6 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
January 2016
Comprehensive plan hearings get earful from Multnomah Village activists
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
By now, all the hearings for the
Comprehensive Plan are complete.
C i t i z e n s f ro m t h e M u l t n o m a h
Neighborhood Association, however,
fear their their comments will not be
taken seriously.
At a Nov. 19 hearing of the Portland
City Council, 10 Multnomah members
voiced their concerns about developing
their Streetcar Era village into another
Southeast Division Street or North
Mississippi Avenue.
Wearing lemon yellow t-shirts, the
group drew the attention of other
reporters. It was also quoted by MNA
chair Carol McCarthy, that by far their
contingency was the largest.
The city council remained silent most
of the testimony but asked citizens from
other neighborhoods for exact addresses
and issues.
“I thought Jean-Claude Paris’ testimony
was amazing,” McCarthy said later to The
Post.
In his strong, French accent, Paris, a
retired international banker, expressed
that many villages in France have retained
their quaintness while addressing growth.
He even brought up Greenwich Village in
New York City and the French Quarter in
New Orleans.
Alan Kirkland, followed and spoke
of little towns around Oregon. He said
there is growth in places like Coos Bay,
Newport, and Astoria, but where the
“old town” is retained, tourists flock to it.
Jan Mawson’s testimony demonstrated
that the Portland Bureau of Planning
at one time advocated for preserving
Multnomah Village.
In a 1978 report prepared by the Portland
Historic Landmarks Commission and the
Portland Bureau of Planning titled “An
inventory of Historic Resources Potential
Historic Conservation Districts,” the
author Al Staehli notes that Multnomah’s
unique history and architecture make it
worthy of saving.
“Preservation of this nucleus as the
community’s center is important as an
alternative to regional shopping centers,”
wrote Staehli.
The draft 2035 Comprehensive Plan
also includes a two-pronged strategy to
address housing affordability. First, to
increase housing supply for all income
levels. And second, to increase the supply
of permanently affordable housing.
Not many people testified on this point
as much of the testimony focused on
zoning changes.
McCarthy, as did others, pleaded
that the village retain its corridor and
not become
a center
full of four-
five story
buildings.
A second
hearing
was held on
Dec. 3 at the
Mittleman
J e w i s h
Community
C e n t e r . Activists listen to testimony at a City Council hearing in December at
With Hales Mittleman Jewish Community Center. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
in France and Saltzman missing,
the previous one.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz led the
The yellow-shirted activists continued
hearings with additional testimony.
their verbal march stating that over 400
Many were the same people that were at
(Continued on Page 5)
What’s next for the Tryon-Stephens Creek Headwaters Plan?
Creek Headwaters Plan to improve
local streets and stormwater drainage
in the area. The Post has been following
the project at different intervals since
It’s been a couple of months since the
the beginning.
Portland City Council approved the
The Portland bureaus of environmental
resolution to adopt the Tryon-Stephens
services and transportation developed a
mutual relationship to coordinate
improvements bound by Taylors
Ferry Road, Barbur Boulevard,
and Capitol Highway.
Community forums, surveys,
outreach, and environmental
studies over the last year have
come up with recommendations
for improvements for traffic,
walking, and water runoff.
At the Nov. 4 city council
meeting, Mayor Hales
introduced the project.
“The Tryon-Stephens Plan is
the product of innovative cross-
bureau collaboration, which
will plan the future street and
Marianne Fitzgerald (in black sweater), of Ashcreek, stormwater system completion.
“Ongoing coordination
contemplates all the street options at a Tryon-
amongst partners and
Stephens planning session early last year.
(Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
engagement of neighborhood
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
stakeholders will need to continue
through the implementation of the
plan.”
The recommendations address the
unique challenges and opportunities
within the study area by taking a
coordinated approach to addressing
gaps in both street connectivity and the
stormwater system.
The transportation bureau is
preparing to initiate a planning process,
Southwest In Motion, which will
identify a five-year active transportation
implementation strategy for all of
Southwest Portland.
It will incorporate several projects
identified in plans, including the
Transportation System Plan, Portland
Bicycle Plan for 2030 and the Barbur
Concept Plan.
Once adopted, the SWIM strategy will
prioritize investments in pedestrian,
bicycle, and access to transit projects
over the coming years. When citizens
were surveyed for what street needed
the most attention, Capitol Highway by
far received the most votes.
(Continued on Page 3)
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