Lacey Sutton was eager to move her family into the Mill Park home she purchased in March 2023 — she had her eyes on the place for a while.
The Cherry Blossom Townhome Apartments, built by Habitat for Humanity, promised a permanently affordable unit in an eight-building project, lush green space and a playground for children, all within walking distance of East Portland Community Center and Ventura Park.
Soon after they moved in, Sutton noticed one small issue: she didn’t think the buildings were built to fire code. She first called Portland Fire and Rescue, or PF&R, to ask about the lack of a fire lane or “no parking” signs on the narrow roadway weaving through the complex, and her concerns began to snowball.
Sutton said she didn’t know how bad it was or what she should be looking for until she got a 2019 PF&R fire safety plan review check sheet through public records. At that time, before the project even broke ground, the fire inspector cited numerous issues not aligning with fire code. Namely, due to the building being over 30 feet tall, the road width could not accommodate aerial fire operations from a truck, leaving residents inside vulnerable in the instance of a fire.
“Building heights on plans require either Aerial Access or Alternates to Aerial to be met,” the review said.
The check sheet noted alternatives like a sprinkler system, a fire-resistant stairway exit or a flat roof design could exempt the building from certain requirements. Still, after countless conversations with PF&R officials, Sutton heard little to put her mind at ease.
“There’s no proof that they gave us anything that is equivalent to the fire code,” Sutton said. “We don’t have anything built to fire code anyway, and we don’t have any equivalent measures of fire safety here.”
Melinda Musser, Habitat for Humanity’s director of communications, provided a more optimistic statement to Street Roots.
“At Habitat for Humanity Portland Region, we build strength, stability, and independence through affordable homeownership,” Musser said. “We work with local, certified architects and builders to construct affordable homes for Oregonians in need.”
Musser said the city inspects every home the organization builds, including Cherry Blossom Townhomes, to ensure they meet local and state building and fire codes.
“All homes at Cherry Blossom Townhomes received building permits from the city of Portland, including sign-off on all fire code compliance, were inspected by the city of Portland, and received certificates of occupancy from the city of Portland,” Musser said.
The former Bureau of Development Services — now called Portland Permitting and Development, or PPD — said the building code does not limit the height of townhouses, and the zoning that applied to the Cherry Blossom site limited the height of buildings to 35 feet, despite the plans saying otherwise.
“I am confident that the buildings on the Cherry Blossom site meet the building and zoning codes that were in effect in 2019 when the permit applications were submitted,” Ken Ray, PPD public information officer, said.
Kegan Flanderka of Base Design & Architecture designed the buildings and noted the building would not exceed 30 feet in Dec. 20, 2019 corrections to the plans, after specifically noting “per fire code” on the design. However, the total height of all floors remained listed at 31 feet 9 inches “per zoning code.”
“There seems to be the sentiment that, because it’s affordable housing, we should just be grateful for what we got. That’s just so unfair to everyone here, and not in the spirit of what Habitat for Humanity is doing.”
— Lacey Sutton, homeowner
The local firm boasts trendy building designs for Happy Mountain Kombucha, Wayfinder and the new Jupiter Hotel. Flanderka did not respond to Street Roots’ request for comment.
For Sutton, in light of the myriad concerns with the homes she and her neighbors purchased, the central issue is not whether the plan passed inspections, but how.
“Having a development of 31 units, we’re supposed to have a secondary access road or sprinkler system,” she said. “We don’t have either. How did they get away with that?”
2019 Oregon Fire Code states: “Developments of one- or two-family dwellings where the number of dwelling units exceeds 30 shall be provided with two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads.”
It notes an exception for this requirement if all dwelling units “are equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system.”
Tony Green, Portland City Auditor’s deputy ombudsman, confirmed the office received a complaint regarding Cherry Blossom and is looking into it.
Spinning wheels
Sutton and her family purchased the home through Proud Ground, a community land trust founded in 1999 to promote permanently affordable homeownership opportunities.
“It meant a lot for us to finally get here after COVID,” Sutton said. “And everyone (here) has a story like that.”
Habitat for Humanity homebuyers, many of whom may not have resources to purchase homes on the traditional market, participate in home construction by completing 200 hours of sweat equity, including completion of classes or volunteering in the community, according to the Habitat for Humanity website. Homeowners purchase the homes through bank loans, but typically at a lower rate than traditional loans.
“For us, it took every dollar we had,” Sutton said.
As with all of its projects, Habitat for Humanity designed the Cherry Blossom location for families with low incomes — those making between 35% and 80% of the Area Median Income, or AMI — in an effort to create permanently affordable homes and build equity for first-time homebuyers. The Habitat for Humanity website boasts attention to equity in its mission, seeking to respect all people regardless of identity or background.
“In confronting the realities of white supremacy, we have faith that the impact of our work increases as our employees and volunteers become more racially and culturally diverse,” the website says.
That nod to diversity appears more cynical to Sutton when considering the changing narratives around the real-world hazards homeowners face at Cherry Blossom.
“Habitat used our faces, our stories of struggle, and our outpouring of gratitude to promote their organization, then left us to live in tinderboxes,” Sutton said.
Metro, too, outlined Habitat for Humanity’s commitment to diversity in its 2024 quarterly report, saying, “Cherry Blossom households are 36% Asian, 3% American Indian/Alaska Native, 25% Black/African American, and 31% White. Additionally, 6% of those households identify as Hispanic/Latinx.”
Still, homeowners worked hard for a safe home, particularly in light of Habitat for Humanity requiring people to maintain their income and employment through the early COVID lockdown to acquire the loans. Sutton said most residents could not stay home from work during that time, as they were already approved to purchase their Cherry Blossom home.
“This was the biggest purchase we’ve ever made in our lives,” Sutton said. “There seems to be the sentiment that, because it’s affordable housing, we should just be grateful for what we got. That’s just so unfair to everyone here, and not in the spirit of what Habitat for Humanity is doing.”
Asked if Habitat for Humanity was aware of fire code issues prior to building the project, and how it is working to address the safety of its residents, Musser said the organization is committed to the long-term success of all Habitat homebuyers and the homeownership team is available and responsive to any concerns that an owner brings to them.
“The homes were sold to homeowners who purchased the homes with affordable mortgages,” Musser said. “Homeowners are responsible for making sure the interior of their homes maintains fire code, and the HOA is responsible for the exteriors of the homes, including the private street.”
In short, if the homes don’t meet fire code, it’s no longer Habitat for Humanity’s problem — it’s the low- and mid-income homeowners’ problem.
Another homeowner at one of Habitat for Humanity’s Portland projects spoke to Street Roots on condition of anonymity, out of fear of retaliation. They said the Habitat for Humanity model leaves the low-income people it purports to serve stuck in long term contracts, through silent mortgages, with little opportunity for upward mobility.
To boot, residents are left to pick up the pieces left by the organization in the first place — like fire dangers, the lack of promised parking, and exorbitant heating and cooling expenses. Habitat for Humanity maintains the right of first offer in home sales, meaning many homeowners are stuck between the choice of staying in the home despite their concerns, or moving and assuming the mortgage as debt, without the opportunity to accrue equity.
“You don’t get the option to sell to who you want to, you don’t have the option to rent out the home,” they said. “There’s no way to actually really use these homes as a stepping stone to get out of poverty.”
Fire
Sutton’s concern is not simply theoretical. In July, a wall heater caught fire in a third-floor apartment bathroom in the middle of the night. A child alerted their mother, who was able to put the fire out before significant damage occurred. Fortunately, the fire department was able to access that specific building due to its location.
Sutton said there are nine identical heaters in each home, creating further anxiety about a worst-case scenario.
“That was really scary because it happened when it wasn’t even on,” she said. “That’s something that’s kind of been on all of our minds.”
Adding to the issue of inadequate space for a truck to enter is the lack of parking available for residents. Habitat for Humanity said the project included 31 off-street parking spaces, something Sutton said implies there is one for each home when the reality is quite different. Some garages were advertised as two car garages but do not fit two vehicles, while other units have driveways allowing space for more than one vehicle. Due to parking constraints in the neighborhood, people are left to park in the driveway PF&R would need in the instance of a fire.
Sutton said a June PF&R visit confirmed the truck could only maneuver tightly along the road, where cars are often parked, and ground ladders would not safely reach the roof in an emergency, according to fire officials testing the area.
That story changed over the summer, as Sutton called city and PF&R officials looking for evidence the issues were addressed. One official told her the houses were built wrong, while others confirmed the layout created challenges warranting her anxiety.
Still, others said an internal sprinkler system was not required, and assured her PF&R had a plan, although she hasn’t seen any evidence of that plan to allay her fears. Sutton said in July, PF&R promised to investigate and send a report, but the report never came.
Rick Graves, PF&R public information officer, confirmed the prior visits, saying the nearest station visited the site on numerous occasions to verify ground ladders and aerial ladders would be effective in reaching the roof.
“PF&R approved water supply and apparatus access of the design plans early on in the Cherry Blossom project as the designs showed effective use of ladders to the roof for emergency response along with the access of vehicles,” Graves said. “With each visit, we could climb ground ladders to the roof along with place the truck in a location that would allow the aerial ladder to extend to all locations of the roof at the address in question.”
Graves said the requirement for the placement of a fire sprinkler system is not exclusively height based as occupancy type and use are also involved in the determination of the requirement for fire sprinklers.
“This building does not meet those requirements for a fire suppression sprinkler system,” Graves said.
PF&R did not answer Street Roots’ questions about apparent discrepancies between its earlier assessments, plan notes, fire code and its current position on the development.
The city of Portland denied a Habitat for Humanity appeal for a similar residential townhouse project Aug. 22. The Carey Boulevard project, which is currently the Peninsula Crossing Safe Rest Village site, is a $23 million, 50 townhome project much like the Cherry Blossom townhomes.
For that building, PF&R required an access road to be within 150 feet of all portions of the facility, unless the building is equipped with an approved automatic sprinkler system, according to public records. Habitat for Humanity appealed that requirement, instead proposing to install an additional fire hydrant on an adjacent road, saying it would prefer to not install a sprinkler system. The city denied the appeal.
“The proposed alternative does not provide equivalent fire and life safety,” the decision said.
PF&R did not respond to Street Root’s request for comment asking why the newer project would not provide equivalent safety while it determined the Cherry Blossom project did.
Money
“I know we don’t have a magic wand,” Sutton said. “But I think that there are things that they could do, and they’re going to be very costly. We obviously can’t afford it, and I don’t think that we should have to pay a dime for it. I think that they need to bring our homes to code.”
In 2022, the philanthropist MacKenzie Scott doled out $436 million to 83 Habitat for Humanity affiliates, including $8.5 million to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region. Oregon Housing and Community Services invested $2.3 million in the Cherry Blossom project, according to its records. Habitat for Humanity Portland reported nearly $28 million in total revenue, according to 2022 tax records. That follows over $32 million in revenue in 2021.
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This article appears in September 25, 2024.