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Fair Housing
COUTKIBCTEP STORY
for
T he P ortland O bserver
Displacement is a social tragedy
that doesn’t have to happen. There
are a num berof tools, used here and
in o th e r c o m m u n itie s, w hich
successfully prevent or counteract
displacement.
I t ’s tim e to tak e a lo o k at
implementing some o f these proven
programs while we still have viable
communities left:
H o u sin g U n it R e p la c e m e n t
Program s require that housing units
which are demolished or converted
to other units be replaced on a unit-
for-unit basis. The City o f Portland
4 passed a lim ite d h o u sin g
preservation ordinance in 1998.
C o m m u n ity L a n d T ru s ts are
p ro g ram s w hich se p a ra te the
ownership o f the land from the
ownership o f the housing, thus
m aking the housing unit more
affordable.
In Portland, the Sabin Community
D e v e lo p m e n t C o rp o ra tio n is
piloting such a program.
E m ployer A ssisted H ousing is
identified broadly as any type o f
activity whereby an employer assists
its employees in buying homes.
Emanuel Hospital does this through
th e ir N e ig h b o rh o o d
H om e
O w n e rsh ip P rogram ; W acker
Siltronics and Rejuvenation, Inc.,
have similar programs.
H ousing T r u s t F u n d s provide
flexible funding resources to help
in m eeting low and moderate-
income housing needs. The Sante
Fe C o u n ty , N ew M exico,
investment and involvement
the effects o f residential
stability on school performance
accumulation o f some equity
that would be unavai lable through
rental housing
Mandatory Goals/Requirements
M andatory requirem ents are
necessary to ensure that affordable
housing will be developed and
preserved, particularly in a hot
housing market where there is little
financial incentive to provide
affordable housing.
Implementation is important too,
without enforcement mechanisms
to ensure that affordable housing
is preserved and built, a mandatory
p lan is not lik e ly to be
Property from page 2
acquire many properties since then.
They began by simply buying a
home and leveraging it to get the
next and the next. By doing this,
they are accomplishing two things,
im proving the com m unity and
creating additional incom e for
themselves. Ben and Lisa are just a
small part o f a larger picture that
could include you - the homeowner
thinking about investing in real
estate. Stocks, bonds and mutual
Page 5
We can fight displacement
Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and
the V erm o n t H o u sin g and
Conservation Trust Fund are two
successful examples.
J o b s /H o u s in g
L in k a g e
p ro g ra m s
re q u ire
th at
developers o f com m ercial
properties construct or provide
financial assistance for the
production o f affo rd aab le
housing as a condition o f
building permit approval.
Two California programs, one
in Sacramento and one in San
Francisco, are up and running.
Inclusionary Zoning requires
that developers provide a
p e rc e n ta g e o f a ffo rd a b le
housing units as part o f a
p ro p o sed
re sid e n tia l
d e v e lo p m e n t
p ro je c t.
Successful inclusionary zoning
funds are all good ways to invest,
but real estate can offer a quicker
and larger return and should not
be ignored by the serious investor.
S o , when you ’re ready to invest in
property, give me a cal 1 so we can
help improve the community and
make some money in the process.
Chris Guinn III is a Real Estate
agent with Millennium Properties.
He can he reached by phone at
503/282-2551.
Advertise in The Focus, 1
Call 288-0033
J
programs have been in effect since
the late seventies and early eighties
in Irvine, California; Montgomery
County, Maryland; and Burlington,
Vermont.
For more on Displacement and the
1999 study o f it, call 503/294-2889
or email them at clf@friends.org.
Affordable Quality Retirement Living
for Seniors 62 years and older
Alberta Simmons Plaza
6611 NE Martin Luther King Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97211
240-4198
• O ne-Bedroom Apartm ents with Full
Sized K itchens and Living Areas
• Planned A ctivities, Laundry
Facility, C onference & M eeting Room,
Elevator and Library, and Off Street
Parking
• C onveniently Located to Shopping,
Restaurants, Pharm acy, and
M edical O ffices
Subsidizing from page 3
o u t all
o p p o rtu n itie s
for
accumulating wealth through the
equity gained in home ownership.
Community land trusts have been
proposed as part o f P ortland’s
A ffo rd a b le h o u sin g stra te g y .
Community land trusts are a good
strategy for providing some the
benefits o f home ow nership to
people who would otherwise be
unable to experience these benefits.
The benefits to the individual and
the community ofthis form o f partial
ownership or what some have called
“shared equity,” include:
residential stability (respite
from the unpredictability o f rental
housing)
c o m m u n ity /n e ig h b o rh o o d
iMarch 29, 2000
implemented.
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