The lot where Mayor Ted Wheeler hopes to put Right 2 Dream Too.
The lot where Mayor Ted Wheeler hopes to put Right 2 Dream Too. Dirk VanderHart

It is an utterance passed down to nearly any neighborhood where a homeless encampment is proposed: "Not good enough."

For Right 2 Dream Too, there have been frantic Pearl District developers blocking the path, and irate Central Eastside Business owners, and school officials in Southwest Portland.

Now, it's the Lloyd District Community Association's turn to voice concerns about R2DToo's impending relocation.

The LDCA, which represents businesses and residents in the Lloyd District and Rose Quarter, got an unexpected surprise along with the rest of us last week, when Mayor Ted Wheeler's office announced it had found a plot of city land just west of the Moda Center that could accommodate the well regarded homeless camp.

Berk Nelson, a policy adviser who's also Wheeler's point person for homelessness, told reporters he'd gotten the blessing of the operator of a nearby mill (we haven't independently confirmed that) and that the Trail Blazers hadn't voiced serious objections. But Nelson didn't reach out to the LDCA, telling the Mercury that he'd instead called or emailed the Eliot Neighborhood Association, and hadn't heard back.

So we reached out. And the LDCA? It has concerns. In a statement the group's co-chair, Brian Griffis, sent yesterday to the Mercury, the LCDA leads with its support of R2DToo.

"Lloyd neighborhood and business organizations recognize the importance of including Right 2 Dream Too in our city and understand the challenges City Council faces in finding them a new home," the statement reads.

But the LDCA is also worried. Is the plot the city's thinking about the right one? The group isn't sure.

"There are real challenges that need to be considered," the statement says. "The distance to social services requires travel and the area’s confluence of transit routes (bus and rail) may pose unnecessary safety risks. There is also a safety concern with the site’s proximity to the busy Union Pacific main line, just down the bluff."

Just FYI: There is not a "correct" plot for homeless camps in this city—including one that has done a superlative job promoting safety and security, as even former skeptics acknowledge R2DToo has done in its nearly six years.

For every bit of land proposed, someone can drum up a reason why it is not ideal. Even in Kenton, which recently became the first neighborhood in the city to vote in favor of an organized homeless camp (albeit a tiny one) there were serious concerns raised by residents.

And yet, here we are, in the midst of a homelessness crisis that doesn't show signs of improving.

We've reached out to the mayor's office to see if it's had any followup with the LDCA, but haven't heard back.

Update: LDCA says it heard from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, but no one else at the city. Meanwhile, mayoral spokesperson Michael Cox relays: "The concerns raised with regard to the location were considered as part of the decision making process, and we feel they were adequately addressed. While we have not yet met with the Neighborhood Association, we look forward to doing so and sharing details of our plan."

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In any case, the neighbors who might be concerned about—or outright hate—the proposed R2DToo move can take some comfort in the fact that it appears to be short-term. As we report this week, the camp could be gone by October, if the city doesn't extend its ongoing housing state of emergency. City documents suggest it would be on the land only until September 2018 at most.

Here's the LDCA's full statement:


“Lloyd neighborhood and business organizations recognize the importance of including Right 2 Dream Too in our city and understand the challenges City Council faces in finding them a new home. At the same time, we are surprised by the announcement to move the Right 2 Dream Too community to a site across the street from the Rose Quarter and Moda Center. Neither the Lloyd District Community Association, Lloyd Enhanced Service District, Lloyd EcoDistrict nor Go Lloyd were approached regarding this important decision. As the voices of the neighborhood’s residents and businesses, this was a missed opportunity by City Hall to ensure success for Right 2 Dream Too’s relocation. There are real challenges that need to be considered. The distance to social services requires travel and the area’s confluence of transit routes (bus and rail) may pose unnecessary safety risks. There is also a safety concern with the site’s proximity to the busy Union Pacific main line, just down the bluff. Going forward, both the Lloyd District Community Association and Lloyd business organizations need to be included in the decision-making process.”