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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2016)
Street Roots • Jan. 22-28, 2016 E d ito r ia l Page 3 Zoning change will give local housing a chance tf you would like to have som ething that you've written published in our pages, or would like to get involved as a m em ber of our reporting staff, contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl at 503-228-5657.joanne@ streetroots.org. W e ask that all subm issions include the author's name and contact information, if available. I executive director of Street Roots. You can reach him at israel@streetroots.org or follow him on Twitter @israelbayer. nclusionary Zoning. You’ve heard aboutit, can’t buy our way out of the problem. While it’s but what exactly is it? And why is it so important to increase revenue to support the important in addressing our current housing building of affordable housing, both regulations crisis in Oregon? and new policies are important One without Inclusionary zoning links the production of the other leaves us far short from addressing affordable housing to the production of market- the housing crisis for Oregonians. rate housing. The policy Street Roots talked to industry requires new residential representatives who oppose inclusionary developments include a zoning. The biggest arguments against lifting certain number of the ban on inclusionary zoning was that affordable housing units. developers would shy away from investing in Unfortunately, 1 new projects,if required to build affordable inclusionary zoning is housing, that it couldn’t produce enough units banned in both Oregon to solve the problem and that costs would be and Texas. I ’m sure passed along to consumers. there’s a Texas joke in All of these arguments are false. there somewhere, but Oregon’s housing crisis One, we have a red hot market in Portland is no laughing matter. and industry experts couldn’t tell me another In 1999, the Oregon Legislature passed market similar to Portland, such as San legislation to prevent local communities from Francisco or Seattle, where inclusionary zoning adopting inclusionary housing policies that exists and had stunted development. The would require that affordable units be included reality is there is still plenty of money to be in private market housing made for developers and developments. At the time, the landlords, even with legislation was led and inclusionary zoning. The legislation lifting supported by the Oregon Second, no one ever claimed Homebuilders’ Association. the ban on that inclusionary zoning alone Two years later, in 2001, the inclusionary zoning could solve the housing crisis. area’s regional government It’s simply a key component of a in Salem would Metro developed an affordable larger strategy to help develop require local housing strategy, hoping to get more affordable options. jurisdictions to offer ahead of the projected housing Without it, there is little developers incentives government and the public can , crisis we find ourselves in today. Nothing happened. The: to help defray costs. do to require the private market region lacked the tools; T h is c o u ld a c tu a lly b e to correct to the shortage it g9 necessary to develop affordable housing. a bonus for developers. Special interests promised all along that with enough housing stock in private housing market, the lack of affordable housing would solve itself. Wrong. More than 15 years after banning inclusionary zoning, and still under the impact of the housing bubble bursting and the great recession, Oregon finds itself in a nightmare scenario. Homelessness is on the rise statewide, rents are skyrocketing, displacement and gentrification is à runaway train and the state finds itself short tens of thousands of affordable housing units. In the Portland metro region alone we are short more than 40,000 affordable housing units, according to the Welcome Home Coalition. “The challenge of housing affordability is real and persistent,” said Portland Housing Bureau Director Kurt Creager. “National data forecasts that Portland is expected to continue to lead the country in projected rent increases among the major metro areas. Multifamily Magazine predicts 8.4 percent average rent growth in Portland in 2016. Since 85 percent of the current nèw construction is luxury housing, we need to bend the cost curve to better serve a spectrum of households otherwise priced out of the market.” According to the PHB, of Portland’s 257,000 households, roughly half, or more than 125,000 households, were renters. The bureau evaluated new uflits placed into service in calendar year 2015 and found that thé average monthly rent was $1,954 per month or $23,488 p e r year. That’s crazy. Inclusionary zoning is especially critical when you think about how to find a broader solution to the housing crisis. We know that we Street Roots 211 N W Davis St. Portland. OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax: 503-227-3117 w w w .streetroots.org w w w .news.streetroots.org Hours: 7:30 a.m .-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri.. 7:30 a.m .-2 p.m. Sat. and 7:30-11 a.m . Sun. Advertising interested in advertising in Street Roots? Contact Israel Bayer at israel^streetroots.org Staff Executive Director Israel Bayer israei@streehoots.org M an agin g E d itor Joanne Zuhl , ioanne@stieetroots.org p erp etu a tin g . V e n d er C o o r d in a to r Cote tsfterket Lastly, and possibly the most ■ cole@streetroots.org important point, is that the legislation lifting the ban on inclusionary zoning in Salem would require local jurisdictions to offer developers incentives to help defray costs. This could actually be a bonus for developers depending on how local legislation is crafted. For example, developers could receive tax credits or density bonuses to offset building affordable housing into their projects. The density bonus specifically could not only help create more affordable housing units, but it could also allow for more units in the market overall - something all experts agree is needed. The reality is that it’s time for the private market and government to come together to find the best solutions possible. Special interests representing the private housing market, including landlords, realtors and . homebuilders, have been in the driver’s seat for far too long in Oregon. Legislators have . followed their lead for two decades. It’s time for the Oregon legislature to take the bull by the horns. To do nothing would be nothing short of a disgrace for the great state of Oregon. Write in Development D irecto r Sarah CfOUd Operations D irecto r Sarah Beecroft Program Assistant Scott Jackson, Jesuit Volunteer Development Assistant Ann-Derrick Gaillot Below, a 1936 poster from the New York Housing Authority calling fo r housing equality to alleviate homelessness. Reporters Emily Green, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Dernck Gaiflot, Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode, Ben Brink Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasnik Canvasser Desmond Hardison Board of Directors Chairman Brute 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, Marcus Swift Volunteers Jan Bayer, John. Barker, Stacey Heath, Brian Ritchie, Anders Frederickson, Stephanie Holum,' Anjali Rathore, Sam Bouman, Joanna Chase, Zoe Klingmann, Haven Herrin, Eliese Baker, Dan Jones, Rob Shyrock, Tom Ray, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jessica Pollard, Lee Ko, Diana Richardson, Cherie' Manning, Thomas Buell Jr. If you are interested in volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or call our volunteer coordinator for more information at 503-228-5657.
