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EPAP committee brainstorms issues

LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

Portland Senior Planner Barry Manning, standing, convenes the East Portland Action Plan committee meeting held last month. EPAP is the attempt by city, county and state officials, staff and citizen stakeholders to address both long- and short-term problems associated with the harmful effects to east Portland neighborhoods because of 10 years of inordinate increases of infill development and public and low-income housing
MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN
The East Portland Action Plan committee, after a minor shake-up in its composition, spent last month’s meeting brainstorming the biggest long-term issues, and best short-term solutions, to pursue.

Pietro Ferrari, executive director of the nonprofit Hacienda Community Development Corporation, resigned from the 30-member body. Staff added Cynthia Thomas of the nonprofit Metropolitan Family Services, operator of the SUN School after-school activities program in the Centennial, David Douglas and Parkrose school districts (the program is run by other operators in the Portland district); Rey España of the nonprofit Native American Youth Association; and Metro Councilor Robert Liberty, who has devoted considerable time in recent months to the interests of east Portland in general and Gateway in particular. Commissioner Erik Sten, who recently announced that he would be stepping down from the Portland City Council later this year, resigned from EPAP and was replaced by Commissioner Randy Leonard, who helped secure funding for the program. State Rep. and Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley, who also helped start the planning effort, was absent and replaced by Sen. Rod Monroe.

Liberty commented, “Success here is critical to the success of the region. Housing, transportation, open space — all are issues front and center with Metro.”

During the evening’s discussion, there was repeated debate of the disproportionate amount of low-income housing, much of it poorly designed, being built in Mid-county and the secondary effects of this action. Both Monroe and Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood activist Jim Chasse said that inner-city gentrification is causing lower-income people to move eastward. Chasse said that neighborhood stability suffers from “higher than average turnover” in apartment complexes.

Frank DiGregorio said this trend is the root cause of many other issues, including problems in school districts. “A school finally gets a kid on the right track, and all of a sudden the family moves,” he said. “People are building like crazy without any foresight.”

This prompted Frieda Christopher, active in the David Douglas district and Gateway Urban Renewal program, to ask the officials present, “Why are you building all this tax-exempt housing here? We don’t want more because we already have more than our share.”

Liberty said, “I’ve lived in multifamily housing most of my life, and I don’t think it’s the housing that’s the problem.” He conceded that some new construction is “not attractive. It’s a regional problem. If people don’t have choices, they’ll tend to settle in one place.” He added, “Typically, planning doesn’t talk about the pace of change. The higher the rate of change, the more the stress.”

Will White, director of the Bureau of Housing and Urban Development, said, “Mostly, multifamily housing is built by the private market with a profit motive and is as inexpensive as possible. We’re trying to get things built that will be an asset to the community. But there’s limited funding.”

Monroe added, “For years the homebuilders have blocked System Development Charges for schools. We did something about that in the last (state legislative) session, but it’s a small amount. We shouldn’t expect someone who’s lived here for 50 years to pay the full load for improvements.”

Other issues raised were concerns about public safety on MAX light rail lines and public transit in general, a lack of open space and parks, a lack of streets and sidewalks, and a poor public image of the area. Thomas said that Metropolitan Family Services is seeking to partner with multifamily building owners to provide after-school activities in or outside school property.

Several people mentioned that it is not practical to deal with the major issues meaningfully in the short term. Possible projects include multiple graffiti cleanups and installation of pedestrian crosswalks in appropriate places.

At press time, project manager Barry Manning told the Memo, staff is sifting through the comments to recommend a focus for the committee in the coming year. They will probably present this at the next meeting, 6 p.m., Feb. 12, at Parkrose High School Community Center, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. Manning can be reached at 503-823-7965.
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