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RICH RIEGEL
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
Neighborhood associations.
Some consider them the backbone of community livability in the Rose City.
Portland’s neighborhood system is composed of 95 neighborhood associations, ranging from the small to the large. Ninety of the neighborhood associations receive technical assistance and services from district coalition offices, with the remaining five associations unaffiliated with any district coalition.
There are seven district coalition offices funded by the city of Portland; five are independent nonprofit coalition agencies, and two are city offices. The entire system is funded and supported through the city’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement.
In Mid-Multnomah County, the East Portland Neighborhood Office, a city office, represents 13 neighborhood associations. They are Argay Neighborhood Association, Centennial Community Association, Glenfair Neighborhood Association, Hazelwood Neighborhood Association, Lents Neighborhood Association, Mill Park Neighborhood Association, Parkrose Heights Association of Neighbors, Parkrose Neighborhood Association, Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association, Powellhurst/Gilbert Neighborhood Association, Russell Neighborhood Association, Wilkes Community Group and Woodland Park Neighborhood Association. These associations represent approximately 122,000 residents.
The 13 neighborhood associations represented by EPNO are bounded by the Columbia River on the north, Clackamas County on the south, and Interstate 205 on the west (with the exception of the Lents Neighborhood Association, which stretches farther west) and the Gresham city boundary to the east.
In comparison, adjacent Central Northeast Neighbors represents eight associations with a combined population of approximately 44,000, and also to the west, Southeast Uplift, with 20 associations, represents 145,000 residents.
Portland’s neighborhood associations operate within standards set by the city for recognition. The standards include clearly stated geographic boundaries, open membership, grievance resolution, opening meetings with a public record, and the absence of dues.
The focus of the associations includes livability, community enhancement projects, transportation issues and crime prevention, along with land-use and environmental issues.
Last year EPNO moved into a new office at 1017 N.E. 117th Ave., near the intersection of Northeast 117th Avenue and Holladay Street.
In November we sat down with Richard Bixby, the current director, to discuss the operation of EPNO.
Working in the office along with Bixby is Teresa Hatfield, neighborhood assistant, who helps the various neighborhood associations with their work. Hatfield was the Employee of the Year for the 2005 Mid-county Memo Community Awards.
Rosanne Lee and Teri Poppino are the office’s crime prevention specialists.
The Memo cut to the chase with Bixby and asked him outright: What does EPNO do?
“Our main focus is citizen involvement and participation,” Bixby explained. “That’s our goal, and our main avenue is working through the neighborhood associations to accomplish that goal.
“So how do we do that?” Bixby asked, posing his own question. “We help the neighborhood associations with notifying their members and maintaining the associations’ database and mailing list. We help the neighborhood associations with agendas and documents.”
EPNO also coordinates and staffs a number of coalition-wide “issue” committees, such as a land-use committee, a parks committee, and a neighborhood association chairmen and chairwomen committee.
EPNO also maintains a document library pertaining to city policies and city codes. The document library answers questions like, “What am I allowed to do on my property?” with regard to city codes. Transportation plans are also available along with parks documents.
Bixby emphasized that these documents are available to any citizen who lives within the boundaries of EPNO; people need not belong to their neighborhood associations. In fact, that brought up a point of distinction. If you live within the boundaries of a particular neighborhood association, Bixby said, you are eligible to join the association, but you are not automatically a member of the association.
“You cannot make somebody a member of an organization,” Bixby said, “against their will or without their consent.” Bixby said the neighborhood association membership process is open to those who want to join.
“Again, though, our goal is to encourage citizen participation. So that anybody that walks in and asks for help, we provide assistance.”
Bixby continued to describe how his office could help neighbors.
“We help with public issues,” he said. “We’re not a social service. We don’t provide assistance to individuals working on their individual problems. We work with individuals working on public problems.” Bixby said issues like streets, parks and crime prevention are examples.
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