Housing and homelessness

Business thrives when everyone has housing options.

What we achieved:

BBPDX started the year by inviting members to work evening shifts at a shelter for families experiencing homelessness — a profound experience for many that informed a year of activism.

BBPDX members signed a letter to Legislators advocating for rental assistance funding, and BBPDX provided strong support for the Portland Street Response. BBPDX also stood up to back residential infill measures including HB 2001.

In October, BBPDX hosted a forum focused on residential infill, how housing options affect affordability, the interplay between the current crisis of homelessness and the overall housing shortage.

Following that forum and in tandem with the formation of the Housing Policy Roundtable that engaged progressive members from the real estate industry, BBPDX stepped up to support Residential Infill in Portland. Residential Infill allows for more housing options in residential neighborhoods, adding to the pool of moderately affordable housing and addressing the problem of the “missing middle” in the Portland market.  

In November after nearly a year’s worth of behind-the-scenes engagement, the board voted to sign on with the Here Together effort to find a more permanent funding stream to pay for supportive services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

At the close of 2019, BBPDX staff and the Associate Board continued the annual tradition of signing up member companies to host “kit parties,” assembling care packages for Portland’s Street Roots vendors. It’s all about providing comfort to those currently living outside while we continue to work on comprehensive policies to address the systemic issues that lead to homelessness.

What we learned:

While we’ve known all along that there is no single answer when it comes to addressing the issues affordable housing and homelessness, 2019 underlined that truth in bold. The passage of statewide residential infill measures on the last day of the legislative session in June was great news, but we quickly learned that dynamics on the ground in Portland made the near-term outcome of Residential Infill policy far from certain.

We also learned that having a strong voice from the real estate industry is effective in steering the conversation. We are grateful to our Housing Policy Roundtable and to BBPDX member Hope Beraka of Think Real Estate who is lending her voice by serving on the rulemaking committee for HB 2001.

What’s next:

BBPDX members showed up for Portland City Council hearings on residential infill in January, and we will continue to provide a business perspective to lawmakers wrestling with housing policy. We’re thrilled to be new members of the Oregon Housing Alliance and look forward to that collaboration. We’ll also remain at the HereTogether table and will engage our members in the campaign for a regional funding solution to address the region’s homelessness crisis.

Further reading:

Op-Ed for the Portland Tribune: Teamwork Key to Solving Housing Crisis