TriMet warned against housing money before Wheeler asked

'After a review, we believe we are not authorized to include affordable housing in the bond measure,' TriMet wrote in an email Wheeler did not see

The day before Mayor Ted Wheeler announced he wants TriMet to include $100 million for affordable housing in its upcoming transportation bond measure, the regional transit agency said it cannot legally do so.

However, Wheeler was not aware of TriMet's statement when he spoke at an Oct. 14 forum on affordable housing needs in the Southwest Corridor between Portland and Tualatin. At that time, Wheeler said the money was needed to help mitigate the displacement expected to be caused by the new MAX line being planned in the corridor.

"It's a big ask, but we have to make sure money is available for affordable housing," Wheeler said.

The $1.7 billion measure is being considered by TriMet to help finance the line and a variety of other transportation projects in the region. It is tentatively being planned for the November 2018 ballot.

TriMet's statement was made in an Oct. 13 email from David Unsworth, the agency's director of project development and permitting, to a number of city, TriMet and Metro staffers working on the Southwest Corridor Plan project. It was not sent to Wheeler or his office directly.

In his email, Unsworth said TriMet's legal staff has determined the agency cannot legally spend money directly on housing — or on anything not related to transit and transportation projects.

"One idea that had been raised is the potential of including affordable housing in TriMet's potential 2018 bond measure. We asked our legal staff to examine whether TriMet's legal authorities allowed this under our state authority to levy or expend funds. After a review, we believe we are not authorized to include affordable housing in the bond measure," Unsworth wrote.

Ironically, Unsworth sent the email on Friday because he thought some of the staffers would be at the Saturday forum, where people might ask about TriMet including housing funds in the measure. The email says the idea had been raised in previous meetings of the committee advising Metro on affordable housing needs and opportunities in the corridor. No one knew Wheeler would announce his request then.

Even after learning of TriMet's opposition, Wheeler is not yet prepared to back down.

"Our position is that we need to consider housing infrastructure alongside transit infrastructure, particularly in this case, since dense, affordable housing is ideally suited to public transit corridors. We continue to believe that affordable housing must be a key part of any successful plan, and that there is a solution to be had," said Wheeler's spokesman Michael Cox.

TriMet's concerns are also political. As Unsworth said in his email, "A bond measure will be heavily scrutinized by opponents and will likely face legal challenges. We believe that a court would find a tax or bonding specifically for affordable housing to be outside our legal authorities and therefore invalid. Inclusion of affordable housing into the bond would delay and/or cause the results to be overturned."

Even a legal challenge that delays TriMet from putting the measure on the November 2018 would have serious consequences for the project. According to documents distributed at the forum and available online, TriMet hopes to secure a commitment from the federal government to fund half the estimated $2.4 billion project in 2019.

To do that, the agency must show it has commitments for the remaining 50 percent by then. The measure is currently expected to raise half that match — $750 million, with the remaining $950 million available for regional congestion relief and safety improvement projects.

TriMet wants to help meet need

TriMet public affairs director Bernie Bottomly says he understands why Wheeler or anyone else might think TriMet could help fund needed affordable housing projects in the Southwest Corridor. The agency has an admirable record of completing complex and costly projects on time and under budget, including multiple MAX lines in the region.

TriMet has also supported affordable housing projects along the MAX lines, by selling properties it acquired during their construction to nonprofits for affordable transit-oriented developments at a discount.

One is the Stadium Apartments at Southwest 17th and Yamhill, along the Westside MAX track directly east of Providence Park. TriMet bought the site for the project and later sold the unused portion for the housing, in compliance with rules for such partially federally funded projects.

TriMet also partnered with Reach, a nonprofit affordable housing organization, to build the Patton Park Apartments along the MAX Yellow Line at North Interstate Avenue and Killingsworth Street. The two organizations are working together again to build 200 units of affordable housing on just over two acres of land TriMet owns in the Kenton neighborhood at the corner of North Argyle Street and Denver Avenue, which is also near the Yellow Line.

"We're gratified by the confidence people have in us. We agree with Mayor Wheeler's goal of providing more affordable housing," Bottomly said.

Bottomly also said TriMet completely agrees with Wheeler that funds need to be secured for affordable housing projects in the Southwest Corridor to mitigate the displacement likely to occur. He insisted the agency is committed to working with Portland and other governments along the proposed line to figure out how to pay for them.

"We need to work on how, not what," Bottomly said.

That includes working with Tigard, which was represented at the forum by Councilor Tom Anderson, who said his city has lagged behind in building affordable housing.

"There only 690 units of affordable housing in a city of 50,000 people, and only 49 have been built since 2013," said Anderson, who noted that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Tigard has increased from $800 in 2006 to more than $1,200 today.

According to Anderson, there are numerous opportunities for affordable housing projects along the proposed MAX line in the so-called Tigard Triangle that includes underdeveloped properties in the area of Highway 217 and Pacific Highway. That's where the line is likely to travel from Portland when the final alignment is decided early next year. But Anderson admitted that financing such projects is a challenge, with the Tigard City Council currently considering such options as waiving system development charges that pay for infrastructure improvements to not requiring on-site parking for every unit, which can cost up to $35,000 each if built underground.

"Tigard wants affordable housing, but it's hard to do," Anderson said.

TriMet has asked cities and counties within its boundaries to submit potential transportation projects to be funded by the local portion of its potential measure. Portland has yet to disclose any. The Clackamas County Commission has asked for funds to help extend the Sunrise Corridor road project into the eastern part of the county.