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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2015)
Street Roots • April 3-9, 2015 Page 3 E d it o r ia l City Council stands firm in URA housing vote T I t was as if some long-lost, housing-positive energy descended upon City Hall this past Wednesday. It was the vote - or rather a series of votes - that reminded onlookers that housing for all once was — and should be again — a priority for our civic leaders, developers and neighborhoods. It was a City Council decision to O S m rededicate the North Macadam _______________ Urban Renewal Area - the last downtown URA with significant open land for housing development — to its original promise to include low-income housing. This URA is the city’s funding mechanism behind the South Waterfront development, where high-end apartments are plentiful, with more coming every year. It has been a boon for developers and people who can shell out thousands each month for a small apartment But the city’s low-income obligations to the URA funding — 270 low-income units — have never been met and were soon to be abandoned. The Portland Housing Bureau intended to drop its goal. It seemed the path of least resistance. To Commissioner Nick Fish, who challenged the city’s intended plan, this was like “lowering the river rather than raising the bridge.” On Wednesday, the City Council passed his resolution to solidify its intent to actually build new affordable housing in the city’s core. It was paired with a set of amendments to the city’s URA policies, brought forth by Mayor Charlie Hales JL E D S T that dedicate more tax revenue from that area to affordable housing. Together, the City Council passed a collection of policies that will prioritized the largest, up-front chunk of change to build low-income housing this city has seen in years: $47 million. It includes dedicated parcels of land and specific housing unit quotas that exceed initial URA goals. And it passed 5-0. “It means housing went to the front of the line,” Fish said after the meeting. It’s about time. Outside the sandstone walls of City Hall, more and more Portlanders can’t afford to live in this city, and it is on course to get much worse. Incomes are moving at a glacial pace while housing costs — particularly for renters — are skyrocketing beyond any real logic. We live in a landlord economy. Family incomes are consumed by housing costs, not to mention older residents on fixed incomes. During testimony for the resolution, speakers testified to Hie city’s abysmal numbers: more than 20,000 units short for our lowest-income residents, while we enjoy a surplus of higher-income housing. Yes - a surplus. Even with vouchers for rent assistance, there simply aren’t apartments available that people can afford. The affordable housing units in North Macadam are years away, but at least now something will happen. We’re still waiting on the other 20,000. that you’ve W ife ! incur like to get involved as a member of our reporting staff, contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhf at 50&228-5657, Jsto e @ s tA p o fe .o ^ We ask that all submissions include the author’s name and contact information, if available. Street Roots Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5857 Fax:503-227-3117 www.streetroots.org www.news.streetroots.org Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-fti, 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat, and 7:39-11 a.m. Sun. interested in advertising in Street Roots?. Contact Israel Bayer at israel@streetroots.org S ta ff Executive Director Israel Bayer Let’s not lose our funk, Portland in khaki pants, business suits and the latest expensive entrification has been slowly eating away at our cycling gear. There were no punk rockers or homeless city for the past 20 years. Although during the people, no black folks or kids dressed in miss-matched past five years, with massive rental increases and the gap between the rich and the poor widening, secondhand clothes. There were no street musicians doesn’t it feel like we are on the verge of completely headed downtown to work for the day or construction workers in denims. There was no funk. Everyone on the losing all of our funk? train was perfectly comfortable in their conformity. It By that, I mean our culture. made me pause and think about Gordly’s words more Some would say Israel, what are closely. you talking about? Look at our city. Understanding that many trains and buses We have an urban core filled with throughout the city that day would be filled with a wide 15-minute neighborhoods with DIRECTOR'S bustling restaurants, quaint cafes, variety of people and cultures gave me hope. Still, it gave me pause, knowing that it was one example of how DESK microbreweries, great quickly we are becoming an urban core with less grit transportation, bike shops, By Israel Bayer and soul. spectacular parks and access to Many of the challenges that we face in our quality food. community have to do with access to jobs, housing, That is, unless you are living in equity and transportation. Until we have more resources East Portland or are a low-income Portlander being and begin to regulate all of our urban planning with pushed out of the city. these specific lenses, poor and middle-class people are Obviously, people of color understand these realities going to continue to be forced to abandon the urban at a very deep level. — core. “I use the word grief to explain what I think my mom Which creates another set of problems. If we can’t and dad would be feeling right now,” says former provide the necessary affordable housing in Portland’s Oregon State Senator Avel Gordly in a recent and urban core, and we don’t want to concentrate poverty in powerful short-film called “Future: Portland,” produced East Portland and Gresham, what are we going to do? by Oregon Humanities. “When I’m driving up Williams Poor people can’t simply disappear: Avenue, I experience a physical pain.” The sad reality is that the private market isn’t “It was never intended that black people would enjoy required to do the right thing when it comes to poverty. living in this state at the end of the Oregon Trail,” There is money to be made and lots of i t Gordly goes on to say in the film. “In fact, there were I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, think exclusion laws that said they couldn’t. If you’re looking about it. The Oregon Zoo is about to open a $57 million at how a community will grow and prosper in a way that dollar elephant exhibit, paid for largely by taxpayers, to benefits everyone; if you continue on a trajectory, or a house elephants for public viewing. Never mind that we path that continues to exclude people based on race, haven’t been able to find a pathway for long-term ethnicity and income, that becomes an Achilles’ heal. It resources for housing Portland’s own residents. Saying will cripple and weaken all of the other so-called that, I’ve got absolutely nothing against elephants. I love opportunities people are envisioning. You won’t be able them. to get there because you have weakened one of the I suppose my point is this: Unless we get our limbs that you need to travel on the path.” priorities Straight, Portland, we are going to lose our I was reminded of it this week when traveling early great city. A city that nurtures the funk and treasures morning from North Portland to downtown on the Max. it’s own residents, regardless of their race and class. This particular train was full of white men and women ■ V Israel Bayer is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach h im a t israel@ streetroots.org o r fo llow him on Twitter@ israelbayer. israel@streetroots.org Managing Editor ioanne Zuhl joanne@streetroots.org Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel cole@streetroots.org Operations Director Sarah Beecroft Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer, grace@streetroots.org Development Director Sarah Cloud Development Assistant Ann-Derrick Gaillot R e p o rte rs Emily Green, Sue Zalokar, Christen McCurdy, Sarah Hansell, Sam Bouman, Jacques Von Lunen P h o to g ra p h e rs Diego Diaz, Kristina W right C a n v a s s e r Desmond Hardison Board of Directors Chairman Bruce Anderson Vice-Chairman Brad Taylor Treasurer Heather Stadick Secretary Amber Bielman Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander, Eddie Barbosa, Rachel Langford Volunteers Jan Bayer, Rob Shyrock, Stacey Heath, John Barker, Sarah Hansell, Aaron Von Reyn, Chere ’ Cobb, Audrey Cerchiara, Jade Maniscalco, Anjali Rathore, Eliese Baker, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Susan Gallagher, Tom Ray, Lee Ko, Dan Jones, Lisa Waldo, James Yu, Sam Bouman, Cherie Vedal If you are interested in volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application atstreetroots.org/volunteer. Or call Volunteer Coordinator Grace Badik for more information at.503-228-5657.
