PORTLAND, Ore. — Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approve the Montavilla homeless village project in a 3-1 vote Thursday — but not without some frustrations and concerns.
“I just feel to me, it has been poorly handled from the beginning," said Commissioner Sharon Meiran, who voted against the project. "It has been a bait and switch."
The Montavilla Community Village will sit at Southeast Oak and 82nd Avenue. The county purchased the property in August 2020, which used to be the site of an old RV dealership. As planned, the village will have space for 40 people with 29 sleeping pods. It will also include around 30 parking spots, trash services, showers, restrooms, laundry and a communal kitchenette.
Community feedback prior to Thursday board meeting ran the gamut from those in favor and a project like this is "long overdue" in the neighborhood. To those who are concerned, the village could increase crime activity in the area or bring down property values.
But the overall sentiment is that something needs to change.
“Our community in Montavilla is experiencing such a high density of houseless neighbors that many in our community … feel unsafe," said Pastor Heather Rigg of the Montavilla United Methodist Church. "We are experiencing all kinds of trash, human waste, property damage and just the moral injury of watching our neighbors be soaked in the rain, be in freezing weather and having nowhere to go.”
The frustrations from the Multnomah County board of commissioners, however, come from the project's development.
The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) started planning the village back in 2022 after acquiring the site for $2.25 million. It is expected to open in December.
"So, that’s 16 months,” Commissioner Lori Stegmann said, referring to the time period from when the county purchased the property to when it can be used to serve the community.
"It’s never enough, it takes too long, and it costs too much money," Stegmann added. "But we have to move forward to get as many people housed as quickly as possible.”
In total, the village is expected to cost around $5 million to fully develop, which includes the property sale. JOHS staff said it could cost between $100,000-$300,000 a year to operate, plus around $420,000 a year as payment to the nonprofit Straightway Services to provide services to the village.
Montavilla neighborhood residents at Thursday's meeting also urged that JOHS prioritize those who are currently homeless around the site be receive a place in the village.
"So, there is a reward for our neighborhood for hosting this village, so that we can feel safer because there will be fewer people on our streets,” Rigg said.
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards also reiterated this point saying that "it’s going to be awfully hard for other neighborhoods to accept shelter sites, if they see no difference in the impact in the adjacent area.”
She added that the process so far on who will be accepted to the village is rather "opaque."
Dan Field, director of the Joint Office of Homeless Services, said that the details are still being worked out.
To alleviate some of the neighborhood's concerns, JOHS staff said that the village will be fenced for privacy and security. And that the entrances and access to the village will be monitored 24/7. Field said they are also working on a plan on how to manage activity that may take place outside the village.
Construction on the Montavilla homeless shelter is slated to start in August.
