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LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
Editor’s note: For your reading pleasure, we present Perlman’s potpourri — a roundup of news items from the neighborhoods of Gateway and Parkrose of Mid-Multnomah County from veteran Beat Reporter Lee Perlman. Perlman’s potpourri starts sweet, goes to the dogs, then new digs, followed by new rules, and ends with garbage. This month’s potpourri is also short — not because Perlman took a vacation, Perlman doesn’t take vacations — there’s just less going on in August.
Perlman starts with Senn’s Dairy Park news along with a report on the Parkrose Neighborhood Association’s National Night Out festivities at said park. By the time you’re reading this, a new, fenced off-leash dog park, the first, has opened in Mid-county. The new Banfield, The Pet Hospital® corporate world headquarters at Northeast 80th Avenue and Tillamook Street moved up the grand opening of its adjacent public, fenced off-leash dog park along Northeast 82nd Avenue.
Also by the time you are reading this, the fine folks at the East Portland Neighborhood Office have moved into new offices at the former Hazelwood Water District headquarters building at Northeast 117th Avenue and Holladay Street.
If you take a close look, like Perlman does, it appears the Gateway Urban Renewal district could end up having a mandate from our esteemed City Council for 30 percent of all urban renewal funds designated for low income housing, possibly more. Look for reports on this issue in future editions.
Last, but not least, the Argay neighborhood gets the Perlman treatment this month. In addition to this potpourri item about inordinate amounts of litter and garbage from apartment complexes on Northeast 133rd and 134th and Sandy Boulevard making its way onto homeowners’ properties — Perlman has another story in this issue about a good old fashioned neighborhood feud taking place in Argay.
Banfield dog park opens
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| Located at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Tillamook Street, the centerpiece of the first public off-leash fenced dog park in Mid-county is a wading pool and fountain for dogs and their owners to cool off during hot days. Those wishing to use the park will be required to show Fido has received the appropriate up-to-date inoculations and is not violent by nature. Information packets are available at Banfield offices. Those whose dogs are certified will be given a key card to the facility, and will be free to use it at any time. |
| MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN |
Senn’s Dairy Park news
There were two new developments at Parkrose’s community park at Northeast Prescott Street and 112th Avenue.
The participation in Parkrose’s National Night Out party at the park reads like a Who’s Who of the community. Food was contributed by Beale Street Northwest, Harry’s Fresh Deli, Schwan’s Ice Cream and Rossi Farms, and served by the Portland Parkrose Lions Club. Burgerville provided ice. Parkrose High School loaned canopies, Baxter Auto Parts contributed a podium, and Parkrose Hardware contributed two generators and a cotton candy machine. K-Mart and Wells Fargo were among the businesses donating gift certificates. Representatives of the Gregory Heights and Midland libraries conducted children’s activities, and Mt. Hood Community College offered face painting. Graffiti Abatement Program Director Marcia Dennis was among the experts on hand to give crime prevention advice. Finally, 65 residents showed up to partake of it all.
Starting next spring, the Portland Park Bureau has given permission for one-third of the park to become a community garden. Ever-faithful Joe Rossi has volunteered farm equipment to till the land. A catch: the community must raise $20,000 to cover startup costs for the program.
East Portland Neighborhood Office moves
At press time the East Portland Neighborhood Office was set to move to its new digs at the old Hazelwood Water District Headquarters on Northeast Holladay Street at 117th Avenue. The new building will have more space, and especially more meeting area more readily available for community functions, than EPNO has had in its space in the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct Building.
City may assign urban renewal funds to low-income housing
A new policy proposed by Commissioner Erik Sten would assign 30 percent of the budgets of urban renewal districts, including Gateway, to the development of “affordable” housing. At a recent City Council briefing, Mayor Tom Potter and Commissioner Dan Saltzman indicated that they agreed in principle with spending more money for this purpose, but would prefer a little more flexibility in determining the actual amount. Commissioners Sam Adams and Randy Leonard, however, sided with Sten’s more hard-core stance, giving him a voting majority on the issue.
As part of its public outreach for the topic, the Portland Development Commission has created an advisory committee. Its membership is heavily weighted toward low-income housing advocates. However, there are two representatives of urban renewal advisory committees, one each from Gateway and Lents.
“There wasn’t support on council for a large committee,” PDC’s Leah Greenwood told the Memo. There is a representative of the Association for Portland Progress, a downtown business group, and PDC feels this adequately represents the interests of the two downtown districts. Greenwood also noted that unlike some other districts that have committed to providing affordable housing as part of their missions, Gateway has identified its primary interest as being economic development, and thus probably should be at the table.
Many issues remain unresolved, Greenwood said. It has been suggested that the Airport Way and Willamette districts be exempt from the directive, since they are made up almost entirely of industrial land where housing development is prohibited by code. Other districts are nearing the end of their lives, and their remaining resources are already committed to other objectives. This, plus a proposal that the city seek an average of 30 percent of the revenues from all districts for affordable housing, could mean that the Gateway Urban Renewal district would pay even more for this purpose.
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