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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2008)
4 • The Southwest Portland Post NeWS November 2008 Mayor-elect tells land use committee to expect money to be tight By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post Portland will have to do a lot more with a lot less, Mayor-elect Sam Adams told the Citywide Land Use Committee last month. After telling 50 people present that he was “very excited” about becoming mayor beginning next year, Adams said, “The economic slowdown is now predicted to become a full-scale reces- sion.” Expected to last two years, with an- other two years to recover, and to lower general fund revenues by $10 to $15 million, the economy “will mean that we will be constrained in our ability to invest in projects that depend on the general fund,” he said. In addition, he said, “We’ll need to accommodate our share of the region’s growth, and to do that while reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1998 levels. We’ll need to fi nd room for our new population within a quarter mile of transit corridors.” Adams said he supported suggestions by committee chair Bonny McKnight and others to provide 45 days notice for new public and private projects, and to utilize district coalition offi ces to act as consultants to other bureaus. He then called on community groups to do more outreach, especially among minority groups. “As I look around this room, it’s hardly representative of the citizenry of Portland,” Adams said, surveying the mostly Caucasian crowd. You’re making a request of me, and I’m making one of you.” Adams said he would “task who- ever gets the Offi ce of Neighborhood Involvement” on the City Council to better coordinate the activities of city bureaus as they affect neighborhoods. Discussing the number of public meetings that occur, many of them si- multaneously, Adams said, “You’re by no means the fi rst to express frustration at this.” He also promised to update neighborhood plans and provide some level of planning for neighborhoods that don’t have such documents. “There are (currently) 64 neighbor- hood plans out there, some more rel- evant than others. We want to level the playing fi eld,” said Adams. However, he added, these plans include more than $300 million worth of projects that have yet to be implemented. “We wouldn’t be honest with you if we said we’d come up with that in four years,” Adams said. He did propose that in some cases developers who build on substandard streets, rather than providing sidewalks, be given the option of paying into a fund that could provide these amenities in the most strategic way. Bridlemile neighborhood activist Greg Schifsky complained about the use of urban renewal funds for “pet projects,” such as moving the old Sauvie Island Bridge to Northwest Portland. Adams reminded Schifsky this had been abandoned and said, “So you’d like to get rid of urban renewal? We could get rid of it all tomorrow, and it would be 25 years before those prop- erties would come back on the tax rolls.” Mayor elect Sam Adams Adams names Saltzman to be new police commissioner By Don Snedecor The Southwest Portland Post At a press conference, October 27, Portland Mayor-Elect Sam Adams an- nounced that City Commissioner Dan Saltzman will take over as commission- er in charge of the police bureau after Adams becomes mayor in January. “I believe this is in the best interest of city,” Adams said. Commissioner Randy Leonard was widely expected to take over the police bureau, but took his name out of the running last month when it was rumored that Police Chief Rosie Sizer would resign rather than work under Leonard. Adams said he believes that Commis- sioner Saltzman and Chief Rosie Sizer will be an effective team, “bringing expertise and tremendous capability to the bureau.” Saltzman, accepting the assignment at the press conference, said, “Safety and security of citizens is one of the most basic responsibilities of the city. Under the leadership of Chief Rosie Sizer, I’m confi dent the police bureau will lead well into the challenges ahead.” Sizer thanked Adams for his con- fidence in her and said she looked forward to working under Saltzman. “Commissioner Saltzman has a long history of commitment to the safety of the most vulnerable in our commu- nity—children, victims of domestic violence, and the elderly.” Adams asserted that in some ways he will be a non-traditional mayor, emphasizing his intention to focus his efforts on issues of education, economic development, planning and transporta- tion. Real Estate Guide To Advertise call Don or Harry 503-244-6933