Senate Bill 1537 Announcement
Two key provisions of Senate Bill 1537 (SB 1537 or the bill) are in effect as of January 1, 2025. The bill was adopted by the Oregon State Legislature and signed into law in 2024. The bill advances tools that will increase housing production, affordability and choice throughout Oregon.
Mandatory Adjustments
The "mandatory adjustment" provision of the bill allows temporary flexibility on specified land use regulations for qualifying residential developments. The bill requires local governments grant adjustments to specific development and design standards applied to the development of housing if an application meets certain conditions. An "adjustment" is a deviation from an existing land use regulation.
To learn more about eligibility requirements and eligible standards for adjustment, please see the Senate Bill 1537 Mandatory Adjustment Summary. This provision of the bill sunsets on January 2, 2032.
The Housing Accountability and Production Office (HAPO) has established a publicly accessible Mandatory Adjustment to Housing Standards Dashboard. This resource allows you to track status of exemption requests to mandatory adjustments, track and submit public comment and visualize the application of regulatory relief to housing production across Oregon.
Limited Land Use Decisions
Limited land use decisions govern the review of development applications by local governments. These decisions must provide notice and opportunity for written comments, and final decisions are accompanied with staff findings explaining the criteria or standards related to the decision. Local governments may provide for a local hearing on appeal of a limited land use decision.
Senate Bill 1537 makes two key changes to limited land use decisions:
- The bill adds three new types of applications to the statute: replats, property line adjustments, and extensions, alterations, or expansions of a nonconforming use. This is in addition to tentative subdivision or partition plans and site or design review for outright permitted uses, which were previously defined as limited land use decisions.
- The bill requires cities to apply limited land use procedures to all of these application types, except a city may instead alternatively apply a ministerial process.
Local Exemptions
The bill also allows local governments to request exemptions from these requirements through HAPO. HAPO prepared a guidance document for local governments with detailed instructions for submitting exemption applications. Once HAPO receives an application, the office has 120 days to issue a final decision. During review, the bill provisions are deferred until the office issues a decision.
Notice of Mandatory Adjustment Exemption Request and Public Comment Opportunity
The City of Salem was the first jurisdiction to submit an application for an exemption to the mandatory adjustment provision of SB 1537. HAPO is now inviting public comment on the city's submitted application. The application materials are available on the Mandatory Adjustment to Housing Standards Dashboard and the DLCD website.
If you would like to provide comments on the report, please send them to HAPO by email to DLCD.HAPO@dlcd.oregon.gov. The comment period closes in 45-days or on March 1, 2025.
Additional Information
At the end of the 45-day public comment period, HAPO will gather and publish any comments received on the Mandatory Adjustment to Housing Standards Dashboard as an attachment to the final decision.
Public comments relating to the approval criteria above will be taken into consideration during this decision-making process. The final decision on Salem's exemption request will be made on or before April 15, 2025.
HAPO's decision regarding the exemption may not be appealed.
|
