Update from Division Street front of cr-apartment war
A reader who's involved in the battle over the now-stopped outlaw apartment bunker being built in southeast Portland forwards this missive from the neighbors who have been fighting the thing:
As many may attest, there is work being done at the site on 37th and Division. Well, the attached letters were recently forwarded to the Richmond Neighborhood Association regarding this. The City has decided to allow the contractor to put in a permanent sprinkler system and protect the structure from the elements. We will let you decide on whether they seem to be trying to get as much done as possible or abiding by the letter of the law for a work stoppage.We are also attaching a fascinating article from a blog Portland Architecture. It makes some great points that RNRG has been advocating from the beginning.
Finally, there is a big meeting coming up at BPS on Tuesday, March 12th from 12:30-3:30pm. The meeting will be held at 1900 SW 4th Ave, Suite 2500, Portland, OR 97201. Joe Zehnder from BPS will be discussing the new parking requirements that have been suggested, and there will be input from the community. Please take time from your busy day to come, listen and comment. Sometimes these meetings can seem fraught with tediousness but they play a significant role in shaping how rules, regulations and codes will be implemented in our neighborhoods.
Best wishes to all those sticking up for neighborhood livability against the forces of ignorance, arrogance, and greed. As for the linked article -- it's got a little too much "vibrant" nonsense in it for our taste. "NIMBY neighbors"? That's a badge of honor when it comes out of the mouth of some pretentious jerk with an architecture background.
| Posted at 9:44 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
Again, they'll whine "NIMBY neighbors" so long as they can't get something they want. As soon as they get it, though, suddenly they don't want it any more, leaving everyone else to clean up the mess.
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | March 7, 2013 10:20 AM
Agree that "NIMBY" is a badge of honor. . .
I suppose this term was created to make people who stand up for their neighborhood livability feel bad?
NIABY is my response. Not in Anyone's Back Yard.
Posted by clinamen | March 7, 2013 10:30 AM
I cannot tell you how ticked it makes me to hear that apartments w/o parking lots are "transit oriented." No, they are gridlock oriented, as studies have shown, over and over, that building apartment buildings without parking does not actually reduce the % of people in those buildings who own cars. The developer saying "well, we're marketing this to people who like transit" does not make them transit oriented. Apartment buildings will substantially increase the number of cars parking in an area, and using that area's roads. The only question is whether or not the city expects builders to make *some* allowances for onsite parking.
Posted by Dave J. | March 7, 2013 10:32 AM
Cramming more people into the inner core and expecting less cars is another indicator that our society is getting more delusional by the hour.
The next logical step will be using these bunkers as commercial billboards and expecting less consumption.
Posted by Tim | March 7, 2013 10:53 AM
Our city of experimentation will become known as what to stay away from emulating.
The City of Gridlock!
Gridlock in more ways than one.
In my opinion, these planners "know" the plans are leading to more gridlock, so in order to cover up what their horrendous plans have brought about, they have decided to push cars out of the equation. I am sure we are paying plenty in our planning bureau as to how to convince us now that they know best!
Unfortunately, they can change good codes and there are the ubiquitous adjustments and that mitigation word!!
Has anyone kept up on that Comp plan?
How many pages in that document?
Posted by clinamen | March 7, 2013 12:29 PM
clinamen, the Comp Plan work scares me. I can see them sneaking a bunch of zoning changes into that.
Like you, I am not a NIMBY, because there isn't one of these zero-parking apartments in my backyard. They won't affect me directly and they still tick me off, because they are so shortsighted and defy simple common sense. They're bad for the city as a whole, and the Eastside in particular.
Posted by Snards | March 7, 2013 2:50 PM
Snards,
The Comp Plan working draft of January 2013 is 285 pages. According to this we can comment by May 1, 2013. There is also a companion guide. It looks like there will be a working draft part 2 in the summer of 2013.
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/429864
I noted that on
p. 7 - one of several Key Directions:
Create healthy, complete neighborhoods.
p. 15 -
Respect local context
Each area of Portland has its own distinctive characteristics
that are valued by community members. Different places
are distinguished by their uni
que topographies, natural
features, histories, assets, patterns of development and
types of buildings.
Instead of following a one-size
-fits-all approach, growth
and change can be harnesse
d to enhance positive and
valued community characteristics by building on the
strengths and assets of each area.
I really couldn't go much further today and don't know if I have the fortitude to brace myself or even want to for 285 pages and more.
Posted by clinamen | March 7, 2013 4:32 PM
"Each area of Portland has its own distinctive characteristics that are valued by community members."
Left unsaid: "And a team of city planners will tell you what those are."
Posted by Snards | March 7, 2013 4:37 PM