05/25/2021

Land Use Update: 2111 N Rosa Parks Way

We got answers to our development questionnaire (below) and a copy of the plans (thumb nail above) proposed at Early Assistance (first meeting with the City prior to neighborhood contact).  Reference also the neighborhood contact webpage for this project for basic information.

Please note, during the neighborhood contact phase the permit application has not been submitted yet and elements of what is proposed may change, to be brought into compliance with code or other reasons.  

Answers in italics received from architect representing the owner on 5/18/2021

Project

• Will ownership be maintained or sold after construction? Owner will keep and maintain.

• Is there a story behind the name Kennedy? Owner selected for personal reason.

• Are there any noteworthy green building features such as onsite PV (solar), or increased energy efficiency? None.

• Any specifics about the affordable housing element e.g., how many units?  How affordable will they be? Affordable units per city inclusionary zoning will be provided.*

Transportation

• With regard to no on-site parking, will any offsets be provided e.g., subsidy to tenants for public transit or car-share programs, dedicated parking for car-share programs, etc.? Transportation impact subsidies will be provided per zoning code.**

• Will you provide at-least an off-street loading zone for delivery, short term parking, etc.? Existing curb parking to remain.

• Will there be a bike storage room? Bikes are stored on breezeways near unit entrances.

Site/Units

• Will the proposed courtyard area be available to the public?  (church attendees / passers by could be tempted) The courtyard is private for safety reasons.

• Will any trees be removed or preserved? Pending arborist/landscape architect review.

• How will garbage be managed?  e.g., location of cans, etc. Trash room in back of building provided for storing trash containers until pickup service.

• Will units have air conditioning? Yes.

Explanatory information from the Land Use Committee

*Sounds like they are considering the 60% or 80% option.  There is a helpful table in this Inclusionary Housing Program Sheet that reveals what the rent and maximum income limits would be. 

**A Transportation and Parking Demand Management (TDM) plan must be completed prior to permit approval.  This is where “multimodal” incentives for tenants are determined, and to be of minimum value equivalent to one TriMet adult annual pass per unit for 1st year of building occupancy.

05/13/2021

Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association Public Meeting: Thursday May 20th, 7pm-8:30pm

Please join us over Zoom for our monthly meeting onThursday May 20th from 7-8:30pm | (informal time from 6:30-7pm)

Click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83074282121

Meeting ID: 830 7428 2121

Dial by your location+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcvAKuzslZ

5/20/21 ALNA AGENDA:

• 6:30pm Zoom meeting opens – INFORMAL (30 minutes)

----Official Meeting-----

• 7:00pm Welcome, introductions (10 minutes)

• 7:10pm Arbor Lodge Delitter Update (5 minutes)

• 7:15pm Summer Clean-up Stuff Exchange and Dumpsters (5 minutes)

• 7:20pm Board Training for new Board Members and other interested parties (1 minute)

• 7:21pm Scout Interests (4 minutes)

• 7:25pm Reading / Ground rules (1 minute)

• 7:26pm Breakout Room, Prompt (9 minute breakout room, 10 minute report out, 19 minutes total)

• 7:45pm Purple Air Monitors from Neighbors for Clean Air (10 minutes)

• 7:55pm Voting Offline (10 minutes)

• 8:05pm Trimet Adopt-a-stop (10 minutes)

• 8:15pm Committee / Board Updates (15 minutes)

• Chair

• Treasurer

• Transportation

• Land Use

• Clean Air

• Tree Team

• Neighborhood Emergency Team

• Outreach / communication

• Parks

• Other announcements

• 8:30pm End of meeting

05/10/2021

Act Now for walk-ability in Arbor Lodge Neighborhood

Opportunity to bring change for walk-ability!

Please take a couple minutes to provide testimony on the proposed “Design Overlay Zoning Amendments” which you can do here https://www.portlandmaps.com/bps/testify/#/doza

Deadline is May 12 at 5:00pm

We are again asking the city to extend the Centers Main Street (m) Overlay, which requires all commercial or mixed use lots to include at least 25% active use on the ground floor. If you’re looking for suggestions on what to say, here are two:

Option 1: Copy/paste into the online testimony app the following: “Please extend the (m)-overlay to Arbor Lodge!”

Option 2: Read up more by reviewing our original testimony and expand your comments to include your unique perspective on public participation, ground floor active use and other aspects of the DOZA process.  

Note:  our testimony includes not only applying the (m)-overlay where the (d) already exists, but also extending the (m) to include the intersection of N Rosa Parks Way and N Denver Ave; our only non-transit corridor commercial district with public gathering space.

Background:

• Arbor Lodge is experiencing significant increased residential development intended for car-less community members (e.g. apartments with no parking, decreased on-street parking) yet lacking commensurate increase in places to walk to.

• The Design Overlay Zone Amendment (DOZA) process is a revision of a City code oriented toward ground floor active use space i.e. retail, commercial, food and drinking establishments, and gathering places. 

• While most important corridors within Arbor Lodge include the Design (d) Overlay, they do not include the Centers Main Street (m) Overlay that requires a minimum 25% ground floor active use.  The (d)overlay nor our base code requires ground floor active use

• Tomorrow, Wednesday May 12, City Council is hearing testimony before they vote to adopt the recommended draft of the new code, a member of the ALNA Land Use committee will be providing virtual "in person" testimony.

• See here for a map illustrating the need for ground floor active use in Arbor Lodge Neighborhood

Thank you.E-mail the ALNA Land Use Committee at landuse@arborlodgeneighborhood.com

05/10/2021

Land Use Update

Summary of and follow up to ALNA Land Use Zoom meeting on April 29, 2021. 

Opportunity to bring change

Design Overlay Zone Amendments (DOZA)

• Is this how we see commercial, retail, food and drink establishments, and gathering places (i.e. ground floor active use) be required for future developments?  To promote a walk-able neighborhood alongside increasing residential density and absence of parking requirements?

• We are nearing the final stages to change the zoning code for the Design (d) Overlay - there is a public hearing before City Council this Wednesday May 12 before they vote to adopt the recommended draft.  A representative of the ALNA Land Use Committee will provide virtual "in-person" testimony to bring attention to our recommendation.

• In October 2019 Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association provided in-person and written testimony, along with neighborhood residents who provided 31 online testimonies to add the Centers Main Street (m) Overlay where the d-overlay currently exists and extend it to the intersection of N Rosa Parks and N Denver.  The m-overlay requires minimum 25% ground floor active use space.

• Our recommendation did not make it into the subsequent draft.

• Click the map link above, and see the next blog post (^^^further above^^^) for how you can again provide your input to bring this necessary change.  Thank you.

Property next to Peace Lutheran Church

2111 N Rosa Parks Way

• Proposed 4-story apartment building with 31 units, the "Kennedy Apartments", at 18,788sf (~606sf/unit if allocated equally), with no parking (not required being near public transit), and including an affordable housing element that allows for higher density.  See information about the Residential Multi-Dwelling 2 (RM2) Zone to see how this proposal maximizes allowable development.

• Demolition of the former single family home has been completed

• Early assistance has been completed but the building permit has not yet been applied for, the applicant has up to a year from making neighborhood contact

• No public meeting is required for this project.  The information in the above link, notice to the neighborhood association, and the signage on property is all that is required (contact level I).  Per the City's new 2019 requirements for Neighborhood Contact, while this proposal is greater than 10,000sf, it is not in the Design(d) Overlay Zone we have east of N Denver along N Rosa Parks, and for the land from and including N Interstate to I-5 that has required public meetings (contact level III) for many other recent developments.

• Relevant questions from our neighborhood Developer Questionnaire in addition to other raised by the neighborhood have been forwarded to the architect and will be relayed when responded to.

• Anticipated parking impacts for Peace Lutheran Church and nearby residents are recognized, as well as for most other developments in Arbor Lodge, and a future meeting has been proposed to learn what our options may be to help alleviate.

"Downtown" Arbor Lodge (former Far West Fibers Recycling site)

6545 N Denver Ave

• Since January 6, 2020 the building permit has been Approved to Issue i.e. ready to be picked up from the City once the applicant (the owner, Path Development) pays the fees in excess of $1million.  Normally, per the City's permitting policy an application would be considered Abandoned after 180 days (though can be reactivated) then Void after another 180 days at which time the permit must be reapplied for under current zoning code, however, the City has suspended the abandonment program because of COVID-19 and has not communicated any plans to reinstate it.

• The permit is for a 4.5 story apartment building with 66 one-bedroom units, no parking, and no ground floor active use i.e. it is all residential.  This is for the southern half of the cleared and fenced property at the corner of N Denver and N Rosa Parks (6545 N Denver, previously 2005 N Rosa Parks) and while currently zoned Commercial Employment (CE) the permit is vested under the similar though less restrictive previous zoning of General Commercial (CG) as the application was submitted just prior to the code change on May 24, 2018.  A building permit for the northern half of the property, 6541 N Denver and zoned Residential 5000 (R5), has not yet been applied for.  Both parcels were purchased for $1.6million on June 6, 2018.  See notes from the neighborhood contact meeting on April 18, 2018 for more information.

• Recent communication with the original architect reveals that the developer wants to break ground this year though recognizing the current inflated cost of construction materials. 

Nite Hawk Cafe and Lounge is FOR SALE!

6423 N Interstate Ave

• The Nite Hawk property and the two adjacent parcels are for sale, for $3.95million.

• The marketing materials emphasize residential apartment development potential.

• The zoning is Commercial Mixed Use 3 (CM3) that allows for Mixed Use but does not require it i.e. no ground floor active use requirement, and has minimal parking requirements being in proximity to transit.  The base code allows for very high density and an allowable 75ft height given bonus provisions.  This property does have the Design (d) Overlay which can help, see below.

• Members of the ALNA Land Use Committee are attempting to communicate with the seller's agent to open dialog that can lead to working with a developer willing to work with the neighborhood i.e. balance Portland's need for housing with places to walk to.

• See the map link and information below about DOZA and the Centers Main Street (m) Overlay for how this pending zoning code change can influence the future of this site. 

E-mail the ALNA Land Use Committee at landuse@arborlodgeneighborhood.com

05/09/2021

Delitter Arbor Lodge | May 16 - Sign Up Today!

Join Delitter Arbor Lodge, SOLVE, and community members of the Arbor Lodge neighborhood for our monthly litter pick-up event! This event is open to volunteers of all ages - everyone is welcome, and no experience is necessary. This family friendly event is a great way to keep the neighborhood looking clean but also a fun way to connect with your neighbors in the community!

Our May event will be focusing on the areas between N Denver Avenue to N Montana Avenue & N Lombard Street to N Rosa Parks Way.

When: Sunday, May 16th, 2021, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Advanced Registration Requested: Pre-registration is encouraged - please sign up here ahead of time so you can sign our electronic waiver to help avoid crowding during check-in.

Meeting Location: Meet at the southeast corner of the Fred Meyer parking lot near N Buffalo Street & N Montana Avenue. Map Link Here

What's Provided: Heavy-duty garbage bags, litter grabbers, safety vests, and rubber palm work gloves are provided for all participants. Snacks & refreshments will also be provided.

What to Bring: Please come wearing a face covering, closed-toed shoes, and please dress for the weather.

Parking: Parking available in the Fred Meyer parking lot and along nearby streets.

Bathrooms: There will be no public restrooms available during this event.

Accessibility: The check-in location will be in an area that is wheelchair accessible. The majority of the cleanup area is on city sidewalks that are wheelchair accessible.

Contact: Contact Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association at board@arborlodgeneighborhood.com with any questions for this event.