A game-changer for Lents
by Editorial Board, The Oregonian Saturday May 30, 2009, 9:40 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/05/a_gamechanger_for_lents.html
"As a practical matter, though, any deal that ignores Lents leaders -- and the Lents Urban Renewal Advisory Committee in particular -- is no deal at all." [That doesn't mean the city council won't do it. DUE PROCESS is IRRELEVANT when there are three votes and a personal pet project at stake - see history of the disposition of the John Ball School site.]
The Portsmouth Residents Action Committee, the North Portland Business Association, the Lents neighborhood association and the Argay neighborhood association all support the following ICURAAC statement. Nevertheless, neither the Portland Development Commission nor the Portland city council paid any attention, dismissing the request out of hand. So the question arises: Why would the Portland city council RESPECT Lents leaders and the LURAC in a dispute over the use of public property in Lents, as they RESPECTED the Buckman neighborhood regarding the Washington/Monroe public school property becoming a community center, and completely DISRESPECT Portsmouth/North Portland leaders and the ICURAAC?
November 7, 2007
Dear Portland Development Commission:
We, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee, support a public housing location policy of equitable distribution of public housing (defined as requiring three components: means test + government subsidy + rental agreement). This is consistent with the public housing location policy of the Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development's published public housing location policy which is:
1. Maximize housing choice, especially for low-income people who have traditionally been limited in the location of housing that they could afford;
2. Discourage the concentration of low- or no- income households in any one area of the city;
3. Encourage the creation of additional housing resources for low-income households integrated throughout the community.
Much of the work of the citizen volunteers on the ICURAAC involves advising the PDC on how to spend public funds on public housing. Acknowledging equitable distribution of public housing as a policy gives us the foundation upon which we can make reasonable, justifiable and defensible decisions.
As an operational imperative of a public housing location policy of equitable distribution of public housing, we have set 15% as a cap on the percentage of public housing clients in any of the 10 neighborhoods included in the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area which would allow future PDC funding for public housing projects. The Portsmouth neighborhood, which has more than 30% public housing clients, is indisputably in this category. As a result, we, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee, exercise our advisory responsibility by advising you, the Portland Development Commission, to stop all future funding for pubic housing projects in the Portsmouth neighborhood and redirect those funds to other Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area neighborhoods with a population of less than 15% public housing clients.
Thank you for your support of this recommendation by the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee.
Sincerely,
Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee
Richard Ellmyer