Housing

The following are headlines from a few local news sites on a recent Sunday. In Ashland: “City Council to vote on camping ordinance, consider funding to extend emergency shelter operation.” In Medford: “Medford council worries about draining last federal dollars to help homeless people.” In Grants Pass: “Parents, superintendent want fence between school and homeless campers.” Besides all being about homelessness, there’s another similarity in these stories. None talked about the lack of housing in the Rogue Valley.

The state of Oregon recently approved Ashland’s Housing Production Strategy, which is required by legislation passed in 2019.

Around a hundred Ashland residents brought concerns to a neighborhood meeting Thursday night about a new homeless shelter the city plans to open in November.

California cities of every size lack shelter beds for the state’s growing homeless population. A new bill would force local governments to do more, and punish ones that don’t plan housing for homeless Californians.

Several cities in the Rogue Valley are hosting an open house Thursday night about new rules to promote walkable communities.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration is struggling to contain a worsening homelessness crisis despite record spending, is trying something bold: tapping federal health care funding to cover rent for homeless people and those at risk of losing their housing.

The approximately 1,000 returning students will need to be housed off-campus.

Oregon lawmakers are back in session, and climate advocates say passing laws on building efficiency and grabbing federal funding are critical this year.

California recently announced a $47 Million package of funding going to tribes around the state, to help house indigenous people. The package includes $14 Million for the Wiyot Tribe, to open the Jaroujiji Youth Housing Project in Eureka. David Cobb with the tribe describes the project.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved a grant to help survivors of the Labor Day fires recover and rebuild, two years later.

Until last Friday, Oregon tenants who had applied for emergency rental assistance had protection from eviction for nonpayment.

Even as interest rates rise, and prices start to level out, Oregon's housing market is still “red hot,” Realtors say.