HOUSING
Ashley believes that everyone deserves shelter. That if we take care of everyone’s basic needs, our community is strengthened. She believes that we must lead with compassion. Treating every member of our community with dignity. However, we must also acknowledge we cannot do this work alone, and a regional approach is how we can make the biggest difference. It will take partnership amongst the City of Beaverton, Washington County, Metro, and others to pull our resources together to make the biggest impact.
Ashley believes that everyone, regardless of income, should have access to housing that is:
Affordable: taking up no more than 30% of a person’s income (including utilities), allowing funds that would usually go to rent to re-enter Beaverton’s economy.
Accessible: allowing all individuals to secure appropriate housing. Read Ashley’s full platform on Accessibility in Beaverton here.
Stable: allowing families to remain in their homes even if their income fluctuates, and creating a consistent environment for children.
The Current Problem with Housing in Beaverton:
Nearly half of all renter households in Beaverton are considered housing cost burdened
41% of people of color live in cost-burdened households
1,522 Students within the Beaverton School District (BSD) are unhoused
To Address the Lack of Affordable Housing Units in Beaverton, Ashley will:
Work with regional and state officials to help provide affordable housing, just like she does now as the President of Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District (THPRD)
Partner with foundations to create grant opportunities for landlords to do important maintenance and keep rent affordable
Encourage additional opportunities for affordable homeownership to help build generational wealth
Increasing the number of affordable housing units will:
Boost Beaverton’s Economy. Every 100 typical Low Income Housing Tax Credit apartments will generate an estimated $7.9 million in local income and create 122 jobs just in their first year.
Increases Child Wellness. Children in subsidized housing are 35% more likely to be determined in ‘well’ health, are 22% less likely to be underweight, and are 19% less at risk to be food insecure.
Generate New Tax Revenue. An additional $827,000 in tax revenue is generated in the first year for every 100 typical Low Income Housing Tax Credit apartments.
To address accessibility in housing in Beaverton, Ashley will:
Encourage all future housing construction in Beaverton to follow the universal principles of design
Promote more accessible forms of transportation near current and future housing developments
As President of THPRD Ashley’s Work on Affordable Housing Included:
A year-long community engagement process to ensure that policy would reflect the actual need and make the biggest impact.
Voted YES to approve Resolution No. 2020-24 adopting a System Development Charge Affordable Housing Waiver Policy which will result in over 600 new affordable housing units in the area.