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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2018 | 7A to bond funds creates a separa- Portland’s plan appeared so in- means raising property taxes. to private builders remains an tion that proponents of the mea- efficient by contrast. For citizens in small cities like obstacle. Such road blocks are other private organizations. This sure say hinders efficient devel- Whatever the cause of dis- Florence, it’s a sacrifice many are not exceptional to Florence and, delineation draws a clear line opment. crepancy, affordable housing hesitant to make. for smaller cities, the lack of mu- around public funds, securing “If a local government pass- campaigners and politicians “It would be a hard battle to nicipal housing infrastructure them from private interests and es a bond for affordable hous- soon identified a provision in get that approved by our voters,” like Portland’s Housing Bureau limiting how they can be used. ing, they can’t access federal tax the Oregon Constitution as said Florence Mayor Joe Henry. adds an additional institutional Measure 102 proposes an af- credits or state hurdle. fordable housing exception to grants alongside For propo- “A lot of small cities and rural areas do not have the capacity to nents of the that rule. that bond mon- The measure would amend ey,” Wever said. implement an affordable housing bond without this change. Mea- constitutional this 1917 provision in the state “A lot of federal amendment, sure 102 gives more local control back to those communities. It’s this is a key constitution to allow the use of tax credits are local bonds to finance afford- matching funds. just allowing another tool in the toolkit.” problem the able housing developments, You have to put measure could — Megan Wever, Statewide Coalition & Communications fix. even when partnered with pri- forward a certain Manager of the Yes for Affordable Housing campaign vate entities. amount of the “A lot of The amendment would still money to unlock small cities require that these affordable the matching and rural areas housing bonds be approved funds, and Oregon leaves funds holding the city back from le- In the past, Florence has do not have the capacity to im- by local voters and that the to- like that off the table every year veraging additional funds for largely relied on private devel- plement an affordable housing tal principal of any such bonds because they don’t have the lo- the project. opers or contractors to initiate bond without this change,” said would not exceed 0.5 percent of cal resources to match it. So it A resulting constitutional affordable housing development Wever. “Measure 102 gives more the real market value of proper- would allow us to open up more amendment gathered momen- such as Park Village. Only in the local control back to those com- federal resources.” tum. past few years has the city voiced munities. It’s just allowing an- This year, in a Feb. 2 letter to interest in participating in the other tool in the toolkit.” The Portland Story State Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, process by making land avail- Indeed, city councils around Affordable housing is not a chair of the House Commit- able at affordable costs or even the state have voiced their sup- new issue to Oregon and related tee on Human Services and for free. port for the measure, as has the problems such as homelessness Housing, Portland Mayor Ted The Neighborhood Econom- League of Oregon Cities, an in- and increasing rent prices have Wheeler wrote, “Allowing local ic Development Corporation tergovernmental entity which become more salient in larger governments to leverage general (NEDCO), a community devel- frequently advocates for home cities like Portland. As such, obligation bond proceeds, such opment nonprofit serving Lane, rule authority and effective mu- Measure 102 was strongly advo- as the $258.4 million affordable Marion and Clackamas coun- nicipal governance. cated for by Portland City Hall. housing bond approved by Port- ties, is the first to take Florence Proximal effects, though, are In 2015, the Portland City land voters in 2016, will increase up on its offer. The city’s land not expected by Florence’s may- Council declared a state of hous- the financing available for af- donation at 1424 Airport Road or. ing emergency, which encour- fordable housing and maximize has paved the way for NEDCO “We have an immediate hous- aged more funding for housing, overall resources.” to build 12 units of affordable ing need,” said Henry. “This is a loosened rules on where shelters A proposal to amend the state housing. long-term thing and what this could operate and fast-tracked constitution was introduced to “So there’s an example of a requires is that cities actually affordable housing projects. the Oregon Legislative Assem- public/not-quite-private part- find somebody with capital to The following year, Portland bly by the House Interim Com- nership to develop affordable partner with to build affordable voters approved their first af- mittee on Human Services and housing,” said Henry. housing.” fordable housing bond, which Housing. In just over a month, it While Florence’s projects have Florence’s difficulty in find- proposed to raise $258.4 million had passed both chambers near- primarily been privately driven, ing those partners may forestall over 20 years. While the bond ly unanimously. projects like that with NEDCO any benefits seen by passing the was directed toward preserv- At the same time, Metro, the represent its first attempt to do measure. ing or creating 1,300 affordable Portland area’s regional govern- any kind of private/public enter- “This bill could open up addi- housing units, critics pointed ment, has proposed Measure 26- prise, though Henry is circum- tional opportunities for that, but out that far more units could 199, a $652.8 million affordable spect about the word “partner.” I don’t think they’re very short- have been included if private housing local bond measure to Oregon law prevents a full fi- term in nature,” said Henry. “I developers had been allowed to be voted on this year. Passing nancial blend. believe that the idea behind this participate. Measure 102 would allow Metro “We are participants up to a measure is a good one. I think in Comparisons were drawn to utilize federal tax credits and point where we want to provide the longer term, it might allow Dr. James Ridley,DDS FREE CONSULTATION to the city of Denver, which in state grants on top of this bond. incentives for (affordable hous- Florence to help solve some of 206 Nopal Street the same year passed its first af- To hammer the point home, ing) to happen,” he said. “So far, the housing issues we have.” See the fordable housing bond as well. Metro has created two road- nobody’s really stepped forward Florence, OR 97439 DentureMaster’s Denver’s bond plotted out a 10- maps under its local bond plan, other than NEDCO.” All Good in the ‘Hood? difference, we do it all right here! year development plan of 6,000 promising 3,900 permanent af- This is where Henry finds Portland provides a testing units at a cost of $150 million, fordable housing units should room for improvement. ground for how these benefits leading many to question why Measure 102 pass, but only “It’s been fairly difficult to might be implemented, but it 2,400 if it fails. do any affordable, high-density remains the only city in Oregon housing because of our codes to have passed an affordable Beyond Portland and our restrictions — cost of housing bond. Treading into Th e Siuslaw News Presents: Outside the Portland area, land and so forth,” he said. these uncharted waters with lit- the need for affordable housing Though the city has made tle precedent worries some who is also felt, but passing bond attempts to provide incentive, question what unforeseen pit- measures to develop housing making the landscape attractive falls lay ahead, reflected in the five “no” votes the measure received in the Senate. State Sen. Alan Olsen of LAW S INDOOR OUTDOOR District 20 was one of those U SI opposed. “The reason I oppose it is, SIGNS & BANNERS it’s too nebulous,” he said. “You never give government unfet- VEHICLE GRAPHICS tered access to your funding C I & G R A P H without some kind of guide- VINYL LETTERING lines … to direct how they STICKERS & CLINGS 'ų spend the money.” Olsen’s argument finds 8 WINDOW GRAPHICS popularity among those con- cerned with government waste YARD SIGNS and inefficiency. Allowing ac- cess to public money without clearly outlined oversight or 2QWKHFRUQHURI th 6WUHHW +LJKZD\ guarantees raises eyebrows for some — “Especially when you make it a constitutional amendment,” he added. “One of the problems I have is that (715 Quince St.) ‘affordable housing’ is not de- fined in the law. So everybody that can borrow money gets to define what they consider to We sell and install all types of garage doors, be ‘affordable.’” as well as garage door openers. (please bring a canned food item to donate for Florence Food Share) When a bond is voted on, alumium • steel • wood • fi berglass • vinyl Olsen said, it’s not always clear where that money is going to • Raffl es • Flu Shots Give us a call today for a free estimate. go. We promise fast, friendly service and great rates! • Lifestyle Presentations • Samples “We don’t know what ‘af- • Health Screenings • Volunteer Opportunities fordable’ is. We don’t know the terms,” he said. “When we allow them to borrow the Sponsored by: money, we don’t know what CCB# 79598 the terms of the contract are, so we don’t know what the payback is.” Cel e However, proponents of the 70 brat + Y ing bill cite the mandate for each ear local bond to prepare its own s! definition of “affordable hous- ing” as among the bill’s strong Complete Auto Repair points. As each community differs in its median income www.hobergsautorepair.com BJ’s Ice Cream and particular needs, bonds put to the public can reflect until gone. New via: River Cities Taxies these elements. ervice S Florence City Limits Only “You’ll have to convince Sponsored by ffered O From our shop to your home or work the voters that there are safe- Siuslaw News guards in the bond and that & BJ’s Ice Cream 345 Hwy. 101 • P.O. Box 357 the bond is serving the right Florence, OR 97439-0012 3rd Generation Owner income levels that that com- 541-997-2413 hobergsautorepair@gmail.com munity meets,” said Wever. For more information call 541-997-3441. See MEASURE page 8A Serving Your Auto Needs Since 1945 MEASURE from page 1A ty in that jurisdiction. Addition- ally, it mandates that “affordable housing” be defined for each bond. If Measure 102 fails, bond rev- enue for the construction of af- fordable housing would remain restricted to projects which are fully owned by local govern- ment. “That makes a lot of sense when you’re talking about bridges, roads and court hous- es,” said Megan Wever, statewide coalition and communications manager of the Yes for Afford- able Housing campaign. “But it doesn’t make sense when you’re talking about affordable hous- ing.” Affordable housing develop- ments often draw funding from multiple sources to make a proj- ect viable, but preventing access 45% OFF Implants NOW CALL NOW 541-997-6226 G OOD L IFE S igns 3 S 2 18 / Boomer & Senior Expo Thursday, October 25 10am-3pm Florence Events Center Free Admission • • • • • • 997-8148 LOCATED AT: 7KH6KLSSLQ·6KDFN Garage Doors sales • installation • repair MIKE BARRETT’S GARAGE DOORS Florence • 541-991-0367 Hoberg’s FREE FREE Taxi Ride Kevin McMullen