The Housing Alliance Update & Announcements is a bi-weekly electronic newsletter to keep you up-to-date about everything the Housing Alliance is doing to get ready to win in 2007 - and how you can get involved!



1.     Notification proposal update. 
Early voting results revealed that many of you need more information before you can take a position on this proposal (click here).  Others of you support the proposal in concept but have questions and/or concerns about the specifics. 
 
To begin the conversation, we will devote a portion of the upcoming WebEx update to the notification proposal (10/11/06 at 2 PM. Call in instructions will be sent out next week).  Sophia McDonald of AOCDO and the other proposal authors will give a short presentation on their proposal and entertain questions.  There will be an opportunity for members to have a deeper discussion about the proposal at a follow-up conference call (date will be announced shortly).
 
Final vote on the notification proposal will take place at the December 5 Congress.  If you have any questions or concerns about the notification proposal please join us at the WebEx next week or contact Sophia directly with your concerns at smcdonald@aocdo.org or (503) 223-4041.
 
 
2.     Telephone briefings –updates on October 11 from 2-3 PM and November 8 from 2-3 PM.  Call-in information to follow.
 
 
3.     Endorsement Campaign Contest: Win $1,000 for the non-profit housing organization of your choice!
 
2007 Housing Opportunity Agenda Endorsement Contest

Help expand housing opportunity for Oregonians and win big bucks for your favorite housing organization!

To date 107 organizations and prominent individuals have endorsed our campaign to secure $100 million for affordable housing! See who has already endorsed at: http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/2007_agenda_Item1_endorsements.html

That’s a terrific start, but we need at least 400 more endorsements in the next three months.  We want to send a powerful message to the Legislature that affordable housing is important to Oregonians. To make that happen WE NEED YOU! If every member of the Housing Alliance secures 10 endorsements we will be there!


The Housing Alliance is gathering endorsements for our two lead agenda items: $100 Million for Homes for Hardworking Families and Our Neighbors on Fixed Incomes and Lifting the Pre-emption that Prohibits Local Communities from Using Inclusionary Zoning. The Housing Alliance’s goal is to gather 500 endorsements before the 2007 Legislative session begins in January.

To help us reach our goal and in the spirit of friendly competition, the Neighborhood Partnership Fund (courtesy of Enterprise Community Partners) is offering to donate $1,000 to the non-profit housing organization of choice of the individual who collects the most valid endorsements of our two lead agenda items between now and the Housing Alliance Congress on December 5 in Salem.

If the endorsement strategy worked in Ohio, we can make it work in Oregon!
In 2005, the State of Ohio passed a similar funding package for housing to what we are seeking in Oregon. In their successful campaign, they gathered over 800 endorsements and won broad, bi-partisan support of their agenda before their 2005 Legislative session began. The Housing Alliance goal is to secure 500 endorsements for both lead agenda items by the start of the Legislative session in January 2007.

Who can endorse?
We are seeking the endorsements of organizations, businesses, religious congregations, social clubs, elected officials and prominent individuals. What is most important is that we show a broad range of support across the state. All endorsements are welcome!  Be creative.  Get active.  And win $1,000 for your favorite non-profit housing organization.

What is the process?
It’s simple! Just email, fax or mail in the completed endorsement forms to the Housing Alliance c/o the Neighborhood Partnership Fund, Attn: Amy Fauver, 1020 SW Taylor Street, Suite 680, Portland, OR 97205.

For more information on the endorsement campaign and for PDFs of the $100 million and Inclusionary Zoning endorsement forms, go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/alerts.html

Questions? Contact Michael Anderson at (503) 335-9884 or Amy Fauver at (503) 226-3001 x102.


4.     SAVE THE DATE! December 5th Housing Alliance Congress.
All day in Salem. Details to follow, but this will be an event not to be missed! Join us as we gear up to WIN in 2007!


5.     Condo conversion working group (Open to Housing Alliance members only).
Item 4 on the Housing Opportunities Agenda says that we want to do something to assist residents displaced by the conversion of their affordable apartments to condominiums.

It’s time for us to decide what we want to ask the Legislature to do! A working group will meet in October to consider options and develop a proposal to bring to the membership.  All Housing Alliance members are invited to join. Contact Amy at if you would like to be involved.


6.     "Place-Based Solution for Housing Opportunity:" The 2nd Annual Land Use and Housing Affordability Conference
Presented by:  The Oregon Alliance for Land Use and Affordable Housing (OALUAH)
Date:  Friday, November 17, 2006
Location:  Beaverton Library, 12375 SW 5th Street, Beaverton, OR 97005 
The 2006 Land Use and Housing Affordability Conference will address timely topics in the area of land use and housing affordability. One highlight will be an update on state-wide efforts around manufactured housing parks, featuring Wilsonville Mayor Charlotte Lehan and representatives of manufactured park owners and tenants.  Speakers will tackle key policy questions and provide tools to help planners, decision-makers, nonprofits and concerned citizens develop high quality, low-cost housing for all populations in their communities.  The conference will also provide opportunities to network and share ideas with others interested in the intersection of land use and housing affordability.
For more about the conference and about OALUAH, please visit our website at www.oaluah.org or call (503) 452-3997. 


7.     Tools for Local Advocacy are now online
The Housing Alliance website has information for each County in Oregon comparing wage/income by profession or source of income versus local housing costs.  Just click here and click the County for which you want information to download a PDF file.

Thanks to the Housing Alliance Outreach Committee and the staff of AOCDO and NPF for their work getting this together!


8.     Lobby Day is February 6, 2007 at the Capitol in Salem!
Don’t miss this important day of advocacy. Mark your calendars now!


9.     Welcome new members! The following organizations joined the Housing Alliance in Spring and Summer 2006:
City of Medford Housing and Community Development Commission
Clackamas Community Land Trust
Community Housing Fund
Habitat for Humanity of Oregon
NEDCO
Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition
Portland Impact
REACH CDC
Rose CDC
St Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County


Want more information on the Housing Alliance?  Go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org.
For a full archive of Housing Alliance Weekly Updates, go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/updates_archive.html

For information on the 2005 Legislative Session, click here.

Please email or call us with questions or ideas for how we can best keep you informed. Contact Amy Fauver or Michael Anderson.