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Persistent critic Craig Flynn shunned as he questions wisdom of city's developing and encouraging higher density in Gateway area
LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
The Portland Planning Bureau’s 122nd Avenue Study is meant to look at the “pedestrian-friendly” zoning regulations on the street, and try to reconcile that with the car dealerships there. Last month, the first public meeting of the study got diverted into broader questions of what planners are in fact trying to achieve.
The main purpose of the study is an ongoing conflict between existing zoning and the desires of some users, notably the Ron Tonkin auto dealership conglomeration. Some of these conflicts have been resolved over time. One that has not been is a prohibition against “exterior display and storage” within the vicinity of TriMet MAX light rail stations such as the one at East Burnside and 122nd Avenue.
Portland Planning Commission member Tim Smith, who dropped in, said he was “surprised” that the discussion dealt with “broad questions of urban policy that I thought we had gone beyond.” The Hazelwood Neighborhood Association is concerned that development along the street accommodate a pedestrian environment, especially in view of Tonkin’s places to expand their holdings on the street.
Anti-density critic Craig Flynn brought many of the issues.
“My concerns were that they’re talking about pedestrian-friendly development, higher density, and they’re not doing anything to increase the capacity of the street,” Flynn later told the Memo. The intersection of “122nd and Glisan is already congested. This is an auto-oriented neighborhood now; why do they want to change that? Most people won’t walk or take transit to the grocery store or the library. These planners are changing the zoning, and they don’t live here. They shouldn’t be allowed to do it without the permission of the property owners.”
Project manager Barry Manning told the Memo, “We had a variety of opinions expressed. There’s a lot of change occurring, and people are concerned that the change be positive. We’re trying to create a sense of place, and make this a safe place for pedestrians. People reacted to that in various ways. Some felt greater density doesn’t contribute to a sense of place.
“We didn’t get a lot of feedback on the issue of the design of auto dealerships in the area. We did get a feeling from many folks that they value the jobs the dealers provide. We got feedback on the goals of our study, and that may cause us to tweak our questions about ‘sense of place,’ whether this area has one and what it is.”
Flynn, as he has for years, questioned the wisdom of the city’s developing and encouraging higher density in the area. Manning says, “The zoning here calls for higher density multi-family development. It’s been in place for a number of years, and was recently revisited. We’re not looking to revisit it again, but we could try to re-knit it to make a more cohesive area.”
One Hazelwood Neighborhood Association member who attended the gathering said later, “I can’t say what Craig said because I’ve heard it before and I’ve stopped listening to him.”
The next public meeting on the study will be 10 a.m. April 2 at the Midland Branch Library, 805 S.E.122nd Ave.
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