Category: Government

Construction, Government

Inclusionary Housing Incentives Extended to Montavilla

On January 31st, Portland City Council voted to adopt updates to the City’s Inclusionary Housing Code that promote the financial viability of multifamily housing developments offering regulated units for people making at or below the 60% median family income (MFI). The new rules, going into effect on March 1st with Multnomah County’s approval, will expand deeper property tax exemptions for projects beyond Portland’s Central City and will now include Montavilla.

Portland’s Inclusionary Housing rules went into effect in 2017. This program requires the building to reserve a percentage of units for income-constrained residents when a new development offers more than 19 residences. Projects could accomplish this obligation by providing at least 20% of units at an affordable rate for renters earning 80% MFI or offering 10% of units at an affordable rate for renters earning 60% MFI. Based on 2023 numbers, a one-bedroom apartment would cost up to $1,269 monthly for a 60% MFI renter or $1,693 for an 80% MFI renter. This amount is adjusted annually based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) calculations.

City of Portland graphic showing the expanded area for expanded incentives

To incentivize developers to choose the 60% MFI option, Portland offers a 10-year property tax exemption for affordable units targeting those renters. Additionally, builders in the Central City received a tax break on all units in the building if they reserve at least 10% for 60% MFI renters. City Council’s action will extend the Downtown tax incentive to higher-rent submarkets outside the Central City, such as Slabtown and the inner Eastside commercial corridors. Montavilla is the easternmost community to receive this expanded development incentive, and its inclusion could spur more mixed-income multifamily construction in the neighborhood.

Officials designed the ten-year property tax exemption to offset the lost revenue from Inclusionary Housing units, and the expanded discount for all housing units could be the catalyst to allow more buildings to break ground. Higher interest rates, expensive land, and rising construction costs have made numerous Portland developments financially unfeasible. A state-mandated Housing Needs Analysis identified the demand for approximately 120,000 more housing units in Portland over the next 20 years, but current conditions have slowed construction. This Inclusionary Housing update could be what the housing market needs to build more homes.

Slide from Portland City Council presentation of the proposed changes to Inclusionary Housing

Multnomah County has to agree to the additional loss of property tax revenue before the new rules can take effect. Developments in the building permit process or under construction can opt into this new rule after March 1st. Additionally, the City temporarily lifted its forgone property tax revenue cap for six years, allowing as many projects as possible to take advantage of this new rule and putting Portland back on track to meeting housing needs.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account or you can pay for a full year directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Community, Government

Tales of Towing Hardship Needed

The Portland Ombudsman’s Office is looking for anyone who has had their vehicle towed by the city and suffered hardship as a result. The Ombudsman’s Office operates within the Portland Office of the Auditor and was created to assist the public with complaints or concerns regarding city agencies. Deputy Ombudsman Tony Green is investigating the city’s towing policies and practices. Collecting community experience is essential to the investigation, which aims to produce recommendations that will reduce the potential harms of government-initiated towing.

Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman posted a request seeking emailed stories from people who suffered financial hardship because of a City-ordered tow. “Our office regularly receives complaints from economically vulnerable community members who struggle to pay for the towing and storage costs to recover their vehicles,” wrote the Ombudsman’s Office. “This investigation is part of our ongoing efforts to identify and investigate systemic issues when the City’s actions may result in unfair treatment and harm.”

The Ombudsman’s Office conducts independent investigations based on complaints received. People should first seek help from the city agency where the problem occurred, but the Ombudsman’s Office wants to hear about experiences where the city’s process is unfair. Those reports sometimes lead to an investigation like the towing one underway now. The Office’s staff handles complaints against the City of Portland but has no jurisdiction over police or elected officials, including City Commissioners, the Auditor, and the Mayor. 

People willing to share their stories of financial hardship caused by city-ordered towing should contact Tony Green at tony.green@portlandoregon.gov. Information provided could help the Ombudsman’s Office in its efforts to ensure city agencies treat Portlanders fairly.

By

Jacob Loeb

Community, Government, Infrastructure

County to Vote on SE 82nd Ave Shelter

On December 7th, the Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners will hear from Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) staff regarding the alternative shelter planned for 333 SE 82nd Avenue. The presenters are seeking approval to begin building a 29-Pod micro-home facility to shelter up to 40 people experiencing houselessness. Individuals can provide testimony about the project in person, virtually, and in writing before County Commissioners vote. People interested in sharing their perspectives must register by 4 p.m. on Wednesday the 6th.

Montavilla News first reported on Multnomah County’s shelter plans for the former RV sales lot in December 2022. Within the following year, JOHS and the site’s services provider, Straightway Services, adjusted the shelter’s format from a vehicle-based housing arrangement to now include Pallet shelters and onsite parking. Titled Montavilla Community Village, the site will use 29 micro-home buildings with eight units configured with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access. The site’s Kitchen, laundry, offices, and hygiene facilities will reside within six 8-by-20-foot shipping-container-style buildings. All of those structures will be ADA accessible, with the majority of them placed along SE 82nd Avenue, creating a safety buffer for residents.

Site rendering courtesy Multnomah County

County contractors will install privacy slats in the existing 6-foot-high chainlink fence around the site and build a new 8-foot tall wood fence on the western edge of the property between the other residences on the block. The site will feature two covered outdoor seating areas and a green space for pet relief. The existing auto-sales-office structure on the property is in poor condition, and demolition crews will remove it ahead of site redevelopment.

Site plan courtesy Multnomah County

The JOHS proposal includes several community engagement recommendations, including forming a Good Neighbor Agreement with community stakeholders and hosting a public meeting. It also encourages the JOHS to assign a staff person to be the face of community engagement. It recommends many ways for project planners to become more communicative and transparent in the development process through mailings and website communications. County staff need $2,273,611 to redevelop this site as a Community Village shelter and will seek authorization for those funds at this meeting.

The Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners meets at 9:30 a.m. this Thursday and will hear this agenda item after general community comments. Board meetings occur in the Multnomah Building at 501 SE Hawthorne Boulevard in Boardroom 100. People who register for virtual testimony will receive a link or phone number to participate remotely. Anyone interested in watching can view the live stream via the MultCoBoard YouTube channel.

Update December 5th, 5 p.m.: Multnomah County Commissioner for District 3, Julia Brim-Edwards, submitted questions to the JOHS in regards to the presentation materials and posted those questions online for public review.

Update December 6th, 1 p.m.: When filling out comment requests, participants need to indicate they want to speak about Agenda Item R.1

Update December 6th, 7 p.m.: The JOHS asked to postpone this agenda item to anther date after more community engagement.

Update December 7th, 10 a.m.: The Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to postpone the two agenda items related to this project. Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said “The Joint Office (JOHS) has asked to postpone the item on the Montavilla Community Village shelter to allow the current work around community engagement to continue to move forward and take shape. So this request impacts both R1 and R2 on today’s agenda. While this may affect the overall timeline of the project, the commitment to this much needed shelter space is going to continue and I really appreciate the additional time for needed community engagement. The shelter also remains an essential part of the work, serving vulnerable residents in Montavilla and Southeast Portland, so this item will return to the agenda for a vote at a later date before moving forward. I support the request and I ask for a motion for an indefinite postponement.”

County Commissioners Julia Brim-Edwards and Sharon Meieran provided additional comment endorsing the delay to allow for more community engagement. Commissioner Meieran referenced many frustrations with the JOHS communications around this project and looked forward to correcting that ahead of a future vote on the project.

Article and photo by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account or you can pay directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Community, Event, Government, Infrastructure

East Portland Forum on I-205 Tolling

On Saturday, December 2nd, Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham will host a Community Forum regarding proposed Interstate 205 Tolling. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) intends to charge usage fees for the Portland area freeways to generate funds for several large infrastructure projects and maintenance. People can attend the forum in person from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Portland Community College’s Southeast campus Community Hall Annex at 2305 SE 82nd Avenue or by emailing your testimony.

ODOT proposes two Tolling programs that could impact traffic flow on and around I-205 as early as 2026. The I-205 Toll Project would charge a toll for drivers crossing the Abernethy Bridge, which spans the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn. Collected funds would pay a portion of the construction costs for the Abernethy Bridge Earthquake Ready project. The other fee collection method under consideration is called the Regional Mobility Pricing Project. That proposal could impact traffic congestion, street safety, and air quality in the neighborhoods near I-205. This tolling option would charge users as they travel the freeway system. ODOT is still reviewing feedback from an October survey ahead of revealing the exact mechanism used to asses usage fees.

Supporters of the tolling proposals feel it will reduce congestion as people adjust their trips to times when the tolling fees cost less. They also think it will appropriately charge users of the freeway system for its use with direct funding for maintenance and expansion. People opposed see it as an additional tax levied on people who already fund ODOT’s Freeway operations. Neighborhood concerns tend to center on local congestion caused by people avoiding the toll by driving on parallel side streets like 82nd and 122nd Avenues. Expanded usage would undo much of the traffic calming, safety, and livability improvements underway for 82nd Avenue and introduce more air pollution into the community. There are also equitability concerns around charging economically strained people for Interstate access and burdening minority communities with increased spill-off traffic.

This weekend’s special listening session on tolling will provide legislators and state officials with the community’s perspective on ODOT’s proposals. People’s comments in person or through email can influence decision-makers and help elected officials form a vision for transportation investments. Attendees should sign up to provide testimony 30 minutes before the meeting. People who cannot make the forum are encouraged to submit testimony via email to JTSSTP.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov with the subject “December 2nd Hearing, PCC – Southeast.”

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account or you can pay directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Community, Government, Infrastructure, View of Montavilla

Creating Neighborhood Centers

Over the last two years, staff at Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) developed a plan to cultivate two new commercial centers for residents living south of SE Foster Road in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood. Out of that work and years of gathering community input, BPS drafted the Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan to create community cores similar to what other Portland neighborhoods inherited. Through proposed zoning changes and transportation investments, the plan’s authors intend to incentivize future development that will create new walkable corridors lined with small businesses and multifamily housing. On October 10th at 6:10 p.m., the draft plan will appear before the Portland Planning Commission, where members of the public can register to provide comments.

Many of Portland’s neighborhoods feature commercial corridors with stores and restaurants clustered around main streets. As with Montavilla’s SE Stark Street and NE Glisan Street, most commercial districts centered on transportation hubs created by historic streetcar lines or major roads. Often, businesses coalesced in these spaces over 100 years ago. However, not all communities in the city had that historic commercial core before the automobile age shifted resources miles away from where people lived. City planners are now working to reduce reliance on personal vehicle travel and strengthen locale retail access within neighborhoods, creating environments where residents can walk or take transit to desirable destinations. In older areas, that takes less effort because a legacy organization of buildings already supports that effort. However, in some communities with predominantly post-war development, community intervention is needed to create the desired change.

Map App image with MV News illustrations

The draft Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan proposes turning SE 52nd and SE 72nd Avenues into mixed-use corridors with more housing options and commercial hubs at primary intersections in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood. The new commercial district on SE 72nd Avenue and Flavel Street extends towards SE 82nd Avenue, creating a more significant business district that links to a major arterial road. If the City Council approves the plan, zoning changes will be the first step towards instigating uses along the corridor. However, those changes only allow new commercial services and do not force property owners to make any changes unless completely redeveloping a site. Further enhancements are needed to draw people into these centers, spurring property transformation. As in the past formation of community hubs, transportation can attract people to a business district.

The plan’s authors propose street improvements, making it safer and more accessible for pedestrians to navigate and cross the busier roadways like SE 52nd, SE 72nd, and SE Woodstock. Additionally, the plan includes neighborhood greenway projects connecting the bicycle and pedestrian networks through this area. However, enhanced bus transit in this district offers a high likelihood for increased housing density and business growth while strengthening other centers. “One thing we’re finding is that the existing transit network didn’t really serve centers. For example, you cannot take a bus from the Woodstock neighborhood center to the Lents Town Center,” explained Bill Cunningham, a City Planner with BPS. Realigning bus routes and creating more frequent service between centers can provide the linkage needed for these fledgling business districts to take root. The LSER plan will integrate with future transit line adjustments underway as part of TriMet’s Forward Together plan to cultivate the desired change.

The Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan is a response to community desires. It offers a chance to create a walkable and community-focused neighborhood similar to what Montavilla residents enjoy. The 172-page draft plan is available for review before the October 10th Planning Commission hearing. People can use the Map App to leave written testimony and review what other people have contributed. The Planning Commission will consider testimony and deliberate for several weeks, refining the plan through November before forwarding their recommendations to the Portland City Council. The community will have other opportunities to provide comments during the City Council’s review sometime in spring 2024. If approved, substantial growth for the new could take decades of slow transformation. However, that slow change should help prevent sudden displacement while creating opportunities for micro businesses to sprout up in formerly residential buildings.

By

Jacob Loeb

Images in this article courtesy BPS from draft Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Community, Government

Sustainability and Climate Commission Kickoff

Last Wednesday, Commissioner Carmen Rubio and Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) leaders addressed community members at the Collective Oregon Eateries (CORE) food hall on SE 82nd Avenue. Speakers at the event outlined a vision for a new Sustainability and Climate Commission (SCC) currently in development. Staff are actively collecting public input regarding the SCC that will shape the final draft of a City Ordinance. The City Council will vote on its adoption in December 2023, and if approved, the SCC could start work in April 2024.

Public remarks by BPS Director Donnie Oliveira, Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio, and BPS Chief Sustainability Officer Vivian Satterfield. September 6th, 2023.

In 2009, Portland Mayor Sam Adams merged the Bureau of Planning and the Office of Sustainable Development to create BPS. Around the same time, the Sustainable Development Commission and the Planning Commission merged to form the Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC). However, an April 2022 review of the combined commission indicated unclear responsibilities hampered the 11 PSC commissioners’ efforts. Commissioner Rubio has since directed BPS to split the PSC back into two distinct commissions. The reconstituted Planning Commission started work in March 2023, and staff began designing a new Sustainability and Climate Commission the following April.

Reinstating the Planning Commission was straightforward as it uses a clear structure. Projects come to the nine-member volunteer commission, and they make recommendations to the City Council. BPS Director Donnie Oliveira explained that SCC’s role could differ from the Planning Commission and impact many of Portland’s initiatives. “Climate touches all things now. Every decision the city makes can be climate-related,” said Oliveira. A potential model for the new SCC could include launching projects and recommending specific actions, not just looking to incorporate environmentally friendly components into an existing plan. Over the next four months, BPS staff will work to finalize the commission’s scope and structure based on internal and external input.

BPS Director Donnie Oliveira and Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio

Some elements of the SCC are already known. BPS staff’s research from around the country indicates that 20 members will provide the best community representation on the commission. It allows for a variety of voices and skill sets. The commissions’ makeup is another area where community input will shape the SCC. The selection process could utilize the new City Council districts or reserved seats for people with specific expertise.

According to Oliveira, public participation is indispensable, and a relatively short window requires more active participants. BPS Chief Sustainability Officer Vivian Satterfield will lead working groups with stakeholders and subject matter experts through October, and they expect to offer future events like the September 6th gathering at CORE. The expedited timeline is essential to seating SCC members before the new City Council arrives in 2025. As our city moves away from informed Commissioners working at the head of bureaus, new Councilors will benefit from balanced input from knowledgeable people. “Large cities like Portland require community advisory bodies to inform Council,” explained Oliveira. He observed through his work in other cities that a large Council relies on informed input, and advisory bodies can help shape the Council’s policy agenda.

Oliveira sees the SCC development timeline as serving the city’s need to ready itself for its new structure but hopes people remain engaged. “We are at a real inflection point because we are changing the form of government. So now is the time for the community to actually give input,” said Oliveira. Over the next few weeks, look for survey opportunities and other public meetings on the SCC website.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Montavilla News could use your support through Patreon. We invite those who can financially support this local news source to please consider becoming a paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.