pedestrian crossing improvements
bicycle parking
transit amenities such as curb extensions, benches and shelters
green street solutions such as porous pavement, storm water mitigation and street trees
pedestrian-scale street amenities such as lighting, kiosks, benches and public art
signal enhancements to increase safety for motorists and pedestrians and to improve signal communications for transit priority technology and
opportunities for creating a sense of place that supports the mixed-use, multi-modal character of the neighborhood.

Guiding the the Division Streetscape and Reconstruction Project will be the Divison Green Street/Main Street Plan adopted by City Council in 2006. Developed by a coalition of citizens, businesses, City of Portland Staff (many areas represented) and many others, it focuses on the area between SE 11th and SE 60th. The plan contains goals, objectives and implementation strategies to create a pedstrian-friendly commercial district that reflects and reinforces community values, including a focus on sustainable and ‘green’ development. This project is also coordinating with The City of Portland’s Tabor to the River Brooklyn Creek Basin Program for sewer, green stormwater and watershed health improvements.

While much input has been gathered, now we are moving into the decisionmaking mode of what actual improvements will be made to our public right-of-way on Division. We need lots of community input to ensure that the improvements are valuable, effective and worthwhile. Some of you may be aware that community input was already solicited last summer regarding the Seven Corners Intersection. (You can now download the results of the that input: the 7 Corners Urban Design report here: http://www.portland online.com/ planning/ index.cfm? c=48623).

The CAC meets monthly through November and expects to present it’s recommendation to City Council in December 2009.

Olympic Mills Conference Center (formerly the B&O Building)
First Floor Common Areas
107 SE Washington Avenue
Portland, OR 97214

The City of Portland has completed concept designs of the SE Clay Green Street Project. Get information about how this project will manage stormwater along SE Clay Street between Water Avenue and SE 12th Avenue, and how these improvements will enhance pedestrian, bicycle, and motorist safety, creating a route to the river, while maintaining the business and freight needs of the Central Eastside Industrial District.

Come by to review final Route to the River concept designs, talk with project staff, and enjoy refreshments. This project is a collaborative effort between several city bureaus and members of the community.

Get more information at www.portlandonline.com/sustainablestormwater or call Alice Meyers at 503-823-7914.

*** 7 Corners design project details and report are being completed by Stuart Emmons and the Planning Bureau and should be available for review shortly. While there were limitations as to what could creatively happen at the Ladd Ave corner because of historic preservation issues and other concerns, there were some great ideas that have been captured in the summary and will help inform the design of the overall street as well as 7 Corners. Which leads to…

*** Proposals are currently being reviewed from design firms for the Division Streetscape and Reconstruction Project. The winning firm will oversee the design and citizen involvement portions of the project. The consultant(s) should be in place by the end of this month and ready for the first Citizens Advisory Group meetings starting in April …

***A Citizens Working Group and Technical Advisory Group are currently being put together with Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). Membership on these groups should be confirmed this month with the first of monthly meetings beginning within a few weeks. This will be the group that oversees the Design and talks through the pro-time lane decision etc. Anyone is welcome to come to these meetings while remembering that committee members are the only ones who vote…

*** Pro-time lanes and other roadway issues are being studied by Kittleson traffic engineers. They have concluded the first part of their study, and it indicates traffic flows are down a bit. Their report on existing conditions will lay the groundwork for all future discussions on roadwork and streetscape etc.

*** Funding for the project continues to evolve. According to PBOT the combined funding sources for the project (General Transportation Revenue and the 2004 MTIP award) total $5.8 million. Paving estimates (as of the end of 2008) total $8.2 million. Costs for the streetscape will be established once the conceptual streetscape design has been identified. Total budget is projected at $9 million. We did not get the additional funds requested through Metro so that leaves a deficit. However, some of the material costs for this project have gone down recently with the overall economic slump. There is no way to know if that will continue to be the case, but it is hopeful, since cost escalation has been one of the stumbling blocks to moving this project forward in satisfying way. The other good news is there is a chance that we can coordinate some of the work to happen on Division with the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) Tabor to the River (Taggart D) Project. BES and transportation are working to align their design and construction schedules and BES will be on hand to answer questions at upcoming CWG and Community Meetings.

*** There is a small case study going on around the Urban Development Partners multiuse project scheduled for 38th and Division. The goal of the study is to try and learn from the relationships between the Division Street Plan, place, neighborhood association, business association and local neighbors. Learnings from reflecting on both the process and the design may help inform some of the work to come along the Division Street.

*** We are continuing to be strong advocates with PBOT and other agency stakeholders to ensure that the next phase of the project will embody the collaborative approach we have been modeling since the start of this vision 7 years ago. We have been promised that regular updates and communications will be coming from PBOT on this project. In the meantime, while we look forward to that happening, after a couple months of delays, we want to pick up responsibility for providing this update so we can all have a better sense of what is going on and where you can get involved or provide input.

Cheers,
Charles and Linda

The open house is Thurs., January 15, 6:30-7:30pm, Sunnyside Environmental School, 3421 SE Salmon St.

Urban Development Partners is soon to begin a project redeveloping the Reliable Parts building at 3103 SE Division into retail and residential units.

They own several properties on Division. Their website is http://udplp.com/index.php.

* * * IMPORTANT CITY COUNCIL VOTE – DEC. 10 * * *

Dear neighbors,
I’m writing to ask you to weigh in on an important code amendment that City Council will vote on next Wednesday – Dec. 10th as part of the “RICAP 4″ package. This regulatory improvement package contains an important amendment that we believe is necessary: 1) to clarify the existing code limiting retail uses to 10,000 SF; 2) to stop unintended consequences and delays already experienced, and 3) to provide more flexibility to effectively re-use (rather than raze) existing buildings such as ours at 30th and Division.

The proposed change has been formally endorsed by the Richmond and Hosford Abernethy Neighborhood Associations, Division Clinton Business Association and was unanimously recommended by the Portland Planning Commission.

As a former Planning Commissioner, a property owner, a local retailer, and as someone who cares deeply about appropriate development that enhances neighborhood livability, I am convinced this change not only improves the odds for us to successfully renovate our building, but also significantly enhances the opportunity to achieve the many laudable goals outlined in the Division Main Street / Green Street plan. Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Stan Amy

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Please ask City Council to vote “YES” on the Division RICAP.

Neighborhood Support Needed To:

1. Testify in support at the City Council Meeting
2. Attend the City Council meeting to show neighborhood support
3. Submit written or email testimony before next Weds, 12/10
4. Recruit other neighbors or businesses to participate
5. Forward this message to anyone you think would be interested

City Council Meeting Details
What: RICAP Vote To Improve Division St. Retail Size Limit Regulation
When: Wednesday, December 10th
Time: 3 – 5 p.m.
Where: Council Chambers @ City Hall
1221 SW Fourth Ave.

To review the specific proposal, please see pages 96-97 of the following document: http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/index.cfm?c=44856&a=218732 .

Note: this is a large document and may take a few moments to load.

To Submit Your Written Support To City Council

Letters and emails should include your first and last name and your address. And they should be addressed to: Portland City Commissioners. Submissions should be sent to the Council Clerk by one of the following:
Email: kmoore-love@ci.portland.or.us
Fax: (503) 823-4571
Mail: Council Clerk
1221 SW Fourth Ave, Room 140
Portland, OR 97204

Submissions to the Council Clerk will be distributed to all Commissioners.

Please contact Neel Pender via email: neelp@newvillages.com or by phone (503) 281-1898 x124 with any questions or if you would like assistance submitting testimony.

——————————————————————————–

Background

City Council will be voting on “RICAP 4,” (Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package #4) which includes a slight change to the current regulation that limits all retail uses on Division to a maximum of 10,000 square feet. As you may know, this restriction, while well intended to keep out big box retailers like Wal-Mart, has prevented us from replacing Wild Oats with a new fitness center tenant. In addition, the current approvals process has allowed one opponent to use the land use appeals process to delay our project for over two and a half years. This is fundamentally unfair and inefficient.

The proposed regulatory improvement that city council will be considering next Wednesday maintains the 10,000 square foot retail presence on the ground floor, but would allow larger 2nd floor and/or combined floor uses. For example, it would provide the flexibility for the gym (as currently planned) to occupy about 7,600 SF on the ground floor and an additional 12,000 SF on the second floor. This change is important to our project but also reinforces many of the goals outlined in the Division Vision plan.

What This Change Accomplishes

Preserves possibility of locating a pedestrian and bike friendly, full service fitness center comparable to a 24 Hr fitness in the neighborhood;
Promotes sustainability and “green development” by encouraging the re-use (rather than tear down) of buildings with hard to utilize existing 2nd floor space;
Supports healthy economic nodes and surrounding small businesses by preserving opportunity to secure anchor tenants critical for generating ancillary customer traffic;
Provides needed clarity to existing regulation that helps keep process costs down and free up resources to be used to enhance last quality of design and materials in projects;
Decreases the potential for “blight” created by excessively long periods of dormancy when anchors leave in the handful of existing buildings bigger than 10,000 SF (as experienced in this project);
Maintains integrity to original Division Vision goals by promoting diverse streetscape and opportunities for small retail businesses at desirable street level;
Enhances neighborhood livability by increasing ability to attract other uses bigger than 10,000 SF to Division likely to be wanted/supported by the neighborhood, such as a Powell’s Books or McMenamin’s theater/pub.
What This Change Does NOT Do (responses to misconceptions)

· Does not allow “big box” retailers such as Wal-Mart to locate on Division. These retail formats typically require 100,000 SF – more than three times the size of an existing building on Division. Moreover, none of the existing buildings impacted by this change could be expanded to accommodate such a use without triggering the existing adjustment process. In other words, there is no ‘real world’ increased risk of a big box retailer locating on Division as a result of this change, but there is real and significant upside to its passage.

· Does not create a competitive disadvantage for Loprinzi’s, an existing neighborhood gym. The zoning code is not intended to limit competition — a position upheld in the Planning Commission’s unanimous support for this code amendment. Loprinzi’s is a long standing business with a dedicated clientele that should continue, and depending on their ability as operators, actually could thrive. The neighborhood is currently underserved in terms of access to a modern, full scale fitness center. The fact is many neighbors are already commuting by car across town to seek out comparable facilities or do not belong to any gym but would like a closer option. Like any business, there is no guaranty of success or failure for Gold’s or Loprinzi’s. Ultimately, neighbors vote with their dollars and patronize the businesses they support. This principle includes support for affiliates of national corporations such Edward Jones, Domino’s, or Do It Best Hardware and is also reinforced by the recent failure of Starbucks.

· Does not absolutely guaranty that we will be able to move forward with the proposed fitness center. First, while Gold’s Gym remains very interested in the location, our original lease has lapsed and we can not move forward with new negotiations until we have final resolution of this land use issue. Second, and more importantly, broader economic conditions have deteriorated significantly since the project’s inception and there may other factors which jeopardize the viability of the project once land use approval is secure. However, to be clear, we believe that this code change is absolutely worthy and essential.

This is a competitive process so IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU LET METRO KNOW THAT SECURING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR DIVISION STREET IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND THE LARGER COMMUNITY. THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS IS NOON on Monday, DEC 1st. Even a very brief message of support would be very helpful!

Please share this message with others who may be interested. Talking points are below.
Additional info here (click to see .pdf file).

To submit comments online, go to:
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id/28702/section=detail&project_id=1299&include_content=false

Note: You have to scroll down to view the online comment section.
You can fax written comments to 503-797-1930 or mail them to: Metro Regional flexible fund, 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97232