ORDINANCE No. 182502

* Authorize an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City, Housing Authority of Portland and Portland Development Commission relating to the development and operation of the Resource Access Center Development. (Ordinance)

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1. The Council finds:

1.  The City Council adopted Resolution No. 36367 on December 21, 2005 and thereby adopted Home Again: A Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County (10-Year Plan), which seeks permanent solutions to homelessness by focusing on the most chronically homeless populations, streamlining access to existing services to prevent and reduce homelessness and concentrating resources on programs that offer measurable results; and

2.  The Ten Year Plan calls for improved outreach to – and engagement of – homeless people as a key action step to end homelessness and contemplates a Resource Access Center (RAC) to provide homeless people with quick and direct access to programs that move them directly into permanent housing; and

3.  Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) is a public corporate body created by the City, and having the powers to plan, undertake, construct, acquire, finance, own and operate housing projects and community service facilities; and

4.  Portland Development Commission (PDC) is the urban renewal agency for the City, charged with delivering projects and programs that achieve the City’s housing, economic development, and redevelopment priorities as well as linking citizens to jobs; and

5.  The Bureau of Housing and Community Development (BHCD) is the city bureau charged with managing programs and investing resources targeted towards ending homelessness and maintaining an adequate supply of housing options for low income people; and

6.  Transition Projects, Inc. (TPI) is experienced at providing services to homeless individuals and operating shelter facilities within the Central City, and due to this experience has been identified by the City as the operator of the RAC within the Development; and

7.  On February 27, 2008, the PDC Board of Commissioners passed Resolution No. 6564, designating Block U as the site for the RAC Development and resolving to provide a level of financial resources for the Development, appropriate to the project need as determined by PDC and HAP, and subject to the appropriation of $28 million dollars; and

8.  On March 5, 2008, City Council adopted Resolution No. 36586, which reaffirmed the City’s commitment to develop the Resource Access Center, established a preference for siting of the RAC Development on Block U, and resolved that PDC will transfer title of Block U to the Housing Authority of Portland and will provide a level of financial resources appropriate to the project need as determined by PDC and HAP, and subject to the appropriation of the $28 million of TIF in the PDC 2008-09 Adopted Budget and Five Year Forecast for the River District Urban Renewal Area; and

9.  Resolution 36586 also directed that BHCD and PDC would work with HAP to develop an Intergovernmental Agreement among the three public agencies that further defines roles and responsibilities of the agencies necessary to successfully develop and operate the Development; and

10.  Over the last two years, downtown neighbors, community stakeholders, homeless agencies and members of the general public have met to provide input into the purpose, program and design of the RAC; and

11.  HAP convened a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) that met over the last nine months to consider and provide input on design and operations of the RAC. The CAC included downtown business and property owners, staff from social service and government agencies, individuals who have experienced homelessness, and representatives from local business, cultural and neighborhood associations. At its January, 2009 meeting, the CAC confirmed its support for the project design and program; and

12.  The City has identified the RAC as a “shovel ready” construction project that will provide jobs and contribute to economic stimulus both in the City’s Economic Stimulus Package and in response to requests from federal legislative offices for projects that would benefit from a federal economic stimulus package; and

13.  The project’s design calls for an environmentally sustainable and efficient building that strives to meet the highest practical standards for energy and resource conservation in both its construction and operation that the budget will allow; and

14.  PDC will consider a Resolution at its Commission meeting on January 29, 2009 that would authorize a DDA with HAP for the development of the RAC. Subject to the terms of the DDA, PDC will transfer to HAP the portion of Block U upon which HAP will develop the RAC, will make available $29.5 Million in TIF proceeds, and will enter into an Option to Present Development Proposal with HAP for a term of 36 months under which PDC agrees to be bound to refrain from negotiating with other parties regarding the eastern portion of Block U during such 36 month period.

NOW, THEREFORE, The Council directs that:

a.  The Commissioner-in-charge is authorized to enter into an Agreement in substantially the same form as the Intergovernmental Agreement with the Housing Authority of Portland and the Portland Development Commission relating to the to the development and operation of the Resource Access Center Development on Block U in North Old Town / Chinatown, attached hereto as Exhibit A.

b.  The City Council hereby reaffirms its commitment to the development and operation of the Resource Access Center because the RAC will provide significant public benefit to the City, will improve livability in Downtown and will provide critical links and services to end the homelessness of many Portland residents.

c.  The City Council further reaffirms that the City asked HAP to develop the Resource Access Center as an important element of the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness and, as such, the City of Portland recognizes that the successful development and operation of this project is a City goal in future programmatic and budget decisions as they concern implementation of the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness; and

d.  The City recognizes that successful operation of the Project will require new or redirected financial resources, currently estimated at up to $500,000 per year in support of the Permanent Supportive Housing units and up to $730,000 for the operations of the Resource Access Center and Shelter, when the building opens in January 2011.

e.  The City commits to a high level of collaboration with HAP, PDC, TPI and Multnomah County in order to ensure the most efficient use of public resources and ongoing successful operations of the facility; and

Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists so that there will be no delay in moving Development toward completion: therefore this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Council.

Passed by the Council:

BACKING SHEET INFORMATION

AGENDA NO. 82-2009

ORDINANCE/RESOLUTION/COUNCIL DOCUMENT NO. 182502