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P ortland O bserver • J uly
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9, 1997
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Rental Housing Market In Crisis Unique financing helps local needs
Renters Demand Action From City Council
Portland renters have had enough
of the current rental housing market
and are taking their concerns to
Portland City Council in an effort to
gain protections from unfair land­
lord practices. CAT - The Commu­
nity Alliance of Tenants - is launch­
ing theCampaign for Renters' Rights
at the Southeast Renters’ Neighbor­
hood Speakout on July 9th. at the SE
Multicultural Center - 4610 SE
Belmont at 7:00pm.
CAT is advocating a four point
platform to create a fair housing
market for renters at all income lev­
els.
Preven, unfair 30 day no-cause
evictions - Imagine coming home
one day to find a 30 day eviction
notice on your door. You ask the
manager why you are being kicked
out of your home and s/he says "I
don’t have to tell you.” This scene is
being played out all over Portland,
and i, has to end.
Protect affordable housing - Area
rents have more than doubled in the
past 12 years. Portland is also seeing
a massive loss of affordable housing
from buildings where the owners are
opting not to renew their federally
subsidized contract. The City needs
to take steps to keep housing afford­
able and protect renters from sky­
rocketing rents.
End discrimination against rent­
ers with Section 8 - Landlords in
Portland are al lowed to reject a renter
simply because they have a Section
8 rental subsidy. According to the
Housing Authority of Portland, of
the 5.160 Section 8 vouchers and
certificates distributed each year,
30% or 1,548 families are not able to
find a place that will rent to them.
The City needs to protect renters
against this discriminatory practice.
Enforce repairs of neglected apart­
ments - The Bureau of Buildings is
the Portland Housing Code enforce­
ment agency , and is often the only
line of defense a tenant has in get­
ting a landlord to make needed re­
pairs. However, the Bureau has very
little power to force landlord to make
the needed repairs. There needs to
be a substantial increase in the set of
fines and penalties against landlords
who refuse to make repairs.
T ríe Unison P rografi
Do you recognize the contribu­
tions trees make the liveability of
your neighborhood?
Have you ever wondered what
you could do to improve your
neighborhood’s trees?
Have you noticed poor tree care
practices in your neighborhood but
don’t know wha, to do about it?
If so, the Neighborhood Tree Li­
aison Program is for you!
Portland Parks and Recreation
will begin a program this fall to train
citizens to be their neighborhood's
Tree Liaison. The program will pro­
vide citizens with 20 hours of train­
ing in a variety of urban forestry
topics.
The training is free to partici­
pants, but participants must be will­
ing to act as their neighborhood's
Tree Liaison for at least one year.
This responsibility includes devel­
oping and implementing an urban
forestry education project. Project
ideas include conducting a tree prun­
ing workshop or a neighborhood
pruning day; informing neighbors
about the benefits o f your
neighborhood’s forest and what re­
sources are available to them re­
garding tree care; pulling ivy from a
natural area and informing neigh­
bors why ivy should not be planted
in their gardens; or informing neigh­
bors about tree preservation meth­
ods. Whatever project you choose,
the City of Portland’s Urban For­
estry Coordinator will be available
to offer support.
Each participant will also be ex­
pected to be a neighborhood resource
for tree information. By attending
meetings and making themselves
available to answer people’s ques­
tions regarding trees, the Tree Liai­
sons can begin directing the ener­
gies of their neighbors in the right
direction.
Participants do not need prior
knowledge of trees to become a T ree
Liaison. The training will introduce
Keep houseplants clean
Bott R ost
Although houseplants don’t need
a bath often, an occasional wash­
ing promotes clean living and ro­
bust vigor.
Washing houseplants removes
dirt and insect eggs, according to
Jan Mcneilan, consumer horticul­
ture agent with the Oregon State
University Extension Service. It
also helps control houseplant in­
sect pests such as mites, mealy bugs
and scale insects.
Most houseplants can be washed
in warm, soapy water at both tem­
perature, about 90 to KM) degrees.
The exceptions to houseplant bath­
ing are hairy-surfaced plants such
as African violets and geomas.
Wash all leaves, stents, and buds.
by
Clean both sides ot the leaves, shake
and allow to dry overnight in the
sink or on a newspaper.
"You can also put the plants in
the shower, under a fine gentle
spray to rinse olf the soap, said
McNeilan. If you shower your
plants, cover the soil in the pot with
aluminum foil or plastic. Repeat
the washing as needed to bring out
the natural shine of plant foliage.
Also, don’t water the plants ev­
ery time you walk by them. More
plants die from over-watering than
from under-w atering. W ater
houseplants thoroughly, but only
enough to prevent wilting. It you
over-water, the fine roots, or feeder
roots, ro, and can’t absorb water
for the plant.
participants to a variety of urban
forestry issues and show them how
each issue can be addressed by citi­
zens. Participants will be given a
binder with a list of resources avail­
able to the community as well as
photos of street trees and materials
to share.
The classes will be taught by a
diverse group of tree experts from
Hoyt Arboretum, Portland Parks and
Recreation’s Urban Forestry Divi­
sion and Community Gardens Pro­
gram, Friends of Trees, Plant Am­
nesty, Portland General Electric,
Portland State University, Portland
Community College and private ar­
borists from Whole Tree Works.
Classes will be held at Portsmouth
Community School in North Port­
land and Lane Community School
in Southeast Portland. For more in­
formation including a class sched­
ule and application form, contact
Mary Rose Navarro, Urban Forestry
Coordinator, at 823-4443.
Bigger is Better...
But At What Cost?
According to a recent NAHB
study, the current move-up buyer
wants an additional 5(X) square feet
in their next home. The desire tor
more space is no surprise to home
builders as the average size ot a
home has gone from 1,520 square
feet in 1971 to 2,085 square feet in
1995.
However, today’s home shoppers
are just as concerned about getting
the most for their money as they are
about fulfilling their design and
space requirem ents. Therefore,
builders can only remain competi­
tive if they design homes that meet
both the space and cost needs ot the
consumer.
More Portland home buy ers will
now have access to affordable hous­
ing through a partnership involv­
ing Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE), the
nation's largest source of home
mortgage funds. Innovative Hous­
ing, Inc., Centennial Bank, Tri-
Met, and Goose Hollow Foothills
League. Today the partners joined
for a ground breaking celebration
for Arbor Vista Condominiums, a
27-unit complex that will be lo­
cated at SW 21st Street and
Howards Way in Goose Hollow,
near the Jefferson Street/Goose
Hollow light rail station
"The spirit of partnership is evi­
dent in the creation of this develop­
ment," said City Commissioner
volves a creative approach to fund
ing down payment assistance with­
out the use of any public funds. The
developer will reserve halfthe units
for borrow ers earning no more than
$37,050 (area median income for a
family of two). These reserved units
will be sold at market rates, but
lower-income buyers will be of­
fered approximately $40,000 in
down payment assistance and a 10-
year property tax abatement I he
down payment assistance funds will
come from the sale of other units
and require no payments and no
interest, but are due on the sale ot
the property. The remaining units
will be sold at market rates with
unrestricted income limits
Gretchen Miller Kafoury “ Each or­
ganization has offered its expertise
to make the Arbor Vista develop­
ment a reality for Portland residents
who are looking for affordable
homeownership and easy access to
our public transportation system."
"By combining housingand trans­
portation, we provide citizens with
the tools they need to personally
make their communities more liv­
able,” said Representative Furse (D-
OR) in a prepared statement. "These
com parties are bringing much needed
affordable housing and public trans­
portation to Portland, and I applaud
them for their determination and
vision."
This financing structure also in-
Summer Prune Trees, Shrubs To
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in B ob R ost
Although spring is behind us,
keep those pruning shears and
loppers handy. The summer is as
good a time as any to do needed
pruning of home landscape trees
and shrubs.
The pruning of ornamental and
fruit trees and shrubs follows a
basic guideline, according to Jan
McNeilan, consumer horticulture
agent with the Oregon State Uni­
versity Extension Service.
If you have a plant that needs
pruning, prune it.
"Prune during the summer to
train trees and shrubs, and to con­
trol disease and insect problems in
home landscape plantings," said
McNeilan Training a plant means
getting it to grow where you want it
to grow rather than letting the plant
go its own way.
"Most gardeners prune woody
plants during the dormant season
because a dormant plan, is more or
less asleep and will not bleed when
cut," McNeilan said.
Also the landscaper may feel more
secure about cutting limbs out of a
dormant plant because its structure
is easy to see.
However, McNeilan urges land­
scapers to go ahead and prune when
they see a need.
Plants that grow a lot of suckers
and water sprouts need attention
during the summer. Apple trees,
willows, and plum trees all will
grow suckers, especially if pruned
back hard during the winter.
Suckers and water sprouts left
in place will make a tree look
more like a shrub, and rob the
upper portion o f the tree of grow­
ing vigor.
When suckers are just begin­
ning, simply pull them off. It they
have grown too large for pulling,
cut them back flush with the trunk
where they originated.
"Pines can be kept in bounds by
trimming back the new "candles
or shoots,” McNeilan said. If you
want the pine to grow slowly, cu,
these shoots back to about one-
fourth their original length.
Maybe
you should
call us.
need a m ortgage
You don’t have
a big down payment.
You’ve found the h o m e you
w ant. N o w you need the
financing. U.S. Bank can
help w ith flexible term s and
affordable m onthly paym ents
that make buying your first
hom e easier than you m ight
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think. We can qualify you for
a loan w ith a very small
dow n paym ent— som etim es
as little as I percent. And
because hom e buying can be
confusing, we offer H o m e
Walnut Park neighbors celebrate
A neighborhood cleanup and celebration will take place
Saturday, July 12 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Walnut Park
area of the King neighborhood.
Activities and drop boxes for debris and trash disposal for
surrounding neighbors, will be located on Northeast
Emerson, between 11th and 13th Avenues. Free
O q food, face painting and lots of fun is planned.
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The NECDC organization will celebrate
another successful project within the
Walnut Park area by selling 5 unit
townhomes to qualified buyers at an
affordable price.
"tS:
Buyer E ducation ( Hasses
&
th ro u g h o u r C o m m u n ity
M
L ending C.enters to help you
better understand how it all
w orks. We know you have
the freedom to choose any
bank. We w ant you to choose
. < ;
us. Because we believe the
dream o f o w n in g a hom e
should be available to
everyone. Call us to make
your dreams com e true.
^ u s J b a n k
Without you, there's no us.
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