- LEVI GREENACRES
CONTROL ISSUES
RE: “Out of Control” [News, June 17], arguing the potential benefits of adopting rent control policies in Portland.
HI MERCURY—An old friend/sparring partner of yours here, recently returned to Portland after six harsh years in San Francisco, where I trained as a tenants rights counselor at the SF Tenants Union. I am happy to see you countering Willamette Week’s odious “Grow Up, Portland!” pro-development coverage, though [differentiating] certain aspects of rent control [can be confusing]. The rent cap, which restricts annual rent increases to one or two percent of current rent, is a feature of San Francisco’s version of rent control, which covers buildings constructed before June 1979. Vacancy decontrol is something entirely different.