Alanna (AJ) McCreary (running for Commissioner position 2)

Do you support policies that have been passed to ensure every neighborhood in the City of Portland welcomes more neighbors, by allowing middle housing (smaller, denser, lower-cost housing options like smallplexes, cottage clusters, and small-to-moderate-sized apartment complexes), via both the nonprofit and private markets? (e.g., Residential Infill Project and Design Overlay Zone Amendments)?

Yes, and the policies should be strengthened. Recognizing the limited available residentially zoned land in Portland, strengthening existing policies like the Residential Infill Project and Design Overlay Zone Amendment would provide Portland with an opportunity to expand the existing housing stock, making housing accessible to more residents. Not every household’s needs can be met with a studio, 1-bedroom, or 2-bedroom apartments. As such, increasing the amount of affordable housing available and housing options can ensure Portlanders are equitably housed.

Should close-in, low-density neighborhoods be rezoned to allow mixed-income apartment buildings, in order to increase access to amenity-rich neighborhoods, reduce our auto dependence, and relieve displacement pressure on neighborhoods currently home to higher proportions of communities of color and working class Portlanders?

Yes, everywhere within a certain distance of the city center.

Portland’s very racist history has led to the lack of culturally diverse neighborhoods, especially within proximity to Central City. Communities of color have been continuously strategically displaced further and further away from Central City, making employment opportunities and access to services nearly impossible. The future of Portland needs to include walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods to reduce our impact on climate change and create equitable access to everything the City has to offer. My vision for Portland is a place that everyone can call home and everyone can access the things they need to survive without barriers.

What should Portland do to encourage the development of middle housing (smaller, denser, lower-cost housing options like smallplexes, cottage clusters, and small-to-moderate sized apartment complexes), via both the nonprofit and private markets?

(checklist selections) Invest in the development of regulated affordable homes like these, even if it requires more public subsidy per unit than larger multifamily developments; Acquire land for development of affordable middle housing; Incentivize the development of middle housing (e.g., property tax exemptions); Legalize affordable and culturally-responsive sixplex townhomes in lower-density zones; Expedite land division for affordable sixplexes to increase homeownership opportunities; Allow fourplexes to be slightly larger than triplexes, to incentivize more projects that meet accessibility standards.

Portland is desperately in need of more housing options aside from traditional multi-family and single family homes. With the current market, homeownership of single family homes is unattainable for many communities. The development of middle housing will require community buy-in and development incentives. Recognizing residentially zoned land is limited, my approach would need to include zoning changes as well as changes to City code around what housing types are legal to develop. We must invest in our communities and work towards developing more regulated affordable housing of all types, to ensure every Portlander is housed in a home of their choosing.

Should landowners be able to create historic districts that block lower-cost and below-market homes from high-opportunity neighborhoods without the permission of city council?

No. I believe that decisions like these should not be made in a vacuum and must include community input. After a community engagement process, these decisions must go before Council to be approved. Landowners do not represent all of Portland and decisions like these keep our marginalized communities out of neighborhoods with the amenities needed to thrive. This would only perpetuate our very racist history.

Should Portland dedicate less, as much, or more money to regulated affordable housing? (If you answered "more money," what funding mechanism(s) would you pursue to build this additional housing?)

More money.

All levels of government, especially the federal government, should dedicate more funding to regulated affordable housing. There are many opportunities for funding including TIF districts, funding from HUD, and other State dollars allocated for housing. Our neighborhoods need to be affordable, because without housing affordability, Portlanders will remain at risk of homelessness, costing the City, County, and State more money than it costs to house our residents.

My vision for subsidized housing ensures that all Portlanders can live in homes of their choosing, regardless of their income. Some jurisdictions have implemented housing subsidies to fill the gap between rent prices and household income. Ongoing rent and mortgage assistance programs are also imperative as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing funding to households to keep them housed would eliminate the need for shelters and other emergency housing options, providing the jurisdiction with more money to invest in affordable housing.

The City of Portland has a deficit of 19,804 homes affordable to people earning less than 80% Median Family Income (MFI). According to ECONorthwest: “the market has produced little rental or homeownership housing affordable to those below 80% of MFI, and almost no housing below 50% of MFI over the past 20 years. This supports the need for public subsidy to meet the needs of lower-income households.” How would you eliminate the deficit of homes affordable to people earning less than 80 percent of MFI and over what period of time?

As Commissioner, I would meet the need for affordable housing by setting aside more funding for affordable housing and homeownership programs, particularly for young Black and brown individuals and families who have historically been deprived of access to homeownership. City Council needs to change the way it works with developers, who are often predatory in nature and mostly doing this work with a profit in mind, and not the needs of the people. One mechanism that could help is having a set list of criteria around the definition of affordable housing. Most programs we’re seeing now are ‘Inclusionary Housing’, which are apartments priced much lower than market rent. Developers then usually have to pass the costs of that lost rent onto the other tenants, which increases market-rate rent, making it unaffordable. This system is not sustainable, and this is how many people get priced out. City Council must work to prevent predatory lending, require that all mortgage costs are clear, risks are visible, and that nothing is buried in the fine print. This is another mechanism that protects working class Portlanders. City Hall needs to ensure that an equity lens is applied and the interests of the most marginalized are honored when decisions around zoning and taxation are made, and they should encourage community-centered development to provide community land and housing affordability in perpetuity.

Should affordable housing be equitably distributed across all communities in the City of Portland? In other words, should the City ensure the addition of affordable housing to neighborhoods with a lower than average share of subsidized affordable housing?

Yes. Housing should be affordable for ALL Portlanders regardless of their income or identities. By centering our most vulnerable and marginalized communities, I would champion the development of affordable housing in our lower income neighborhoods, especially neighborhoods where the schools have the highest homelessness rate and lowest retention rates. By keeping our most marginalized communities housed, we can prevent displacement, ensure attrition, and prevent homelessness. Following that, I would champion more subsidized housing or rent subsidy vouchers for other neighborhoods in Portland.

What actions would you support to address the homelessness crisis in the City of Portland?

(checklist selections) Invest in permanent supportive housing; Invest in behavioral health and other supportive services; Invest in capacity of outreach workers to connect with more people experiencing homelessness; Provide supportive services to and support the self governance of self-organized homeless encampments; Remove barriers to extremely-low-cost market-rate options like backyard homes on wheels, rooming houses and vacant-bedroom rentals; Give people cash or vouchers.

Homelessness has been and continues to be one of the largest issues Portland faces. The only way to eradicate homelessness is by housing people. Sweeping camps, banning camping along major streets, building congregate shelters, and creating hostile architecture to prevent camping are all inhumane attempts to criminalize homelessness. As Commissioner, I would champion a Housing First approach to homelessness, through the investment of permanent supportive housing, behavioral health and supportive services, and community-based organizations supporting our unhoused Portlanders on the ground. We cannot continue to create barriers to housing for our Portlanders. We must utilize a trauma-informed approach to supporting our unhoused Portlanders and provide them with housing and any support needed to get them back on their feet.

What policies would you support to advance racial equity in housing access and promote housing stability for all residents and especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color who face disproportionate barriers to housing access?

(checklist selections) Eliminating criminal screening criteria like the City of Seattle did in 2017. Reduce other rental barriers (e.g., eviction history, credit history, etc). Expand investment in emergency rent assistance to prevent evictions for nonpayment of rent. Support fair housing enforcement. Down payment assistance for Black, indigenous, and people of color. Capacity support for culturally specific organizations interested in developing affordable housing. Ban on nonpayment-of-rent evictions during the winter months. Invest in permanent supportive housing for people exiting institutional settings (e.g., criminal justice, state hospital, in patient treatment). Land back to indigenous people. Reparations and repair for Black residents of Multnomah County impacted by racism in the housing market (e.g., urban renewal, Vanport flood, etc.)

What currently proposed tenant protection policies do you support that would protect tenants from unjust eviction or landlord harassment?

(checklist selections) Proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance, which would define specific behaviors as landlord harassment, impose monetary penalties onto landlords as consequences for harassment, and strengthen the Rental Services office to support vulnerable tenants who are experiencing harassment; Proposed Eviction Representation for All ballot measure, which would provide free legal representation to all tenants in eviction court in Multnomah County.

Optional question: Whose voices should be centered in developing housing and land use policy across the greater Metro area?

(checklist selections) People experiencing homelessness. Black, Indigenous and people of color. Tenants.

When we center those most impacted, we can craft community-based solutions, which everyone will benefit from.

Optional question: What else should Portland's anti-racist, pro-housing, pro-tenant community know about you & your candidacy?

I’ve been working as an anti-racist consultant for a few years. I’m a renter. I believe that every Portlander deserves safe, stable housing that meets their needs. I’m pro-housing and pro-tenant and that’s the energy I’m taking with me to Portland City Hall.

McCreary received an A overall from our scoring committee. See all scores for this primary election and read about our process here.