Oregon Advance Times_1968-02-01

Page IO Oregon Advance/TIMES February 1, 1968 Model Cities Plan (Cont. from Page l, col. 5) ately think .of "urban re– newal." When they think of urban renewal they see bulldozers forcing poor people out of their homes and businesses. They see expensive new apartments and office build– ings going up. It's happened here and in every other ma– jor city in the country. Portland Development Com– mission is the city's agency for urban renewal. ButPDC's primary role in Model Cities will be in "bookkeeping." It is unfair and inaccurate to say PDC only runs bull– dozers. It can offer other kinds of programs to Model Cities in Portland. One is "rehabilitation" such as the Albina Neighbor– hood Improvement Project. Another is "intensified code enforcement" proposed for the Irvington Community As– sociation. Another is "spot clear– ance." In the Albina Neigh– borhood project there were 525 structures - homes and other buildings. Some were in such bad shape that they could not be saved. They were torn down and the emp– ty lots will be reserved for new housing at prices resi– dents can afford. PDC can also help provide new public improvements such as the new park being built in Albina. WHAT IS 'CITIZEN PAR– TICIPATION'? "Citizen Participation" means that local government should make citizens "part– ners" in the planning of pro– grams which will affect citi– zens' lives and property. The term first came into use when the anti-poverty program was started. Most local government officials had never played the game that way and many cities, including Portland, experi– enced some difficult times. The U, S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop– ment (HUD) told the cities who wanted Model Cities planning money, they must provide for citizen partici– pation. HUD didn't like Portland's idea for citizen participation. HUD said citizens must be "involved," not just "in– formed." WILL THERE BE CITI– ZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE PORTLAND PROGRAM? HUD says there must be, or Portland won't get any federal money. But the im– portant question is, how much is enough? Nobody is quite sure just what HUD will ac– cept or reject. Most citizens are quite sure City Hall does not want as much citizen participation as the citizens want. A temporary citizens' com– mittee of residents in the target area have drawn up a plan for citizens' participa– tion. It is a strong plan. It must be approved by City Hall before it is sent to HUD. WILL CITY HALL PUSH THIS DOWN OUR THROATS WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT? Let's face it. City Hall has been known to ''push something down the people's throats." But City Hall cannot op– erate in a vacuum. City Hall was ready to let the State Highway Commission build a freeway through the Central Eastside. But resi– dents raised such a fuss that City Hall changed its mind. If you think you can't "fight City Hall," just ask the citizens who fought the Eastside Freeway. THERE IS A RUMOR THAT MODEL CITIES WILL BUILD A COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN ALBINA. TRUE? A community college is one of many ideas SUGGESTED for the target area. At this point it is just that: an idea. Some people like it. Others don't. ANOTHER RUMOR HAS IT THAT 400 HOMES WILL BE TORN DOWN TO MAKE A 52-ACRE CAMPUS FOR THE COLLEGE. TRUE? Obviously, IF a community college is built, land will be needed for it. But not that much land. There's no rea– son why a community college has to have a sprawling cam– pus. It could be a high rise building on one block. And remember this: Albina residents blocked the con– struction of a public housing project several years ago. If a majority of residents oppose a community college they can block that, too. WHO'S GOING TO MAKE THE FINAL DECISIONS? City Hall. WHAT IF THE PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THOSE DE– CISIONS? If, when all the chips are down, City Hall and a ma– jority of residents of the tar– get area can't work out dis– agreements, the residents can take legal action against the city. As a practical matter, if serious disagreements are not resolved by next Novem– ber, when Portland sends its final plan to HUD, there's a good chance HUD will deny the request for funds. There will be plenty of cities in which citizens and local government officials will have worked out satis– factory plans - and they'll get the money. SOME POOR PEOPLE IN THE SOUTHEAST AREA POVERTY POCKETS WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE Rent Supplement Housing Available In 1966 the federal govern– ment provided monies to be used in a rent supplement program, There are two regulations governing this program: The housing must be standard ac– cording to the regulations of the Housing and Urban Devel– opment Department; and one– fourth of the individual's in– come is paid for rent and the balance is paid by the federal government. In public housing programs, ceilings for income are set; but there are no ceilings in the rent supplement program. The individual may remain in the housing even after his income has increased enough to meet the full rental amount. Landlords with suitable houses list theirpropertywith the Housing Authority. If the property is suitable, this house is shown to interested individuals. The supplement money is paid directly to the owner. No one can receive money without living in a des– ignated and listed· house. Interested . persons should contact the Housing Authority of Portland. The Housing Department at the Neighbor– hood Service Center serves as a referal agency, putting possible renters in contact with the property owners. It does not act in the capacity of real estate brokers. Any kind of housing, apart– ments, duplexes, individual houses can qualify if it meets governmental standards. MODEL CITIES PROGRAM. WHAT CHANCES DO . THEY HAVE? Practically none, according to present thinking at City Hall. To include or not in– clude the Southeast neighbor– hoods is a LOCAL govern– rnent decision. It is not up to HUD, as one city official has said. If local govern– ment wants to change the boundaries of the Model City area, HUD is willing to con– sider the idea. HUD has said, however, that it will "discourage substantial boun– dary changes." KGAR Radio Show Al Bop City Shop Radio Station KGAR broad– casts a radio show from the Bop City Record Shop on Wil– liams Avenue every Sunday from 8:30 to 9 a.m. with Ira Mumford master of cere– monies for the Gospel Train Program. The show features gospel singing, both live and re– corded. Various churches participate in the program and local residents are inter– viewed. Mumforil, who started the show about a year ago, says, "People are welcome to stop by during the show." GREEN ~AMP~ A GOOD place to shop for • •• • DRY GOODS G REEN $TAMPS ~ ~ • NOTIONS • SHOES • MEN'S FURNISHINGS · GEIST I DEPARTMENT I STORE 3933 N.E. UNION AVE. Open 9 to 6 Mon. thru Sat. PHONE: 281-6808 • We Give S & H Green Stamps GREEN STAMPS .... ~ GREEN STAMPS .... ~ Model City Program Starts (Cont. from Page l, col. 6) Elections for the Citizens' selected by Schulze to advise Planning Board are sched– in early stages of Model uled for March 2. Cities arrangements and to The Citizens' PI an n in g establish a process for elect- Board will help to supervise ing the permanent Citizens' the plan-making program Planning Board. during 1968 and will give Members of the temporary final review - either approv– committee were composed of ing or vetoing - the plans representatives of existing before they are submitted to citizen organizations in the HUD through the City Coun– area. John Whitesides is cil. If the Citizens' Planning chairman. Larry Lakey is Board does not approve the vice-chairman and Mrs. plans, they will not get the Jackie McClain is secretary. money to carry them out, During the first part of Working committees com- January a temporary office posed of all interested resi– was set up for the Model dents in the area will begin Cities program at the Albina study on such problems as Neighborhood Service Center, employment, housing, public 59 N. E. Stanton. The tele- health, social and legal serv– phone number there is 288- ices, physical improvements, 6906. Miss Paula Ladson economic development, edu– was hired as the first Model cation and cultural recrea- Cities employee and is now working there as reception– ist and typist. Two weeks later, Ellis Casson of the Civil Rights Diyision was hired as the deputy director of the program. Information meetings have been held at Highland, Eliot, Boise, Irvington and Wood- · lawn schools to discuss the program with residents, lis– ten to ideas and answer ques– tions. Schulze explained the program goals and proce– dures at these meetings. HOW YOU CAN TAKE PART IN THE MODEL CIT– IES PROGRAM: Schulze, his staff and the mayor's office promise full citizen participation. A plan for citizen review and approval or disapproval was established by the tem– porary Citizens' Committee. It set up an election process for choosing residents for the Citizens' Planning Board. The temporary Citizens' Planning Board with John Whiteside, chairman, has se– lected Feb~ 13 as the date for simultaneous townhall meetings in the schools of the Model Cities Area. Residents will attend meet– ings at the school in their area and be given instruc– tions on the election proce– dures. Persons may be nom– inated or file their own can– didacy to members of the Citizens' Planning Board. tional services. The plans that come from the working committees will then be put in working form by the Model Cities staff and will be presented to the Cit– izens' Planning Board for final review ordisapproval. The purpose of this plan, according to Schulze, will be to ensure that the residents have full participation in plan-making and that they de– termine the direction of the future of the community. Residents will be working from the beginning to the end of the plan-making process. Final legal and administra– tive responsibility lies with the City Council which has received the grant from HUD, but no plans can be submitted to HUD by the City Council unless they have the appro– val of the residents. WHERE WILL THE MODEL CITIES' . BOUNDARIES BE? The decision on the final boundaries for the Model Cities program has been postponed and caused a tem– porary delay in Model Cities planning. Residents from the Southeast community of Buck– man have requested to be in– cluded in the program. The guidelines for Model Cities requires that no more than 10 per cent of Portland's population of 386,000 be in– cluded in the Model Cities area. Commissioner Francis Ivancie, acting in behalf of Mayor Schrunk, who is 'Still recovering from surgery, in– dicated that federal agencies are discouraging substantial change in the Model Cities areas, but that he will dis– cuss this with federal offi– cials in Washington before making a recommendation to the City Council. Residents from the South– east area presented a re– quest to the City Council to be included in the Model Cities area because "there were conditions of blight greater than some of the areas in the original bound– aries of Model Cities." There was early confusion about the actual location of the eastern boundary. One report (not accurate) indi– cated that the eastern bound– ary was on N. E, 33rd Ave– nue. The other report (true) liad the eastern boundary fol– lowing a line on N. E. 18th to Fremont and then N, E. 24th Avenue to Columbia Blvd. Actually, the eastern area of Irvington and The Alameda were not included in the original proposal of the city. Hiking Club Visits Hood by Anjala Ehelebe Eight Grader, Boise School On Jan. 20 the Boise School Hiking Club drove to Mt. Hood. The club, formed of 11 members this time, stopped at Summit Ski Slopes at Gov– ernment Camp where we parked. Everybody tried to rent a toboggan and a few lucky ones did. But others like Florence Allen and I got lost from each other. When it started to rain, we passed the time by eating. Then we went up to Tim– berline Lodge, which we toured. We got more tobog– gans. It was fun but everyone was glad when we went home, especially Mike Howard and Clarence Redeau who had to play basketball that evening. Congratulations to the FLOOR SHOW TUES. thru SUN. OREGON Advance / TIMES { .... · * DANCING * ENTERTAINMENT * LIVE MUSIC * SOUL FOOD SUNDAY IS LADIES' HITE DOOR PRIZES JAM SESSION 6 to 9 p.m.