Portland's Homelessness And Housing Committee Faces Moment Of Truth

SUBMITTED TESTIMONY TO PORTLAND’S HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING COMMITTEE 5-26-25

Related to Agenda Item 3 on the Portland’s Homelessness and Housing Committee Meeting of 5-27-25 Document number 2025-212

https://www.portland.gov/council/documents/resolution/unified-housing-strategy-resolution

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. (See Housing Primer below)

As you debate the resolution to Require the City Administrator to assess and align existing plans in the development of a unified housing strategy for the City please consider the following:

A. Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Announces Essential Step Toward Increased Housing Production, Affordability and Choice. https://content.govdelivery.co...

LCDC is the overarching and guiding force for housing development in Oregon. All conversations and resolutions regarding housing must start with asking the question, Are we, Portland, (and this ordinance) in compliance with LCDC Goal 10 requirements?

LCDC defines Public Housing as, Government-Assisted Housing, i.e. housing that is financed in whole or part by either a federal or state housing agency or a local housing authority as defined in ORS 456.005 to 456.720, or housing that is occupied by a tenant or tenants who benefit from rent supplements or housing vouchers provided by either a federal or state housing agency or a local housing authority.

https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/OP/Documents/goal10.pdf. Note the absence of the word, “affordable.”

B. Where is a Publicly Vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and Plan?

All 201 elected city councilors, which includes all members of the Portland city council, and county commissioners in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties were unable to produce evidence that Metro has a Publicly Vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and Plan. The question of, Who’s In Charge Here?, with regards to a Publicly Vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and Plan is a fundamental question that must be addressed and answered BEFORE any resolutions of action should be taken.

Metro declared Housing a REGIONAL matter under its control. It persuaded voters that despite the fact that the governments of and within Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties had similar revenue raising resources they had failed to deal effectively with the homeless and housing crisis. Voters 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. Funneling taxpayers dollars back to the same institutions that voters had already identified as FAILURES does NOT display competence in Metro’s authority to create a Publicly Vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and Plan.

To date, no member nor committee of the Portland City Council has been willing to publicly confront this issue. This must change.

Unless and until the Portland City Council decides to take the lead in developing and executing a Publicly Vetted REGIONAL Housing Policy and Plan it must challenge and demand that the Metro REGIONAL government fulfill its REGIONAL self-proclaimed obligations.

Rancorous conversations with Multnomah county regarding which government does what and pays how much with regard to homelessness are not necessary if and when Metro takes on the responsibility for which it pronounced authority. Metro makes the policies, executes the plans and pays for it all. The only unified homeless and housing plan necessary for Portland to pursue is one in which Portland aligns itself with every city council and county commission within Metro’s catchment to make Metro do its REGIONAL duty.

C. Citizens and elected leaders in Portland and throughout Oregon have overwhelmingly and unequivocally made homelessness the top most important item on the public’s agenda.

#1 Getting all those illegally camping on public property removed from those properties.

#2 Providing immediate temporary shelter followed eventually by permanent Public Housing for the homeless as resources and the public mood and values will allow.

There are significant and meaningful differences among the housing issues of:

1. Providing shelter for the homeless

2. Providing affordable permanent public housing for households <=80% MFI (Most Public Housing is NOT Affordable Housing)

3. Increasing the inventory of market rate apartments for rent and houses for sale in the 81-120% MFI range that meet the definition of Affordable (see definition below).

The first order of business is to gather relevant data to each of these categories. What do we have? What will we need? Where will we put it and why? (District 1 or 2 or 3 or 4? See Metro/Oregon Public Housing Location Maps.) What will it cost? Who will pay for it? What are the policies and plans required to accomplish our goals?

It is very important to understand that each category is separate and requires individually crafted polices, plans and executions.

This resolution does NOT configure its intentions within these parameters.

D. Several Councilors and staff have made the point that despite Portland’s best efforts of staff and budget resources more people are becoming homeless than housed. Federal cut backs in personnel and funding will assure that this trend not only continues but dramatically increases. Which raises a number of fundamental questions which this ordinance does NOT address, namely:

1. There are currently three councilors, Smith, Lane and Avalos plus mayor Wilson who are publicly committed to be accountable for their support for Wilson”s plan to end homelessness in Portland by December 1, 2025. By which he means:

a) Remove all illegal camping on public property in Portland.

b) Provide shelter accommodations to all who have been removed from public spaces.

A worthy goal for which we wish him and the councilors in his boat well. However.

2. Who will do the December 1st count to verify the number of homeless that are or are not camping on public property? Police? Mayor’s office? Councilors’ offices? Neighborhood association members? Other?

3. In the event of a ZERO count where is the celebratory party? In the more likely, perhaps inevitable, event of one or more tents remaining on public property what’s the location of the public “flogging” and the presentation of the Erik Sten Award for FAILING To End Homelessness to those going down with the ship and captain Wilson?

4. What’s the plan on Dec. 2 and beyond if and when the tents reappear?

This ordinance provides no answers to these questions.

E. A Housing Primer For Citizens, Candidates, Elected Officials And The Press is below. This ordinance does not fully comport with it.

F. The public deliberations of the Homelessness and Housing Committee have revealed a very strong bias towards the homeless side of the equation. The imbalance is disturbingly noticeable. This committee, indeed the entire council - which will, in the public’s mind, be held responsible and accountable for homeless successes and failures - must consider its choices of words, conversations and actions as reflecting the needs, values and Common Good of ALL the citizens of our city.

G. I would be willing to discuss these matters in person with any interested councilor at a mutually agreed upon date, time and place.

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/m...

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/...

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”

https://psucollegeofed.wordpress.com/2022/09/23/lifelong-learning-at-psu/?fbclid=IwAR3S9Pff0mBGeT6Ha8dQeAqL0nAqU7QzZ-0pJC_oTQJxBWlAb2fdXzdE0w4

Patch news.

A Housing Primer For Citizens, Candidates, Elected Officials And The Press

https://patch.com/oregon/portland/oregon-housing-whom-how-much-who-pays-where-when