Ozzie Gonzalez (running for Mayor)
Should policies be adopted to ensure every neighborhood in Portland welcomes more neighbors, through smaller, denser, lower-cost housing options like smallplexes, cottage clusters, and small-to-moderate-sized apartment complexes, via both the nonprofit and private markets?
Yes, everywhere. My vision for housing in Portland is that no matter what the job, everyone who works in Portland and chooses to live in Portland will find affordable, walkable housing options that meet their lifestyle needs. I believe the city has a responsibility to ensure we have a variety of housing options and can meet the demand of every income level at the volume reflected by our workforce. I see a need for us to ensure senior, workforce, low-income, middle-income, supportive, co-housing, prefabricated, modular, pop-up, emergency, transitional, multi-family, tiny, and mobile housing, so having specific objectives with data driven priorities will be key.
Should Portland expand transit-oriented development (allowing apartment complexes by-right within a short walk of all major transit lines) as a way to discourage the use of single-occupancy vehicles and reduce our city’s carbon emissions?
Yes. The largest factor inducing demand for vehicle miles is land use and how far we separate housing from jobs. I am proposing a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Overlay Zone to incentivize projects that enhance public transit, incentivize housing adjacent to jobs, and adopts anti-displacement measures to protect existing residents and businesses.
Should neighborhood associations have less, as much, or more power than other community organizations when it comes to questions of housing, such as whether new apartments or homeless shelters are permitted in a given neighborhood?
The same amount of power. It's important to have a physical presence in the neighborhood in order to have a voice in neighborhood decision-making. Organizations with a physical presence will have an equal interest in the neighborhood's physical appearance and they should be considered accordingly. The Neighborhood Association is a logical gathering point for these conversations to take place and could be the forum where other community organizations convene alongside residents as a common voice for the neighborhood.
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. Additional funding for affordable housing should come from shared investments, partnerships, and development incentives so that taxpayer dollars do not need to carry the entire load of subsidized housing. We could get a lot more affordable units leased if we pay a portion of rent on existing units instead of building brand new units ourselves and paying a premium for brand new construction in a hot market. We must expand the conversation beyond "affordable housing" to consider that we need to provide a broad palate of housing options to accommodate all the price points and lifestyles in our city today. Co-Housing is a valuable model to apply which creates community, reduces the cost of living, and houses more people in a smaller area. Specialized housing such as supporting housing for people fleeing domestic violence is another model the city should be including in their portfolio which fills a critical need in our city.
Would you support a citywide moratorium on evictions during the three coldest months of the year, as Seattle recently adopted?
Yes. Until we have a better balance between the cost of living and wages, I would support a moratorium for households below the income level used to qualify for free & reduced lunch.
As Portland implements an anti-displacement plan, which policies from the Anti-Displacement PDX Coalition would you support? What additional anti-displacement policies do you support?
Implement a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase policy that gives all current renters, and then the city, the first and second rights of refusal to purchase a property at fair-market value before it goes on the market.
Earmark Construction Excise Tax (CET) revenue from construction in single-dwelling zones as a source of subsidy for affordable units in single-dwelling zones.
Charge a fee for any redevelopment of a property in single-dwelling zones that does not include at least two units, unless prevented by site constraints and use the new revenue from this fee to subsidize regulated affordable units in the single-dwelling zones.
Property tax exemption for any regulated affordable units built on-site, for the duration of the affordability restriction.
I expanded anti-displacement policies to apply to transit oriented development projects as well as affordable housing and residential infill. I believe it is the City's responsibility to ensure there is a housing unit for every job in Portland and that the wages of the jobs balance the costs of the housing units. For this reason, I see the City as a captive stakeholder in the event of any involuntary displacement and I believe the city's housing bureau should be supporting tenants at risk of displacement in these instances. My plan for the bureau is ensuring they have the support systems in place to help tenants resolve these issues, find affordable alternatives, or access the anti-displacement programs I propose to create.
What else should Portland pro-housing, pro-tenant community know about you & your candidacy?
I believe housing people based on the mix of jobs and lifestyles in our city is the key to making the city work for Portlanders. I believe with strong design standards and a community driven process of establishing neighborhood priorities we will have a roadmap for future development that will foster walkable, accessible, livable neighborhoods.
González received a C overall from our scoring committee. See all scores and read about our process here.