Politics & Government
Oregon Housing. For Whom? How Much? Who Pays? Where? When?
You cannot fix nor even have a meaningful conversation about housing if you don't understand the language and process of housing development
A Housing Primer For Citizens, Candidates, Elected Officials And The Press
Housing is at the top of Oregon’s political agenda. When you speak or write about it with friends, family, colleagues, competitors and constituents keep this in mind:
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You cannot fix nor even have a meaningful conversation about housing if you don’t understand the language and the process of how housing development works. The information below will help you.
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Publicly subsidized and private developer housing are very complicated. Public Housing is especially time consuming because of its more complex financing options as well as building rules and regulations attached to that financing. Very few, if any, elected officials in Oregon have demonstrated a professional level, common good understanding of this subject.
Elected officials, rightly, represent the interests of their constituents. When making decisions about Where, When, Who and How Much housing, the political necessity of protecting “my constituents” always prevails, as it should. That’s why they were elected. Only the governor of Oregon, currently Tina Kotek, has the responsibility to consider and represent the interests of all Oregonians with respect to housing policy. Her main avenues of executing her housing policies are through submission of housing legislation and, more directly, through exercising influence and direction to the Land Conservation and Development Commission’s implementation of Oregon's Statewide Land Use Planning Goal 10, Housing. https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/OP/Pages/Goal-10.aspx
Basic Definitions
Public Housing, Means Test (<=80% MFI) + Government Subsidy (any government, kind, amount) + Rental Agreement.
Affordable Housing, A mathematical calculation, i.e. Mortgage/Rent + Taxes + Insurance + Utilities <= 30% of household income.
The term Affordable Housing is meaningless and deceptive unless it is accompanied by for whom. For example, this for sale or rent dwelling meets the definition of affordable housing for those households with an MFI >= 60%. ALL Affordable Housing properties must always be described as equal to or greater than any given MFI, never less than.
The terms Public Housing and Affordable Housing are NOT the same and are NOT interchangeable. When you use these terms incorrectly you are deliberately misusing language to feel good about yourself, not to communicate.
Most Public Housing is not affordable housing.
The Prevailing Public Housing Policy In All Public Jurisdictions In Oregon is - MORE
Basic Housing Categories
0-80% MFI (Median Family Income)
Private developers will not build in this category because there is no profit to be made, unless there are government subsidies. This category is known as Public Housing because, realistically, building units in this category only happens with government financial support.
81-120% MFI
There is a need for rental and for sale housing in this category. To make these units affordable [see definition above] governments must incentivize developers with financial, regulation and other inducements. These are market rate developments. Means Tests cannot be required.
>121% MFI
This is private developers main focus because it provides the highest return on investment. There is no shortage of housing in this category. Governments need not and should not expend resources here.
Accountability - Eliminate or Reduce Homelessness?
Regardless of where you live in Oregon, elected officials that represent you in various public jurisdictions must face the issue of elevating the homeless from camping on public property into living in Public Housing.
Eliminate - Questions
1. How many Public Housing Units in the 0-30% MFI already exist in your district?
2. How many households, including the homeless, currently living in your district are within the 0-30% MFI and in need of Public housing?
3. The average cost to build a Public Housing unit for a household in the 0-30% MFI range is $385,244.* What is the approximate total cost to build all the necessary units of Public Housing for households in the 0-30% MFI range in your district?
Reduce - Questions
1. By what percentage should the need for 0-30% MFI housing be reduced each year?
2. The average cost to build a Public Housing unit for a household in the 0-30% MFI range is $385,244.* How much must be spent each year to achieve this goal in your district?
Alternatives
Alternatives to building 0-30% MFI housing such as large publicly owned outdoor areas with platformed tents, temporary housing in motels, hotels and other types of vacant buildings, various types of living accommodations at church/non-profit organizations et. al. can all be part of the solution.
Accountability - Public Housing. Where?
Without accurate, meaningful data and common, easily accessible and understandable measuring devises neither elected officials nor citizens can ever determine how much progress is or is not being made toward our housing dilemma. If we lack these tools then we cannot hold anyone responsible. Fortunately we have the Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps.
Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps. These unique maps were created by a team of students and faculty at Portland State University. Their purpose is to provide decision makers and citizens an online, interactive tool that can help them identify which jurisdictional boundaries are overloaded or underserved with Public Housing units. This PSU public asset puts elected officials and citizens on equal footing during public discussions justifying WHERE we put Public Housing in any given public jurisdiction in Oregon.
Accountability - Who’s In Charge of Housing in Oregon?
Governor, Tina Kotek
Land Conservation and Development Commission
LCDC is the highest level government body with a truly equitable statewide view of Housing policy, Goal 10, recently revised, after 50 years.
Department of Housing and Community Services
The Oregon Housing and Community Services department focuses on preventing homelessness, providing housing stability, supports financing for the building and preservation of affordable housing and encourages homeownership.
All jurisdictions below exercise parochial interests and authority.
Oregon Legislature
Senate Committee on Housing and Development and the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness
Generally produces legislation at the pleasure and direction of the committee chairs which may or may not be in the wider public interest.
Metro Regional Government
Declared Housing a REGIONAL matter under its control. Voters agreed and have given Metro more than a billion dollars to establish a publicly vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and a plan to execute that policy. To date Metro has failed to fulfill the voters legitimate expectations.
LCDC Goal 10 was recently revised to include instructions that Metro shall provide a REGIONAL housing policy and plan. **
Disparities in Public Housing Units in Counties Under Metro’s Jurisdiction
Clackamas 3%
Washington 5%
Multnomah 11%
All Other Counties
Almost all Public Housing Authorities are controlled by a county commission. Disparities in Public Housing Units range from 0.11%, Wheeler county, to 11.4% in Multnomah county. ***
Multnomah County and Portland - Joint Office of Homeless Services
Very controversial agency.
Marisa Zapata, director of Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, recalls the decision.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is a terrible idea,’” Zapata said. “Multi-jurisdictional governing is really hard. These things only work when everyone is on the same page. You can’t have joint oversight of something when mom and dad aren’t getting along.” Zapata was exactly right.
The bulk of the county money funding the Joint Office comes from a tax on high income residents in the metro area. The office’s budget is $395 million for the coming fiscal year. It is administered by a county employee with no apparent regular approval or veto power process by elected city and county officials.
Former Portland City Commissioners Mingus Mapps, Dan Ryan and Rene Gonzalez have argued that the city hasn’t seen any clear benefits from its investment in the Joint Office, while homelessness continues to grow on Portland’s streets. “Why are we putting dollars into this system, which we all agree is broken?” asked Mapps at a recent council meeting. “The answer seems to be, well, because that’s what we’ve always done.” They are right.
What are the public’s priorities regarding homeless policy and actions?
#1 Get all those illegally camping on public property removed from those properties.
#2 Provide immediate temporary shelter followed eventually by permanent Public Housing for the homeless as resources and the public mood and values will allow.
Developers
Public Housing
The barriers to build Public Housing, i.e, requirements and regulations, complicated and expensive legal environment, difficulty in obtaining loans and financing, higher total costs and long lead times from beginning to end of project are extensive and prohibit development without meaningful government support that assures a reasonable profit.
Market Rate
Maximum profit is achieved by building houses that are affordable to households above 121% MFI.
Planning Consultants
For example: EcoNorthwest - A significant influencer on low population cities with small or no planning departments. They are never involved in Public Housing because there is no profit to them in that sector.
The Courts
Any citizen, group or public jurisdiction can bring suit to stop a housing development alleging violations of law.
Important rulings come from:
U.S. Supreme Court held that the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property does not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals - Public jurisdictions may not remove persons camping on public property unless they can provide alternative accommodations.
The Oregon legislature passed House Bill 3115 in 2021 which blocks cities from enforcing camping policies that are not “objectively reasonable”, a term that remains undefined. Legislative battles to repeal or restrict this bill are sure to erupt on the 2025 legislative session.****
The Federal Government
Expenditures for housing of any kind over the next four years are almost certainly going to go down not up.
Dear Reader: Armed with this document you can hold your own in any conversation or debate about housing with any elected official or any journalist in Oregon. Almost every elected official in Oregon and member of the Oregon press corps has or will receive this document. Now, we Oregonians need to require every power player from top to bottom to make a personal housing accountability checklist, i.e. What do I propose to accomplish within what timeframe?, so that my constituents can judge me and hold me accountable. No checklist, No personal accountability. Oregonians can and should expect them to publicly discuss housing policy accordingly.
Richard Ellmyer
Oregon Voter since 1971. NAV, Non Affiliated Voter. Citizen Activist.
Campaign manager and legislative assistant to state senator Bill McCoy 1980-1981.
Campaign manager and senior staff to Multnomah county commissioner Gladys McCoy 1981-1984.
Celebrate North Portland award 2016 for Volunteer Work and Service with Political and Social Issues Impacting North Portland.
Certified Oregon Change Agent by Governor John Kitzhaber 2011.
PSU Senior Adult Learner, Spring 2021 - Public Participation GiS, 500 level class
PSU Senior Adult Learner, Spring 2024 - Planning and Housing Markets, 500 level class
Author of more stories on the politics, players and policies of Public Housing in Oregon over the last twenty-three years than all other journalists and elected officials combined.
Project Champion and Data Wrangler - Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps https://www.goodgrowthnw.org/maps
GIS for Activism conference, May 23, 2022, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Richard Ellmyer - How I, A Citizen Activist, Used GIS To Effectively Tell A Necessary Yet Unavailable Truth About Public Housing
30 minute Video https://media.pdx.edu/media/t/1_2vrzokta
Lifelong Learning at PSU by Jennifer Jordan-Wong.
LET KNOWLEDGE SERVE THE CITY [Section] “Richard used a course he audited at PSU to create a citizen activist mapping tool to benefit Oregon residents, stakeholders, and policy makers…His interest in mapping as a tool for change began when he noticed that public housing was not being distributed equitably”
Author of The Ellmyer Report, a newsletter that informs, educates and influences on public policy. Its target audiences are elected officials, journalists and civically engaged citizens. Facebook, Portland Politics Plus. Contributor: Patch news.
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https://www.opb.org/article/2024/12/12/a-fight-over-oregons-laws-on-homeless-camping-looms-in-2025/
