Lake Oswego City Hall is pictured here. (Staff file photo)

While believing in the goal of serving those in need, a key developer in the Portland metro region and Lake Oswego Mayor Joe Buck say people with behavioral health issues are causing issues at affordable housing complexes and asked Clackamas County to narrow who can be admitted so they can operate successfully.

Buck and Hacienda CDC Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Fonseca penned a letter to Clackamas County Monday, June 2 asking the government and board of commissioners to alter the way it admits people into affordable housing facilities so that those facing acute behavioral health issues don’t tarnish the experience of low-income families who are ready to start a new chapter of their lives.

Hacienda CDC is building a 55-unit project on Southwest Boones Ferry Road called El Nido and 10 of the units are for permanent supportive housing, meaning “households earning at or below 60% County Area Median Income (AMI) and are chronically homeless.” The county is tasked with assigning people to these units.

The project is expected to be completed in 2026 and the Lake Oswego City Council voted to provide the development with a property tax exemption during a meeting Tuesday, June 3.

Fonseca said that Hacienda has learned “profound” lessons from the opening of similar projects in the Portland metro area, like Las Adelitas in Portland and Las Flores in Oregon City, including that many individuals require more than housing; they need treatments and other supports first.

“We’ve encountered heartbreaking realities—residents passing out in hallways, strangers entering apartments uninvited, and significant environmental and behavioral management challenges. We came to understand that many of these issues stemmed from referrals of individuals with acute behavioral health needs—residents requiring clinical care that far exceeds what affordable housing developers like Hacienda can provide. These individuals are patients in need of treatment, not just housing. Our behavioral health providers do their best to mitigate these issues, but it’s not enough,” Fonseca wrote. “When we welcome residents we are unequipped to serve, we inadvertently cause harm—to them, to their neighbors, and to the integrity of the community as a whole. Both PSH residents and low-income families deserve better. Many PSH residents need robust, wraparound services that include medical care, behavioral health support, and consistent 24/7 case management. Without these services, stability and belonging remain out of reach.”

Further, Fonseca wrote that residents living near individuals with behavioral health needs have reported feeling unsafe and sometimes informally support neighbors who don’t have access to professional care.

The letter quoted an individual at Las Adelitas who said people would knock on their door in the middle of the night and that fights would often break out.

“I understand that Las Adelitas is a pilot program helping formerly unhoused and mentally ill people find stable housing. I don’t think it’s working. Based on the vacancy rate and the reputation the building has now, people who are merely low-income are afraid to live there,” the former resident wrote.

In turn, Buck and Fonseca asked Clackamas County to tighten its requirements for permanent supportive housing units and to prioritize “seniors, individuals with physical disabilities, and families who can thrive in a supportive and balanced community.”

“The promise of affordable housing in Lake Oswego is the exceptional educational and community opportunities afforded to children who may otherwise be unable to live in the City. It’s a chance to disrupt generational poverty. Yet that promise evaporates when the living environment within the housing development is unsuitable for families, children and residents simply trying to get by,” Buck wrote in the letter. “My experience with other Metro bond funded housing in Lake Oswego aligns with Dr. Fonseca’s observations, and our residents share stories identical to that of his former Las Adelitas tenant. Some PSH residents have needs well beyond what any housing provider can reasonably be expected to provide, and the consequences are jeopardizing both the safety and welfare of other residents and the City’s ability to equitably provide services to all residents.”

Clackamas County Commissioner Ben West agreed wholeheartedly with Buck and Fonseca and said he would bring this issue to his fellow commissioners’ and county staff’s attention. He felt that this issue is emblematic of the Portland metro region and the state prioritizing housing above behavioral health and said the county has worked for the last few years — through projects like Clackamas Village, its recovery center and destabilization center — to prioritize behavioral health needs so that people are ready for a self-sustained life. The county has received considerable funding from Metro’s Supportive Housing Services bond measure and has reported significant declines in homelessness over the last few years.

“As a county, I hope the board joins me in taking this issue head on to solve the problem,” West added.

During the June 3 Lake Oswego City Council meeting, councilors said that providing affordable housing incorrectly now could dissuade residents and future elected leaders from wanting to build more in the future. And Buck said in the letter that he would have reservations about investing more city resources in a model that “will create a tremendous strain on City services and create a damaging environment for future residents.”

“I feel horribly for members who get the housing, who are struggling on their own financially and stressed out and trying to make the payments for housing they’re going to be in, and have the stress of their neighbors putting them into an unsafe position. That to me is not good thinking. It’s not good government and it’s not creating the conditions for success,” Councilor John Wendland said.