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INSIDE:
Southwest Portland’s Independent Neighborhood Newspaper
Volume No. 20, Issue No. 11
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Two neighborhoods
concerned about design
of Stephens Creek
Crossing – Page 6
Complimentary
September 2012
Tryon Life Community Farm not your typical southwest front yard
By Jillian Daley
The Southwest Portland Post
Change is afoot at Tryon Life
Community Farm with two poten-
tial hires, a fresh revenue stream,
farm leaders’ successful change of
state law and a new, eco-smart hot
tub.
Leaders of the currently all-volun-
teer nonprofit organization are ap-
plying for two grants this summer
to support two part-time employ-
ees, said Dave Bolger, farm outreach
coordinator and board member.
Job duties include coordinating
farm visits, handling bookkeeping
and managing fundraising. Hiring
could take place as soon as this win-
ter if the farm gets the grants.
The seven-acre farm, adjacent
to the 670-acre Tryon Creek State
Park, has received grants to sup-
port existing programs and land
acquisitions. But, it has never got-
ten grants to further organizational
growth, said Brenna Bell, a founding
board member and communications
coordinator.
Bell said volunteers and the farm’s
20 residents keep things running in-
between day jobs, and the program
needs a consistent presence for com-
munity outreach.
The new jobs could draw funding
from two sources. Chris Munro,
grandson of the namesake of the
Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund
has agreed to sponsor the farm’s
application for a $25,000 grant.
Farm leaders also are applying for
a $15,000 grant through the Spirit
Mountain Community Fund.
The farm has grown a great deal
in just the last few months, for the
first time selling raw goat milk to the
community this April, drawn from
four, onsite milking does.
“That feels like a real gift to the
community because some people
can only digest goat milk,” Bell said.
The fat structure of goat milk is
more like human milk than cow
milk is, making it easier for our bod-
ies to digest, she said.
Bell was among the local and farm
leaders who were behind another
change this year at the farm – and
On a sun-drenched August 17 morning, 7-year-old Ember Summer, daughter of Tryon
Life Community Farm board member Brenna Bell, pats Daisy, a 5-month-old goat. (Post
photo by Jillian Daley)
statewide. Bell, who has an envi-
ronmental law degree from Lewis &
Clark, was among the Department
of Environmental Quality Graywa-
ter Advisory Committee members.
The committee helped create a
new program permitting the reuse
of graywater via a graywater reuse
and disposal system, and DEQ
(Continued on Page 5)
City may allow lower cost paving of unimproved streets without curbs, sidewalks
STREET BY STREET
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
Through its Street by Street initia-
tive, the Portland Bureau of Trans-
portation hopes to provide a way
to pave local streets that actually
happens. In Southwest, however,
some locals wonder if it in fact is
the right fit.
As PBOT’s Christine Leon told
the Portland Planning and Sustain-
ability Commission in July, the city
Newer row houses face an unimproved roadway along Southwest 45th Avenue near
Woods Parkway. (Post photo by Leslie Baird)
Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2.
The Southwest Portland Post
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509
Portland, OR 97206
has 62 miles of unpaved streets, and
167 miles of streets without curbs.
These tend to be concentrated in
five areas: East Portland, the South-
west hills, the Cully neighborhood
of Northeast Portland, Southeast’s
Woodstock, and the Linnton area in
the hills west of the St. Johns Bridge.
In a press release on the program,
Mayor Sam Adams (who oversees
the Bureau of Transportation) said,
“Too many Portlanders live on
gravel, dirt or substandard streets.
There are over 65 miles of these
streets in Portland.
“We are working to offer Port-
landers who live on a 46 mile subset
of these quiet, graveled neighbor-
hood streets a cheaper paved street
design and new financing options to
get them ‘out of the mud.’”
“Our goal is to get the average
monthly cost of this program to
property owners from the City stan-
dard of $300 per month average to
$60 per month.”
Currently, Leon said, the City pur-
sues a “one size fits all” approach
to street paving. They insist on a
“high performance” design that can
accommodate two lanes of traffic,
two lanes of parking, a curb and a
sidewalk at least eight feet wide.
This costs $1,300 to $1,500 per
lineal foot to construct, and means
the contribution of a property owner
with a 50-foot frontage would be
$70,000, which Leon said would be
“unattainable by most people.”
Developers are required to pro-
vide this level of street in front of
their projects, but the result is iso-
lated and has little practical benefit.
The bureau is looking for “more
affordable” improvement models,
Leon said, and one is a “lean shared
street.” On this model, cars, bikes
and pedestrians share the street
with no clear delineation of separate
zones.
These would have a cost of about
$300 per lineal foot, with a cost to
property owners of about $7,500
apiece.
Leon emphasized that this model
could only be used on designated
local streets that are not emergency
routes and have no more than 500
vehicle trips per day. They would
be designed for vehicles to travel no
more than 20 miles per hour.
Commission member Chris Smith
endorsed this approach, saying,
“Right now we prioritize auto use,
then auto storage, then what’s left
is for people. Why not be bold and
say, ‘Streets are primarily for people.
Cars are allowed, but they’re at the
bottom of our priorities.’”
Others were less sure. Commis-
sion member Irma Valdez said that
in an area without adequate bus
service, and with increased density,
not providing proper pedestrian
facilities could be dangerous. Leon
repeated that this approach would
be taken only on local streets, and
added, “This is better than what we
have today.”
Commission chair Andre Baugh
was concerned that providing a
(Continued on Page 2)