Street Roots • Jan. 15-21, 2016
Editorial
Page 3
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Street Roots
211 NW Davis S t
Portland. OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax; 503-227-3117 '
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www.streetroots.org
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Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri.. 7:30
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House Speaker
TinaK otek
addresses a Jan. 9
forum o f Portland
residents, advocates
and lawmakers
about the state’s
housing crisis.
PH O T O C OURTESY O F W E L C O M E H O M E C O A L IT IO N
State measures essential to ending housing crisis
It’s not just Portland experiencing a
housing crisis. Many communities
throughout Oregon are facing a severe
affordable housing shortage. Add this to
rising rents and stagnate wages and
thousands of Oregonians across the state, in
;-E5©0.dí;Bugene,HoodRiverandheyond, are,!’';
finding themselves scrambling for .a safe ....,
placetocall home.
Housing advocates,
1 including-Street Roots,
have been calling on the
Oregon Legislature to
■ m m h m u m h act in a meaningful way
for years.
Local governments, including the city of
Portland, and the Oregon H otting Alliance
are advocating for a menu of important
revenueoptions and regulations to give
hardworking Oregonians a fighting chance.
This year, both Portland and Eugene have
led the way by declaring a homeless
emergency and working to increase both
revenue and regulations to support people
having access to housing.
Rep.Alissa Keny-Guyer and House Speaker
Tina Kotek, both Democrats representing
North and Northeast Portland, are leading
the charge with a multi-tiered proposal that
lawmakers throughout the state need to
support.
The legislators are asking for $10 million
in emergency rent assistance, because the
best way to prevent displacement and
homelessness is by preventing an eviction in
the first place. Emergency rent assistance
bridges the gaps, helping people weather a
tough financial stretch and rebound. And it is
proven to work. According to Home Forward,
the local housing authority, the vast majority
of families who receive rent assistance
remain in their homes long after the
assistance ends.
The Legislature is also proposing $17.5
million to preserve affordable housing with
lottery backed bonds and $5 million to
support housing programs by raising the
state’s document recording fee. These are
ongoing revenue streams that are vital to
keeping our state from f ailing further behind.
Advocates and legislators are also hoping
to pass important regulations on eviction 7
prevention and lifting the ban on inclusionary
housing — which would create a clear path for
| local govemments to require housing ; -
developments to include affordable housing,
dregori is one of only two states, along With
Texas, where lobbyists succeeded in pushing
through a ban on inclusionary zoning,
thereby preempting local authority. That was
just 16 years ago. Todays we have shortage of a
more than 30,000 affordable units in Portland
alone, according to the city’s figures. This
prohibition has to go if Portland or any other
community in Oregon is expected to get
ahead of this crisis.
All of this isn’t close to being enough, to
actually tackle Oregon’s affordable housing
crisis. But it’s a start and anything less would
be an insult to Oregonians.
Gov. Kate Brown should begin working
with legislators throughout the state to craft
a path forward to standardize investments in
affordable housing the same way we invest in
the environment, transportation and
education. Because without stable, affordable
housing, families are financially and
personally vulnerable to failure. And
according to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in
two renters in Oregon - half of all renters -
is already cost burdened from a combination
of high rents and loW wages. Without '
significant action at the state level, jt is only
going to get worse. X
In order to have a healthy Oregon,
affordable housing has to remain a top-tier
priority. It can be fostered and restored
alongside a healthy and vibrant private
marketplace for housing statewide. These
measures are a positive step forward for all
folks in the community. Let your lawmaker
know you support a healthy housing
environment for everyone.
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