Tovey to co-chair HPAC

By Terry Murry on Monday, March 6th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

SALEM – Today Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has announced the 25 people appointed to her newly-created Housing Production Advisory Council. J.D. Tovey, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, will serve as co-chairman representing rural areas. The other co-chair is Damien Hall, who represents the metro region. He is an attorney practicing in Portland.

Tovey is one of only two people appointed to the 25-member council from Eastern Oregon. The other is Riley Hill of Ontario.

“I know too many Oregonians are struggling to find table housing or on the verge of losing it,” Kotek wrote in a prepared statement. “Employers, particularly in rural and suburban areas, are struggling to hire and keep staff because there is nowhere for them to live or they are commuting from hours away. This is not sustainable. We must build more housing.”

Kotek has set an annual housing production goal of 36,000 additional housing units at all levels of affordability across the state. That is about an 80 percent increase over current construction trends.

The council will hold its first meeting Friday and is expected to provide a framework for achieving their goals by April 1.