Mamook Takatee ribbon-cutting in Portland
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Executive Director Bell recently attended the Mamook Takatee ribbon-cutting event. This 56-unit development serves the Native community in Portland’s Cully neighborhood and is sponsored by Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), the Siletz Tribe, and Community Development Partners. Mamook Takatee translates to “Make Beautiful,” a fitting name for this space that celebrates Native American culture through art while providing space for community programs and art creation. OHCS is deeply honored to contribute to this partnership.
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Updates made to Rent Increase Policy
The Housing Stability Council (HSC) approved an updated rent increase policy at their May 2022 meeting, effective June 1, 2022. The changes presented were generally in alignment with changes requested by tenant advocacy groups and aligned the current policy with statutory changes found in HB 3113. Look for an upcoming technical advisory for additional process guidance. The updates to the policy are summarized as follows:
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Study on co-location of affordable rental housing with daycare and early learning centers complete
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The study identified that the benefits of co-location include:
- An opportunity to meet both Early Care and Education and housing shortages simultaneously.
- Healthy child development through improving housing stability and early childhood experiences.
- Boosting economic output and increasing maternal labor force participation rates.
- Supporting coordinated and smart regional planning efforts, making neighborhoods more family-friendly, and helping local officials identify ways to make land-use planning and regulation efficient.
- Identifying cross-sector financing tools for building supply represents a responsible and efficient use of public dollars.
This study makes recommendations for improving the abilities of housing developers and Early Care and Education providers to co-locate and offers rationale for how the state might design the Oregon Co-Location Fund. Read the entire study.
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County housing data profiles are now available
The OHCS research team is pleased to share the Oregon County Profiles, a comprehensive data dashboard designed to help the agency and our partners understand the demographics of Oregonians most in need of affordable housing and housing stability. Users can view many data variables at the state level or filter the information by county.
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Available data includes:
- Poverty level by race/ethnicity
- Housing cost burden by race/ethnicity
- Homeownership rate
- Median family income
- Vacancy rate
- Housing shortage by income level
- Housing market trends
These profiles are a resource for those who want to understand housing needs by county. This executive summary further spotlights the statistics that shed light on some of the most serious housing challenges facing our region.
When possible, OHCS aims to show this information by race, ethnicity, and gender to highlight the impact that systemic racism and a history of discriminatory policies have had on Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) communities and other impacted populations. If you have questions about this resource, please email Senior Research Analyst Elise Cordle Kennedy at elise.cordlekennedy@hcs.oregon.gov.
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OHCS helps fund new affordable homes in Sisters
Sisters Habitat for Humanity recently completed four of six homes under construction in the ClearPine development on the north side of Sisters. ClearPine is a planned community of 100 lots that borders U.S. Forest Service property, has common scenic areas for recreational use, and is an easy walk to downtown. A true example of a private/public partnership, Sisters Habitat for Humanity, developer Peter Hall, the City of Sisters, and OHCS brought affordable housing to the ClearPine neighborhood. After Peter Hall entered into a development agreement with the City of Sisters to build affordable housing, Sisters Habitat purchased reduced-cost lots and began developing affordable homes using OHCS funding.
Habitat's volunteer contractors are building the homes under the direction of a professional contractor and in partnership with the families purchasing the homes. Each family must contribute 500 hours of sweat equity before moving into their home. To ensure affordability, the lots will remain in a land trust, and homeowners will lease the land and own their homes. The land trust homes will remain perpetually affordable and increase the supply of dedicated affordable housing in Sisters. OHCS is proud to have contributed to the growing number of affordable homes in Sisters.
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State continues paying out Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program applications
OERAP staff and customer support vendors have launched a recertification phase in response to feedback from local partners for tenants who may need additional support. Beginning this week, program staff will reach out to current renters with applications in the system who may not have requested the full 15 months of assistance allowable by U.S. Treasury. Eligible tenants who previously applied and have unpaid rent balances or need a few additional months of assistance to be made whole will be contacted by the program. The OERAP portal remains closed to new applicants; however, local-level assistance is available for applicants who meet minimum eligibility criteria from community action agencies. Landlords can be reimbursed for eligible nonpayment costs such as rent and late fees incurred during the “safe harbor” period by applying to the Landlord Guarantee Program. Tenants with questions about local-level resources can call 2-1-1 to be connected with their regional community action agency.
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2022 Supportive Housing Institute is underway
- Owens Adair Annex, Astoria
- Intrada Portland, Portland
- Third Street Commons, Corvallis
- Kafoury Court, Portland
- Blackberry Hill, Toledo
- Polk 2.0, Eugene
- Providence, Newberg
- Heritage Square, Astoria
- Evergreen, Salem
The 2022 SHI will support these participants as they navigate the complex process of developing and implementing permanent supportive housing (PSH) across the state. PSH is a priority of Oregon's Statewide Housing Plan and is designed to serve Oregonians experiencing chronic homelessness.
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OHCS holding public hearings on draft Action Plan for recovery from 2020 Labor Day Fires
The Disaster Recovery & Resilience section of OHCS published a draft Action Plan for a $422 million disaster recovery grant funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The effort, known as “ReOregon,” will support individuals, households, and communities that continue to recover from the 2020 Labor Day Fires. The assistance will primarily come in the form of new permanent housing in the areas most impacted by the disaster. Eighty percent of the funding in the draft is dedicated to helping homeowners replace or rebuild a home lost in the fires, assisting renters who were displaced by the fires to become homeowners and providing interim housing assistance to survivor households as these solutions become available.
Through June 1, OHCS is seeking public comment on the draft Action Plan for spending the funds, known as Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR). Members of the public are invited to provide their input on the draft Action Plan in person at public hearings, online, or by phone. The draft plan and instructions on how to provide comments are at https://re.oregon.gov.
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Attend an upcoming Agency Request Budget webinar
Those interested in OHCS' draft 2023 Legislative Agenda, which includes recommended statutory changes and funding requests in the Agency Request Budget (ARB), are invited to join a webinar this week. OHCS staff will:
- Provide an overview of the work done to develop requests.
- Share more about the next steps in the process.
- Provide additional details about each request topic.
Staff will send a summary of the proposed plan and a survey to capture feedback following the webinars. Please register in advance for the webinar you plan to attend:
Homeownership
Thursday, May 12, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. – Register
Please email Alexandra Ring with any questions.
Housing Stabilization
Thursday, May 12, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. – Register
Please reach out to Leann Knapp with any questions.
Can't make it? The webinars will be recorded and posted to the Government Relations webpage by May 13.
Oregon Statewide Unhoused Response and Recovery Network
Friday, May 20, at 10 a.m. All notes and materials can be found on the OHCS website. Email Connor McDonnell at connor.mcdonnell@hcs.oregon.gov to be added to the group.
Affordable Rental Housing Division Partner Calls
Tuesday, May 31 at 3 p.m. via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2754075849 or phone: +1 646 558 8656, Meeting ID: 275 407 5849. Please subscribe to "Notices & Technical Advisories: Affordable Rental Housing Development" to receive information.
Homeownership Quarterly Partner Calls
Monday, June 2 at 2 p.m. Subscribe to Homeownership Program News and Updates to receive information on these calls.
OHCS social media events
Recently, OHCS featured a series of video conversations and events on social media including Coffee with Director Bell, How can I avoid mortgage assistance scams?/¿Cómo puedo evitar las estafas de asistencia hipotecaria?, and a video statement by Councilmember Sandoval about the importance of Fair Housing Month. Follow OHCS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to share posts, watch videos, and stay engaged about the latest agency news!
Last updated 5/11/2022
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