Street roots., April 29, 2016, Page 4, Image 4

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Street Roots • April 29-May 5, 2016
It’s not just a Portland problem. Cities throughout Oregon and the West Coast are taking measures
into their own hands to make a real impact on the affordable housing and homeless emergency.
dropped to unheard of rates of less than 2
STAFF WRITER
percent. People are being displaced from
homes they may have lived in for years,
ortland is experiencing a dire
increasing their commutes to work and
shortage of affordable housing, but
school, and other, low-income people are
not one that is unique to the city. The
unable to find a home they can afford at all.
“housing crisis,” as it has become known, is Urban homelessness and poverty has
a regional issue of historic magnitude that is
existed in large numbers since the 1980s,
felt throughout the Pacific Northwest
but, by and large, cities and counties have
“The lack of housing opportunity is
done little to preserve existing affordable
impacting communities throughout
housing or build more.
Oregon,” Jenny Lee, housing policy director
Putting a levy on Portland’s 2010 ballot to
at Neighborhood Partnerships, told Street
create an affordable housing fund was
Roots in an email.
discussed among some elected officials and
“The number of people experiencing
housing advocates. But there was worry that
unsheltered homelessness is rising steeply,
an affordable housing levy could not
not only in cities like Eugene, but along the
compete with renewing the parks bond, and
coast and in rural areas. A growing number
the effort failed.
of people have no option but to live outside
Hesitation to fund affordable housing no
in tents or RVs. This winter, a man
longer exists.
experiencing homelessness died of
“It’s come to an undeniable head on the
hypothermia in Medford. In Roseburg,
West Coast. It’s freaked out such a broad
almost two-thirds of renters are cost-
swath of people. The problem is so clear
burdened, meaning families struggle to
and undeniable,” said Michael Anderson, a
make ends meet In Tillamook, businesses
consultant with the Center for Community
worry that they cannot retain workers due
Change who has worked with cities and
to housing costs. In counties from Columbia
jurisdictions throughout the country to find
to Wasco, many families receiving housing
sources of revenue for affordable housing.
assistance can’t find a rental on the market.” “There is appropriate urgency now.”
The real estate, housing and construction
Marty Kooistra, the executive director of
industries have rebounded since the end of
Seattle’s Housing Development Consortium,
the recession. That, combined with
an advocacy organization, said the
population growth in many West Coast
organization thought about creating a public
cities, has created a white-hot housing
awareness campaign about the importance
. market driving up rental costs and home
of affordable housing. “We don’t feel like we
prices. Vacancy rates — the measure of how
need to do that anymore,” Kooistra said.
many rental units are available — have
BY AMANDA WALDROUPE
P
citing the city’s recreational opportunities
and natural setting. “Even during the
economic downtown we grew by 3 percent.
Not a single multi-housing permit was built
down here then, but people kept moving
here. People with money are moving to
Bend, but what that’s creating ... is that
you’re priced out of a place to live here.”
Between 2014 and 2015, the number of
homeless people living in Deschutes,
Jefferson and Crook counties nearly
doubled.
According to the Central Oregon
Homeless Leadership’s Coalitions Point-in-
Time Count conducted in January 2015 -
the most recent data - there were 2,087
people who slept outside, couch-surfed with
friends or family, or lived in their ca^ in
end is the fastest growing city in
Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties. In
Oregon, and the shortage of
2014, there were 1,217 homeless people
affordable housing in central Oregon
reflects that - Bend’s vacancy rate is less living in Central Oregon.
Long said that nearly 90 percent of
than .5 percent “It’s almost non-existent,”
Central Oregon’s homeless population are
Jim Long, the city’s affordable housing
from the area. “(The shortage of housing) is
manager, said. “There may be 20 units
pushing them to the margins,” he said.
available to rent”
He said Bend’s city council has taken
The average rent for a one-bedroom
aggressive steps to build more housing. The
apartment in Bend is $1,600 a month.
council passed a construction excise tax that
“It’s more than a mortgage,” Long said.
generates approximately $1 million dollars a
Over half of the renters in Deschutes
year. The city encourages building more
County pay more than 30 percent of their
densely, building smaller, cottage-style
income for housing costs, the federal
housing communities and making it easier
standard for housing affordability, and about
for homeowners to build accessory dwelling
a third of renters pay more than 50 percent
units, or ADUs.
of their income for housing, which is
considered rent-burdened.
See STATE OF CRISIS, page 5
“People want to be here,” Long said,
“It’s talked about everywhere now.”
Cities and counties throughout the West
Coast are putting bonds, levies and other
property tax measures on their local ballots
to create a dedicated revenue stream to
build affordable housing - an unprecedented
effort on the part of local governments to
fund housing that is affordable to their
communities' lowest income and workforce
residents.
“You have to have a crisis before you
solve it sometimes,” Andy Silver, executive
director of Vancouver’s Council for the
Homeless, said. “It’s always been an issue
before, but it’s just gotten worse.”
B