Controversial Montavilla resolution against homeless sweeps not legitimate

Upcoming July 29 neighborhood town hall meeting barring media designed to protect attendees who wish to remain anonymous.

It turns out that a controversial Montavilla Neighborhood Association board resolution to ban homeless sweeps, which has made news headlines in recent weeks, wasn't actually legitimate due to a procedural error.

The association didn't include the resolution as an agenda item for consideration in advance of a "special board meeting" on June 19, a requirement of the city Office of Neighborhood Involvement standards.

The resolution was critical of the city, calling sweeps a waste of taxpayer money and asked leaders to find a better long-term plan to address homelessness.

The information came to light after the Portland Tribune asked the city Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) about an upcoming town hall meeting planned by the neighborhood association that barred media attendance.

The town hall meeting, to discuss issues around homelessness, is still planned to take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 29, at the Montavilla United Methodist Church, 232 S.E. 80th Ave.

Jonnie Shaver, the neighborhood association chair, has not responded to requests for comment. A statement from the board says that they'll hold a new meeting sometime in coming months.

"We would like to use this error as an opportunity to continue to actively engage the community in some controversial topics that affect us all," a statement by the association reads. They plan to amend the resolution against sweeps to "create a stronger more thorough document."

The association isn't labeling the town hall a public meeting, according to the event description, to protect the privacy of attendees. The rationale is to enable people to feel comfortable about attending anonymously.

The agenda, posted on Facebook, included examining the role and impact of neighborhood associations, a panel discussion and community Q&A session, and "identifying community ideas for actionable solutions in Montavilla." Resolutions Northwest, a local organization that helps resolve conflict and mediate conversations between groups, is facilitating it.

Priority was given to neighborhood residents and business owners. The event filled up, and anyone else wanting to attend may request to be placed on a wait list.

According to Paul Leistner, program coordinator at ONI who has studied the neighborhood system extensively, Oregon's public records or meetings laws don't govern neighborhood associations since they are not government bodies, and instead are independent nonprofit organizations. However, they are required to abide by ONI standards, and city policy says neighborhood associations must follow the state law as if they were governed by it.

However, the association wasn't planning any decision-making at the town hall — a requirement of the state law.

Jack Orchard, an attorney at Ball Janik LLP with expertise in public records law, said that with an agenda that "discusses potential 'actionable solutions,' it seems that the meeting is designed to deliberate toward something.

"I'll guess that any homeless person who wants to attend will be given the right to do so," he said.

Leistner said this issue hasn't come up before.

"The current standards don't speak to this type of neighborhood association event, so no standards appear to be violated," Leistner said. "It clearly would be helpful to take up these issues again when we next update the ONI standards.

Some neighbors are planning to file a grievance.

Leistner said that many people "who get involved in civic life in Portland may not have strong leadership and organization management skills when they start out.

"Training and support on the front end, and minimum standards and processes to help resolve conflicts on the back end are important aspects of any healthy participatory democracy system."

Though it doesn't receive money directly from the city, the neighborhood association is eligible for funding for communications-related expenses through ONI grants to the Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition, Leistner said.