FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 5A
HOUSING
MERA
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
Boquist noted the lack of
upper-middle and upper-end
housing creates problems
in La Grande. The expan-
sion of Grande Ronde Hos-
pital or Eastern Oregon
University, for example,
can create more jobs and
a need for housing in the
upper-income category. If
these homebuyers or renters
end up living in housing
they wouldn’t otherwise
have chosen, the next level
down in the middle income
range has to do the same.
This leads to lower-income
housing being less available
for those who need it based
on their salary.
This is a problem that has
little possible solutions other
than building more homes.
The April joint work ses-
sion looked over a memo
from Cascadia Partners, a
consulting fi rm based in
Portland. The goal of its
plan was to present strat-
egies for La Grande’s
Housing Production
Strategy, which Boquist said
he hopes will go before the
city during the summer.
One of the most preva-
lent proposals is lowering
the minimum lot size for
single-family detached
homes, townhouses, tri-
plexes/quadplexes and
multi-family developments.
This would allow the city
to reduce the land cost per
unit and still be compatible
with existing lot sizes and
density patterns, according
to one strategy at the work
session.
The work session also
proposed reducing barriers
to cottage housing devel-
opments and accessory
dwelling units to open up
more space for housing.
ADUs are units that can
be located on an own-
er’s property and rented.
One action proposed the
city should allow ADUs
to exist on a site with a
duplex as well.
The Housing Produc-
tion Strategy recommended
amending unnecessary
codes to limit barriers on
construction in existing
buildings. This would allow
existing buildings in down-
town La Grande to be devel-
oped into housing units and
save money while doing so.
Several other elements
of property development
were addressed in the work
session, including the city
basing water and sewer con-
Stanhope cut and pro-
vided, also have live-edge
siding.
Elijah Romer, a
member of the Blue
Mountain Singletrack
Trails Club, said the shel-
ter’s siding helps it blend
in perfectly.
“Instead of looking
like an eyesore, it looks
like it is meant to be
there,” Romer said.
“I told Forrest it is a
work of art.”
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A for-sale sign sits outside a small home on Jeff erson Avenue in La Grande on Monday, May 17, 2021. The
city has seen the housing market dry up with prospective homeowners competing for a thin market and
new renters fi nding diffi culty in establishing housing.
nection fees on the size of
lots and not size of homes.
The HPS encouraged scale
development fees that are
proportional to the unit size.
Boquist pointed out a
single-family house versus
a duplex or triplex on the
same plot of land will pay
the same fees on the same
connection to get water.
“That’s something we
have to look at to see how
easy it would be to change,”
he said. “How do you then
implement that across the
board so it’s fair?”
The remaining sec-
tions of the strategy report
focused on implementing
new partnerships and sup-
porting local partners in
acquiring land to improve
the housing setup. The sec-
tions point out that orga-
nizing public resources can
improve the development
of housing units and reduce
funding through the modifi -
cation of previously funded
infrastructure.
“We could fi gure out
how to do a public-pri-
vate partnership or if public
works can use some of their
resources to help with some
of the water-sewer-street
infrastructure in order to
reduce costs for develop-
ment,” Boquist said.
Another major infl u-
ence in the shortage of
housing is Eastern Oregon
University students who
want to live off campus. In
EOU’s guide to off -campus
housing and informa-
tion document on its web-
site, the school states that
fi nding off -campus housing
is a challenge. The market
for aff ordable housing in
La Grande is usually tight
and competitive.
With that added presence
of prospective renters, the
market becomes less fl ex-
ible in La Grande.
“We house a majority
of our freshman students,
then after that they tend to
want to move off campus,”
said EOU Director of Res-
idence Life Jeremy David
Jones. “We currently have
120 beds that are slated for
upperclassmen.”
EOU houses approxi-
mately 400 students, which
means only about 25% of
that group is upperclass stu-
dents. The remaining upper-
class students fi nd housing
options off campus, which
dips into the overall tight-
ness of availability.
Finding a place to live in
La Grande also can be diffi -
cult for prospective renters
who have lower incomes
but do not meet the income
requirements of subsidized
housing. That leaves them
with a scramble to fi nd a
living situation to accom-
modate their price range.
Basic apartment search
websites typically only have
one or two available list-
ings, then a large number
listed with no availability.
Timing can be an issue in
La Grande, depending on
the urgency of the move-in
date with new renters or
buyers.
“For homes for sale,
there is a shortage of prop-
erties because there are
more buyers than sellers,”
said Valley Realty principal
broker Anita Fager. “Prices
are rising because of that
supply shortage.”
Many times, listings for
rent may be three-bedroom
units or larger, making it
diffi cult for solo renters. In
those bigger units, either
families or groups of stu-
dents will usually look to
rent.
“Students are known for
partnering up, and they’ll
put three or four students
in an apartment to share
that rent, while the average
person in town isn’t going to
do that,” Boquist said.
Even though demand
and availability for units
is an issue, La Grande’s
cost of living is well below
the national average and
the average in the state of
Oregon. With the national
average being 100, Best-
Places rates La Grande’s
cost of housing at 76.9 com-
pared to 148.9 for the state
of Oregon.
The correlation between
low housing costs and lack
of availability seems to
point to the opportunity for
many new residents if more
units were available.
Construction on La
Grande’s newest apartment
complex, Timber Ridge
Apartments, is set to begin
in July. The $23.7 million
project will open up 104
units for low-income renters
on East Q Avenue between
26th and 27th streets.
“I suspect that’s going
to have a pretty signifi cant
impact on our housing expe-
rience,” Jones said.
Phase 2 of the 2019
Housing Needs Anal-
ysis entails a fully pre-
pared housing production
strategy, which Boquist
anticipates the La Grande
City Council will see by
July. This will consist of
a detailed list of strategies
and approaches to improve
La Grande’s housing
shortage moving forward.
Erin Taggart/Contributed Photo
training, off ered through
Zoom, begins June 1 and is
held Tuesdays and Thurs-
days from 5:30-8 p.m. for
four weeks.
For more information,
send an email to info@
casaeo.org or apply for the
training at casaeo.org.
District 13 — which
includes Baker, Union and
Wallowa counties — has a
total of 42 court-appointed
special advocates.
Collard said more
trained advocates are
needed because there
always is a list of chil-
dren waiting for a CASA in
Baker and Union counties.
“Our goal is to always
have trained advocates
ready and waiting,” she
said.
This can be challenging
in smaller towns.
“We want to match an
advocate and child and
make sure there is no con-
fl ict of interest,” Taggart
said. “We need a diverse
pool of individuals.”
“Just because a volun-
teer is available, they may
not be a good fi t,” Collard
said.
The goal, she said, is for
a CASA to stay with that
child’s case for the duration
— until the child returns
home or is placed in a safe,
permanent home.
FOSTER
Continued from Page 1A
education and insight on
foster care.
“The idea is that
everyone can do something.
And with every engagement
we hope they learn more
about fostering,” she said.
Every Child also pro-
vides a portal for those who
are interested in learning
more about becoming a
foster parent.
To learn more about
Every Child, go to every-
childneoregon.org. There is
also a Facebook page.
CASAs
CASA of Eastern
Oregon covers Baker and
Union counties. It is led by
Mary Collard.
Taggart is program
director of Wallowa Coun-
ty’s court-appointed spe-
cial advocate program. It is
a nonprofi t program man-
dated by the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Collard explains CASA
like this: “to recruit, train
and support citizens to
advocate for the best inter-
ests of children who have
been abused and neglected
who are in the dependency
court system and experi-
encing foster care.”
Erin Taggart said court-appointed special advocate Liz Tarrant, here
with Taggart’s son Marshall in 2013, “helped bring Marshall forever
home.”
When a judge appoints
the CASA program to a
child’s case, a CASA volun-
teer is matched to that child
(or children, in the case of
siblings).
The advocate then
researches the case infor-
mation, gets to know the
child, and makes connec-
tions with the people in
the child’s life, including
teachers and doctors.
“Helping the judge
having eyes and ears on the
child,” Collard explained.
The monthly time com-
mitment averages between
two and 15 hours.
The CASA then “makes
a recommendation to the
judge regarding the best
interests of the child,” Col-
lard said.
In simple terms, the
court-appointed special
advocate represents what
the child needs. By con-
trast, Collard said, an
attorney represents what
the child wants.
CASA volunteers com-
plete a 30-hour national
curriculum. The next
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JOSEPH
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the city’s parks director,
Dennis Welch, that led to
him taking eight weeks
off for health reasons
related to the alleged
harassment. Welch
returned to work Sunday,
May 16, after discussing
the matter with Eckstein.
Braden speaks
The interim admin-
istrator spoke to the
Chieftain the same day
he talked to Braden to
hear his side of the story.
However, Eckstein said,
Braden didn’t get specifi c
about the type of harass-
ment or who he consid-
ered guilty.
“He loves the commu-
nity; he loves everyone
here; he wants his family
to be able to walk down
the street without any
kind of harassment,” Eck-
stein said. “He just wants
to walk away from it.”
Since Braden’s resig-
nation letter only men-
tioned harassment, it was
not known if he consid-
ered it a legal issue. But
Eckstein got a sense of
what Braden meant.
“It was borderline
more toward the legal
level,” Eckstein said
Thursday. “Taking in his
initial complaints today,
he didn’t really give a
lot of clarifi cation to the
council or anyone, for that
matter, on how he was
harassed. All he gave was
what was in his letter. To
be honest, he didn’t go
much farther than that
letter of resignation with
me.”
He said Braden
doesn’t appear to want
the issue to devolve into
mudslinging.
Health guidelines due to
the COVID-19 pandemic
presented challenges over
the past year. To stay con-
nected, advocates have
visited children in an out-
side location, or connected
through an online video
platform to do activities or
work on puzzles.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s
still some connection,” Col-
lard said.
CASAs are required to
see the child at least every
30 days.
“Everyone has had to
be really fl exible,” Collard
said.
Overall, she said,
everyone involved in a
child’s case has a common
goal: “We’re partners.
Everyone wants the same
thing for this child — a
safe, permanent home.”
Grants
Grant funds assist non-
profi t organizations in sup-
porting foster children and
foster families.
A grant from the Eastern
Oregon Coordinated Care
Organization is earmarked
to support, recruit and edu-
cate foster parents, espe-
cially with specialized
training. It has also funded
a part-time foster parent
liaison who makes contact
immediately when a foster
Romer said the shelter
will serve many func-
tions. He said he plans to
take his family there for
picnics and may teach
outdoor classes there.
He also said it will be a
great place for people to
stay while they wait for
help to arrive if they have
a bicycle breakdown or
such, or get caught in a
storm.
Bill Gerst, a member
of the trails club network,
said the shelter has a reas-
suring presence.
“It is comforting to
know it is there,” he said.
“He did not name
names, and he won’t,”
Eckstein said. “He just
wants to fi nd a peaceful
resolution. My job, how-
ever, is to make sure this
stuff never happens again.
That’s why I was brought
in.”
Investigation outcome
But Eckstein’s inves-
tigation has uncovered
suffi cient allegations to
prompt the May 27 ses-
sion with Baum.
“I do have enough sit-
uational evidence to pro-
ceed with an executive
and open session with the
city attorney,” he said.
During this week’s
executive session, Eck-
stein said he anticipates
discussion of particular
council members — or
the mayor — and their
actions in relation to
the alleged harassment.
He and Baum expect to
make recommendations
as to punishment that the
council must take action
on in open session.
Possible repercussions
“Obviously, we can’t
force anyone to resign,
but we can make a
strong recommenda-
tion,” Eckstein said.
“There can be things
like censuring, restrict
their right to vote, pull
them off committees,
you could lock them out
of city hall — there’s a
couple diff erent options,
and I’ve seen about
every one under the sun
get exercised. … (The
council is) going to
have to decide on those
recommendations.”
Eckstein said he hopes
the May 27 actions begin
to resolve some of the
issues that have plagued
Joseph city government.
child is placed in a home
and can help arrange meals
or gather needed supplies.
Grant funds also help
with appreciation events to
recognize foster families
and advocates.
How to help
Monetary donations are
always welcome to sup-
port the mission of Every
Child and CASA of Eastern
Oregon.
For information on how
to donate to CASA, visit
casaeo.org or send a dona-
tion to CASA of Eastern
Oregon, 2024 Main St.,
Baker City 97814.
To support Every Child
NE Oregon, go to every-
childneoregon.org or send
a donation to Building
Healthy Families, Attn:
Every Child NE Oregon,
207 N.E. Park St., Enter-
prise 97828.
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