Stopping New Public Housing Projects In Portsmouth

Hi Mayor Adams:

On November 25, 2008 the email below was sent to the Portland Development Commission. Before the PDC was able to craft a response you transferred the PDC public housing personnel and dollars to your control. As a result of your action the recipient and focus of the November 25, 2008 email below is now redirected to you and broadened in recognition of your statutory powers over the Bureau of Housing and the Housing Authority of Portland.

On behalf of the Argay Neighborhood Association, the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee, the North Portland Business Association, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee and the Lents Neighborhood Association you are asked to direct the Housing Authority of Portland and the Bureau of Housing to immediately STOP all new funding for pubic housing projects in the Portsmouth neighborhood and redirect those funds to other neighborhoods with a population of less than 15% public housing clients.

Time is of the essence. Developers planning to build additional public housing units in Portsmouth and residents need to know your decision. In fact, all 700,000 citizens of Multnomah county will be interested and affected by the implications of your public housing policy decision.

After sixteen years of high level service in Portland's city hall you are no stranger to this issue. You have written that changing city policy from UNLIMITED neighborhood concentration of public housing to Equitable Distribution of Public Housing, which requires authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data, is something you have been "unable" but not "unwilling" to do. Now that you are mayor, "UNABLE" is no longer a valid argument impeding successful action.

Please issue a public statement on this request as soon as possible and copy me so that I may share it with interested parties.

Thank you.

Richard Ellmyer

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From: ellmyer@macsolve.com

Subject: Argay NA Joins Lents NA, PRAC, NPBA And ICURAAC In Halting New Public Housing In Portsmouth

Date: November 25, 2008 9:25:05 AM PST

To: sandrews@melvinmark.com, bferran@windermere.com, john_mohlis@comcast.net, cawilhoite@willamette.com

Cc: warnerb@pdc.us, DeaneK@pdc.us, jackleyj@pdc.us, jeff.cogen@co.multnomah.or.us, samadams@ci.portland.or.us, Nick@ci.portland.or.us, rleonard@ci.portland.or.us, dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us, Erinn.L.Kelley-Siel@state.or.us, board@hapdx.org, rep.tinakotek@state.or.us, sen.margaretcarter@state.or.us, Jensen-ClassenJ@pdc.us, ted.wheeler@co.multnomah.or.us, amandafritzrn@aol.com, representative.citizen@state.or.us, interested@macsolve.com, jim_schaller@yahoo.com, jscott100@cox.net, alicia.fuchs@ojd.state.or.us, dchakwin@comcast.net, argayinfo@yahoo.com

Hi PDC Commissioners Andrews, Ferran, Mohlis and Wilhoite:

I am pleased to report that the Argay Neighborhood Association has joined the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee, the North Portland Business Association, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee and the Lents Neighborhood Association in their requests to STOP New Funding For Public Housing In Portsmouth.

The Argay Neighborhood Association, having long followed Mr. Ellmyer's quest for equitable distribution of subsidized housing throughout the region and his repeated requests for accurate and timely statistics and other information on this subject, fully supports every aspect of the positions set forth in the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee And The North Portland Business Association Statement On Public Housing Equity.

Valerie Curry, President

Argay Neighborhood Association

The Argay Neighborhood Association, the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee, the North Portland Business Association, the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee and the Lents Neighborhood Association request that each one of you - Charles Wilhoite, Scott Andrews, Bertha Ferran and John Mohlis - individually and as a PDC majority, immediately and publicly express your commitment 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."

Please direct your responses to Richard Ellmyer who will distribute your individual and group decisions to all interested parties.

Thank you.

Richard Ellmyer

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Mr. Ellmyer,

We of the Lents neighborhood Association have become aware of the difficulty you are having with the PDC, Specifically Commissioners Andrews, Ferran, Mohlis and Wilhoite.

It would seem that to truly serve ALL the neighborhoods in Portland and to have any sense of parity between the neighborhoods and the allocation of public housing projects the PDC and HAP would already have had the information that was suggested by the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee.

The Lents Neighborhood Association supports you Mr. Ellmyer, and the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee in your call to the PDC and HAP to halt funding for housing in the Portsmouth area until we have an accurate survey to be able to spread the subsidized housing through ALL the neighborhoods.

Sincerely

Damien A. Chakwin

President, Lents Neighborhood Association

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From: Richard Ellmyer

Subject: STOP New Funding For Public Housing In Portsmouth

Date: November 13, 2008 12:40:53 PM PST

To: sandrews@melvinmark.com, bferran@windermere.com, john_mohlis@comcast.net, cawilhoite@willamette.com

Hi PDC Commissioners Andrews, Ferran, Mohlis and Wilhoite:

On behalf of the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee and the North Portland Business Association I draw your attention to Item D of the joint statement on public housing policy below.

Portsmouth Residents Action Committee And The North Portland Business Association Statement On Public Housing Equity

A. We oppose a public policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing.

B. We support a public policy of equitable distribution of public housing which requires authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from all pubic entities that administer public housing programs.

C. We request authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from the Housing Authority of Portland in the following format:

Report #1. HAP Public Housing Program

A tab delimited text file with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date, for ALL clients in this database.

Report #2. HAP Section 8 Housing Voucher Program

A tab delimited text file with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date, for ALL clients in this database.

Report #3. New Columbia in North Portland's Portsmouth Neighborhood Program

A tab delimited text file with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date, for ALL HAP public housing clients (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) living in New Columbia as of October 1, 2008.

Report #4. HAP Affordable Housing Program

A tab delimited text file, including the total number of public housing (means test + government subsidy + rental agreement) HAP clients living in all of HAP's 32 properties in Multnomah county as of October 1, 2008, with the following fields: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Income 4. Neighborhood 5. Last Modification Date.

D. We support the request made by the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee to the Portland Development Commission to stop all new funding for public housing intended for the Portsmouth neighborhood and rerouted to other ICURAAC neighborhoods with less than 15% public housing clients. (See ICURRAC letter immediately below)

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

E. We will oppose all new public housing projects in North Portland unless and until we have received authentic, accurate, complete and timely public housing statistical data from the Housing Authority of Portland as stated in article C above.

The Portsmouth Residents Action Committee and the North Portland Business Association request that each one of you - Charles Wilhoite, Scott Andrews, Bertha Ferran and John Mohlis - individually and as a PDC majority, immediately and publicly express your commitment to abide by the request of the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee, the Portsmouth Residents Action Committee and the North Portland Business Association 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."

Please direct your responses to Richard Ellmyer who will distribute your individual and group decisions to all interested parties.

Thank you.

Richard Ellmyer

Stopping New Public Housing Projects In Portsmouth - Now The Mayor's Choice - 1/15/09