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Phase II Portland Plan Workshops

March 11, 2010

The dates for the Phase II workshops are set!

This phase is all about setting direction:

In this phase, we will consider where we want to go. What are our targets, and how might we get there? What are the things we could do to move in the right direction?

Don’t miss the workshop near you:

Southeast
April 26, 6:30–9 pm
Central Catholic High School, Cafeteria
2401 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR 97214

Northeast
April 29, 6:30–9 pm
Beaumont Middle School Cafeteria
4043 NE Fremont Street
Portland, OR 97212

North
May 1, 10 am–12:30 pm
University Park Community Center
Multi-purpose Gym
9009 N Foss Avenue
Portland, OR 97203
*childcare provided in Cesar Chavez room

Central City
May 10, 6:30–9 pm
University of Oregon, White Stag Block
Rooms 142 & 144
70 NW Couch Street
Portland, OR 97209

East
May 15, 10 am–12:30 pm
David Douglas High School, Cafeteria (North)
1001 SE 135th Ave
Portland, OR 97233
*childcare provided in room #122

West
May 18, 6:30–9 pm
Jackson Middle School Cafeteria
10625 SW 35th Avenue
Portland, OR 97219

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Get Your Geek On

March 9, 2010

For those of you who are pining for the last set of Portland Plan workshops and can’t wait for round 2 (more on that later) we’ve got a fix for you.

There’s a technical team for each of the 9 subject areas in the Portland Plan, and they’re holding workshop meetings that you can sit in on, and informally discuss the topics with the team.

Here’s the full set:

To prepare for Phase II, we have established nine Technical Action Groups (TAGs), one for each of the Portland Plan action areas. The TAGs include staff from City bureaus and our 19 partner agencies. They have synthesized the thousands of comments from the public meetings and surveys, the data from the VisionPDX process and information from the Portland Plan Background reports (http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/index.cfm?c=51427). The result of this work will be the basis for the information shared during the Phase II workshops in April and May.

The TAGs are convening additional work sessions during March to review information that will help shape the development of the Phase II workshops. Each of you has special expertise in different arenas. We would appreciate your involvement in these workshops to help us set direction for the next steps for the Portland Plan.

Please join us at one or more of the meetings listed below. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves!

Sustainability and the Natural Environment

Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1900 SW 4thAvenue, Portland, Oregon 97201 – Room 2500A (2nd Floor)

Human Health, Food and Public Safety

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1900 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97201 – Room 2500 (2nd Floor)

Neighborhoods and Housing

Thursday, March 18, 2010, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1900 SW 4thAvenue, Portland, Oregon 97201 – Room 2500B (2nd Floor)

Education and Skill Development

Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1900 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97201 – Room 2500 (2nd Floor)

Transportation, Technology and Access

Thursday, March 25, 2010, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1120 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 – Room C (2nd Floor)

Arts, Culture and Innovation

Monday, March 29, 2010, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1900 SW 4thAvenue, Portland, Oregon 97201 – Room 7A (7th Floor)

Prosperity and Business Success

Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 7:30-9:30 a.m.

1900 SW 4thAvenue, Portland, Oregon 97201 – Room 7A (7th Floor)

Design, Planning and Public Spaces

Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center “Ecotrust” – Billy Frank, Jr. Conference Center

721 NW 9th Avenue, Portland, Oregon  97209

Equity, Quality of Life and Civic Engagement

Thursday, April 1, 2010, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

1120 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 – Room C (2nd Floor)

For more information, please visit: http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/index.cfm?a=289660&c=50730.

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Meeting Summary – 3/9/10

March 9, 2010

12:30pm Briefing on Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Conceptual Design Report

Just a warm-up for the hearing next month (April 13).

1:14pm Hearing on Portland Plan background documents

Some of the testimony points toward a conflict point we’re likely to see later in the process: environmentalists lining up to support natural resource protections, and economic interests arguing for lighter regulation.

3:04pm Hearing on rezoning of Oregon Sustainability Center site

No public testimony and an affirmative vote on rezoning from RX to CX after a quick briefing. The only policy question was the impact of reducing the residential requirement and the staff report makes clear that plenty of capacity has been created in the Central City recently to offset the potential loss on this site.

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Coming Up on March 9th

March 7, 2010

Official Agenda

12:30pm – A briefing on the Conceptual Design Report for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project. A warm-up for a hearing on the same topic in April.

1:15pm – A hearing on land supply assumptions for the Portland Plan. How much space for housing will we need? How much for industry? Offices? Come out and question our assumptions!

This is the last of our three hearings on the background reports for the plan. Don’t miss your opportunity to resolve any doubts…

2:15pm – Hearing on a zoning change for the proposed new sustainability center. Essentially, we’re being asked to remove the requirement for housing from this site. The report suggests that recent increases in zoned density in the North Pearl and other locations more than offsets any loss of housing under the City’s “no net loss” policy.

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ADUs Get Easier

March 3, 2010

Two City Council actions this week will make building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs – aka “Granny Flats”) much easier.

Today City Council voted to waive system development charges (SDCs) for ADUs for the next three years. They received testimony that SDCs can be up to 20-25% of the cost of an ADU project.

Tomorrow Council will (I hope) finalize the RICAP 5 project which includes increasing the maximum size of ADUs from 33% of the size main dwelling to up to 75% of the size the main dwelling (an overall maximum of 800 sq. ft. still remains, so this means that smaller houses can now get ADUs).

I hope this will raise the number of ADUs being built annually from about two dozen (at least those that are legally permitted) to a considerably higher number. In my view ADUs are a very good thing because:

  • They create affordable housing
  • They leverage existing urban infrastructure to increase density with very little community impact
  • They help homeowners pay their mortgage

Posted in Growth | 1 Comment »

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Great Buildings vs. Great Places

February 22, 2010

This evening I attended a very interesting program that was part of the “New Oregon” interview series. The program featured architecture/design critic Randy Gragg, architect Brad Cloepfil and Mayor Sam Adams.

A major thread of the discussion was about whether Portland aspires to good design – or if we settle for less-than-stellar design.

Now I’m a big fan of good design, I think it’s essential to doing infill and density in a livable way.

But several times during the discussion the phrase “important building” was used, and the lack of them in Portland was lamented. This struck me as somewhat off-key.

I don’t think that Portland aspires to have important buildings. What I think we do aspire to is having great places. And if great architecture for a building can contribute to a great place, I’m all for it.

But I get more excited about things like last year’s Courtyard Housing Design Competition, which can potentially result in a lot of great places all around the City.

Am I wrong in my reading of Portland’s collective appetite? Do we in fact value great places more than great buildings?

Posted in Design | 6 Comments »

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It’s All About Trees

February 20, 2010

A comprehensive re-write of the City’s regulations around trees has been in development for some time now, and the public process around its adoption is heating up, beginning this week.

The first opportunity to hear about this is at the City Wide Land Use group meeting Monday night (2/22 at 7pm, 1900 SW 4th Ave, Room 2500B), followed by a joint Planning Commission/Forestry Commission briefing on Tuesday (2/23 at 6pm, 1900 SW 4th Ave, Room 2500A/B).

Here’s the rest of the schedule along with with links to the documents involved:

BPS News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2010

CONTACT:
Eden Dabbs
Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
503-823-9908
eden.dabbs@ci.portland.or.us

Roberta Jortner
Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
503-823-7855
rjortner@ci.portland.or.us

CALENDAR ADVISORY

Citywide Tree Project Draft Proposal Goes Before Portland Planning Commission and Urban Forestry Commission; Open Houses Planned
Residents encouraged to read the document and comment in person or online

After extensive analysis and discussion of complex tree-related issues, and developing and sharing potential solutions with multiple commissions and neighborhood groups, the Citywide Tree Project is publishing a comprehensive draft proposal for public review. The Portland Planning Commission and Urban Forestry Commission will invite public testimony on the proposal at a joint hearing on March 23, 2010.

Two open houses will be held before the hearing so members of the public can meet with project staff and learn more about project and draft proposal.

Upcoming Public Events

February 23, 2010
6 p.m.
Planning Commission Briefing
1900 SW 4th Avenue, Suite 2500A
Portland, OR 97201

March 23, 2010
6 p.m.
Joint Planning Commission and Urban Forestry Commission Hearing (public comments welcome)
1900 SW 4th Avenue, Suite 2500A
Portland, OR 97201

Public Open Houses

March 9, 2010
7-9 p.m.
Multnomah County Arts Center Auditorium
7688 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, Oregon 97219

March 16, 2010
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Floyd Light Middle School Cafeteria
10800 SE Washington St
Portland, Oregon 97216

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has worked with other City bureaus and community stakeholders on the Tree Project because the City’s tree codes are confusing and out of date. With input from community stakeholders, City staff have developed a proposal intended to:

• clarify, simplify and improve the effectiveness of the codes;
• advance City goals and canopy targets for Portland’s urban forest, neighborhood livability and development;
• update City tree preservation and planting requirements that apply when development is proposed;
• standardize and streamline the existing tree removal permit system to apply consistently throughout the city;
• create a new comprehensive tree code to house most tree rules, and elevate the role of trees and the City’s urban forestry program; and
• enhance customer service for residents and builders looking for information about trees and permits.

Documents:

  • Volume 1: Project Report
    Project origin, approach, key issues, and recommendations.
  • Volume 2: Proposed Code Amendments
    Proposed new Title 11- Trees, amendments to Title 33 – Planning and Zoning, as well as corresponding amendments to nine other City Titles (3, 8, 14, 16, 17, 20, 24, 29, 31)
  • Appendices
    Additional project background documentation for the Project Report

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Coming Up on February 23rd

February 11, 2010

Formal Agenda

6:00pm – Joint Briefing with Forestry Commission on new City-wide Tree Policy

My Commission colleagues had been briefed on this prior to my appointment, so this will be my first look at the topic.

It’s ambitious. The project intends to take tree regulations from several parts of City code and not only create a new unified code title, but also unify the regulations so they apply more uniformly to all trees (larger than a certain diameter) in the City. This would include eliminating an exemption that currently applies to many trees on some (but not all) single family lots.

All in service of increasing the urban tree canopy, which has considerable environmental benefits.

Last year City Club had an excellent program on the value of trees. You can check it out and download the audio here.

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Meeting Summary – 2/9/10

February 9, 2010

12:30pm – Milwaukie Light Rail, OMSI to PSU segment

We reviewed the plans for this segment of the route and its stations, with discussion around how Light Rail, Streetcar, buses and bikes would interact on both sides of the river.

1:40pm – Portland Plan

Staff overviewed the periodic review process and how it fits into the State legal and administrative process.

Citizen testimony began at 1:58pm and we got a point-counterpoint on the value and usage of the Natural Resources Inventory. There was also testimony on CS zoning and how it affects the character of main streets and another individual spoke to the requirements for infill housing development.

The Commission then had a good discussion about different housing types and where they may be most appropriately located. Background data on this may be found in the Housing Supply report, and I may post on this in the future.

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Where Do the Jobs Go?

February 8, 2010

As we process the Portland Plan background reports, one of the most fascinating in my opinion is the Economic Opportunities Analysis – Alternative Choices (PDF).

It sets up a series of choices about where we plan for jobs in the next 25 years.

As background, Portland has about 40% of the jobs in the region (excellent when compared to other cities that are centers of their regions). But during the period from 2000-2006, we only captured about 11% of new  jobs. Over the period the Portland Plan covers (through 2035), we want to do better and expect (hope?) that somewhere between 18% and 36% of new jobs will locate in the City.

The report looks at different types of spaces and locations where we might accommodate these jobs, and what kind of public investments and policies this would take. Some of the locations types are:

  • Central City Office Space – there was relatively little new demand for this in the last decade, but we have lots of zoned capacity – what will the demand be in the next 25 years?
  • Do we need an Office cluster outside the Central City? An office center at Gateway or the Airport might provide lower cost office space to compete with places like Kruse Way and help improve jobs/housing balance by providing employment locations in the eastern part of the City.
  • Incubator space – inexpensive space where new companies can get started. Today the Central Eastside and Lower Albina play this role, but the projection is for more demand than these areas can handle. Should we upzone these areas or look for other areas for this function? Could this be an additional role that Gateway could fill?
  • Town Centers, neighborhood commercial districts and commercial corridors – what kind of jobs could/should go here and how do we plan for them?
  • Campus development – we have a few sites (Conway, Post Office site) that could work for new campus developments. What kinds of employers need it and how do they fit into the bigger picture?
  • Industrial space – how much do we need and where does it need to go. Can some of it be built ‘up’ in multistory development, or does it all need to be single-story?

Of course, all of this only makes sense where and when the private sector creates these jobs. How do we create City plans that are flexible and responsive to what will surely be changing trends in the private sector over the new few decades?

Come tell us what you think! We have two more hearings on the background reports:

  • Tuesday, February 9th, 1:15pm
  • Tuesday, March 9th, 1:15pm

The meeting on March 9th will focus on land supply, so would be particularly apt for this topic, but you’re welcome to testify on any topic at either of the hearings.

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