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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2019)
A4 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, NOvEmbER 5, 2019 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher DERRICK DePLEDGE Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production manager CARL EARL Systems manager GUEST COLUMN Make affordable housing a priority F or years, folks in Clatsop County have talked about how to get more affordable housing. This term usu- ally means private housing available to anybody on the open market and costs no more than 30% of monthly gross income. In 2015, Astoria issued a report spe- cifically about affordable housing. The report has a good description of demo- graphics and the need. It suggested code changes for accessory dwell- ings. But Astoria’s code as later amended for that kind of housing is too restrictive and hasn’t been very effective. The DON report, however, has a HASKELL new and helpful inven- tory of the city’s vacant, buildable land. Early this year, Clatsop County and all five city governments issued a com- bined housing strategies report. The study and 40-page report cost $100,000. The report’s primary focus is zoning and land use for housing in general. For its cost, the report has a lot of bureaucratic bone and nowhere near enough meat. Little is new about afford- able housing. It has good suggestions, however, for accessory dwellings. The study revealed none of our cities applied to participate in a 2016 legislative effort involving urban growth boundar- ies that was “a pilot program to help cit- ies build affordable housing.” The report mentions public-private partnerships as funding for affordable housing and spe- cifically suggests the public vote to issue more bonds. But higher taxes and more bureaucracy aren’t the answer. After many thousands of tax dollars spent on government studies and reports over the years, and lots of talk about it, affordable housing is as elusive as ever. Perhaps it’s time to try to figure out why that’s so. It seems to me there’re at least six considerations that can influence a com- munity’s success or failure in resolving the affordable housing dilemma. First, attitudes toward local govern- ment. Negative attitudes of voters can lead to failure of elected officials to act. Poor attitudes can result from public employees who’re arrogant. Or believed Colin Murphey/The Astorian Affordable housing is a challenge in Clatsop County. to be unfair. Or change prior commit- ments. Or ignore voters’ ballot decisions. Even lots of potholes, street litter, or lousy park maintenance make a dif- ference. Folks usually keep negative thoughts to themselves. It’s easy to be against something when feeling negative. And elected officials sense that. Second, double taxation. User fees are government charges on the theory all taxpayers shouldn’t pay for one person’s specific government service, such as a building permit. Yet the taxpayer already has paid general taxes for public needs, such as a need for building permits. Nobody voted to pay more in this way. But user fees are held constitutional by the courts. Almost everybody grumbles about user fees. And they contribute more to poor attitudes toward government than public employees realize. Third, government requirements. All costs of housing development, permits, construction, maintenance and repair are passed on to and paid by tenants in the form of rent, and paid by buyers in the price they pay. Most career public employees, and even some elected offi- cials, don’t appear to understand the more costly in time, money, mandates and complexity government intrusiveness is, the more expensive affordable hous- ing becomes. Fourth, public transportation. There’s no way housing can be affordable unless there’s close-by public transportation for folks who can’t afford to buy and keep a car or truck. This is a forgotten part of the affordable housing dilemma. Fifth, willingness to change. The “I want affordable housing, but not in my neighborhood” mentality is deadly. It will hinder any action when there’s agreement more affordable housing is needed. Sixth, willingness to be bold. Folks elected for local office usually aren’t career politicians. Most of them don’t mistake the loudest voices for commu- nity consensus. But they often follow staff recommendations that are too timid. Elected officials need to be bolder when convinced most of their constituents really want affordable housing. Here are a few suggestions: ● Eliminate all county and city user fees for all housing development and building permits. To charge thousands of dollars for housing development and building permits is counterproductive to the need to make all housing more affordable. Change bureaucracy’s cul- ture to service to the public rather than to make more money for government. ● Give top priority to affordable hous- ing building permits. Issue them much faster, within a week or less. Fast-track resolution of disputes. ● Allow outright one or more acces- sory dwellings in all residential areas. Conform to Oregon law about that kind of housing. Enact appearance guide- lines. Eliminate unnecessary restrictions. Homeowners should be able to quickly build accessory housing with no hassle from government. ● Allow outright duplexes and four- plexes in all residential areas. Spreading the high cost of land among more than one housing unit lowers costs. ● Strengthen public transporta- tion within cities. As one example, cit- ies could partner with the Sunset Empire Transportation District for more buses to be used specifically in areas zoned to encourage affordable housing. ● Revise building code mandates to lower the cost of accessory dwellings. Make it easy for folks to safely build and rent them. ● When something doesn’t work, elected officials should try something else — just like they do in their private lives. And they need to be bold enough to eliminate a low priority matter when a more important one needs attention. There are good reasons public employ- ees should be timid about change. But elected officials sometimes need to be bold. ● More education about workforce benefits to business and the local econ- omy might help the “not in my neighbor- hood” mentality. So would more educa- tion about the need. Educate homeowners what an accessory dwelling is, can look like, and the financial benefits of a rental. And assure homeowners that neighbor- hoods won’t change in character if an accessory dwelling is built next door. Whether folks think any of these suggestions are doable or crazy isn’t the point. What’s really needed is an unswerving determination to make affordable housing a top priority. It seems to me most folks don’t want to see the dilemma of affordable housing end up as just another expensive government report sitting on a shelf. don Haskell is a retired attorney and former Clatsop County commissioner who lives in Astoria. LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writ- er’s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar and factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Letters in poor taste will not be printed. Send via email to editor@dailyastorian.com, online at dailyastorian.com/ submit_letters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or 1555 North Roo- sevelt in Seaside, or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. GUEST COLUMN A vote is a voice T he ability to vote is the single greatest representation of democ- racy in existence today. The power to choose and the capacity to participate in a process that so often seems out of reach for America’s masses are why I will always vote. A vote is a voice, and with a voice, one has the power to enact change. Every voice matters. No two voices are alike. The importance of the right to vote simply can- not be understated, yet it is often cast aside, one single TRISTAN ballot seemingly rendered TRUDELL useless by millions of oth- ers just like it. But in truth, there are no others just like it. My vote will not, cannot, be whittled down to a statistic. It is an encapsulation of everything I am as a person: the beliefs I hold, the laws I analyze, and, most cru- cially, the decisions I make. Every time I vote, I share a unique perspective, and I am joined by millions more at the state and federal levels, all of whom voice their own perspectives when they cast their ballots. To vote is to take yourself and your convictions firmly into account. But that does not mean your vote cannot be influ- enced by the lives of others. The con- cept of voting carries with it an inher- ent responsibility, almost a duty, to be informed, but you must also consider the impact your vote could have on the people around you. Whether those people are friends, rel- atives, or strangers, their circumstances should have a say in your vote, and vice versa. When I vote, I will take a good long look at those around me, a collection of people from all walks of life who, in many cases, are more personally affected by issues such as poverty and immigra- tion reform than I am. My vote is not only a reflection of myself. It is an echo of the disenfranchised people I see around me every day. I have always been inspired to vote, perhaps in part because I am not able to do so just yet. But when that time comes, I will not take voting for granted. I will mark my ballot, empowered and embold- ened, because I know for a certainty that Colin Murphey/The Astorian A voter drops off a ballot in Astoria in 2018. my vote is helping bring about the change I, and others around me, want to see. Democracy, true democracy, encom- passes all of us, and therefore it must work for all of us. That is why I will always vote. Tristan Trudell is a senior at Ilwaco High School. He won first place in an essay contest for high school students on voting sponsored by Indivisible North Coast Ore- gon and the American Association of uni- versity Women, Astoria branch.
