Community House GNA Draft for Public Comment

Big thanks to everyone involved in developing this draft especially the Drafting Committee, Community House guests and volunteers, SNA Board and all of the thoughtful, caring neighbors and community members who made the time and effort to offer their experiences, views and concerns.

This draft will be available here for public comment until at least May 28th.  Continue reading “Community House GNA Draft for Public Comment”

Second Working Session on Sunnyside Community House Good Neighbor Agreement and Draft Outline

It was very encouraging to see some new faces at the second GNA-focused meeting of the Safety and Livability Committee last Tuesday, February 5th. We spent the hour reviewing a draft outline of the Goals and Principles section of the agreement and sharing perspectives on safety, empathy and inclusion. Some great suggestions were made regarding how to improve the draft language as well as additional educational and services-based resources we can reach out to as the process continues.

You can find a copy of the draft discussed at this meeting (without suggested edits) as well as meeting minutes below. Thanks to everyone for their participation in this process and please encourage anyone you may know who might be interested in joining us to do so at our next meeting on Tuesday, March 5th.

Working Draft

  1. Introduction and Background
    1. [TBD]
  2. Core Principles
    1. Our neighborhood hosts a wide and varied array of people and activities and this work is about making the community a better place for all of them, including but not limited to:
      1. Residents, housed and unhoused
      2. Southeast Portland Little League practicers and other park users
      3. SES students and parents
      4. Business owners and their patrons
      5. Churches and their congregations
      6. Arts and community organizations
    2. Human rights apply to all humans.
    3. Conditions in the neighborhood, especially on the street, sidewalks and public spaces, affect everyone in the neighborhood on a daily basis.
    4. Everyone has a right to personal safety.
    5. Everyone has a right to access services to meet their basic needs.
    6. Everyone has a right to peaceful enjoyment of their property and public spaces.
    7. Everyone has a right to their opinion and deserves a voice in these conversations.
  3. Goals
    1. Reduce crime, especially drug use in public / publicly visible places
    2. Prevent calls to city agencies and drains on city resources
    3. Promote personal responsibility
    4. Promote a sense of civic participation, especially when it comes to public spaces
    5. Encourage long term participation in this agreement
    6. Reduce litter and obstructions on streets and sidewalks
    7. Affirm the Parties’ commitment to civil conduct, communication, and accountability to each other.
    8. Create an open and productive dialogue between all parties.
  4. All Party Agreements
    1. [TBD]
  5. Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Agreements
    1. [TBD]
  6. Sunnyside Community House Agreements
    1. [TBD]

Work Begins on Sunnyside Community House Good Neighbor Agreement

Thanks to everyone who attended a very productive January 8th meeting of the Safety and Livability Committee. We spent the entirety of the meeting taking the first steps toward a Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) with the Sunnyside Community House including discussing the goals and purpose of a good GNA (hint: the proof is in the process), outlining an approach (a smaller Drafting Subcommittee will work to craft language that reflects the higher level goals of the community as determined at the larger Safety & Livability meetings) and beginning to craft some core principles on which to build our agreement.

You can find an outline of the GNA process we discussed as well as minutes from the January 8th meeting below. We’ll continue our work on the GNA at the next meeting of the Safety & Livability Committee on February 5th.