Gov. Tina Kotek is looking for people to serve on her newly created Housing Production Advisory Council.
She established the council through one of the three executive orders she signed during her first full day in office, Jan. 10.
The group will be responsible for proposing an action plan to meet the state’s housing production goals. As part of her executive order, Kotek set a goal for the state to produce 36,000 new homes a year over the next 10 years. That is an 80% increase over the current rate of construction.
Oregon has a housing shortage of 110,000 homes.
Kotek’s council will be made up of 25 people, including the governor or her designee, and members of both parties from the House and Senate. She aims for it to be a “diverse and representative council.”
"The Governor is looking to appoint housing developers with expertise in permanent supportive, affordable, and market rate housing, representatives of rural and coastal communities, communities of color, local government representatives, and experts in land use, fair housing, permitting, workforce development, and construction," her office said in a news release Thursday.
Two people have already been selected, one of whom is Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City.
“It is an honor to be selected to serve on this Council and help promote solutions for the housing crisis. We are in desperate need to find fast and innovative ways to increase the supply of housing in all corners of Oregon," he said in a news release. "The Governor has ambitious plans to double our housing unit production per year, and I will be an outspoken proponent of cutting red tape, streamlining the process, and getting decisions down to the local level as fast as possible.”
Anderson is the vice-chair of the Senate's Housing and Development Committee.
Andrea Bell, the director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, a state agency, will also serve on the council.
“This moment in time requires us to act with urgency and humanity to pursue solutions that meet the moment to address this housing crisis,” Bell said in a news release. “Housing is intersectional to everything. Economic justice, closing the racial wealth gap, improving public health outcomes and meeting our climate goals are dependent upon us, collectively, addressing this crisis.”
Oregonians interested in serving on the council can apply here.
Applications are due Feb. 15.