By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation,
With fewer people regularly attending church services, congregations with underused land in city centers want to convert their property into housing for those without a roof over their heads—and a bipartisan bill in the Oregon State Legislature could help.
More than half of the 153 congregations in the United Methodist Church’s Oregon-Idaho conference see fewer than 25 people attending services on Sundays, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, so they want to create housing on their underused property in city centers. But before construction can begin, development costs such as municipal fees and feasibility or traffic studies can be overwhelming. House Bill 2964 would provide grants and loans of up to $200,000 to cover some of those initial costs for nonprofits looking to help resolve homelessness.
The Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon helped draft the legislation sponsored by Reps. Cyrus Javadi, R-Tillamook, and Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie.
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