The need for housing in Hood River is acute and urgent. Data consistently shows that our housing crisis is one of the worst in Oregon, despite the numerous actions taken by the city to incentivize the private development of attainable housing types over the past decade.
Voters this November can address this by approving Measure 14-85, which is a general obligation bond designed to prevent the displacement of local workers, children, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities who make up the fabric of this community.
The bond specifically targets housing for household incomes within the 0-120% Area Median Income level (households earning less than approximately $100,000 per year). This income level includes residents in professions like nurses, EMTs, food service workers, teaching assistants, and social service providers. The bond is designed to prioritize current Hood River workers and those with historical ties to the community to the extent allowed by law.
Between 2012-2024, Hood River home values increased 138.7% while incomes only rose 53.6%. This has resulted in many longtime residents being priced out of living in Hood River. Building permits for new dwelling units have slowed from 40-60 per year in the 2010s to five to 15 per year post pandemic. These permits for private housing development are not yielding a mixture of housing types as economic challenges force the construction of profitable larger single-family homes for households earning well-above 120% AMI.
The cost of housing is making it hard for employers to recruit skilled workers, according to the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District. About 80% of Hood River workers now commute here from somewhere else. Half of city fire and police staff live outside the county.
The cost of housing is directly hurting our school district, which has seen declining enrollment due to the “local shortage of affordable housing,” according to their latest budget. There was a 17.6% reduction in school-aged children in Hood River County from 2015-2025, compared to a 5.9% decline statewide over the same period. Lower enrollment means less state funds and staffing reductions.
Measure 14-85 would authorize $8.7 million in bonding through property taxes for the city to speed up the creation of housing for the 0-120% AMI bracket. It uses the public-private partnership model that Hood River voters overwhelmingly approved through Measure 102 (2018) that added this form of bonding to our constitution. The city would leverage these funds to buy land and bring together financing from federal, state, and philanthropic sources to stretch our tax dollars further and build smaller scale housing projects like rental units, co-ops, and limited equity ownership homes like those being developed by land trusts.
Projects created via the bond funding will have public committee oversight and will be scoped to complement the nearly completed Mariposa Village project designed for residents with household incomes in the 30-60% AMI band. For that project, the city was able to leverage $1.7 million in city resources to secure $54 million in additional funding.
The typical homeowner will end up paying less than $9 a month for this bond (Estimated Tax Rate 0.39 per $1,000 of assessed value). That’s a small price to pay for preserving the vitality of our community and making it a place all people can call home. The City of Hood River has a Bond Cost Estimator Tool on their website to calculate your monthly cost.
Please join us in voting yes for Measure 14-85!
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Gladys Rivera is president of Hood River City Council and Doug Stepina a city councilor.
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