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Joe Clement, 27, wants Portlanders to have an open, honest discussion about the city's role in protecting affordable housing.

(Melissa Binder/The Oregonian)

Joe Clement doesn't want to lose his apartment. At $575 a month, his one-bedroom space is a steal in desirable, close-in Sellwood.

He rents one of five apartments in a large house on Southeast Lambert Street. Last year the building sold to a development company that wants to

.

Homeowners on the street raised "superficial" concerns about traffic and tree loss, Clement said, but he thinks the situation is a reflection of a wider issue: The loss of affordable housing.

"I don't think we see it because it's invisible in a lot of ways," he said. Immediate neighbors get a paper notice about specific land-use changes, he said, but the broader issue isn't discussed. "It happens under the cloak of 'business as usual.'"

He does hope the demolition of his apartment building is stopped, Clement said, but more importantly, he hopes to spark a larger discussion about protecting affordable rentals in close-in neighborhoods. Dave and Silke Monnie, who have owned the house next door for 17 years, said pushing low-income renters to the outskirts of town creates an "us and them" feeling.

"There is a huge value in having affordable housing spread around the city," Dave Monnie said. "It creates a more balanced society."

The

stating that in the last five years "rents have risen while the number of renters who need moderately priced housing has increased." Rent in inner Southeast Portland, where Clement lives, is among the

. Apartment vacancy is among the lowest.

Are affordable rentals disappearing in your neighborhood? If so, is it caused by infill development, rising rent charges or other factors?

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More reading on affordable housing:

-- Melissa Binder