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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2011)
4 • The Southwest Portland Post NEWS NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post Umpqua Bank invites vote on neighborhood improvements “When we go into a new market,” Umpqua Bank spokesperson Becca Bo- land told The Post, “we want to become part of the community, and the best way to do that is to sponsor a project that improves the neighborhood.” Thus, under the bank’s Build Your Block program, the new branch at 7837 SW Capitol Hwy invited the community to suggest projects. From 25 proposals submitted they have narrowed the list to three: decora- tive benches along Southwest Capitol Highway; a nature playground at Spring Garden Park; or a community mural on the wall of the Multnomah Arts Center at Southwest 34 th Avenue and Moss Street. Who makes the final decision? You do. Come into Umpqua Bank’s Multnomah Village branch between now and May 27 and cast your ballot for your favorite project. You can cast multiple ballots, but only one per day. Burlingame Fred Meyer closes for renovation The Burlingame Fred Meyer store will close May 1 for a long-planned makeover. Real Estate and Develop- ment Group Vice President Bob Currey- Wilson told The Post the company is planning to expand the Burlingame store by 15,000 square feet. A former Burger King and a portion of the parking structure will be convert- ed into new truck loading docks, there will be an expanded food section, and other departments will be upgraded. “Essentially, it will be a whole new store,” Currey-Wilson said. Aesthetically, there will be more di- rect sunlight in the store with additional glazing and new skylights, he said. The The iconic "Burlingame Fred Meyer" sign on Barbur Boulevard will remain. (Post file photo by Don Snedecor) store will be repainted in earth tones, in the manner of the Raleigh Hills branch. However, the Burlingame store’s “icon- ic” pylon sign and neon billboards will be maintained. The completed store should reopen in mid-September, Currey-Wilson said. Multnomah Neighborhood Associa- tion chair Moses Ross said that the Fred Meyer makeover is “a godsend, and the timing is impeccable.” South Portland jail proceeds slowly Lindquist Development LLC last month moved – slowly – toward winning approval for an addition to their building at 4310 SW Macadam Ave, which will serve as an office and detention facility for the federal gov- ernment’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program. In February, responding to an appeal by the South Portland Neighborhood Association, the Portland City Coun- cil upheld an approval for the design of the project by the Portland Design Commission. However, the City Council also de- clared that holding facilities, compris- ing 4,000 square feet of the expanded 65,000 square foot building, constituted a detention facility, and would need to obtain a Conditional Use permit under a Type III procedure. According to Douglas Hardy, the City planner assigned to the case, the Bureau of Development Services held a pre-application conference, to acquaint the development team with the require- ments and issues they would have to address, in March. Last month the applicant submitted a formal application for the permit, but bureau staff deemed it “incomplete” for failing to adequately address certain requirements, Hardy said. Such rulings are not uncommon during complex land use reviews. May 2011 In 1997 they were placed under the direction of ONI, a City bureau, but continued to work out of offices in the communities they served. Reynolds said that currently none of the eight locations at which the 12 specialists work charge rent. “This sounds like a great deal, but over time it’s challenging. It’s unstable, and I only get to talk with my whole staff twice a week. Staying where we are is certainly an option, and some people are uneasy with the staff being so far from the com- munities they’re supposed to serve.” ONI is committed to maintaining the same level of service, “but to anyone wedded to the idea that you can just drop in on a specialist on impulse, yes, you’ll lose that,” Reynolds said. At the moment, ONI is looking at using the Penumbra Kelley Building, former site of Southeast Precinct, at 4747 E. Burnside St., ONI executive director Amalia Alarcon said. The City is negotiating to buy the building from Multnomah County. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 Fax: (866) 727-5336 email: news@multnomahpost.com City may centralize crime prevention staff BES should pay fair share The Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement is considering housing all of its neighborhood crime prevention specialists in a single location, program manager Stephanie Reynolds said at a recent meeting. Crime prevention specialists work with citizens on grass roots solutions to crime and public safety problems, such as block watch networks and foot patrols. When the program was first devel- oped the specialists were under the direction of the neighborhood coalitions such as Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. (Continued from Page 2) to shops and services nearby. The recent Capitol Highway design serves as a template for much-needed pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improve- ments in SW Portland. The only way we will be able to afford these improvements is if the Bureau of Environmental Services pays for the needed storm water improvements that are required when the sidewalks and bike paths are built, and allows for more flexibility in site-specific designs. Patty Lee Marianne Fitzgerald