December 2012 NEWS The Southwest Portland Post • 3 Landowner proposes plan to replace a red cedar tree cut without permission By Jillian Daley The Southwest Portland Post The City of Portland has cited a landowner for not seeking the city’s permission before removing a Western Red Cedar tree from the site of a future subdivision at Southwest 63 rd Avenue and Vermont Street. The city has required that landowner Robert Whitaker plant replacement trees to remedy the situation. During a Maplewood Neighborhood Association meeting last month, the as- sociation’s land use chair Claire Carder told neighbors she supports the replace- ment tree plan. Whitaker intends to add six Western red cedars, six Western flowering dog- woods and three big leaf maples. “I hope they’re not those two-inch Five new townhouses are planned for the historic Lair Hill district By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post Bruce Vincent of Consolidated Land and Cattle is planning to build five two- story town homes at 3314 SW First Ave., on historically “sacred ground.” Not only is it part of the Lair Hill National Historic District, but it is on the site of a 19 th century building, last used as the Great Northwest Bookstore, destroyed by fire in 2010. At a pre-application conference last month, Vincent and architect Cody Johnecheck said the units would have front porches facing First Avenue, that they would have a common parking area in the rear with a single acess, and that they would be built on lots 17 feet wide. Planner Douglas Hardy said that the project would be subject to two public reviews, one for the lot division and a Type III design review. The latter would involve a mandatory public hearing before the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. Planner David Skilton said that lots narrower than 25 feet might be prob- lematic, and so would the planned wide front porch. “A traditional covered porch would be a much easier sell,” he said. Vincent argued that there are buildings nearby, approved under the guidelines, similar to what he proposed. Skilton added, “The design guide- lines for this district are the most squirrelly we have. They were written in 1980 by the neighborhood without consideration of code requirements.” Jim Gardner, a South Portland Neigh- borhood Association board member and Lair Hill resident, took issue with this. “We’re reviewed many other de- velopments under these guidelines and found them useful,” he said. “Some of the buildings we weren’t necessarily happy with or felt were appropriate.” Gardner urged Vincent to “take your cue from the older build- ings” rather than those built under the guidelines. Gardner said he liked the porches Vincent proposed. He had expressed other concerns at a neighborhood meet- ing prior to the pre-app. There was too little differentiation between the five units, he said, and they appeared to be “one continuous wall.” sticks,”saidneighborGeorgeKraus. The proposed trees are to be two inches in diameter and would provide a screen between the five-lot subdivi- sion and other residences. The tree the new plantings replace was 30 inches in diameter. Carder said her research shows that smaller trees are used because they have a greater survival rate than larger ones. “He is going above what is typically required,” planting five more trees than heneedsto,saidhearingsofficerKathy Harnden. The public comment period on the replacement plan ended Nov. 26, and then, Harnden was to write her deci- sion, which is open for appeal for 14 days afterwards. She said as of Nov. 20 no one had contacted her about the issue, and she expects the replacement trees could be planted in February or March, depend- ing on how things go. Whitaker got a land division permit from the city to ready the site for houses in 2004, and trees including the Western red cedar were approved for preserva- tion, Harnden said. Project manager Brian Keicher said Whitaker removed the Western red cedar in July 2011 because he thought he was allowed to do so and an arbor- ist’s report in July 2008 said wind had damaged the evergreen beyond repair. Whitaker considered it a hazard. Whitaker and his associates did not follow the correct channels, Harnden said. “They needed to contact the city Zidell presents South Waterfront “concept” to Design Commission By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post Photo courtesy of Marion County to get approval to remove that tree,” she said. Next year, the land should be ready. Keichersaidheexpectsonceadevel- oper builds out the site, the homes will go quickly. “That’s a good neighborhood, close in, lots of room, so I would imagine by the fall of 2013, the first occupancy could take place,” he said. At the start of this month, there still is time to appeal the tree replacement plan. If anyone wishes to do so, they may contact the Land Use Board of Appeals at 503-373-1265 or 550 Capitol St. NE, Suite 235, Salem, OR 97301. There is a fee to appeal. Are You Ready? PAID ADVERTISEMENT 5 Easy Tips To Help You Prepare for Any Emergency By Joyce De Monnin, AARP Oregon Outreach Director Here are five straightforward — and relatively simple — steps to review your emergen- cy preparedness: Representatives of the Zidell Com- pany last month presented the Portland Design Commission with a set of con- cepts governing the redevelopment of their riverfront property. For 80 years Zidell has carried out barge-making and other river-related industrial activities along a 33-acre tract of land between Southwest Porter Street and the Ross Island Bridge. Redevelopment plans so far, as pre- sented by a design team led by architect Eugene Sandoval, had few specifics. Sandoval and others repeatedly em- phasized the need to create public gathering spaces and to “bring people to the river.” Sandoval’s plans call for creating two new east-west streets, Grover and Barge Way, a block apart with green space between them. They call for a two-acre park under the Marquam Bridge, and other sorts of green areas. Zidell’s concept suggests a gradual increase in building height from the south end to the north. One of Zidell’s most controversial ideas was an “accessway” that cars could use, 600 feet long, within the 100 foot greenway setback. 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