31lie
Page 4
^tJortlanò (¡Observer
September 24, 2014
A Nice Place to Visit
which has the potential to be far
more profitable for a landlord than
als, and a faster, cheaper process for traditional long-term renting. And
obtaining a permit. The permit to as the supply o f long-term rentals
rent one or two rooms costs about decreases, rental rates are e x
$180, and takes 1-2 weeks to pro pected rise.
cess. In addition, there are more
C ity C o m m is s io n e r S te v e
requirements of homeowner land N ovick described the issue as
lords in an attempt to address a “som ewhat nervous-m aking,” but
num ber o f neighborhood com decided to “cautiously” vote to
plaints about the issue.
approve the practice w ith the
During public testimony on July added amendments.
23, the City Council heard from resi
The regulations require short
dents upset about the negative ef term rental operators to pay the
fects that have come from proper c ity ’s 11.5 percent transient lodg
ties where an entire house is rented ing tax, as other hotels and m otels
out, and the homeowner lives else are required to pay.
where. This has led to noise prob
Several organizations, includ
lems, trash piling up, and a general ing Street R oots, the Portland
negative impact on the neighbor African Am erican Leadership Fo
hood character.
rum , and Portland Com m unity
To address these issues, the new R einvestm ent Initiatives, wanted
permit applies only to one- and two- the city to dedicate proceeds from
bedroom rentals. Renting out any the tax to im proving housing
thing larger still requires a condi affordability.
tional use permit, which costs $4,130
“Doing so will set an im portant
and takes 8-10 weeks to process. In precedent by establishing a dedi
addition, homeowners of all short cated, ongoing source o f city gen
term rentals are now required to e ra ted fu nding fo r affo rd a b le
reside at the property for at least 270 housing,” the organizations wrote
days per year, preventing a com in a letter.
plete absentee-landlord situation.
But a proposal to transfer a
A wider issue surrounding vaca portion o f the tax proceeds into
tion ren tals is the im p act on the H ousing Investm ent Fund,
Portland’s affordable housing mar which supports affordable hous
ket.
ing initiatives, failed to pass the
“As ow ners turn the dim inish City Council. W hile m uch o f the
ing stock o f affordable units into opposition focused on the b u
short term rentals, the housing reaucratic problem s with “attach
market becom es sm aller and more ing strings” to every bit o f tax
hom ogeneous, and the diversity revenue, Novick brought up an
that m ost people enjoy about liv alternative reason for opposing.
ing or working in the inner city
“If there is a study that shows
dim inishes as w ell,” said Jordan this practice is significantly reduc
Davis, hom eow nership specialist ing housing affordability, then I
at Portland Com m unity R einvest think we might want to revisit it and
ment Initiatives, and housing ad say, ‘no, we are going to re-ban
vocate with the N ortheast C oali these short-term rentals, and assign
tion of Neighborhoods.
resources to enforcement,” ’ he said.
“Once a certain dem ographic “And I don’t want our hands to be
o f people with the privilege to tied by the fact that we think w e’ve
travel start frequenting a specific already dealt with this by dedicat
neighborhood it attracts the at ing the source of funding.”
tention o f outside investm ent,
Housing advocates outside of
w hich sounds like an ideal situa City Hall, however, have suggested
tion. However, most o f the incom that there is already plenty o f evi
ing services or residents are not dence for the detrimental effects of
intended for those already living short-term rentals, and it can be
there but fo r those who have found nationwide.
m oney to spend in boutiques or
“In San Francisco, for example,
trendy restaurants. The result is there are lawsuits being brought
the neighborhood gentrifies and against landlords who have evicted
begins displacing long term resi tenants in order to turn their units
dents,” Davis said.
in to sh o rt term re n ta ls. San
While the zoning code amend Francisco’s housing market is shift
ments passed unanimously, sev ing drastically to a market that only
eral city commissioners expressed the uber-rich can afford in areas that
concerns about its negative effects. were historically low income, push
“It will dim inish the supply of ing people further from the inner
affordable housing,” said Dan city much like what is happening in
Saltzm an, current housing com Portland,” said Davis, pointing to a
m issioner, who has already re similar situation in New Orleans as
ferred to Portland’s “crisis o f af well.
fordable rental housing.”
The Bureau of Planning and
Indeed, in the King N eighbor Sustainability will study the impact
hood, which is located in the heart of short-term rentals on Portland’s
o f P ortland’s black com m unity, supply o f affordable housing over
short-term housing units are rent the next two years, and will report its
ing for upwards o f $ 125 per night, findings in September 2016.
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
100 Years of Peninsula Park: The Movie
A 1921 photo shows the original pool at Peninsula Park in north Portland. Portland Parks and
Recreation presents a free outdoor screening o f the youth-produced Peninsula Park documentary,
Through the Years, Through Our Eyes: A Teen View o f Peninsula Park. The movie will be shown
on Friday, Sept. 2 6 at 7 p.m. Family fun activities begin at 5 p.m. The event was rained out in
June and if it rains again will be moved inside the Peninsula Park Community Center.
Housing Bureau Reaches Out
continued
from page 3
of affordable housing at a series of
public forums. Several community
leaders and representatives of dif
ferent organizations, including The
Portland Observer, The Skanner,
The Latino Network, and the Inter
national Fellowship Family, have
accepted invitations to attend the
sessions in support of the commu
nity involvement.
Three upcom ing sessions are
scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Matt
D ish m an C o m m u n ity C en ter;
T hursday, Oct. 9 from 6 p.m. to 9
p.m. at G resham City Hall; and
Saturday, Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to
12 p.m. at New Song Community
Church.
If you have questions or would
like to comment rather than attend
a forum in person, you can email
H o u sin g B u reau sta ff at
nnestrategy @portl andoregon.gov
or call them at 503-823-1190.
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