Far SW Neighborhood Association Minutes

January 24, 2017

Steve Beining called the meeting to order. Neighbors who signed in: Valdez Bravo, Martha Campbell, Peter Johnson, Marcy Dodge, Peggy Reuler, Jackie Elliott, Marcia Leslie, Miechelle Nations, John Donnelly, Teddy Okonokhua, Cindy Gillis, Kathy Gillis, Kathy Steiner, Leslie Dieterle, Gary Whitney, Eileen Offer, George Vranos, Steve Beining, Virginia Hendrickson.

The meeting agenda was approved

Guests:

Eryn Kehe, Metro: SW Corridor Update, the DEIS process and what lies ahead

Jennifer Koozer, TriMet

Eryn provided a handout with an outline of her presentation, as well as a map of the Alternative Light Rail alignments. The presentation addressed the following topics:

Why the Southwest Corridor?

  • Increasing traffic congestion and population

What’s happening now?

  • Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which is required to qualify for federal funding, which begins with the Draft EIS (DEIS), which describes alternatives, methods of identifying significant impacts and ways to mitigate and compares the project to a future No Build Alternative. This will include route alternatives and stations. This work is to be completed between January and November 2017 with completion of publication of the DEIS in December 2017. There will be a 45 day period for public comment, January-February 2018, followed by the Steering Committee decisions on the LPA (Locally Preferred Alternative) in March-April 2018

PCC Connections, recommendations:

  • The following three improvements are being studied for bike and pedestrian connections to campus from light rail stations:Bus shuttle Atlanta/Baylor station (route of line 78 bus via Lesser and Haines Street); Park shuttle (10 passengers) from 53rd Avenue station; Barbur Transit Center station, improvements on Capitol Hwy/49th Ave.

Questions:

Eryn addressed the following questions from members in attendance:

  • Project cost? ($2B+ = this will be a longer light rail line than Orange Line)
  • Metro/TriMet purchase property for commercial development at stations? (no immediate plans; watch for station area planning; sometimes property purchased for construction staging can be available for development, but way too early to speculate)

Suggestions/comments:

  • Roadway capacity also needs attention. Share highway plans with public along with transit plans.
  • Far Southwest is at the heart of SWC traffic problems

53rd/PCC specific:

  • No new entrance for private motor vehicles on 53rd Ave
  • Bike/walk improvements on 53rd Ave included in all options (but if LRT project does not proceed, what happens? Bike/ped improvements on 53rd were on PBOT green streets project list a few years ago)
  • Design options could include an elevated connection to 53rd from P&R to help minimize grade challenges. This level of detail won’t be in DEIS.
  • Could more than one PCC connection option be selected, e.g., park shuttle and bus? (Probably too costly to do more than one, but too early to know)
  • Would PCC contribute money to the project because they are getting a benefit? (PCC and OHSU are some of the biggest transit customers, they need access)

Guest:

Joan Frederickson, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, City Planner, West District Liason.

Joan provided a handout with her presentation, “Summary of the Residential Infill Project, City Council Final Concept Report”.

The Concept Recommendations:

  • Limit the size of houses while maintaining flexibility
  • Lower the roofline of houses
  • Improve setbacks to better match adjacent houses
  • Allow more housing types in select areas and limit their scale
  • Establish a Housing Opportunity Overlay Zone in select areas
  • Increase flexibility for cottage cluster developments on large lots citywide
  • Provide flexibility for retaining existing houses
  • Do not allow historically narrow lots to be built on
  • Make citywide improvements to R2.5 zone
  • Revise parking rules for house on narrow lots citywide.

Neighbors are advised to be aware of zoning issues that may affect their property. Look for updates in the SWNI Newsletter. SWNI will present a workshop, ABCs of Land Use on Tuesday, January 31, 6:30-8:30, and a second workshop, Land Use Reviews and Land Division on February 27, 6:30-8:30.

The June meeting minutes were approved

Committee Reports:

SWNI Board: Virginia Hendrickson

The SWNI Board consists of the delegated representatives from each Neighborhood Association and the Chairs of each Standing Committee. The Board meets monthly and the minutes for the meetings are on the SWNI website. There have been no specific identified issues from the Far SW Neighborhood to bring to the attention of the Board in the past six months.

Public Safety: Marcia Leslie

The Public Safety committee held an Emergency Preparedness Fair in June, in July they held the Jan Weston Bike Safety event at Movies in the Park at Jackson Middle School and in August staffed a booth at the Multnomah Days street fair. The Community Policing Reception was held in October.

Presentations made at the Public Safety Committee meetings:

  • Bob Cady, Multnomah County ARES, the role of ARES, amateur radio operators and FRS radios in an emergency event.
  • Mike Reese (former PPB Chief of Police) and PPB Central Precinct Commander Chris Davis spoke of the officer shortage.
  • Jeremy Van Keuren, NET Program Mgr for PBEM, overview of the Bureau of Emergency Management and NET Program
  • Stan Houseman, presentation on “Take 5 to Survive”, information on utility shutoff. “Take 5”, Red Cross and “Ready.gov” booklets and information are available on line.
  • Some of the presentations were video-taped and posted to the Public Safety web site at SWNI.org.

Land Use: George Vranas

The Land Use Committee has been very involved in the Residential Infill Project and George emphasized points made by Joan Frederickson in her presentation. George states it is very important for neighbors to understand zoning issues since there will be significant changes as a result of the City Council Final Concept Report. Increased population demands increased housing. Check out the Portland Maps web site.

Parks: Kathy Steiner

The Far SW Neighborhood does not have a developed park within its boundaries but has two Natural Areas: SNAP and Lesser. The Parks committee has focused on issues of lead contamination on playground equipment and the need for increased presence of Park Rangers. An issue in Maricara Park was the appearance of “Fairy Doors”, which are in violation of Park rules, the issue was further aggravated by neighbors attempting to remove the “Fairy Doors” and doing damage to the trees. At this point the decision has been made to leave the existing Fairy Doors in place. The April Hill Park boardwalk, bridges and nature trails are complete.

Schools: Mary Ventura

Mary could not be present at the meeting, but emailed her report to George who shared the following message from Mary:

Here are a couple of things that are being discussed in our schools committee:

We have begun looking into our Safe Routes to schools maps. Generally, across SW neighborhoods our schools lack walkability due to narrow streets and inconsistent sidewalks. There are no plans for changes or developments, however we are looking across our schools to see if there are any significant risks or issues to be addressed.
In our meeting last week we discussed the specifics of the Common Core State Standards. Essentially, the Common Core is a way to gain consistency across states as to what target learning should look like at each grade level. This leads to possible strength in pushing test scores to a more competitive level internationally. As a teacher I appreciate the ability to utilize materials that come out of different areas of the country and know they are aligned to the same standards we use here in Oregon. However, there are many conversations about high stakes testing that we can have as a nation.
The schools committee will also continue our work to bring equity in technology to our SW neighborhood students. Access to technology continues to be the greatest tool and area of divide for students amongst different socio economic status. Gaining literacy in these tools (e.g. Chrome books, tablets, computers, and programming opportunities) is a very important aspect in education and preparation for the job market.
Please feel free to contact me directly at:

Transportation: Wes McMullen (absent)

Old Business:

Planning for June 27th Meeting.

There are vacancies on the Board:

Steve has committed to serving as Vice-Chair, his term will be completed in June and we are actively seeking a Chairman and Vice-Chair for elections in June. Please let Steve or Virginia know if you are interested in assuming this responsibility. Two members indicated an interest and Steve will follow up with them to provide more information about what the role requires.

Committee representatives needed:

  • Communications
  • Equity and Inclusion (new committee)
  • Parks (Kathy may be moving to Salem in the near future)

If you have an interest in serving as a Far SW Neighborhood Committee representative, please let Steve or Virginia know. To further understand how a particular committee functions you may attend any of the committee meetings as a visitor. The SWNI Newsletter provides meeting dates and times.

Meeting Adjourned.