Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly was among several city council candidates, renters’ advocates and labor officials Friday to call for the city to temporarily disallow home evictions amid the coronavirus epidemic in the state.
Their call came a day after Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency in the city, where rent control is listed among the actions in the city charter the mayor can take during the declaration.
City officials have not yet said if that is an action they would take. Eudaly announced during a Portland City Council meeting Wednesday that she supported a moratorium on rental evictions and was looking into how likely the city was to be able to institute a temporary freeze on rent increases. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said at the time that council members hadn’t had any discussions or made any decisions about it beforehand.
Tim Becker, a mayor’s office spokesperson, said Friday that the city’s legal department is looking into what actions the city can impose.
“All options and possibilities are still on the table, and we’re consulting with our city council colleagues on the matter,” he said.
Eudaly and city council candidate Margot Black took part in a news conference organized by nonprofit Portland Tenants United in Lownsdale Square across the street from the Multnomah County Courthouse. Black is also the group’s co-chair.
Along with more renters’ protections, among the other provisions speakers advocated for were businesses providing more support to their employees, local and state governments providing aid to businesses losing revenue and weighing layoffs, and that school kitchen staff and bus drivers continue to be paid during school closures to continue making meals and deliver them to families in need.
“Housing is a basic need and a human right. No one should lose their housing due to this public health emergency,” Eudaly said. She cited San Jose and San Francisco adopting bans on evictions this week.
City Council candidate Loretta Smith in a statement also called for an eviction moratorium and urged banks and mortgage companies to temporarily suspend payment collections. She also said she sent a letter to Wheeler earlier this week calling for emergency housing for families experiencing homelessness, allowing city workers to work remotely and more protections and benefits for public and private contract union workers.
“We are facing an extraordinary crisis that shows just how easily life can be turned upside down for people struggling to make it in our city,” Smith said in a statement. “The only way we can move forward is together with solutions that work for everyone.”
Black said Portland Tenants United recently created an online petition calling for an eviction moratorium, which has more than 3,000 signatures as of Friday. Black noted that residential evictions can still occur through court and despite Wheeler announcing Thursday that the city will continue to provide water, sewer and stormwater services to residents during the state of emergency regardless of whether they can pay their bills, people can still be evicted for other reasons, like having an unauthorized animal.
“A lot of folks are going to get sick and they can’t shelter in place if they have no place to shelter,” she said. “The last thing that we should be doing as a city, or a county, or a state or a nation is allowing people to be unhoused right now because they have an unauthorized pet or because their water bill hasn’t been paid.”
Black said she believes utilities in homes that were recently shut off should also be temporarily restored during the pandemic and there should also be a suspension of car and RV towing. Some people’s primary source of shelter may be their vehicle, she said.
Eudaly, who joined the city council in 2017, is seeking reelection. Black and Smith, a former Multnomah County commissioner, are both running to complete the term of late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish. He died of cancer on Jan. 2. His term expires at the end of 2022.
Meanwhile, several city bureaus have announced adjustments on staff interactions with the public due to the public health emergency. Wheeler told all city bureaus to implement additional measures to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The Portland Police Bureau said officers won’t be attending community engagement events and more officers will be taking non-emergency police reports over the phone to help prevent them from being infected. Officers will continue to appear in person for life-threatening calls or to respond to calls that can’t be taken handled via phone or online.
Bureau officials are encouraging community members to file non-emergency police reports online rather than in person, if possible.
The Portland Housing Bureau said it’s temporarily suspending person-to-person customer service, advocating people contact the agency via phone, email, fax or post mail. The city’s archives and records management in the Auditor’s Office said staff will only be taking research requests by appointment only and that visitors should call or email ahead of time.
The Office of Community and Civic life is restricting walk-in hours at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday and by appointment only. Officials urge liquor licensing be sought via mail and renewal payments be made online, and applications for noise complaints or variances be submitted online.
“If it is necessary to deliver applications in-person to City Hall, people are encouraged to wash their hands upon entering the building before delivering any paperwork,” a letter from the bureau said.
-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey
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