Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Project Homeless Connect topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Forest Grove businesses urge the county to require enforceable "good neighbor" terms for Yellow House and Project Homeless Connect
Summary
Business owners near the Yellow House (Project Homeless Connect site) told commissioners that neighborhood impacts and safety issues have risen and asked whether the county can require a drug-free zone and ensure the shelter has sufficient staffing and enforceable agreements.
Two business owners who said their properties sit adjacent to the Yellow House and Project Homeless Connect told the Washington County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25 that neighborhood crime and disorder around the facility are harming local commerce and public safety.
Kathy Miller, who said she owns the business next door to the Yellow House, asked the board whether the county could require a drug-free zone for the square block bounded by Fifth, Sixth, Oak and Baseline streets. Miller said the Yellow House is run by Project Homeless Connect (PHC) and that a $6,000,000 building planned for the site raises concerns about whether PHC will have sufficient staff or funding to operate the facility safely.
"We're worried that if you fund the $6,000,000 building that's going in, that they don't have the staff to run it," Miller told the board. "What is the county going to do if they don't have the funds and the people are causing issues with all of our businesses around that area? We don't have any recourse as businesses."
Trisha Raby, owner of Raby Family Dentistry next to Project Homeless Connect, described an incident she said occurred inside a nearby business in which a person experiencing homelessness threw a chair near new mothers and babies; Raby said staff from Project Homeless Connect present at that incident did not diffuse the situation. "If they cannot handle one person in one area, there are 60 people around that place at all times," she said, and asked the board to scrutinize staffing plans and enforcement mechanisms in any neighbor agreement.
Both speakers said they are working toward a "good neighbor" agreement with PHC but worried that the agreement lacks enforcement teeth. Miller asked whether county authorities have recourse if conditions deteriorate and PHC lacks staff or funding; Raby cited data she said came from Sergeant McCarver showing rising crime in the area and urged the county to reconsider further funding until concerns are addressed.
County commissioners acknowledged the testimony. No formal action or vote on funding or zoning for the Yellow House was taken at the meeting. Commissioners did not identify a specific enforcement mechanism at the Feb. 25 session but heard requests for clearer accountability in neighbor agreements, information on PHC staffing and confirmation of any county oversight tied to funding.
Speakers asked the county to consider immediate steps such as a county-designated drug-free zone in the block described, stronger enforcement terms in any good-neighbor contract, and requirements that prospective grantees or operators demonstrate staffing and funding commitments before receiving additional county support.
No enforcement directives or new funding approvals were made at the Feb. 25 meeting; speakers said they will continue pursuing a good-neighbor agreement and return with additional information to county staff.
