New Apartments and Parking: Updated FAQ

The City recently provided us with an updated FAQ on parking requirements for new apartment developments. The document is attached below. Here’s the text of the City’s e-mail:

Attached please find an updated copy of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) memo.  The memo includes three new questions (#1, #2 and #3).  Question #1 includes information from the November 13th Planning and Sustainability public forum and the January 10th City Council session.  It also includes information on next steps.  Question #7 has been updated to include four additional upcoming apartments: three on N Mississippi and one on N Vancouver.

A proposed set of near-term regulatory changes will be released the beginning of February 2013.  A public hearing with the Planning and Sustainability Commission is now scheduled for March 12, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. at 1900 SW 4th Avenue, Room 2500 A.  Public testimony on the draft proposal will be invited at the hearing.  Longer term solutions will be discussed as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update.

New apartments and parking January 2013

Survey on recent apartment building development projects

We recently heard from a Buckman resident about an online survey that was put together by a group of community members who are concerned about the recent spate of new apartment building developments without off-street parking. Read on for details:

Neighborhood Apartment Parking Survey
Sponsored by Citywide Land Use Group

Dear Neighbors and Community Leaders:

Our Portland community is experiencing unprecedented growth in the development of apartment buildings that include little or no off-street parking. Although a number of these types of older apartments remain along the former trolley lines, the approval of 28 new apartment buildings over the past 18 months has alarmed most of us.

Due to the recent community outcry regarding the approval of so many apartment buildings with no parking, the City’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) is conducting a study of residents and neighbors of eight of these older buildings. As a group of volunteers that make up the Citywide Land Use Group, we felt it was important to conduct our own, complementary survey. This survey is the result of our Apartment Parking Task Force and Editing Team’s work on the no-parking issue over the past four months. It is our attempt to clarify your concerns and needs.  We want to give neighborhoods the opportunity to provide constructive criticism to the City on this issue.

Click here to start filling out the questionnaire

In our view, the City, Metro, and the State are each dealing with competing goals. These include reducing air pollution, traffic congestion, and storm water run-off, while at the same time retaining and enhancing neighborhood livability, high density residential, affordable housing, living-wage jobs and vibrant local businesses. The recent development of apartments with little or no off street parking is a direct result of these policies.

Portland is not alone in dealing with reduced parking in new apartment developments. Other cities we reviewed included Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.

Our contention is that the city needs to begin a dialogue with the neighborhood associations and business communities to help understand the impact of these goals and policies on our daily lives. We offer that Portland contains the most creative and enthusiastic community that could be brought to the table for this discussion. Together, it is likely we will come up with a range of ideas and equitable solutions.

The results of this Apartment Parking Neighborhood Survey as well as the BPS parking study will both be presented to the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission at their November 13th Forum. This is but the first step in helping broker a dialogue between the City of Portland and its concerned neighborhoods on this issue.

The survey questionnaire should take you about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Buckman Community Association Land Use Meeting, October 18th

This Thursday, October 18th, a Buckman Community Association Land Use Meeting will be held to discuss proposed development at 2607/2625 SE Hawthorne Blvd.  The meeting will be in the Multnomah County Board Room, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7-8:30pm.

These two magnificent and grand 106 year-old historic houses were purchased at the end of last month.  The new owners plan to build a 4-story, 77-unit apartment building where these homes (currently full of commercial tenants) now lie.  Here is what they currently look like.

The tenants were unaware the property was being sold and were all given immediate 30-day eviction notices.  The former owner, who has held these properties for decades, has said he feels sick about the plans to tear them down and did not know this was planned.  These properties are now in real danger of being demolished imminently to make way for this new, large development..

The developer, Aaron Jones, and SERA Principle Architect Kurt Schultz have been invited to the meeting so they can hear concerns about this proposal, and give information to community members.  Concerned members of the community are asked to attend.  Ideas, suggestions and proposed solutions to save these important properties are welcome and wanted!

For more information on the proposal: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/10/developers_are_planning_a_77-u.html

If you are unable to attend, but are interested in saving the buildings, please contact myself and/or Tim Askin, BCA Secretary and Co-Land Use Chair (tim.askin@gmail.com).  You can also contact the entire BCA Board anytime at buckmanboard@googlegroups.com.

Thank you,
Susan Lindsay
Chair, BCA

Art DeMuro

“[Art] DeMuro, a Portland developer and preservationist, whose firm redeveloped the White Stag Block in Old Town and a number of other historical properties, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. He was 57. “

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/09/art_demuro_portland_developer.html

The Buckman neighborhood has lost a friend in Art DeMuro. BCA Chair Susan Lindsay, who worked with Art on the proposed redevelopment of Washington High School, penned this tribute:

By now most of you have heard the very sad news that Art DeMuro died Saturday night. I don’t know any details other than it was cancer of a rare and aggressive type.  I did not know he was sick, and always commented whenever we met how great he looked.

Art was an unusual developer. While a keen businessman, he did what he did motivated by a desire to preserve buildings of historic worth from the wrecking ball.  His projects, showcased on the Venerable Properties website, demonstrate his love of history and the restored buildings are beautiful to behold.

All of Portland has lost a friend this week….and especially Buckman. Art’s professional level of high standards and care in redevelopment took seed in Buckman in recent years and we have a number of preserved structures to show for it.

While meeting with Art over the years on other projects, it during was the Washington High School Redevelopment plan that I really got to know Art. Let’s just say, here was someone who didn’t bat an eye when I told him the school building talked to me……as I’m sure he in his own way had experienced this with his love of old forgotten buildings.

Last spring when Art was finally awarded the exclusive rights on the building and a purchase agreement was approved by the school board was one of the happiest days of my life.  I felt so ‘relieved’..that at last the building was in the hands of someone who cared, and knew of its beauty and potential…and had the means and experience to make it anew again.

While I have no idea what his unexpected passing will mean for Washington High, I know what it means for us and me.  We have suddenly and with no warning lost a wonderful, caring, intelligent, gifted man who knew how to navigate the difficult world of loans agreements, contracts, timelines and especially personalities to make beautiful, useful buildings appear from decades of waste and neglect.  And I and many others have lost a man we considered a friend.

It’s ironic on another level for me.  Last Thursday, having returned to Portland from being away much of August, I called some folks to specifically express gratitude for their work on projects we’ve been engaged with.  I started to call Art, and then hesitated.  I had so much to say to him..about how fabulous I thought he was, I decided to collect my thoughts some more before I called.

He was fabulous…and truly one of a kind.  I will miss him very much.  He was our friend.

Washington High School Community Center Update

An important step towards the creation of a full-service community center at the Washington High School property has recently occurred. The City of Portland Hearing Officer has issued approval for a Master Plan to provide conditional use at the site of 12th and SE Stark for the construction of the community center in two phases.  The Master Plan remains valid for ten years.

Phase one of new construction would include the aquatics center, changing rooms, fitness, wood studio and parking lot/field. Phase two would be the gymnasiums.  While there is currently zero funding for the construction of the center, having land use approval in place enables phase one to be built as soon as funding occurs. This center, as well as other city-wide projects, will likely seek funding via a future, comprehensive Portland Parks bond. The BCA has been active and involved with this project for years, and all updates on the future community center are shared at monthly meetings when they occur.

The full decision can be read here: http://www.portlandonline.com/bds/index.cfm?c=46578&a=409397

BDS hearing on Conditional Use Master Plan (CUMP) for the Washington High Community Center

We recently received notice from the Bureau of Development Services that the hearing date for the Conditional Use Master Plan (CUMP) for the Washington High Community Center (WHCC) will be held on July 23rd at 9:30 am before the City’s Land Use Hearings Officer.  The hearing location is 1900 SW 4th Street, Suite 3000.  Residents who live within 400’ of the WHCC site will receive an individually-mailed notice of the hearing. There will be opportunity for the applicant and the neighborhood association to testify at the hearing.  Testimony from other interested parties also will be taken.  If you are unable to attend the hearing but want to submit comments, you can send an e-mail to the Senior Planner assigned to the case, Kathleen Stokes, at kathleen.stokes@portlandoregon.gov, up until July 22nd. She will then present all written communications to the Hearings Officer. You may also present written testimony at the hearing itself if you prefer that to testifying in public. Written testimony is given the same weight as oral testimony.

Once the public record is closed, typically at the end of the hearing, the Hearings Officer has 17 days to render his decision. Then follows a 14-day appeal period. Only people who have submitted written or oral testimony at the public hearing have “standing” to appeal. If no appeal is filed, the Hearings Officer’s decision will become final. If an appeal is filed, the City Council will schedule a hearing usually within one month. The appeal hearing at City Council is run in the same manner as the initial hearing before the Hearings Officer. The City Council’s decision is final at the local level, although opponents can carry their appeal further to the Land Use Board of Appeals.

Approval for the CUMP means that development of this project could move forward once funds are available.  This CUMP will be valid for 10 years.

Regional Green Building Hotline

We were recently contacted about a hotline service available to homeowners who are looking for information on green home strategies. Read on for details.

Going Green and Saving Resources
Metro, the City of Portland, Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties offer a community resource serving our region: the Regional Green Building Hotline.  For over four years, the Hotline has provided practical tips and useful information about green home strategies, including resources and incentives for new and existing commercial and residential projects in the region.  The Hotline has answered thousands of questions about ways to reduce your carbon footprint, renewable energy, indoor air quality, salvage, doing more with less, training workshops and more.  The free service is a bridge to the information you need to help you begin, wherever you are.

Inquiries are welcomed from homeowners, renters, real estate professionals, non-profits, contractors, students, developers, business owners and design professionals in the tri-county area. It is the Hotline’s intent to inspire callers to incorporate as many sustainable choices, either material or behavioral, into their projects as they would like.  The Hotline can also help callers overcome perceived barriers and obstacles around green building.

Green Building Questions Answered Here!
Looking for effective ways to save money on utility bills? Which local green programs and incentives are available to me today? What is the WaterSense label? How can I retrofit my house to healthily age-in-place?  Where can I attend a free class to build a rain garden?

Can I get a rebate for planting a tree? Does my new water heater qualify for a tax credit?

Try this free community service from Metro, City of Portland, Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties.

Regional Green Building Hotline 503.823.5431
A service within the Green Development Resource Center
http://www.buildgreen411.com
greenhotline@portlandoregon.gov

Connect:
Facebook ~ Green Development Resource Center
Twitter ~ @greenhotline

Save the date for the 11th Annual City of Portland Build It Green! Home Tour on Saturday, September 22, 2012.

TONIGHT: Meeting at SEUL about proposed new Portland Housing Bureau policy

This in from Christine Yun, a Buckman resident and Buckman Historic Association member:

The Portland Housing Bureau is proposing new areas to receive incentives that would expand a program that gives private developers 10 years free of taxes when they build new market rate apartment structures as long as they include some affordable housing.

The new areas include significant portions of Belmont and Morrison Streets in Buckman. You can see the map here.

This topic will be discussed tonight at the month SE Uplift Land Use and Sustainability Committee meeting. Details below:

SE Uplift
3534 SE Main Street
7:00pm

This is a link to a page on the Portland Housing Bureau’s website with more information on the tax incentive policy: http://www.portlandonline.com/phb/index.cfm?c=57699.

Update: We’ve received an info sheet with more details on the PHB policy.

First Look: New development at 20th & Morrison

At our most recent general meeting on December 8th, David Mullens from Creston Construction visited us to speak about the new residential apartment building development going up at SE 20th & Morrison. Some may remember this location as the site of another proposed development project that aroused quite a bit of ire among neighbors several years ago. That project eventually fell by the wayside as a result of neighborhood input and the weak economy.

This new project appears to face no such hurdles. Although Mr. Mullens faced some significant questioning from the neighbors present at last week’s meeting, the general consensus seemed to be that this project represents an improvement over the last one. The main area of concern was around parking. The development will only have 12 on-site parking spaces, although it boasts over 70 units. Mr. Mullens stressed that the developers will be aggressively marking this property to tenants without cars, and will also be offering some perks to its residents such as TriMet passes. As for economic factors, the project is apparently well-funded enough that Mr. Mullens was able to speak with some confidence of a planned late-January/early-February start to construction. Construction is expected to last about a year.

Mr. Mullens shared some images of the plans with us. These can be viewed below.

 

 

Portland Plan Cheat Sheet

Got this e-mail from the always awesome Leah Dawkins at SE Uplift:

Hi Everyone- By now, most of you should know that the Portland Plan Draft is available for review. I have read the long version and with the help of Matt Wickstrom,  I put together a cheat-sheet to assist you in reviewing the document. I have highlighted sections I think will be particularly interesting or relevant to SE Uplift neighborhoods and I have hopefully addressed some of the more confusing parts of the document. The cheat-sheet is just full of suggestions, please read the whole document if you have the time and the interest! You can find the documents here: http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/ and I have one photocopy of the summary document for each neighborhood which you can pick up here at the office. The hearings start on Wednesday, November 9th. The first one is at Jefferson High School from 5:30 to 9:00 PM. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks, Leah

–
Leah Dawkins
Land Use Program Manager
SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalition
3534 SE Main Street
Portland OR 97217
503-232-0010 ext. 314
http://www.southeastuplift.org

Click here to check out the cheat sheet:

PortlandPlanCheatSheet

A Perspective on the Buckman Historic District

We recently received an e-mail from a Buckman resident with some questions and concerns about the proposed Historic District in Buckman:

I own an historic home in Buckman that we have lovingly restored over many years. I am concerned that it will become more difficult and more expensive to do the kind of good work that we are doing to our home. In addition, I am concerned that some of the good infill that is happening in our neighborhood will come to a stop while the old, ugly, and poorly build 70s development will continue to fall into disrepair. Is there a way for me to log my concerns and hear feedback?

We know there are many people in Buckman who probably have similar concerns. Tim Askin, a member of both the BCA board and the Buckman Historic Association, weighed in with his thoughts:

We thank you for your interest in the project and your concern. We in fact share many of your concerns. The city’s design review fees are both unreasonable and counterproductive. They are admittedly the highest such fees in Oregon and as research by the Irvington Neighborhood Association has shown, they are most likely the highest in the nation. The Buckman Historic Association and presumably the Buckman Community Association will be joining with Irvington, the Architectural Heritage Center, and many other neighborhoods in filing written complaints to the city and forcing current mayoral and council candidates to address the issue in public forums.

As to your own restoration projects and that of our neighbors’, presumably most of your work is interior. The historic district does not add any new regulation to interiors. It simply tries to assure that exterior changes are done sensitively and appropriately as yours have been. I am sure you have seen several beautiful 19th century houses all around Buckman and Portland where insensitive additions and changes have been made.

Finally, as to infill. Most of the recent projects in Buckman have been much more tasteful than the buildings constructed in the 60s and 70s. However, they have not necessarily been as respectful of their neighbors in size, scale, or massing as might have been liked (without regard to anyone’s preferences on design/style/aesthetics). Within the district boundary (http://visitahc.org/files/pdf/Buckman_Map.pdf) there is simply no inventory whatsoever of vacant, buildable land (Washington High School notwithstanding, the city that owns the grounds now and PPS which maintains ownership of the building are not going to part with those parcels under any circumstances). One of the primary goals of this project is to prevent demolitions of the wonderful buildings we currently have, which historically has been by developers who have no social stake in our community. Nothing in the city’s historic district regulations will prevent demolition of buildings constructed after 1938 (in Buckman’s district, the cutoff year is district-specific).

To this point, the Buckman Community Association has taken no official stance on the district proposal. I have been asked to draft the response, but I cannot speak on its behalf. I speak only for myself and the separate Buckman Historic Association.

As Tim mentioned, the BCA has taken no formal position on the Historic District effort. Our goal at this time is more to facilitate community members’ involvement in this interesting and important process.

The Portland Plan Has Arrived!

Received this e-mail yesterday from SE Uplift with news about the Portland Plan:

 

The much anticipated Portland Plan Draft has been released and is available on-line for public review and testimony. I encourage you to take a look at the shorter document to at least get a feel for the Plan and its contents. You can find both the summary and the full-length documents here. If you would like to see the printed documents and are unable to print them, we have copies available at SE Uplift for review. We will also provide a copy of the summary document to each neighborhood association. Please come pick one up when you get a chance. Once you have had a chance to wrap your head around the Plan, you should tell the Planning and Sustainability Commission what you think! The PSC will be holding public hearings on the Portland Plan throughout November. The hearing schedule is listed below:

Portland Plan Hearings with the Planning and Sustainability Commission
This is your opportunity to make your voice heard about the Draft Portland Plan. Hearings are open to comment about any subject pertaining to the Portland Plan Draft. Please feel free to attend any or all of the hearings.

Tuesday, November 8th
5:30 to 9:00 PM
Jefferson High School
5210 N. Kerby, Portland OR

Tuesday, November 15th
5:30 to 9:00 PM
Parkrose High School
12003 NE Shaver Street, Portland OR

Tuesday, November 29th
5:30 to 9:00 PM
1900 SW 4th Avenue, Conference Room 2500
Portland, OR

Lastly, I am creating a “cheat-sheet” for SE Uplift Coalition neighborhoods to help you review the Plan. It will identify sections we think are especially important or interesting to our neighborhoods. This is meant to help people more efficiently read the Portland Plan and comment on sections that will directly affect your neighborhoods. We will post this on the SE Uplift website and send it out to people on our Land Use Committee listserve. If you have any questions or comments while reviewing the Portland Plan, please get in touch! I am happy to help you understand the Plan and find answers to your questions.

Thanks,
Leah Dawkins
SE Uplift Land Use Program Manager

Learn more about the nature of cities…including ours

Read on for details on an event that will explore the link between urban planning and sustainability…

 

“The Nature of Cities” and the Portland Plan

Transition Portland General Meeting
Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
St. Francis School, Che’ Room, 1131 SE Oak Street, Portland 97214

Join Transition PDX to view the film “The Nature of Cities”, by Timothy Beatley (40 min) and a discussion about the film and Portland Plan. Beatley is recognized expert on sustainability and green cities.

We will be joined by Mike Houck, a City Planning and Sustainability Commissioner and author of the book “Portland Wild”. Matt Wickstrom, city district planner of SE Portland will also join us for part the othe meeting to discuss and answer questions about the Portland Plan process.

The film “The Nature of Cites” explores efforts by cities in the US and Europe to integrate nature and sustainable design into the fabric of modern cities. Beatley is the author of numerous books, including “Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities,” “Native to Nowhere: Sustaining Home and Community in a Global Age,” and most recently “Biophillic Cities, Integrating Nature Into Urban Design and Planning.

This meeting is a prelude to our discussion in October about the forthcoming draft of the Portland Plan and our input to the City’s Planning and Sustainability Commission in November. We will try to equal or improve on our work on the Climate Action Plan of a few years ago. The Portland Plan is a twenty-five year strategic plan that will guide Portland’s future. It is important to all of us and it will allow us to get our message and goals into public policy.

For more information about the Portland Plan go to: http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan.

Washington High School Site Moves a Step Closer to Re-Development

Portland Public Schools recently issued a press release on Washington High School:

 

Portland, Ore., Feb. 22: Portland Public Schools is negotiating an agreement with a local firm to redevelop the long-vacant historic Washington High School building and its site.

Two development groups submitted complete responses to the school district’s recent request for letters of interest in the redevelopment of the Southeast Portland school building; after interviews, PPS selected Venerable Development to move forward to the next step of the selection process.

Venerable proposed several options for the Washington High School building, all of which include housing as a primary component. District representatives will begin negotiations with Venerable in early March for an acquisition agreement.

 

You can read the full press release here.

Washington High School Draft Report

A draft report on the Washington High School project is now available for your downloading & reading pleasure:

The purpose of this report is to summarize and document the design work and decision making process for the Washington High Community Center Design that you were all a part of.  Hopefully, you will have a chance to review both prior to our meeting on February 28th when you will have a chance to ask questions or comment on the report before it is finalized.  Please feel free to forward this information to anyone not included in this e-mail that you know might be interested in this project.  Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Meeting reminder:
Monday, February 28th from 6:00-7:30pm
At Commision for the Blind meeting room
535 SE 12th Avenue

Susan Meamber
Project Manager
1120 SW 5th Ave, Suite 1302
Portland, OR  97204-1933
503-823-9709
susan.meamber(at)portlandoregon(dot)gov

 

You can find the report here: http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?a=335781&c=51821

DJC Story on Belmont Street Project

The Daily Journal of Commerce recently published a story on the project at SE 26th & Belmont:

The space between 26th and 27th avenues on Southeast Belmont Street is presently a level lot, but work is planned on a four-story, H-shaped building; the ground floor of the 13,000-square-foot structure will be dedicated to commercial space while the top three floors will hold apartments.

“We could have built a regular, everyday block building, but residents would have ended up looking out at future building walls next door,” said Eric Hoffman, co-founder of SUM Design Studio and lead architect for the project.

The team instead split a normal block building in half and pushed it out to the property line.

You can read the full story here: http://djcoregon.com/news/2011/02/08/belmont-project-design-includes-wooden-tongue.

WAMO Meeting Re-Scheduled…again

The meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 24th to discuss the status of the Washington High School community center project has been rescheduled for Monday, February 28th to avoid a conflict with the BCA monthly general meeting on the 24th.

New meeting date/time:
Monday, February 28th
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Commission for the Blind
535 SE 12th Ave

Childcare is available; please request childcare no later than February 18th by e-mailing elizabeth.kennedy-wong(at)portlandoregon(dot)gov.

WAMO Status Meeting Re-Scheduled

We posted recently about an upcoming meeting hosted by Portland Parks & Recreation to discuss the status of the Washington High School community center project. We learned this morning that the meeting, originally scheduled for this coming monday, January 17th, has been postponed. Here’s the scoop from PP&R Community Engagement and Public Involvement Manager Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong:

As many of your already realized – Monday is a holiday.  This meeting was intended to coincide with the completion of the Washington High School Community Center Report.  Completion of that report was delayed.  It will be complete and available for public review by Monday, January 24th.

Additionally, PPS will have completed its work on the contracting process and we will have a better sense of how that work may impact this project.

New Meeting Date/Time
Thursday, February 24th
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Location TBD

Childcare is available – please request childcare no later than February 17.

We’ll keep you posted on the meeting location when we’re updated.

Washington High School Community Center Status Meeting, January 17th

We received an e-mail from Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong with Portland Parks and Recreation on December 17th about an upcoming community meeting to discuss the status of the Washington High School community center effort. The text of the e-mail is below:

 

Dear Community Center Supporters,

Please join us to disucss the most recent developments in the creation of a community center in Inner Southeast Portland.

The Project Manager will discuss the project report (available online after January 7th), discuss and reveiw options and refine the location of the drop-off and entrance.

The meeting will be:

Monday, January 17th
6:00 – 8:00 PM
location tbd….

Childcare is available – please request childcare no later than January 10th.

Stay Tuned…

E-

Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong
Community Engagement and Public Involvement Manager
Portland Parks and Recreation
(503) 823-5113

Please note – my email address is now -
elizabeth.kennedy-wong@portlandoregon.gov

 

We’ll post further details when we get them.

Activity on the Washington High School Front

Portland Public Schools is talking to developers about Washington High School:

After a plan to redevelop Washington High School into a community center for Portland Parks and Recreation failed to pencil out earlier this year, the school district in November issued a Request for Information from developers interested in reusing the structure, according to Kerry Hampton, property development manager for Portland Public Schools.

Via the Daily Journal of Commerce.