Sam Chase (running for Commissioner position 2)
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. Smaller, denser housing translates to a lower carbon footprint and improved livability. My plan calls for integrating density to fit the character of our changing city by expediting our residential infill on single family lots, transportation corridors, and central hubs for our region--like the Rose Quarter, Albina Vision, and Lloyd areas.
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. Density in corridors and centers show direct results in reducing carbon emissions. I fought hard and won requirements to include more affordable housing when funding TOD projects. That reduces carbon producing single occupancy trips even more.
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. I’m committed to working with our neighborhoods to incorporate their perspectives as we change our city’s landscape and address urban form. We also need to ensure all voices are heard--including and particularly from culturally specific communities. As a strong and proven champion for carbon reducing urban form and environmental protection, I will continue to fight for compact urban landscapes.
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. We must pass the Homeless Services measure that my Metro colleagues and I referred to the May ballot.
With the resources from this effort in hand, we will apply accountability and transparency to proven solutions that serve our houseless populations.
We must invest in housing and shelter for our lowest income populations. Our entire region must be part of the solution--not just Portland “going it alone”. That is why I ran for Metro and championed the passage of the 2018 regional affordable housing bond. Now all 3 counties and the cities within the Metro area are working together through a regional strategy to build affordable housing--that’s structural change for good.
I will complete the build out of 2000 permanent supportive housing units that Nick Fish advocated for, implement major cost-saving strategies on construction, coordinate access so that our most vulnerable truly receive the housing and services they need, and ensure we are empowering culturally specific, and culturally responsive communities in driving our solutions.
Would you support a citywide moratorium on evictions during the three coldest months of the year, as Seattle recently adopted?
Yes. Preventing houselessness is one of the most cost-effective ways to address our housing crisis. People experiencing houselessness--especially at a time of year where literally surviving is most difficult--are in danger of seeing other conditions exacerbated--like mental health or substance use. As someone who lost his father to mental illness and drug addiction when I was a teenager, I am committed to keeping people housed in a safe place to call home and providing resources to help take care of their basic needs.
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?
Require advance 90-day written notice to a tenant if the owner plans to sell, demolish, or redevelop their home.
Grant a “right to stay” to existing tenants; require landlords to rehouse tenants they displace in their neighborhoods at a rent comparable to what they had been paying, or by helping the tenants to purchase a unit with down-payment assistance.
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.
Our work in urban renewal is not done. City resources have driven property value increases through investments under the guise of ‘combating blight’. The efforts have perpetuated the displacement of communities of color into the ‘numbers’. I constructed and led the Affordable Housing Now! Coalition consisting of more than 1000 members. We successfully advocated for urban renewal reform and won a commitment from the city to allocate 30% of all urban renewal funds to affordable housing and shelter.
What else should Portland pro-housing, pro-tenant community know about you & your candidacy?
I’ve committed my career to addressing our economic disparities and poverty. Housing and services are just tools that we know work to that end but are not the goals in themselves. Living wage jobs will be more important than ever as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the highlights from my plans on the topics of housing and homelessness:
Housing and Homelessness Plan
Portland faces a growing homeless crisis. Incremental steps to addressing homelessness, and the equivalent of band aids and duct tape are failing to get the job done. My plan will fund and implement proven solutions that match the scale of our crisis. As our community faces an unprecedented health crisis, the need for decent, safe, affordable housing is only clearer. Portland will provide a model to inspire cities around the country to follow suit and truly address homelessness, solve chronic houselessness and the need for camping, as well as restore the livability of our communities for everyone. Sam will:
Let culturally specific communities take the lead--Communities of color are disproportionately affected by homelessness--particularly Black and Native American populations. I will set aside program resources to invest in non-profit and other service providers to identify and implement programs that specifically lead with race as a determining factor on how to deliver services.
Living wage jobs--We need to ensure that the benefits of our economic growth reach everyone. For those who can work, the reward for their labor should be a wage on which they can support a family in the same community where they are finding work. In turn, workers contribute to the tax base to support continued services for others. I will ensure people living with houselessness or on the verge of houselessness are able to access job training services through effective non-profit, community college, and government workforce programs. Construction, healthcare, and other sectors face a dearth of qualified and trained workers. When people find a path to sustained economic success, we all win.
Implement Nick Fish’s plan to create 2,000 Permanent Supportive Housing Units. Our most vulnerable, chronic homeless populations are able to get off and stay off the street when they have housing with ‘wrap around’ services like case management, mental health support and addictions treatment.
Add homeless shelter beds. Smaller shelters throughout Portland--not gigantic overcrowded shelters that overwhelm residents and neighborhoods--will include services to ensure residents are successful in transitioning to long-term housing and support services that will keep them out of houselessness.
Prioritize Access for those with the greatest need. Affordable housing is a precious and unfortunately limited resource. Until we meet my goal of affordable housing for all, ensuring that the resources we have are serving those with the greatest need means we are getting the most out of what we have. I will implement a system that helps populations find the right housing to match their needs. For example, those with the mental and physical capacities to be first in line for housing build to serve a certain population may not be the best fit and vice versa.
Increase the supply of affordable housing--While my plan calls for historic and unprecedented investments to match the scale of our homeless crisis, we can’t subsidize our way out of Portland’s housing crisis. I will implement strategies to encourage affordable well-designed housing types. I will champion well-planned housing along transportation corridors, in commercial areas where infrastructure already exists-like the Lloyd District, through the Albina Vision, and other areas where impacts to existing neighborhoods will be modest.
Cut the cost of building affordable housing--Streamlining the design and permitting process can be achieved with better results for our neighborhoods at the same time. Technologies in prefabricated structures, and less costly financing strategies will also be implemented to bring down the total cost of housing.
Residential infill--Success depends on community acceptance that fits the character of our individual neighborhoods. I will create a residential infill competition for the best designs in a range of categories from duplex to fourplex to six-plex affordable. The best designs will be selected by a community of neighborhoods, architects, culturally specific communities, builders and others, in a way that will generate broad support for designs and sizes that better fit the character of neighborhoods. Winning designs will receive an award but will then be surrendered to the public domain. Approved designs will be available free to builders, along with streamlined pre-development, zoning approval, and permitting such that there will be an incentive to utilize designs that fit better with community priorities. Moreover, incentives will be evaluated for projects that more appropriately fit a neighborhood.
Homeless services--I will champion investments in services that have high success rates in helping people get and stay out of homelessness such as case management, mental health support, addiction treatment, job training and other services connected to housing. Partnerships with the healthcare and service providers must be scaled up by investing in pilot projects and other programs that have the best proven outcomes.
Implement a Regional Fair Share Housing and Homelessness Plan-- Portland needs to stop funding the region’s homeless crisis alone. 95% of the region’s local affordable housing dollars to address our region’s housing and homeless crisis has traditionally come from Portland. Yet, Portland’s homeless populations reflect our region’s population. It’s past time for the rest of our region to take responsibility. My Fair Share Housing and Homeless Plan alone will triple the region’s impact on housing and homeless services by securing funding and building housing and shelter throughout our region and its 27 cities and counties.
Safety for all--I will expand Portland Street Response, https://portlandstreetresponse.org/. Sending trained medics and peer specialists as first responders to our camps and other homeless people helps reduce conflict, get better results, and save resources for Police and other public safety officials.
Sanctioned camping --Dignity Village and R2D2 create safe, self-regulated environments that have low impacts on neighborhoods and their surrounding communities and are excellent examples for replicating in the right locations.
Chase received a B overall from our scoring committee. See all scores and read about our process here.