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Wednesday, August 24, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Affordable housing on the horizon in Sisters
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Ask anyone in Sisters what
is one of the greatest needs
in the city and the answer is
likely to be “affordable hous-
ing.” Local merchants report
difficulty in recruiting and
retaining employees because
of the lack of housing, espe-
cially affordable options.
There are individuals and
families living the woods or
in their cars or couch-surfing
due to a lack of affordable
housing.
Last week, Sisters City
Council listened to a proposal
from Tom Kemper, executive
director of Redmond-based
HousingWorks, to construct
30 townhomes, with a mix of
two- and three-bedroom units,
for rent by families earning
60 percent or less of the area
median income (AMI) at the
time of lease. Sixty percent of
the AMI for a family of four
is currently $36,000. Once
approved, tenants may stay in
their units regardless of their
income. Mayor Chris Frye
pointed out that rental hous-
ing for families could pro-
vide additional students for
the school district, which is
another concern of residents.
The 950-square-foot, two-
bedroom, one-and-a-half bath
units would rent for $718 a
month. The rent for the 1,200
square foot, three-bedroom,
one-and-a-half bath units
would be $825 a month. Those
prices are below current mar-
ket rate. Rents would only
go up as the AMI goes up.
The 2.12 acres being con-
sidered for the project are
located on Brooks Camp
Road, behind Ray’s Food
Place, vacant land across
from and west of The Pines
Community Clubhouse. The
land is zoned multifamily
residential.
To assist in developing
the project, Kemper plans
to apply for Oregon Local
Innovation and Fast Track
Housing (LIFT) program
funds, which total $40 mil-
lion. Those funds are being
made available to help pro-
vide affordable rental housing,
with 50 percent earmarked for
communities with fewer than
25,000 residents and 50 per-
cent for communities of color.
The goal of the program is to
build at least 1,250 affordable
rental housing units.
Kemper cited the “insane
housing crisis in Central
Oregon,” and the “develop-
ment costs in Central Oregon
that are higher than San
Diego,” when detailing the
need for this type of program.
He laid out for Council the
projected costs ($5.8 million)
for the completed project,
as well as expected funding
sources, including tax credits,
LIFT funds ($1.14 million),
HousingWorks sponsor loan,
and investors loan, totaling
$5.5 million, leaving a fund-
ing gap of $300,000.
Kemper asked the City
to consider filling that fund-
ing gap through a combina-
tion of cash, fee waivers, and
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builder’s incentives. Council
must have a decision by
September, when the applica-
tion for the LIFT funds will
be made. Kemper thinks there
is a high probability they
will receive the LIFT funds
because of less competition
than for other types of pro-
grams. If all goes as planned,
construction would begin in
spring 2017.
Currently, HousingWorks
is starting construction on
a similar 53-unit project
in Bend, near St. Charles
Medical Center. They are
partnering with Portland
builder Silco Construction on
the Bend project, with Silco
agreeing to also build the
Sisters project and another in
La Pine.
Sharlene Weed, execu-
tive director of Habitat for
Humanity, who was in atten-
dance at the workshop, stated
there is a need for one-bed-
room units for single work-
ers and seniors, and urged
Kemper to consider including
some one-bedroom units. He
said it might be possible to
consider four one-bedroom
units, which would add about
$40,000 to the funding gap.
Because of the shortage
of affordable rentals and the
large number of residents
needing them, tenants would
be chosen by a lottery sys-
tem to give everyone an equal
chance. Applications would
be taken and interviews
conducted for one week.
Qualifying applicants would
then be entered in the lottery.
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In Bend, they received 285
applications for 53 units.
In response to questions
from Council about want-
ing Sisters residents to get
the units, if the City commits
funds to the project, Kemper
said they would market the
project in Sisters first with
Nugget ads, press releases,
and informing local employ-
ers. Due to fair-housing
requirements, applications
can’t be limited to only Sisters
residents/employees.
Council has directed staff
to review the City budget
and prepare several pos-
sible options for funding
the $340,000 request from
Kemper.
Another affordable-hous-
ing project by HousingWorks,
through its LLC Housing
Impact, is currently underway
in the Skygate development.
Seven single-family homes
are being constructed across
Camp Polk Road from the
Sisters airport. These homes
are for sale and the homebuy-
ers must earn 80 percent or
less of the AMI. Three homes
are nearly completed, and
construction will start on the
remaining four as soon as the
first three sell.
The homebuyer will pur-
chase the home for $180,000
and lease the land for $85 a
month. For a single person, 80
percent AMI is $33,450; for a
family of four it is $47,750.
To help the City fund
future affordable-housing
incentives, Council is consid-
ering imposing a construction
excise tax (affordable-housing
fee), which has been made
possible by the passage of SB
1533 by the legislature. The
law allows municipalities to
establish inclusionary zon-
ing ordinances and/or a con-
struction excise tax on new
construction, to encourage the
construction of more afford-
able housing in the state.
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