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LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| The recommended zoning and Comprehensive Plan changes approved by City Council last month for the 122nd Avenue Rezone Project. Courtesy CITY OF PORTLAND |
The project, as approved, rezoned 17.5 acres of properties in or near the intersections of Southeast 122nd Avenue at Holgate Boulevard, Foster Road and Harold Street from their current multi-family residential designation to commercial. The action also changed the Portland Comprehensive Plan designation for another 4.5 acres of properties near Powell Boulevard without changing the zoning. Project manager John Cole told council that the latter action was taken in response to Oregon Department of Transportation concerns about safety issues at this intersection. Once these are addressed, Cole said, zone changes could take place property by property, and with less expense and difficulty than would be involved in obtaining a Comprehensive Plan amendment.
The Project also rezoned two acres of land near Leach Botanical Gardens, already owned by the city, from residential to open space, a customary designation for park land.
Cole noted that since the 1980s, housing development near 122nd, between Division and Foster, has occurred at a rate ten times that of the city as a whole. It has also produced drastic demographic changes; among other things, the non-white proportion of the population has increased from 12 percent to 31. The growth of retail activity has not kept pace with this. Planner Deborah Stein said that the proposed changes will “hopefully give people better access to commercial resources in their neighborhood.”
In answer to questions by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, Cole conceded that apartment buildings with no commercial uses are allowed by right in commercial zones. “I've heard a lot of complaints about commercial properties used for large apartment buildings with no parking or ground floor retail,” Fritz said. “Is there anything to assure neighbors that they will get what they've worked so long for?”
Stein said that this was “a citywide issue” best addressed through the Portland Comprehensive Plan update process now underway.
Karen Fischer Gray, Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission member, Parkrose School District Superintendent and active in the East Portland Action Plan, described herself as “a strong advocate of all things east Portland.” She noted that the project supported several EPAP action items, including enhancing the “safety and livability” of 122nd Avenue. As for the land near Leach, she said, “We need all the parks and open space we can get.”
Another PP&S Commission member, Chris Smith, thanked council for appointing Fischer Gray to the commission. The proposals will “correct deficiencies,” he said. He noted, “There were people who wanted us to do more,” including providing design review for new development. (Stein had said that this, too, was a topic for the Comprehensive Plan.)
Mark White of the Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood Association endorsed the project, but also thanked Fritz for “pointing out that commercial zoning doesn't necessarily mean commercial activity.” He complained that the Portland Development Commission had rejected a neighborhood request to acquire a key piece of property in the Lents urban renewal district.
Nick Sauvie of the Rose Community Development Corporation complained about the lack of open space and a useable public street grid in the area. Jean DeMaster, Executive Director of the non-profit Human Solutions, endorsed the Project, saying it was “an opportunity for commercial services we don't have now in underserved areas.” She conceded that more needs to be done in the area, and called Powell and 122nd “one of the most dangerous intersections in Portland.” However, she said, “It's a giant puzzle, and this is an important piece.”
Fish told White, “Mark, I'd like to hear more about your project.” Regarding increased open space he said, “The only way to get more parks is through a bond measure.”
(White later told the Memo that Powellhurst-Gilbert had identified a property for sale near Harold, and that the non-profit Human Solutions had expressed interest in developing it as a mixed-use project. “There are no commercial services on 122nd south of Powell except a tire store and Tina's restaurant, and without government intervention we aren't going to see any,” White says.)
Fritz said, “East Portland is on the move. The citizens of east Portland are demanding that this happen.”
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