January 2013
NEWS
The Southwest Portland Post • 3
Comprehensive Plan draft calls for 10,000 new homes in Southwest by 2035
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
Draft proposals of the Portland Com-
prehensive Plan are due in February.
This citywide document will set, and
make changes to, the tools by which the
City guides public actions and private
development.
There will be a series of public work-
shops, including one the evening of
February 19 at the Multnomah Center,
7688 SW Capitol Hwy.
There will be changes proposed to
zoning and the zoning code itself, as
well as new facilities, transportation
and bicycle plans.
In addition, as members of the Com-
prehensive Plan team told the Plan-
ning and Sustainability Commission
last month, the public will be asked to
react to a series of Growth Scenarios
they have been working on, which will
guide how and where future growth
will take place.
The existing zoning map provides “a
lot of capacity” for growth, “but not a
lot of focus,” planner Tom Armstrong
told the Commission. The new Plan
provides an opportunity to decide
“how we want to grow,” he said.
One scenario is Default, just keeping
the existing zoning pattern, planner
Spencer Williams said.
Another is to concentrate growth in
and around commercial “nodes” such
as Hillsdale and Multnomah Village,
he said.
A third is to concentrate growth along
transit corridors and main streets such
“In the West Hills there are big
deficiencies” in terms of basic
streetscape infrastructure. “The
big difference is those people
don’t care as much. They’re living
in relative isolation by choice.”
– Susan Anderson, executive director.
Portland Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability
as Southwest Barbur Boulevard and
Capitol Highway. Finally, the City could
concentrate on filling up the Central
City in and near Downtown.
Planners have estimated the amount
of new growth each part of the city
could expect under each scenario, Wil-
liams said. The West Hills would be
likely to get the smallest share of new
density under all the scenarios, between
10,000 and 11,000 new residences by
2035.
Planners have also looked at how the
scenarios would help achieve the goals
contained in last year’s Portland Plan
policy document. For instance, 47 per-
cent of Portlanders live within a quarter
mile of “frequent” transit service, and
a goal is to increase this to 80 percent.
Currently 45 percent of Portland-
ers are deemed to live in “complete
neighborhoods” where many services
are within easy walking distance; the
scenarios would raise this to just 48 to
53 percent.
Planning and Sustainability Ex-
ecutive Director Susan Anderson said,
“There are a whole lot of variables other
than land use” that can determine who
goals are met. One is the provision of
new transit facilities.
However, as Commissioner Howard
Shapiro pointed out, “It seems to me
you have to rely on sister agencies like
TriMet, and they’ve not always been a
willing sister.”
To this Armstrong replied, “We start
by deciding our priorities. Our invest-
ments can lead them to confidence that
if we improve service, it will result in
greater ridership.”
A key issue is where and how the
City allocates “investment” in the form
of better streets, parks and other public
facilities. “We now have a system that
allocates growth, but not investment,”
Armstrong said.
The question of providing such infra-
structure is a tricky one. On one hand,
the City feels a need to be “efficient” in
allocating scarce dollars for very expen-
sive items, taking advantage of federal
matching funds whenever available.
On the other hand, a consistent theme
of the Portland Plan is “equity,” and
this includes providing basic services
to areas that lack them, especially East
and Southwest Portland.
With regard to Southwest, Anderson
said, “In the West Hills there are big de-
ficiencies” in terms of basic streetscape
infrastructure. “The big difference
is those people don’t care as much.
They’re living in relative isolation by
choice.”
Some Commission members ques-
tioned whether the February events will
in fact allow the public to weigh in on
choices not already made.
To this planner Sandra Wood said,
“No, the whole thing is open to discus-
sion.”
According to Wood, “It’s difficult for
the public to weigh in on the whole
200 pages, so we’re zeroing in on some
issues. Some things may be more open
than others, but it’s definitely not
baked.”
Commission chair Andre Baugh com-
mented, “This will play out as some
hard choices for people to make.”
Candlelight Vigil
(Continued from Page 2)
pening in our community. Crashes are
preventable. Slow down, obey the rules
of the road, write letters needed to fund
traffic safety in our community.”
Several people at the event noted
the diagonal way that Shattuck Road
intersects with Beaverton-Hillsdale
Highway. According Averbeck, there
is something called “skew” at this par-
ticular intersection where vehicles can
turn at a high rate of speed.
“We need more signs, more pedes-
trian involvement,” said one family
member. “Slow down; take a second
while turning; every pedestrian is im-
portant. Slow down and love each other
this holiday season.”
Happy New Year!
from all of us at
The Post
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