News from the Continuum

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

DevNW CEO Emily Reiman and Federal Programs Mgr Shelly Ehenger at Council on 12/14

At its last meeting in 2020, Council was again asked to approve HOME funding for the DevNW project (as Amendment #2 to the 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan).  See "'Progressive' Council Snuffs Affordable Hsg Project"  (20 June 2020).  It did so by a vote of six (Andersen, Ausec, Bennett, Hoy, Lewis, Nordyke) to one (Nanke -- no reason given), with zero remarks from Mayor Bennett.

Bennett's silence speaks volumes about his character considering that, just last month, he had been the sole "no" vote on the motion to approve the project site plan and design review and had publicly chastised staff (and apparently Council) for "looking at investing City money in this [housing project, which] makes me increasingly uncomfortable that we haven't looked at this closely enough.  I hope in the future we'll look very closely at these kinds of issues."  See "'I do not understand the Mayor'"  (1 December 2020).

The next big NIMBY fit is likely to be over Sequoia Crossings, a multifamily project that will turn vacant Salem Housing Authority property in the Highland neighborhood at 3120 Broadway NE into ~77 units of a mix of studio, one bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments for highly vulnerable families.  Long "in the works", the project finally appears to be gaining momentum.  On December 7, City Council, acting as the Local Contract Review Board, agreed to exempt the project from the competitive bidding process for contracting (i.e., approved using a "Construction Manager/General Contractor" method instead).  See here for details.  A pre-landuse application review conference with the planning department is expected in January, which should give the neighbors something to sink their teeth into.  There will probably be a pre-NIMBYtive traffic study, although there is no parking requirement because the project is within a quarter mile of the Cherriots Core Network.  This does not mean the plan is to have zero off-street parking, just that it won't be 1.5 spaces/unit (the current thinking is ~50 stalls will suffice).  This is a much-needed project that will build on lessons learned from Redwood Crossings.  If all goes according to plan, construction will be completed summer 2023.    

As promised in November and subsequently directed by Council (see "City to Buy Land Under ARCHES"), City Manager Steve Powers reports that the City met with United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley "to develop a plan for the launch of a local Crisis Response Unit."  There were unanswered questions, he says, so they met with staff from Eugene's CAHOOTS program: 

In this second meeting, three key next steps were determined to be necessary to clarify an accurate budget: conduct a Request for Information to determine possible operational homes for the program, conduct a deep systems analysis including dispatch capacity, given trends and needs seen in cities developing similar models, hold a meeting with core partners to walk through workflows and test [them] against common situations. [Emphasis added.] 

This is the second time that the City's tried meeting "with core partners to walk through workflows and test [them] against common situations", the first time being through the Good Neighbor Partnership.  Let's hope for better success this time around, whatever the ultimate outcome.  The budget coming out of the GNP inquiry was firmly in the $500K/yr ballpark for two shifts consisting of two teams of two.  Anchorage is getting ready to use alcohol tax monies to implement a mobile crisis unit that will cost $1.5M initially.  "For the first half of the year, it will operate 12 hours per day, seven days a week. A team will consist of a paramedic and a behavioral health clinician as well as a unit commander."   Wieber, A. "Anchorage funds a new mental health first responder team."  (24 November 2020, Anchorage Daily News.)  (Before heading to Alaska, Wieber covered the Oregon Legislature for the Salem Reporter.)  Our considered guesstimate is that, after all the analysis is done and the numbers are crunched, CRU will not ultimately "pencil out" without a new funding source, such as an alcohol tax,  notwithstanding Council Nordyke's fervent beliefs to the contrary.

The City's two duration warming shelters have been opened several weeks now.  Shelter on State, or SOS, opened November 22, and Portland Road opened ~December 1.  Both programs found they were initially under-subscribed and have had to adjust the initial plan to enroll select individuals (those assessed to be highly vulnerable if left outside and needing supports) through MWVCAA's Coordinated Entry program.  As of December 22, Portland Road is using a first-come-first enrolled plan (Portland Road).  SOS moved to first-come-first-served a couple of weeks ago.  

Both programs are attempting to adhere to a C19-preventative cohort model, whereby guests are guaranteed a space for 30 days if they agree to use it, and in fact do so.  Not surprisingly, few guests have had interest in, or perhaps the capacity to keep to, the necessary 30-day commitment.  Many prefer to stay put, given the duration shelter program provides shelter every night, but only at night, and to spend only the coldest nights in a warming shelter or even a hotel.  (Seventy or so hotel rooms have been on offer first-come-first-served when the mercury drops, courtesy the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and CARES Act funding.)

The cohort model makes perfect sense from a health standpoint (fewer people swapping the same air).  But expecting people to leave a tent camp every night for weeks or months doesn't seem reasonable considering that it means their stuff might be moved or even missing one morning when they come back for the day, or whatever.  And with C19 shutting almost everything down, there aren't a lot of other daytime options.  While the duration shelters do provide some personal storage space, that doesn't address the problem of where shelter guests are supposed to go during the day.  There was a plan to open Center 50+ during the day for the Portland Road guests, but the plan collapsed under November's surging positivity rate.  

How the response to this week's flooding will affect duration shelter program implementation, if at all, remains to be seen.  See Harrell, S. "Homeless campers flooded out of Cascades Gateway after heavy rain."  (21 December 2020, Salem Reporter.);  Urness, Z.  "'People are suffering:' Floodwaters inundate homeless camp of 300 at Cascades Gateway Park."  (21 December 2020, Statesman Journal.);  Barreda, V.  "Crews pick up debris, help replace belongings for campers flooded out of Cascades Gateway Park."  (23 December 2020, Statesman Journal.)  The City is under pressure from Cory Poole, owner of Paradise Island Park (adjacent to Cascades Gateway Park), whose already loud voice has been amplified by the Statesman, to reimpose the ban on camping in the Cascades Gateway and Wallace Marine parks.  City Council is expected to discuss a yet-to-be-developed plan for how to do that at their next meeting, January 11, 2021.  Providers have told the City that the plan must provide, if not shelter, at least a comparable alternative to the park camping.  Given there are an estimated 600 campers in the two parks, the duration shelter program could accommodate ~10% of them, but only through the end of March.  It could be that the City's should focus more on managing expectations that trying to appear to be responsive to impossible demands.    

City to Extend Park Camping to June 2021

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston 

 

City Manager Steve Powers plans to ask Council at the meeting on December 14 to approve extending the City's C19 Emergency Declaration six months to June 1, 2021.  The original Resolution 2020-18 adopted last March prohibited public gatherings on public property and suspended the camping ban in Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway parks.  See "Sit-Lie Meets COVID-19."  The extension was inevitable, given the surging number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Marion and Polk counties, and the dearth of shelter spaces.  Powers recently gave this report on park conditions:

 

We continue to work on removing garbage from Wallace Marine Park. A total of 120 cubic yards over two days, equivalent to 10 City dump trucks, of garbage has been removed.City staff and Service Master have carefully and respectfully removed garbage and waste that would be a health and water quality issue.  In Cascades Gateway Park we made a big dent! We cleared all the major garbage from the forested areas west of Mill Creek –about 36 cubic yards worth of garbage (three heavy dump truck loads). We did not encounter the massive volume of garbage, debris, and bicycle parts as we have been at Wallace Marine Park. While it was more spread out, some of the campers have been storing the garbage in bags in dump piles, which helped us considerably. Still was a long day’s work. We need to assess the east side of Mill Creek and there is still garbage to be removed from the open area camping now occurring west of the dog park.

 

November 2019 Photo Courtesy Statesman Journal

Heavy rains mid-November 2020 drove campers in low-lying areas out of the parks and into downtown, again.  Tents are most conspicuous outside what's commonly known as the ARCHES building on Commercial Street NE, Marion Square Park, and the Commercial Street side of Rite-Aid.  The City Manager has noticed, and says, "[p]olice and outreach workers will encourage people to relocate", despite the shortage of humane options.  Powers says he believes "This is a dynamic situation that is untenable situation for all." [Sic.  An editing error (?) that makes one wonder which thought came first: "dynamic" or "untenable"?]  The June 1 date for letting the C19 emergency declaration expire coincides with the expected opening of Union Gospel Mission's new men's shelter.

 

12/7/20 update:  City reportedly plans to clear the camps in Marion Square Park and around the ARCHES building on Tuesday 12/8/20. 

12/14/20 update: Council voted 5 (Andersen, Ausec, Bennett, Hoy, Nordyke) to 2 (Nanke, Lewis) to extend the C19 emergency declaration.  See staff report and Whitworth, W.  "Homeless can continue camping in 2 Salem city parks, council decides."  (14 December 2020, Statesman Journal.) The new resolution, Resolution 2020-506, no longer prohibits public gatherings (defined as 2 or more) on public property, but it does require masks and social distancing, and provides that "publicly owned sidewalks, including landscape strips, are limited to active pedestrian use", enforceable by trespass under SRC 95.550.  So, effectively, a ban on sitting, lying and sleeping on sidewalks. 

5/17/21 update: the same language was included in Resolution 2021-21, passed 24 May 2021.  In a 17 May work session, the primary purpose of which was to hear a presentation by the staff of the MWV Homeless Reliance.  On pointed questioning by Mayor Bennett, City Attorney Dan Atchison denied it amounted to a ban on sitting, lying and sleeping on sidewalks.

"I do not understand the Mayor."

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

Last week, Mayor Bennett voted against a plan to transform an empty church property in the Grant neighborhood to affordable*/low-income housing.  He was the only member of City Council to vote against the plan, which both staff and the Planning Commission had approved, and which had the support of many in the neighborhood, but not the Grant neighborhood association board.  He did so "lamenting the loss of historic homes in Salem’s neighborhoods to development."  Harrell, S. "More affordable housing is on the way after Salem City Council approves church property conversion." (24 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)  

Bennett's opposition left some Salem residents baffled.  "I do not understand the Mayor", went the refrain. 

Evergreen Presbyterian Church and Manse

The confusion is understandable, if you don't know Bennett.  Yes, 39% of Salem area households are renters, and Salem has a desperate need for quality affordable/low-income housing of the sort that the project in question offers.  But, Chuck Bennett is a politician.  As mayor, he always votes last, so he knows whether his vote is needed, and he never misses an opportunity to have his cake and eat it, which is to say, please a constituent, or at least throw them a sop.  Pleasing constituents is Bennett's raison d'etre; it's what gives his life meaning.  True, some say Bennett is just a little thick, has been around too long, "doesn't get it", and/or is beginning to resemble his very thick predecessor, Anna Peterson.  Bennett himself suggested just last year that he's been around too long and doesn't get it.  But one need not choose between these views.  The point is that Chuck Bennett is not hard to understand, once you know how he thinks. 

Consider his closing remarks last Monday, which for ease of reference are set out in their entirety at the end of the post.  As noted by Salem Reporter, the remarks began and ended with a lament for the loss of historic homes to development.  But doesn't the project plan commit to retaining the exteriors of church building and manse (pastor's house)?  Does Bennett truly believe turning these interiors into apartments = loss of historic homes?  You'd be forgiven for thinking so, but as that view makes no sense, you have to assume he was seeking to please the Grant neighborhood association, which opposed the project, and he had to code his message so that it didn't sound like pandering.  And, let's face it, people rarely express the real reasons they oppose affordable/low-income development.  See, e.g., McArdle, M.  "Why Do People Oppose Development?"  (15 February 2012, The Atlantic.)

Salem MSA 2020 AMI & FMRs

 

Bennett knows that preserving historic homes is not among the City's Strategic Plan "priority areas", whereas Affordable Housing and Homelessness are.  So, to speak against the project, he had to obscure the fact that it would bring the City much needed affordable/low-income housing.  He did that by suggesting that the project somehow threatens existing housing that the City needs even more, namely the historic homes in Grant.  

 

First, he claimed that the historic single-family homes in Grant, where the current median list price for a home is $282,500, are "affordable", which they may be in the sense that their owners are spending no more than 30% of their gross household income on taxes, mortgage and utilities, even though the homes (and any home ownership) are out of reach to the lower-income households that are the true target of the City's Strategic Plan.  Next, he claimed that, "to come across D Street" -- i.e., approve the project -- is "to open [Grant] up to a real potential of losing" its historic homes.  Surely by now, we can all hear this affordable/low-income housing dog whistle, but just in case, see, e.g., Olorunipa, T and Itkowitz, C.  "Trump tries to win over ‘Suburban Housewives’ with repeal of anti-segregation housing rule"  (23 July 2020, Washington Post.)

 

Concerned not to appear opposed to the City's Strategic Plan priorities (even though he was to all intents and purposes ignoring them), Bennett claimed he was "just not convinced that this is the right project for that location."  In other words, it was the developer's fault for not designing the right project.  

I think this is a family area.  We have a huge number of families that are homeless -- I don't think we're taking care of them.  I don't think we're offering them the kind of housing they need.  And this had all the potential to do that.                

Here, Bennett makes the implicit claim that the project is not for families (because it consists of small, 0-1BR, units), and not suitable for homeless.  However, City policy is that a family may be a single person or a group of persons. Family, as defined by HUD, includes a family with a child or children, two or more elderly or disabled persons living together, one or more elderly or disabled persons living with one or more live-in aides, or a single person.  Salem Housing Authority's Public Housing Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy at 41.  And, the developer intends to target at-risk, low-income families, e.g., children ageing out of foster care, elderly or veterans, depending on funding source requirements.  So, contrary to Bennett's claims, the project does have "all the potential" to offer housing to homeless and at-risk families.  Are such minor deceptions not important because the project was approved?  Bennett apparently thinks so.     

Finally, to signal he understood and sympathized with the full horror of what would happen to Grant if Council approved the project, Bennett invoked the image of Council's 2007 decision to approve the Keubler Gateway Shopping Center - Costco rezone, and warned of how, as a member of the Planning Commission, he 

voted against the re-zoning of that PacTrust property because I thought it was the wrong use and I thought there might be a slippery slope there.  And [in December 2018] watched as you all [Andersen, Ausec, Hoy] and some of your predecessors [McCoid, Cook] tried to kill the development of that property, despite the fact it had appropriate zoning and then complained that previous councils had set it up. 

Never mind if you think it's a stretch to compare converting an empty church property to apartments with a building a big-box shopping center, or that Bennett voted in 2018 to approve the Costco site plan. Bennett's point here is, he has great instincts, he's seen it all before, and we should be thankful he continues to be there, because he's always looking out for constituents.  And, now you understand Charles R. Bennett, politician. 

*Government determines what constitutes affordable housing.  Currently, affordable housing is defined as any home, rented or owned, in which costs comprise less than 30% of the household monthly income.  For more look here.

from Salem's Housing Needs Analysis

12/6/20 update: more details on the current state of Salem MSA housing market:  Woodworth, W and Poehler, B.  "Struggling to rent: Rising prices push some Salem-area families to the edge."  (6 December 2020, Statesman Journal.)

~~~

Bennett's closing remarks following the hearing, lightly edited for clarity: 

I think I'm going to be the sole no vote.  I represented this area for nine years.  I know how hard, how difficult it is to maintain a small, affordable single-family neighborhood and Grant neighborhood association has done a mighty good job of doing that despite all kinds of Councils that come and go.  But...to come across D Street...is to open that neighborhood up to a real potential of losing it.  I think I mentioned I saw it happen over the years downtown, as Victorian homes were moved out and high rises -- or not high rises -- went into their place.  That whole Grant Neighborhood a big chunk of it and this sort of sort of CANDO neighborhood lost house after house after house to a variety of developments.  The only one that seems to have been sympathetic was Liberty Street, where they tried to preserve the houses, and they've still lost houses. 

I continue to believe that our affordable close-in neighborhoods that are devoted to families is something we need in Salem.  It's a kind of housing that meets -- if we need housing for a variety of needs -- neighborhoods like NEN and Grant and Highland, CANDO and even parts of SCAN are really what we need to keep preserving.  I think this [rezoning] is the first step down the road.

I'll talk about slippery slope too.  When I was on the Planning Commission [in 2007], I voted against the re-zoning [from Residential-Agriculture to CR] of that PacTrust property [Keubler Gateway Shopping Center - Costco] because I thought it was the wrong use and I thought there might be a slippery slope there.  And [in December 2018] watched as you all [Andersen, Ausec, Hoy] and some of your predecessors [McCoid, Cook] tried to kill the development of that property, despite the fact it had appropriate zoning and then complained that previous councils had set it up.

 

[Bennett, Lewis and Nanke voted to approve the Costco site plan in 2018.]  

 

I am [also] concerned listening to the discussion of parking that we have made that mistake again on this no parking [in] dense housing developments [by revising the Multifamily Housing Design Code in February 2020 to eliminate minimum parking requirements in new development so as to promote infill].

 

[Voting to eliminate the requirement of parking:  Andersen, Nanke, Leung, Lewis, Nordyke, Ausec.  Against:  Bennett, Kaser, Hoy.]   

I think this could have been resolved with more time and more consultation with the neighborhood I know this neighborhood very well and they have worked hard over the years to be as inclusive and as inviting as any neighborhood in this town.  All you have to do is...take a look at a map of the neighborhood, see the various types of development that have been regularly supported by this neighborhood.  But also [kept] the focus on trying to maintain that core single-family area that is served so well by those schools [Grant Elementary and Parrish Middle].  I'm also not convinced by the discussion of 19 units versus 14 units or nine units.  I'm just not convinced that this is the right project for that location.  I think this is a family area.  We have a huge number of families that are homeless -- I don't think we're taking care of them.  I don't think we're offering them the kind of housing they need.  And this had all the potential to do that.  And then to learn that we're looking at investing City money in this makes me increasingly uncomfortable that we haven't looked at this closely enough.  [Council improperly denied the project HOME funding in June, but will have the opportunity to correct its error on Monday, December 14, see "'Progressive' Council Snuffs Affordable Hsg Project"  (20 June 2020).]  I hope in the future we'll look very closely at these kinds of issues, but at this point I'm just a no vote on this so we'll call the vote.  Call the roll.

12/28/20 update:  Monday last, Council was asked again to approve HOME funding for the DevNW project (as Amendment #2 to the 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan).  It did so 6 (Andersen, Ausec, Bennett, Hoy, Lewis, Nordyke) to 1 (Nanke -- no reason given), with zero remarks from the Mayor. 

Council OKs DevNW Project over Mayor/Grant Objection

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

Last night (11/23/20), City Council approved DevNW's application for the map/zone changes needed to allow them to transform the Evergreen Baptist Church property at Cottage and D streets into 19 apartment units.  The Planning Commission approved the application, but the Grant neighborhood association appealed the decision.  Grant opposed the project at every step in the process, relying in the main on a floodgates argument against the dreaded scourge of multi-family/low-income housing (aka, "luxury high rise" apartments). 

Grant rep Paul Tigan argues Council should disapprove the DevNW project

Shortly before 10 p.m., Councilor Hoy finally moved staff recommendation to affirm the Planning Commission decision with an amendment to the lower maximum height from 50 to 40 ft.  Seconded by Lewis.  Aye:  Hoy, and Councilors Lewis, Nordyke, Ausec, Andersen, Leung, and Nanke.   Nay:  Mayor Bennett, who not for the first time opted to benefit himself politically rather than fulfill his duty to follow the requirements of City code.  "This could have been resolved with more time and more consultation with the neighborhood", he baselessly claimed, after spending much of the nearly three-hour hearing interrupting with leading questions, shaking his head over answers, and repeatedly signaling his bias in favor of the Grant neighborhood association.  Bennett represents the City of Salem on the Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance Board of Directors.

Council had, back in June, sided with Grant resident and former Councilor Cara Kaser in opposing the project, forcing developer DevNW to redesign the project and resubmit the site plan.  See "'Progressive' Council Snuffs Affordable Hsg Project"  (20 June 2020).  For her part in that decision, Kaser was investigated by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.  In late October, she entered into a stipulated final order with OGEC in which she agreed she'd violated ORS 244.120(2).  See November 6, 2020 Meeting Materials at page 123.  The situation recently led at least one observer to conclude:  

It is the Neighborhood Association and the City, not the developer, who has left evidence for bad faith. Until someone turns up evidence that is more than merely conjecture and hypothetical, the developer here deserves the benefit of any doubt or uncertainty.”

"City Council, November 23rd - Affordable Homes and German Baptist Church Project."   (20 November 2020, Salem Breakfast on Bikes.)  See also Harrell, S. "Former Salem city councilor faced ethics complaint for failing to disclose potential conflict of interest ." (23 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)  Harrell, S. "More affordable housing is on the way after Salem City Council approves church property conversion." (24 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)    

While it's never too late to do the right thing, the Grant neighborhood association deserves no credit here, because they opposed the project throughout, as did Mayor Bennett, for the flimsiest of reasons.  While a majority of Council did finally approve the application, that doesn't begin to undo the damage.  Their bad faith refusal to fund the project back in June not only encouraged Grant to continue opposing the project, but also delayed development, raised costs, and generally made it look as though Salem doesn't really want or need all the quality low-income housing that's offered it.  No question that Council got this one mostly wrong.  

In other news, the Men's Mission reopened last week after closing due to a C19 outbreak.  Loew, T. "Salem's largest homeless shelter reopens after COVID-19 outbreak."  (19 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)(C19 winter capacity 110, down from 198)  Alexander, R.  "As temperatures drop, Salem's largest homeless shelter sees Covid outbreak"  (9 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)   Loew, T. "COVID-19 outbreak closes Union Gospel Mission shelter, store in downtown Salem."  (9 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  UGM managed to isolate affected guests, no thanks to the Marion County Health Department, which seems to have been largely MIA on the pandemic front. Harrell, S. "Marion County has spent more than $1 million on a hotel for Covid respite. Most of its rooms have sat empty," (18 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)  There is a good chance Salem could gain additional shelter spaces through Project Turnkey.  See Radnovich, C. "Oregon lawmakers approve $35 million for homeless shelters amid pandemic, recession."  (10 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  Awards are expected to be announced in late January/February 2021. 

11/25/20 update:  added cite to Salem Reporter coverage

12/18/20 update:  Monday last, Council was asked again to approve HOME funding for the DevNW project (as Amendment #2 to the 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan).  It did so 6 (Andersen, Ausec, Bennett, Hoy, Lewis, Nordyke) to 1 (Nanke -- no reason given), with zero remarks from the Mayor.  Recall that Bennett had chastised staff (and Council?) last month, for "looking at investing City money in this [project, which] makes me increasingly uncomfortable that we haven't looked at this closely enough.  I hope in the future we'll look very closely at these kinds of issues."  See "'I do not understand the Mayor'."  (1 December 2020) and "'Progressive' Council Snuffs Affordable Hsg Project"  (20 June 2020). 

City to Prioritize "Hlessness Response"

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

 

This week, Council held a work session facilitated by consultants from Moss Adams to update the City's first ever citywide 2017 Strategic Plan.  The three-to-five year plan has not previously been updated.  The update involves choosing new goals and actions.  Below are the goals and actions the City's focused on for the last three years.

Short term (3-5 yrs) Goals from Salem's 2017 Strategic Plan

To update the 2017 plan, City leadership needs to select ("prioritize") three to five strategies relating to the City's six "Service Areas" or "Result Areas" (Safe Community, Welcoming and Livable Community, Strong and Diverse Economy, Safe, Reliable and Efficient Infrastructure, Natural Environment Stewardship, Good Governance).  Moss Adams presented Council a preliminary "short list" of five priorities based on a survey of Council members.   

11/16/20 Work Session on Salem's Strategic Plan

The survey given Council was based on Moss Adam's "long list" (below), which was compiled from surveys of City management, staff and the public (bottom of the post).

 

 

But what does it mean to "prioritize" a phrase that's not defined?  That was up to Council to decide.  Moss Adams told Council that prioritizing financial stability could mean putting extra time, energy and staff resources into identifying new ways to create financial stability for the City.  But first, was Council ok with the short list?

 

At first Council focused on what didn't make the cut.  Councilor Hoy said he saw DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) not as a separate strategy but more of an overarching goal/philosophy, whereas Councilors Ausec and Leung thought DEI should get more attention.  Councilor Andersen said he saw Infrastructure and Public Safety as being subsumed by Environment and Homelessness Response.  Mayor Bennett was concerned that Great Neighborhoods not be left out and was willing to drop Financial Stability.

 

Next, Moss Adams asked Council to discuss what the phrases meant to each of them, starting with Homelessness Response.  What would success there look like?  The City's management teams, for instance, saw it a couple of  different ways.  One view focused on "direct daily response actions" to mitigate negative impacts, the other focused on "preventing homelessness."  The question for Council was, "how would we know we had actually reached a point of success" on the City's homelessness response? 

 

Hoy led out, but ended by saying he didn't understand the question, and was prompted, "What are the specific outcomes you're looking for?", at which point Bennett jumped in saying, "that the public knows what we're already doing right now", and that he wanted "a list of those programs that are actually in the works."  Hoy took a different tack, saying the City needed to "double-down" on partnerships, regional efforts, stop working "in the silos of government", to which Bennett added, "we just can't do it alone."  

We just can't.  It's too big.  We can keep having 36 units here, 25 units there, and a parking lot here, and a parking lot there and a couple of warming centers and we've now taken care of 200 people.  We still [have] 1,300 people unhoused and probably 200 [more] moving into town.  So [success is] really finding some sort of public satisfaction that [the City] has committed adequate resources to addressing the problem.                

Councilor Ausec said, "What I think is important to say is, if as a City we're not capable of housing everyone, what are we going to do for the folks we can't house until we can get to that point."  Councilor Andersen basically agreed with Ausec, but said the City also needed to "respond to the public's concerns about what's going on in parks, what's going on downtown, and that sort of stuff", because "when people say they're concerned about homelessness, many are concerned about issues 1 (Homelessness Response) and 2 (Affordable Housing), but many are concerned about 3 (Economic Development)."  "Probably most", Bennett quipped, chuckling.

 

Hoy summed up the problem as deciding what to invest in managing homelessness (crisis response), and what to invest in ending homelessness (housing).  Councilor Nordyke said she thought "the people of Salem will feel we have made a difference when homelessness becomes less visible" and the best way to achieve that was a Housing First strategy.  Ausec said he wanted to see the top two priorities  reflected in the City's budget.  Councilor-elect Phillips said the top two priorities could be combined, and that he would define success as a mobile crisis response team, a low-barrier shelter, and a sobering center.  Then the discussion bogged down over how much money was needed, what type of housing, the need for collaboration, etc., etc.

 

Wrapping up, Moss Adams told Council that, next, they plan to develop a long list of potential objectives/actions for each of the priorities (like the 2017 goals and actions above), work with Council and management to select which ones to include in the plan (i.e., which to make the measure of success), submit a draft plan by the end of December, and begin developing the 2021 Council Policy Agenda based on the response to the draft plan.  

 

The next work session is scheduled for January 19, 2021, at which point Councilors-elect Gonzalez, Phillips and Stapleton will have been sworn in, and the public will find out just what prioritizing "Homeless Response" will (and won't) mean for the next three to five years.

11/17/20 Minutes

  

Members: none

Organizations: Steve Bates, Vietnam War Memorial Fund; Mike Abbate, Abbate Designs

City, County and State Representatives: Virginia Stapleton, Ward 1 Councilor-elect; Irma Dowd, Salem Neighborhood Services; Kimberly Fitzgerald, Salem Historic Preservation Officer; Chris Havel, Oregon State Parks Department

Guests: none

The regular meeting of CANDO was called to order at 6:00 p.m., on Tuesday, November 17, 2020.  The meeting was conducted by Zoom video-conference.  The Chair and Secretary-Treasurer were present.  

The agenda and minutes of the October meeting were approved unanimously. 

In interested citizen comments, Michael advised the board that the Salem Parks Improvement Fund approved his Letter of Intent to apply for a grant to install a Bike Fix-It Station at Minto-Brown Island Park.  The deadline to submit an application for funds is January 31, 2021.

Councilor-elect Stapelton offered comments on recent City activities and shared her areas of interest as she prepares for her first term on Council. Comments included concerns about the City’s alternate transportation (bikes) and homelessness-response planning.       

The board heard a presentation about the Willson Park Vietnam War Memorial Historic Design Review by Steve Bates with the Vietnam War Memorial Fund, Chris Havel with Oregon State Parks and Mike Abbate, Architect, who shared a video about the design.  Find still visualizations of the design here. 

There being no further business before the board, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 7:12   p.m.

Council OKs $1.2M for Hless Relief

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

Monday night, the City Council approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $1.2M toward the City's unsheltered homeless emergency.  It appears from the staff report that these expenditures may be reimbursed from the City's CARES Act funds.  Here's the breakdown.

For cold-weather sheltering:  $30,000 to the Salem Warming Network, mostly to renovate the building at 2640 Portland Road NE. 

2640 Portland Road NE

To improve the situation at Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway parks:  $84,600 for additional chemical toilets/hand-washing stations, $23,000 to install a water line, $67,000 for maintenance equipment, $6,300 for additional garbage service, $3,000 for weather-proof duct tape, sleeping bags, tents, etc., $50,000 for gift cards ("Cash for Trash") program, $14,000 to tow inoperable vehicles from the parks to the City's vehicle camps, and $86,540 for the vehicle camping program.  See details in the staff report here.  

The remainder of the $1.2M allocation (>half) is for unspecified "opportunities" ($120,00) and "sheltering options" ($733,780).  As the City uses the term here, "shelter" can include tent- and vehicle-camping.  HUD, however, does not consider tent- and vehicle-camping to be shelter because, among other things, they don't come with heat or running water, which means they're not "fit for human habitation."      

It's quite possible that not all these funds will be spent.  So far, the City's not been able to identify any suitable "land and/or buildings", or a campsite/shelter operator.  Not surprising, given it tried and failed just last year, before the pandemic hit.  See Brynelson, T. "Salem leaders decide to shelter homeless instead of setting up public camping."  (December 10, 2019, Salem Reporter.)  Below is the query the City sent area providers last month, in hope of finding a campsite/shelter operator:

Also on Monday night, Council "consolidated" and extended its unsheltered (but not its COVID) emergency declaration for a year to October 26, 2021, expanded the City Manager's emergency powers, approved the purchase and lease-back of the land under The ARCHES Project, and passed Councilor Nordyke's motion to "direct staff to present Council with a proposal to implement a mobile response unit for the city including funding options.  The proposal shall describe how a mobile response unit will fit in with other services and identify potential community partners to share costs."  The City Manager had previously committed to "work with the United Way on the United Way’s invitation to area organizations to explore what funding partnerships would be available" to support a mobile crisis unit.  See City Manager 11/4/20 update and "City to Buy Land Under ARCHES"  (5 November 2020).  Councilors Ausec, Nanke and Kaser were absent, Kaser having resigned November 2. 

There was some confusion on which emergency declarations the Council was consolidating/extending, leading the Statesman Journal to report (incorrectly) that Council had extended its suspension of the camping ban in Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway parks.  See Woodworth, W.  "Salem Council approves 'urgent and critical' relief for homeless."  (9 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  ("The council Monday voted to extend the emergency declaration until October 2021.  The emergency declaration lifted a ban on camping in Cascades Gateway Park and Wallace Marine Park. Hundreds have flocked to the parks in the ensuing months, and concerns over safety, crime impact and the lack of amenities have grown.")

However, it was Resolution 2020-18, passed during an emergency session on March 17, 2020, that declared a C19 emergency, banned loitering and gatherings in public spaces, and opened the two parks to camping in unimproved areas through April 28. See "Sit-Lie Meets COVID-19."  The C19  emergency declaration was initially set to expire at the end of April.  It was extended to June 30, and later to the end of August.  See "City Extends de facto Sit-Lie Ban to September"  (23 June 2020). On August 11, Council extended it to January 12, 2021.  See Woodworth, W. "Salem City Council votes to extend COVID-19 emergency declaration on gatherings, homeless."  (11 August 2020, Statesman Journal.)  The C19 declaration is still set to expire January 12, 2021, a couple of weeks before the annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count.  

11/11/20 update:  Harrell, S. "City provides additional $1.2 million to find new shelter locations, add water to homeless camps." (11 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)  

City To Buy Land Under ARCHES

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

615 Commercial Street NE

Monday night, the City Council acting as the Urban Renewal Agency is, at long last**, expected to authorize the purchase of the property (land only, not the building) at 615 Commercial Street NE, and a 30-year lease-back to the seller, the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency.  See staff report here.  The building's lower level is occupied by MWVCAA's ARCHES Project.  The City Manager's 10/28/20 Update incorrectly states that the City has purchased the building already, but the City will not be purchasing the building, only the real estate under it, and the City has not yet authorized that purchase, but likely will on Monday night.    

City Manager's 10/28/20 Update

The agreed purchase price is $2,225,000.  **See "The Golden ARCHES Project", Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, "State to Sink More Hless Assist $$ in MWVCAA Bldg", "MWVCAA Bldg Sucks Up More Gov't $$",  "Urban Renewal to the Rescue" (28 November 2018), "MWVCAA Pays Mortgage Debt with Hless Assist $$" (21 February 2019) and "State Seeks Accountability from Hless Svces Providers" (24 February 2019).

As discussed in an earlier post, the purchase is part of the City's effort to establish a much-needed  navigation center/low-barrier shelter and will allow the The ARCHES Project day shelter to expand from 27 to 41 hours/week and be open on Saturdays.  Current hours are M-W, F: 9–3 and Th: 9–noon.  Expanded hours will be M-W, F-Sat: 9–4, Th: 9–3.  It won't be the 24/7 nav center/low barrier shelter that some had hoped for, pre-pandemic, but it's a step in the right direction.  See "News from the Continuum" (17 October 2020). 

Ward 1 Councilor Kaser will not be voting on the purchase, having resigned earlier this week. Woodworth, W.  "Salem City Council member Cara Kaser resigns. What we know."  (2 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  (stating that Kaser served on the Police Facility Committee, the Water/Wastewater Task Force, and "focused on the city's response to homelessness" during her four years on Council).  On October 23, 2020, Kaser entered into a stipulated final order with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission in which she agreed she'd violated ORS 244.120(2) by failing to disclose that she lived across the street from a proposed low-income housing development that was before Council on an application for the City's HOME funds.  She also failed to disclose that she was married to the neighborhood association officer who testified against the development.  See November 6, 2020 Meeting Materials at page 123, and "'Progressive' Council Snuffs Affordable Hsg Project"  (20 June 2020).  Kaser's term would have expired in two months.  She told the Statesman Journal she resigned because she and her husband had moved to Silverton.  Council is expected to accept Kaser's resignation Monday night, and appoint Councilor-elect Virginia Stapleton to serve as guest councilor (can't vote) in her absence.  

Also Monday night, Council will be asked to "consolidate" extend its unsheltered emergency declarations and extend them for a year to October 26, 2021 [correcting a misreading of the staff report that the resolution would also consolidate the COVID emergency declarations].  Staff report here.  The resolution consolidating the emergency declarations would also "allow the City Manager to suspend land use regulations, including land use permit requirements, for warming centers and emergency shelters on land not zoned single-family residential, and continue the vehicle camping pilot program."  If passed, the City Manager plans to suspend land use regulations to allow the property at 1787 State Street to be used as a shelter for women and children. 

1787 State Street

On the CRU mobile crisis unit front, Councilor Nordyke will ask Council Monday night to "direct staff to present Council with a proposal to implement a mobile response unit for the city including funding options. The proposal shall describe how a mobile response unit will fit in with other services and identify potential community partners to share costs."  To understand why this motion is cart-before-horse, see "Council Conducts 'Disjointed' Session on 'Non-Criminal' Policing" (22 October 2020).  See 11/7/20 update below.

City Council will also be asked to allocate $1.2M from the General Fund "to allow for the additional expenses related to the unsheltered in Salem."  It looks like these funds can be reimbursed from CARES Act funding.  See details in the staff report here.

11/7/20 update:  City Manager 11/4 update states, "Following City Council’s October 26 discussion of a mobile crisis intervention program, staff will work with the United Way on the United Way’s invitation to area organizations to explore what funding partnerships would be available in Salem."  

11/9/20 update:  correction that only the City's unsheltered emergency declarations were extended, not the COVID emergency declaration, which is set to expire January 12, 2021. 

11/13/20 updated paragraph on former Councilor Kaser to reflect the stipulated agreement with the OGEC.

Council & Park Camping Tensions

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

 

SEMCA Chair Cory Poole was back at City Council this week to give another three-minute photo presentation and answer questions on camping in Cascades Gateway Park.  See "News from the Continuum" (2 August 2020); "Has Council 'moved the needle' on Homelessness?" (2 May 2020.)  Claiming the situation in the park is "inadequate for the homeless, dangerous for the surrounding neighbors, and detrimental to the parks", he called on Council to "Save Our Parks" and find "solutions that can be put in place quickly and inexpensively" while displaying photos of sanctioned campsites in Portland and Eugene.  His concerns for the parks included trash accumulation, tree-cutting and fire- and waste-hazards.

For the record, sanctioned camping programs are both complex and costly to run.  To learn more about Olympia, Washington's experience with sanctioned camping, listen to Outsiders, a podcast by KNKX Public Radio and Seattle Times Project Homeless.  To learn about the history of sanctioned camping efforts in Salem, see "Sanctioned Camping" (15 November 2015) (updated to present).

 

Councilor Andersen thanked Poole for "educating" the Council on the situation, which he called "frightening and disparaging" as well as "deplorable."  He asked if City Manager Powers could give Council "a little report."  Powers agreed the situation was "not ideal" and the damage to parks was "unfortunate", but said, basically, that options were limited because of the pandemic + need to maintain social distancing + limited shelter space/sites + growth of homeless population after canyon fires + Council's preference for the parks over downtown sidewalks.  He reiterated that the City has limited ability to enforce park rules (e.g. no cutting trees, no fires, no littering, etc.).  The gist was that, at present, the City has no reasonable alternative to allowing camping in the unimproved areas of Cascades Gateway and Wallace Marine parks.  

Powers asked Gretchen Bennett to report on mitigation efforts, but Mayor Bennett first called on Councilor Hoy.  Hoy thanked Poole for continuing to hold Council to account for their decision to allow camping in the parks, but "the problem continues to exceed our ability to solve it."  He "challenge[d]" Council to reconsider organized camping elsewhere in the City, which Council previously has rejected.  See Brynelston, T. "Salem leaders decide to shelter homeless instead of setting up public camping." December 9, 2019, Salem Reporter.)  As he usually does, the Mayor immediately pointed out that, not only is there NIMBY resistance to overcome in siting camps and shelters, a couple of organized camps would have minimal effect on the problem, given Salem is home to +1,500 unsheltered individuals.  He urged Council to "stay the course" and then called on Councilor Nordyke, who "wholeheartedly agree[d] with having additional options."  She called on property owners to reconsider their unwillingness to lease premises for use as a shelter, and claimed there were "a variety of community partners who are ready and willing to help with managed camps."  She did not, however, claim there was anyone ready and willing to operate a managed camp.  [But see 10/31/20 update below.]   

Gretchen Bennett gave a vague account of mitigation efforts, e.g., the ticketing of broken down vehicles at the parks, the challenges to getting them moved, the search for more vehicle and tent campsites, and the effort to identify and clean up abandoned campsites.  She and Powers both indicated that the matter is slated to return to Council on November 9th with policy choices and a request for funding.    

Council did not discuss, either Monday night, or during its work session on "non-criminal" policing, the implications of the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Oregon's decision in Blake v. City of Grants Pass.  See Harbarger, M. "Cities cannot fine homeless people for living outside, U.S. judge rules in Grants Pass case." (11 August 2020, Oregonian/ OregonLive.)  As we noted back in July when it came out, the decision is one more reason to believe conditions will not allow the City to enforce the camping ban at Wallace Marine or Cascades Gateway before March 2021 at the earliest, unless the City can provide some other place for people to live.  See "News from the Continuum." (26 July 2020.)  The ban currently is suspended through January 12, 2021.  See Woodworth, W. "Salem City Council votes to extend COVID-19 emergency declaration on gatherings, homeless."  (11 August 2020, Statesman Journal.)  The 2021 Point-in-Time Homeless Count is scheduled for January 26, 2021.  The decision is, however, bound to be on the minds of City staff.

Council's hope that the state will come to the rescue may be waning after last week's decision by the Emergency Board not to fund homeless shelters.  See VanderHart, D.  "Proposal to spend Oregon tax dollars on hotels spurs controversy"  (23 October 2020, OPB.) ($30 million is expected to fund around 500 units of shelter in wildfire-impacted areas including Clackamas, Jackson, Lane, Lincoln, and Marion counties.)  Borrud, H. "Oregon lawmakers consider spending $65 million to convert motels, hotels into shelters"  (23 October 2020, Oregonian/OregonLive.)   Borrud, H.  "Oregon lawmakers approve $30 million to purchase motels and hotels as shelters in wildfire areas, zero for the rest of the state"  (24 October 2020, Oregonian/OregonLive.)  Radnovich, C. "Lawmakers send $100M to wildfire relief, vote against homeless shelters."  (24 October 2020, Statesman Journal.)  While the Salem area is likely to benefit from the wildfire relief funding, it will provide no more than 50-100 units of non-congregate shelter for the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable.  What about everyone else?  

Perhaps in November, Council will be asked to reconsider Councilor Andersen's proposal to allow camping in some parts of the City and not others, as a reasonable "time, place and manner" limitation along the lines suggested by the court in Martin v. Boise.  See "Council Votes to Keep Camping Ban Intact, Bring Back Sit-Lie"  (10 February 2020) (rejecting Councilor Andersen's motion to lift the camping ban outside downtown, residential areas and parks).  Oakland passed such an ordinance last week.  See Orenstien, N.  "When can the city close a homeless camp? Oakland considers new rules."  (23 September 2020, The Oaklandside.) (Since 2017, Oakland's homeless population has jumped 63% to around 4,000.  Oakland has at least 140 tent/RV camps.  Oakland City Council unanimously approved the measure on 10/20/20.  It will take effect on 1/1/21.)  Associated Press.  "Oakland approves contentious rules on homeless encampments."  (21 October 2020, Fox40.)  We feel sure the Mayor and City staff would not support such a course change at this juncture, but that doesn't mean it won't happen in future if the situation in the parks does in fact become the "absolute disaster" that Mayor Bennett described it as Monday night.  This blog will be updated when more is known about the agenda for the November 9 Council meeting. 

10/29/20 update:  earlier this month, Poole gave the same presentation to SCAN, who last week passed a resolution claiming there had been "severe damage" to the parks to the point of destruction, and calling on the City Council to "begin a humane transition of unsheltered persons" out of the parks to some other, unidentified location.  The resolution helpfully advises:

To make this transition, the city should quickly identify the best practices for meeting the basic needs of unsheltered persons and implement those immediately—then monitor and improve upon those practices.  

The email from SCAN President Lorrie Walker, transmitting the resolution to the City, characterized the resolution as supporting "making some changes to camping in two of the city parks."  Perhaps Council should ask SCAN if they're now willing to allow the use of Pringle Hall as a temporary shelter?  See  "City Pleads with Pringle Hall Neighbors" (17 January 2020) (SCAN NIMBYs low-barrier shelter).  

10/31/20 update:  DJ Vincent with Church at the Park, which oversees the City's "Safe Parking Network" of vehicle camps and provides basic needs from its Turner Road location, told the Statesman Journal they "have a proposal in" to open a managed, 1-acre, 50-person tent campsite at an undetermined location.  Woodworth, W.  "Salem considers more options for 1,500 homeless as winter looms, COVID cases spike."  (31 October 2020, Statesman Journal.) 

11/5/20 update: Nordyke has a motion on Monday night's agenda to "direct staff to present Council with a proposal to implement a mobile response unit for the city including funding options. The proposal shall describe how a mobile response unit will fit in with other services and identify potential community partners to share costs."  To understand why this motion is cart-before-horse, see "Council Conducts 'Disjointed' Session on 'Non-Criminal' Policing" (22 October 2020).  Also Monday night, Council will be asked to consolidate its unsheltered emergency declarations and extend it for a year to October 26, 2021.  Staff report here.  Resolution 2020-49 would also "allow the City Manager to suspend land use regulations, including land use permit requirements, for warming centers and emergency shelters on land not zoned single-family residential, and continue the vehicle camping pilot program."  If passed, the City Manager plans to suspend land use regulations to allow the property at 1787 State Street to be used as a shelter for women and children.