If you attended WEA’s March Policy Conference you had the opportunity to hear from our Region 1 ODOT Manager Rian Windsheimer on the funding challenges currently faced by our state transportation agency. In preparing for the conference, I had the opportunity to watch this short video which highlighted the critical need for identifying new funding sources to maintain and upgrade our critical infrastructure.
There are few issues that have captured the zeitgeist of our regional imagination as much as housing affordability in the 2020s.
We know that, historically, population growth, limited housing supply and strong demand lead to a rise in housing costs. We also know that the last few years of the Feds’ interest rate increases, as they work to control inflation, have also played a role. However, what we are learning is that not all of these factors are at play. For example, data tells us that we have seen a regional decline in population (though recent reporting tells us the decline has “slowed to a trickle”) most notably in Multnomah and Washington counties. And so, what other forces may be influencing the cost (and availability) of housing?
Today I want to take a beat to thank everyone who helped make last week’s 2024 Policy Conference a success.
As we continue to try new meeting formats and push to create meaningful and impactful content, we don’t always know how it will land. By all accounts, this particular risk paid off.
It is “that” time of year when the pace of politics across our region, and state, kicks up a notch. We are deep in the State of the City schedule with Hillsboro’s last month, Beaverton’s last night, and more populating our schedules in the coming months (see below for calendar of announced dates). The legislature is close to ending session with some major legislation moving to the Governor’s Desk. And the primary ballot (Election Day is May 21) is shaping up with levies, initiatives and candidates.
Which is one of the reasons we chose next week, March 14, to host our 2024 Policy Conference. We are honored to bring together three panels of some of our state’s best and brightest to talk about what it looks like to create collaborations that allow us to direct our growth.
The Westside Economic Alliance is proud to have a broad and diverse group of members who care deeply about the future of our communities. The strength of our membership is demonstrated through how we support each other as we work to bolster the economy across the Westside and ensure critical services are protected. This characteristic was on display again at the recent Government Relations Committee meeting, at which, the committee recommended the following to the WEA Board of Directors, which they approved:
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue’s May Local Option Levy
WEA supports TVF&R’s May Local Option Levy to protect emergency management staffing and service levels.
Last week, the WEA Land Use and Housing Committee welcomed Bret Marchant and Nick Triska from Greater Portland Inc to update us on the status of industrial land readiness and how it impacts our economic competitiveness. The hard truth we re-learned from the presentation is that Oregon has made little progress in addressing the near total absence of land available for employers to capitalize on the growth in manufacturing investment happening across the country.
While WEA believes it is a hugely positive step that the legislature is having a much needed debate on how to address our housing crisis this month, we also believe we need to ramp up our work to figure out how to truly identify land and make it ready for employers to create more jobs on the westside.
It’s hard to believe we are already rounding the corner on the end of 2024. We’ve hosted two committee meetings, our Annual Legislative Reception, a Board of Directors meeting and navigated the winter ice storm like the rest of the region.
But that’s not all, we have been busy getting our March 14 Policy Conference ready to launch. One of the limitations of our forums is that we only have a one-hour block of time to try to have robust and complex policy conversations. This one-half day conference will provide us a chance to dig a little deeper. Registration will open next week with early registration pricing for members and non-members. We’ve worked hard to bring together our region’s best and brightest and will roll out our panel topics and speakers soon.
In 2023 Westside Economic Alliance hosted eight in person forums, two online forums plus countless committees. We sat at the Metro Freight and Commodity study table, the Statewide Toll Rulemaking Advisory Committee and continue to sit at Metro’s Urban Growth Report Stakeholder table. We have worked hard to convene important and meaningful conversations about what it takes to lead our own growth as a region, what it looks like to build truly innovative public-private partnerships, and have asked questions about how we realize a vibrant future for our region.
One of the challenges we face is ensuring that when “regional” conversations are convened, voices from Washington and Clackamas counties (we represent both), are not just at the table, but are at the table in a meaningful and equal way as those from the central city. In 2023, we worked hard to make sure that we got to the tables where we thought that voice needed to be heard.
Westside Economic Alliance hosted its’ final forum of the year at a December 4th luncheon. This year’s State of the Westside was moderated by Espousal Strategies CEO Johnell Bell and used the organization’s 25th anniversary to anchor the conversation.
First, taking a look back at development of Intel’s Ronler acres, the full house had the opportunity to hear how this region took calculated risks for what turned out to be a great reward. Local jurisdictions used smart planning and economic development tools like Urban Renewal districts while the private sector, in particular PacTrust, worked to bring together a patchwork of landowners to make way for Intel’s early growth. The second panel took a look ahead at what our region might look like at the end of the next quarter century.
As WEA continues celebrating our 25th year, it is the perfect time to talk about the work we do.
Westside Economic Alliance was built to be a public-private table that would convene to discuss the hard questions. From transportation projects and their funding to urban growth decisions to economic development financing tools, WEA has used our Board of Directors table, our public forums and our partnerships to work through these complicated, sometimes, heated issues.