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The Portland Water Bureau is on its way to purchasing another home adjacent to the 90-acre property in East Multnomah County where the bureau is preparing to build an $820 million water filtration plant.
As WW reported earlier, the bureau purchased a private Gresham home adjacent to its existing property in 2019 for pipeline right of way.
On March 3, the City Council heard a first reading of a proposal to buy a second home, adjacent to the 2019 purchase. The bureau wants the 2-acre property, which includes a 2,900-square-foot home, to provide access to the planned filtration plant. (It is located immediately to the north of the existing city property.)
The rising market helped the homeowners, who initially approached the city in the spring of 2020 saying they planned to sell the property. The city decided it would provide better access than existing routes would address neighbors' concerns about traffic.
On Sept. 22, the city got an appraisal pegging the property's value at $825,000 but the owners pointed to a red-hot local market and said since the closing wouldn't happen for at least six months, they wanted an additional 6%—that is, $875,000. The Water Bureau agreed.
The sale looks like a good one for the seller: There are no brokerage fees, and the city pays closing costs up to 3% and relocation fees of up to $100,000. That part, bureau spokeswoman Bonita Oswald says, is a result of the Federal Relocation Act, which governs transactions in which federal funds are used and the government may take private lands.
"The city had determined that this acquisition is necessary for purposes of the project and it was not willing to waive any subsequent power of eminent domain, if the sale were to fail," Oswalt says. "Accordingly, the act makes it clear that the purchase is not 'voluntary,' requiring relocation benefits to the seller."
On March 3, Water Bureau director Gabe Solmer explained the transaction and made the case to the council that a purchase from a willing seller was the most efficient path to getting the land the bureau needs.
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was the only commissioner who commented on the proposal.
"It makes much more sense to have a willing seller, especially when you're so close to years of construction," Hardesty said. "I just want to applaud the good work to get us to a mutually agreed upon settlement because that could have got ugly and taken forever to have resolved."
Solmer told the council the home it purchased in 2019 was rented to a tenant and the new one likely will be as well until the bureau determines their final disposition.
The proposal will come back for a second reading next week, but in the meantime, the city and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) today announced a landmark federal funding package for the filtration plant, which is being built at the demand of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city will get a $727 million federally subsidized loan from the EPA, at a far lower interest rate than the city could have gotten by issuing bonds. Officials say the interest savings will amount to at least $247.5 million. The loan will be the largest the feds have made under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which Merkley sponsored.
"No matter where they live, every Oregonian deserves to have clean water to drink, and a modern, up-to-date system to treat their water," Merkley said in a statement. "That was my guiding principle when I created the WIFIA program, and it's the guiding principle behind the Bull Run Treatment Project. I remain as committed today to saving ratepayers' money and putting reliable access to clean water within reach for all Oregonians as I was eight years ago when this program became law, and look forward to watching the Bull Run Treatment Project come to fruition."
City Commissioner Mingus Mapps, who oversees the Water Bureau, applauded the federal funding and the improvements in water quality the filtration project will bring.
"These projects echo the wisdom of our city's founders who established Bull Run as our water source more than a century ago," said Mapps. "We are safeguarding their legacy through long-term investment to protect public health and economic growth for the century ahead."