Monday, April 11, 2011

Metro Annual Compliance Report: Metro Cities are In Compliance with Housing Choice Reporting Requirements (Because we Suspended The Requirements).

I noticed that Metro has their annual [Functional Plan] 2010 compliance report on the agenda for the MPAC meeting on Wednesday; the meeting packet is HERE.

The March 2011 Compliance report is for the period ending  December 15, 2010 immediately prior to a Metro change in performance standards (Title 7 Housing Choice reporting requirements have NOT changed).

A table in Appendix A of the MPAC meeting materials shows Metro's conclusion that Damascus is the only Metro city out of compliance on Title 7 Housing Choice reporting requirements. This claim is apparently based on this observation earlier in this package: 
During the past three years of the Making a Great Place initiative, certain Metro Code reporting requirements were suspended while changes to Metro Code were being refined and finalized
Translation: Even though Title 7 Housing reporting requirements have been in place since at least June 30, 1994, and local government reporting was spotty at best after that date, and Housing Choice reporting requirements were suspended completely by Metro action since November 2007, Metro finds that ALL cities, except Damascus, are in compliance with Title 7 reporting requirements. 

The only related action to correct this glaring long standing problem that I can find in the Compliance report is this weak "may" observation:
 ... several local government mayors have expressed an interest in reviewing efforts to provide housing choice in the region. Metro and its advisory committee, the Metro Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC), may consider reviewing Title 7 (Housing Choice) of the Metro Code to ensure that local governments in the region are continuing to take steps to implement its provisions.
That is about as close to an admission that Title 7 required local government reporting has not occurred as I expect that we will see from Metro. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog

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