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Hello Friends,
First and foremost, I want to thank all of those that responded to the Lazy River South fire yesterday in La Pine. Due to your swift response, people were quickly and safely evacuated, and with your diligent and hard work, the fire contained. As a reminder burn-season has ended for La Pine District and you can haul your pine needles and other ladder-fuels to the Deschutes County Transfer sites. The South Transfer Station will be accepting yard debris for free on May 17th and 18th as part of the FireFree program.
With the threat of fire looming as days are warming up, I continue to push for legislation that will help Central Oregonians prepare and protect themselves from potential wildfire threat. This week we moved one step closer in getting our Wildfire Protection Bill (2222) bill to the Governor’s desk. On Tuesday, HB 2222 passed the Senate committee of on Environment and Natural Resources with unanimous support. This legislation will add teeth and reinforce previous wildfire protection legislation by requiring mandatory reporting by the Oregon Department of Forestry on current things being done to mitigate fire-risk. The Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act of 1997 placed responsibility on ODF to help identify neighborhoods that are at risk for wildfire. This act further promotes that ODF supply owners with information and resources on fuel-reduction methods to protect their home and property from the threat of fire. This bill now moves onto the Senate, and we will continue to update you as this bill progresses.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone that came out to our affordable housing town hall last Saturday. We had a great turnout and a thoughtful discussion on housing. A special thank you, to Redmond Mayor George Endicott and Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone, for attending as well and engaging in our discussions about affordable housing.
During the town hall, we discussed the next steps on the Redmond Affordable Housing Bill (HB 2336) that has been passed and signed into law. Redmond will bring in an additional 485 new homes. Redmond City Manager Keith Witcosky gave an excellent presentation outlining the vision of the city to develop this new area, Skyline Village, which will include, mixed-use buildings, middle housing, and single-family homes. If you would like a copy of the city of Redmond’s presentation of Skyline Village, please let my office know at rep.jackzika@oregonlegislature.gov.
I hope to continue with the success of this bill by pushing for legislation that would bring this project to other areas of Oregon that are facing similar housing issues.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss more legislation we have seen this year, please don’t hesitate to call my office at 503-986-1453 or email me at rep.jackzika@oregonlegislature.gov.
Sincerely,
Jack Zika
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Thank you to those that attended last week's town hall! We had a packed crowd and an engaging discussion on affordable housing! |
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1453
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-387, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.JackZika@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/zika
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