Urban density. Simon and Garfunkel alluded to it a half-century ago in their haunting ballad “America,” particularly that Paul Simon lyric, “Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, they’ve all come to look for America.” Applied to today’s Portland, perhaps the song transforms into something like: “Counting the demos in our residential heartland, they’ve all come to look for Portlandia!” (apologies to Simon).
Saddled with the joys and tribulations that come with residing in one of America’s most popular urban destinations, Portlanders are struggling to find an equitable balance in dealing with a host of growing-pain issues, not the least of which is growth vs. preservation. As density-expansion organizations like Portland For Everyone and Thousand Friends of Oregon push for construction of alternative housing (think duplexes and triplexes) in predominately single-family home neighborhoods with convenient access to public transportation, schools, and retail (think Beaumont-Wilshire), preservation organizations like Beaumont-Wilshire-rooted United Neighborhoods for Reform fear an increase in home teardowns as a consequence. And although both camps are united in opposition to replacing demolished houses with million-dollar-plus giants that dwarf neighboring homes and supportive of ordinance-imposed “footprint” limits on single-family home construction to mitigate scale incompatibility, divergent perspectives remain on the issue of “affordability”—affordable at what level, for whom, by what means?
It’s essentially an apples-and-oranges debate: one side focused primarily on alternative housing affordability for modest-income renters and small condo buyers, the other on single-family home affordability for modest-income entry-level homebuyers. Thus, alternate housing proponents assure us that prices for “plexes” will decrease over time as more and more are built, while preservationists cite the existing stock of older homes as key to young couples being able to afford that first house in which to raise a family and accrue equity. And therein lies the rub, because those “plexes” are proposed to be concentrated smack dab in the middle of neighborhoods already densely populated with existing homes and very few vacant lots. Moreover, as Elliot Njus reported in a recent Oregonian business article, the supply of homes under $500,000 relative to demand is at a record low: “First-time homebuyers are trying to get a foot in the door, but far fewer homeowners are selling.” The obvious conclusion is that demolition of viable homes only worsens a critical shortage. So what’s to be done?
Well, the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission invites you to provide input on the proposed draft phase of the Residential Infill Project. For a summary of the project, including scale of houses, housing options, and narrow lot development, go to www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/infill, and voice your opinions at public hearings at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8 and 15, 2018 (confirm date, time, and location at www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/35452).
You can also testify until May 15 via Map App (www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/infill/mapapp).
Following the proposed draft, a recommended draft of the changes will go to the City Council this fall. These spring hearings offer an opportunity to weigh in on a density policy that will shape Portlandia for decades.