HAP, Columbia Villa, Ellmyer, How Green Is My Villa?

"The Henry, in the Pearl District of Portland, will be one of the first residential developments in the country to achieve a top "gold" rating from the Unites States Green Building Council's LEED* (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program, a voluntary, national standard for high-performance, environmentally responsible buildings." **

The Henry, a private residential development, asks to be eco-rated but not one of the hundreds of public buildings to be built by HAP at Columbia Villa are scheduled for ecological examination.

HAP FAILED to take advantage of the opportunity to use the 30% excess methane available across the street at the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant to generate power, steam, hot water etc. for Columbia Villa.

HAP FAILED to take advantage of the opportunity to use recycled water available from across the street at the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant for use on vegetation throughout Columbia Villa.

HAP FAILED to investigate the opportunity for shared utilities, such as those used in hotels, motels and large buildings, during the planning stages for remodeling Columbia Villa.

There is absolutely no reason to believe that HAP will build all, most or even some of the hundreds of structures at Columbia Villa for low-income public housing clients to the highest "green" standards without the pressure of a third party overseer.

Metro Council Deputy President Brian Newman says, "Together, city, university and business leaders can 'brand' Portland as a worldwide sustainable development leader. [This] could be a big step toward attracting environmentally minded conventions, drawing international green companies to open offices in Portland, landing consulting or construction contracts and tapping the growing ranks of well-heeled 'eco-tourists.' " ****

Metro Council Deputy President Brian Newman should pick up the phone now and call HAP Chair Kandis Brewer Nunn and tell her to, "get with the program."

The Housing Authority of Portland plans to build 230 houses on 2500-3000 Sq. Ft. lots for a sale price range of $140,000 to $175,000 at Columbia Villa in the Portsmouth neighborhood of North Portland. Contrary to HAP Chair's claim that, "Homebuilders and the market will determine the prices for the homes for sale", every decision, including making the choice to sell public land, the number of houses, the size of the lots and the sale price of the homes, is a public policy decision made by HAP's board of directors.

The HAP board could have chosen NOT to sell the public land entrusted to their predecessors for more than sixty years. The HAP board could have sanctioned 115 houses on standard R5 5000 Sq. Ft. lots which could be sale priced at $200,000 to $250,000. This choice would have supported economic diversity, community balance, the interests of the Portland Planning Commission, the Portland Planning Bureau and the St. Johns/Lombard Plan to increase the buying power in North Portland, especially the Portsmouth neighborhood which has the highest number of low-income HAP clients in any of the 117 neighborhoods in HAP's jurisdiction, Multnomah county.

The decision to sell public land, the number, size and cost of the for sale homes is entirely the product and responsibility of the HAP board. These were and are ALL PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS relating to real public property.

HAP Chair, Kandis Brewer Nunn, is, to be kind, disingenuous when she says "the market will determine the prices." Nonsense.

* http://www.usgbc.org/leed/leed_main.asp
**September-October 2003 Oregon Home magazine pages 110-111
***
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