Affordable Housing NOW! is on the home stretch for winning a 30% set aside of urban renewal funds for affordable housing, and we need your help! 

On October 4, City Council is scheduled finalize it recommendations for the set aside level.  Between now and the beginning of October, there are 2 important hearings at which we will need TURNOUT and TESTIMONY, as well as several opportunities for you to get more information and education about the set aside, how it works, who it will serve, and why Portland needs a 30% of urban renewal funds committed to housing for working families, seniors and people with disabilities being priced out of our City. 

Please look through the list of dates below, mark your calendars and plan on coming to at least one public hearing.

We are too close to victory to relent now.  Let’s stand up and be counted. Together we will win the 30% set aside!

Turnout Needed to Support Housing Set Aside

August 16: TURNOUT NEEDED for PDC report to City Council. AHN is asking supporters to come to City Council Chambers, Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4^th Ave) on August 16 at 10:45 am to hear the Portland Development Commission’s report of the historic levels of urban renewal funding that has been allocated for affordable housing. Though there will likely be little opportunity for public testimony, it is important that we show up in numbers to demonstrate the public interest in a 30% set aside.

August 28: TESTIMONY NEEDED for HCDC Hearing on TIF Set Aside.  This is your opportunity to speak up in favor of the 30% set aside in front of the Housing and Community Development Commission, a citizens advisory board for Portland, Gresham and Multnomah County.  The hearing will be held at the Portland Development Commission offices (222 NW 5th Ave) from 6:00-8:00 pm. From the input collected at this hearing, HCDC will make a recommendation to Council as to the set aside. AHN will have talking points for the hearing, but this will be your opportunity to tell your story!

October 4:  TURNOUT NEEDED for Council Set-Aside Implementation Recommendations. City Council will hold a hearing on set aside implementation recommendations at 9:30 am on Wednesday, October 4 at City Council Chambers, Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4^th Ave). We will have more information about the need for testimony as we get closer to Oct 4.

Opportunities to Learn More about the Set Aside

August 7: Expert Explains How Set Aside Increases Housing Opportunity. Learn about how a set aside is a proven tool for providing affordable housing. Ceil Cirillo, the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency and chair of the Housing Committee for the California Coalition of Urban Renewal Agencies, will speak about her three decades of experience with Santa Cruz’ set aside at 3:30-5:00 pm at the State Building, 800 NE Oregon, near Lloyd Center/MAX.  See article below for more information.

August 14: AHN Briefing Session on the 30% Set Aside.  Come hear a presentation on the set aside, explaining why a 30% is the right level for Portland, and what we need to do to get the housing set aside passed.  This information session will be held at the offices of the Community Alliance of Tenants (2710 NE 14^th Ave) on Monday, August 14 from 6:00-7:30. Plenty of opportunity for Q&A. Light refreshments provided.

August 17: CDN Public Forum on Why Portland Needs a 30% Set Aside. CDN Bi-Monthly Public Forum will feature a panel of experts discussing why a 30% set aside is right for Portland.  The Public Forum will be held at Thursday August 17, from noon-1:30 pm at the Genesis Community Church (NE 27th and Killingsworth).  The Public Forum is a ‘brown bag lunch’ event, so bring your own eats.

Questions about the set aside? Click here, or contact Michael Anderson via email or at (503) 335-9884.

Affordable Housing NOW! is a coalition of over 40 organizations and hundreds of individuals whose goals are to secure new resources for affordable housing for the Portland Metro area by building a movement large enough to make funding for affordable housing for people with low incomes a political priority in the Metro area. To learn more about Affordable Housing NOW!, go to: http://www.cdnportland.org/ahn.html

How a Housing Set Aside Works: Santa Cruz Urban Renewal Chief in Pdx Aug 7

As the Portland City Council moves forward with a 30% urban renewal set aside for affordable housing, many lessons can be learned from the successes of California’s set aside program. Ceil Cirillo, the chair of the Housing Committee for the California Coalition of Urban Renewal Agencies, will share her three decades of experience using a set aside to provide need housing to those left behind by California’s housing market.

Topics will include:

   California’s examples for spending outside districts.

   How set aside funds are allocated.

   Examples of allocation of set aside funds in industrial districts.

   We will also reserve plenty of time for questions.

When:           Monday, August 7, 3:30-5:00 pm

Where:         State Building, 800 NE Oregon, near Lloyd Center

Questions?  Call Sam Chase at 503-335-9884 or contact him via email.

New Multiple Unit Housing and Transit Oriented Development Tax Exemptions

Portland’s two new multifamily programs for targeted areas of the City are the New Multiple-Unit Housing (NMUH) and Transit Supportive and Residential Development (TOD) programs. Both provide a 10-year tax exemption on the improvement value of a new multifamily or mixed-use project. 

New Multiple Unit Housing Tax Exemption Program

The NMUH program is available in the Central City and urban renewal areas (URAs).  Since October 19, 2005, there has been a moratorium on accepting new applications for the NMUH program.

On July 19, 2006, the City Council passed an ordinance to extend the moratorium for the NMUH program to December 2007 to allow for more analysis of the program benefits as part of the City's update to the Central City Plan and study of the expiring west-side urban renewal areas.  But, they did amend the ordinance to allow projects with 100% of the units affordable to be able to submit tax exemption applications during the moratorium period. 

Transit Oriented Development Tax Exemption Program

The TOD program is not under a moratorium. It is currently available in light rail station areas (not Interstate) outside the Central City, the Gateway Regional Center, the Hollywood and Lents Town Centers, and the Northwest plan district. It is, however, a very similar program and is included in this review. 

On June 27th, the Planning Commission approved the staff proposal for changes to the TOD program boundaries to include all light rail station outside the Central City (Interstate and I-205), as well as MLK, and portions of Sandy and Foster.  They also approved some updates to the public benefits list and approval process.  The program will be brought before the City Council later this summer. 

For more information about the proposed changes to the TOD Tax Exemption, as well as the resolution to extend the NMUH Tax Exemption program visit http://www.pdc.us/housing_serv/hsg_development/multi-lta.asp.

If you have any questions please contact Barbara Sack (503-823-7853) or Leah Greenwood (503-823-3299).

"Reaching New Heights," the 5th national community development census from the National Congress for Community Economic Development (NCCED), shows continuing gains in the productivity, scope and depth of the movement. Released on June 27, the census shows that as of the end of 2004 CDCs have:

Produced 1,252,000 homes and apartments, up from 650,000 through 1997.

Developed 126 million square feet of commercial and industrial space, up from 65 million square feet through 1997.

Created 774,000 jobs, up from 247,000 through 1997.

Increased their ranks to 4,600 as compared with 3,600 through 1997.

Moreover, according to the data, CDCs are involved in an increasingly broad range of community building programs, from youth programs (36%) to job placement (25%). In a unifying theme, 62% of CDCs report programs in community organizing and advocacy, and 59% in homeownership counseling. While 31% of CDCs report that they developed nonresidential real estate as of 1997, 45% are now engaged in this work, particularly in the area of "community facilities" like health and child care centers.

Also noted was the importance of intermediary organizations' support of CDCs. According to the census, LISC provided substantial funds to 24% of all CDCs, more than twice the share of any other intermediary.

To read the survey in its entirety, please visit NCCED's website at www.ncced.org.

NAYA's Native American Housing to Homeownership Fair July 29

NAYA is hosting a Native American Housing to Homeownership Fair on Saturday, July 29th, 10am-3pm at the PCC SE Center, 2305 SE 82nd Ave, Mount Tabor Hall, Portland OR

The fair is offered in response to community need and as part of NAYA Family Center's goal of increasing economic and housing stability in the American Indian/Alaska Native Community. The fair will provide a wide range of resources for the whole community: from renters to potential home owners. In comparison to populations of similar size, only 17% of Portland's 38,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives own their home (Northwest AreaFoundation).

Participants will meet housing resource professionals, lenders and may be eligible to enter to win $1,500 in down payment assistance. Classes, homebuyer assistance information, and housing resources for renters with home ownership goals will be offered. Features include Native American dance performances, a guest drum, food, a Kids' Corner, and raffle prizes.

The announcement and poster are available online at: http://www.dfcs.oregon.gov

Come share your vision of Oregon’s future at Envision Oregon Portland Town Hall. Join other Oregonians on Thursday, August 3, 2006 in Portland at the Governor Hotel for a town hall discussion of what we care about, our vision for the future, and how to help make Oregon a great place to live for us and future generations. The event will run from 5:30-8:45 pm; a light supper will be served beginning at 5:00 pm.

CDN, The Neighborhood Partnership Fund and the Housing Alliance are co-sponsoring this event because it provides a great opportunity to raise the visibility of affordable housing in the land use planning debate.  The current ban on inclusionary zoning and role of affordable housing in building livable communities need to be part of the conversation. 

To register for the Envision Oregon Portland Town Hall, go to http://www.envisionoregon.org/forms/town-halls/20060803-portland

We hope to see you at the Governor Hotel on August 3! To find out more about the Envision Oregon Portland Town Hall, click here.

REACH Community Development will hold its 17^th Annual Paint-a-thon on Saturday, August 5^th.  Join over 250 volunteers as we paint 12 homes in one day. Since 1990 REACH has painted over 170 houses for senior and disabled homeowners.

Registration starts at 8:00am at Glenwood Park (SE 87th & Claybourne) in the Lents neighborhood. Sponsors include Miller Paint, Bank of the West, Washington Mutual, Milgard Windows, NW Natural, Burgerville and Starbucks.

For more information please contact Laurel Lyon llyon@reachcdc.org or www.reachcdc.org

Save the Date: CDN Annual Awards Banquet Sept 21

Mark your calendar: CDN Annual Awards Banquet is on September 21 at Oregon Zoo.

Come and share in the annual celebration of the work of CDN members and their partners.  With the theme of “Putting the Pieces Together,” the 2006 CDN Awards Banquet will feature speaker Donna Beegle, author of “Ending the Silence of Generational Poverty”.  The banquet will be held on Thursday, September 21, 2006, 5:30 – 9 pm at the Oregon Zoo, Cascade Banquet Center.

Ryan Deckert, Oregon State Senator, will be our Master of Ceremonies and Gretchen Kafoury from the College Of Urban And Public Affairs at PSU, returns as Award Presenter. 

To become an event sponsor, to reserve a seat or to find out more, contact Karen Walker at (503) 335-9884.

Entries Invited for Terner Prize in Affordable Housing; Nomination Due Sept 18

The Terner Prize recognizes successful and innovative affordable housing projects and their leadership teams. The Terner Prize is being inaugurated to commemorate Don Terner on the tenth anniversary his death. The purpose is to spread Terner’s vision and principles to the planning, design and development professions as well as to public officials, community representatives, housing activists, and government and private funders by identifying best practices in the field.

Administered by the Center for Community Innovation at the University of  California, Berkeley, the Terner Prize is designed to recognize  successful and innovative affordable housing projects and their leadership teams. It will be awarded biennially to the affordable housing project and leadership team that best exemplifies the spirit of Don Terner’s work, commitment to affordable housing.

One winner will be chosen to receive the First Prize Award of $25,000. In addition, five finalist teams will be awarded leadership stipends of $5,000 so that they may “light the light” for the next generation of leaders in the affordable housing industry by participating in conferences, seminars, or colloquia.

A jury to select the finalists and winning team is comprised of people from the fields of planning, architecture, development, finance, government, academia and media. They are chosen for their demonstrated integrity, expertise and commitment to the guiding principals of the Terner Prize.

Applications will be judged according to the following criteria:  design and construction quality (e.g., sustainability, durability); number of affordable housing units produced; income-levels and social needs served by the projects; positive impact on the lives of residents and the community; and innovation (e.g., creative financing techniques, partnership arrangements, use of density to increase project impact and affordability, mix of land uses, mix of income levels).

An application may be submitted by anyone involved in the planning, development or operation of a project but must include the approval of the original project sponsor, developer, and the architect. Eligible projects must be located in the United States and have been in operation for a sufficient amount of time to demonstrate success.

Visit the program's Web site for complete guidelines and application procedures:

http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10003522/ternerprize

The deadline for applications is September 18, 2006

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