Feb. 12, 2025
What happened: On Feb. 12, OBI Senior Policy Director Duke Shepard testified in opposition to HB 2950 before the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water.
What the bill would do: HB 2950 would require the Land Conservation and Development Commission to adopt rules amending Oregon’s land use planning goal on citizen involvement. To that end, HB 2950 would require the Department of Land Conservation and Development to establish an advisory committee that would not include many entities affected by Oregon’s land use system, including businesses.
The problem: As Shepard notes in his testimony, Oregon’s outdated, overly complex land use system has proven inadequate to addressing Oregon’s chronic lack of housing and commercial and industrial land. The system, Shepard testified, is bogged down with bureaucratic processes, endless appeals and a NIMBY culture. HB 2950 would produce more meetings, hearings and appeals, exacerbating existing problems. Click the video to the right to watch his testimony and click the button below it to read his written testimony.
Why it matters: Partly as a result of its outdated land-use system, Oregon is an expensive state in which to live and operate a business. High costs and inadequate land encourage Oregonians and Oregon employers to move to other states or expand in them.