testified, texted, emailed, and voiced support for SB 974!

You can find this social post on our channels and we encourage you to share it on yours. Here is suggested text for sharing:

The time it takes to build a house is going to get faster in Central Oregon! With SB 974 officially signed into law this week, the timeline for critical approvals will be reduced. We’re proud that Partners for Affordable Housing, a coalition of which we’re a member, played a role in showing our support for this important bill.

FAST FACT: HB 2025, the Transportation Bill, is still under discussion

Less than two weeks ago, the State House introduced the transportation package in the form of HB 2025, which could include funding for essential infrastructure in Southeast Bend that would unlock the building of more than 7,500 homes, including 1,000 deed-restricted affordable homes.

Funding this infrastructure has been our coalition’s highest priority in Q2 of this year.

While there was a work session on this bill this Thursday, the future of the transportation package is still uncertain…

Please be ready for quick requests to support this bill as we roll toward Sine Die on June 28.

We will keep you posted!

THANK YOU TO THE BEND CITY COUNCIL! City of Bend adopts 2025-2027 biennium goals, including housing priorities

Partners for Affordable Housing is grateful to the Bend City Council for their visionary leadership in adopting strong housing goals at its June 18 council meeting.

Earlier this year, city staff and councilors were very receptive and welcoming of input from our coalition to help shape the council housing goals as outlined in our Q1 Policy Agenda.

At the June 18 meeting, the Council formally adopted the goals as we had hoped, and we wish to honor and thank these elected leaders for their collaboration with our coalition partners.

THANK YOU, COUNCILORS AND STAFF!

PAH SUMMER SOCIAL: Thanks to everyone who joined us at Midtown Yacht Club!

We thoroughly enjoyed a fun summer afternoon yesterday, gathering and getting to know one another better in person! Thanks to the following coalition members for coming out to Midtown Yacht Club: Bend YIMBY, Bend Chamber, City of Bend, Bethlehem Inn, Bend-Redmond Habitat, Ten Over Studio, Roost Development. Check out our social posts on Facebook and Instagram!

EVENTS: Upcoming Coalition Meetings

Jenny sent out calendar invites for the following meetings - please let us know if you did not receive them!

• Coalition virtual meeting: Tuesday, July 29 from 4 - 6 p.m.

• Coalition virtual meeting: Tuesday, August 26 from 4 - 5 p.m.

PARTNER EVENTS: Check out our coalition members’ events!

Mountain View Community Development and Central Oregon Fuse are hosting two events:

• On June 25 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. will be a screening and panel discussion of the documentary Community First: A Home for the Homeless, a film that highlights the work of Community First! Village, which is an innovative and successful model for mitigating homelessness in Austin, TX. Watch the trailer!

• On June 30 from 10 - 11:30 a.m. will be a Central Oregon community forum, featuring special guest, Alan Graham, the founder of Community First! Village, who will share his personal experiences and our build our community imagination for housing the chronically homeless population.

• Get all the details and register for one or both events here!

Engage Deschutes is hosting a housing discussion:

• On Thursday, June 26 from 6 - 8 p.m. at Unofficial Logging, Engage Deschutes will host its monthly conversation, this time with the theme Housing and Homelessness. The discussion will be about housing production, supply, and the ramifications of low supply with high demand. Get more info on their Facebook event here.

HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT OR EVENT TO SHARE? Let us know by emailing the following information to info@partnersforaffordablehousing.com: background, time and location, and call to action for coalition members.

Everyone is welcome to sign up for our newsletter on our homepage that we send out once a month.