January 2016
BUSINESS
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
Le Meitour fights City Hall for permits to reopen his boutique mall
THE COUNTRY STORE
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
The city of Portland has
prevented the Multnomah Village
French Quarter from fully operating
for almost a year now. At stake is the
future of an eclectic, international
market complete with an old New
Orleans street feel.
Several ethnic food carts, gift shops,
a fresh farm stand, a wood-fired
pizzeria, and an estate sale gallery
make up the boutique mall created by
Yves Le Meitour.
But delay after delay has confronted
the local entrepreneur from taking his
dream to reality.
According to Le Meitour, the city
has denied him permits due to change
of use requirements and will not let
business proceed inside the building
until demands are met.
“ We h a v e f o l l o w e d t h e
city’s instructions,” said Le Meitour
in is cluttered office of old paintings,
masks, and religious objects. “I
have paid the fees and satisfied
their requirements. Each time the
city has come back with entirely new
objections.”
The latest issue is a claim that the
building will have an impact on
parking and traffic flow. At the same
time, many new businesses in the area
have been allowed to open without
providing any additional parking, and
in some instances, without providing
any parking at all.
“It appears we are being held to a
different standard by the city than
the rest of the business community
in the Village and even Portland,” he
remarked.
For now, a petition has surfaced on
social media. So far almost 700 people
have signed it to support Le Meitour.
He has also hired a lawyer and says
he will go all the way to the Supreme
Court if he has to.
When Keith’s Automotive
Center closed three years ago, at
the intersection of Southwest 35th
Avenue and Multnomah Boulevard, Le
Meitour decided to buy the building.
While he organized his ideas about a
place where people could gather and
eat, he rented it out to Lounge Lizard,
a retro furniture gallery, who needed a
temporary warehouse for its location
on Hawthorne Boulevard.
When the furniture store vacated
a year later, Le Meitour moved his
antique art gallery out of the Capitol
Highway location, added several food
carts, and a fresh fish truck. Parsons
Farm had a produce stand on the
corner for several years and welcomed
the additional business.
Le Meitour invited several tenants
to open up boutiques inside the old
building with high ceilings, large
windows, and bay doors. He also
recruited a wood fired pizza chef
to join them. Interstate Pizza was
supposed to open last Labor Day
weekend.
But then, on an anonymous
complaint about noise, the city came
to inspect and that was the beginning
of Le Meitour’s troubles.
The city insisted he install
landscaping, get rid of the drive-thru
for the coffee cart, and fined him for
not having the correct permits for a
weekend Mardi Gras festival.
He headed back to the Bureau of
Development Services for a change
of occupancy permit and then had
to respond to work that was never
completed 10 years ago when Keith’s
Automotive was operating.
“ T h e i n s p e c t i o n s w e re n e v e r
completed,” the Frenchman said.
“Part of the building would have had
to have been demolished so I had the
rebar tested and showed that it was
sound.”
L e M e i t o u r, w h o h a s b e e n a
local fixture for years in his jeans,
cowboy boots, and his espresso in
hand, has been a regular attendee
of the Multnomah Neighborhood
Association meetings where he has
garnished support for his intentions.
Le Meitour hired an architect to
draw up plans of his vision of the
French Quarter. He paid his fines and
then had more trips to the city. He
had all bureaus on board including
electrical and plumbing, but not
transportation.
The Portland Bureau of
Transportation wants him to cede eight
feet of his property along Multnomah
Boulevard, six feet on 35th Avenue,
and a foot on Evans right behind his
building for road improvements and
parking.
When The Post spoke
to Dylan Rivera, PBOT
information officer,
he explained that
certain developments
call for increased
i m p ro v e m e n t s d u e
to the location and a
multi-functional area.
“We want Mr. Le
Meitour to make
improvements with
sidewalks and roads
surrounding his
property,” Rivera said.
When The Post said
that there indeed were
sidewalks, at least
along Multnomah
Boulevard, Mr. Rivera
hesitated with his
paperwork and said
he had to look into it
even after mapping it.
“Some of the changes
would alter what’s Yves Le Meitour, with daughter Sara, is fighting to reopen his
already in place. When boutique mall in Multnomah Village.
l a rg e r p ro j e c t s a re
developed it triggers [transportation]
six months ago, is getting inpatient.”
improvements.”
“I’m determined,” Le Meitour
“My biggest question,” Le Meitour
exclaimed. “I have appreciated
asked, “is why are they treating me
the support of the neighborhood
different than everyone else? I’ve now
association. Our aim is to create a fun
lost my tenants. And the pizza owner,
place where people can gather and
which delivered its large oven almost
socialize and be safe.”
Garden Home History
(Continued from Page 8)
around longer,” added Miner. “But this
is nice to be able to acknowledge a house
as well as a farm.”
On a drizzly Saturday in December,
members of the historical society brought
the brass plaque to Miner and Kaplan’s
house and with applause and cheers,
watched as committee member Stan
Houseman affixed it next to the front
door. He also helped design the plaque.
The century designation doesn’t
mean the homeowners can’t remodel or
update the home, unlike when a house
is placed on the Historic Register. But
Houseman says it is still a significant
designation.
“To me, it’s an added value to a
home, that we have put this plaque as
a recognition of this home,” Houseman
said. “And it’s for future homeowners—
to see that this home was recognized, so
they don’t turn around and sell it to the
next developer.”
The Garden Home History Project is
a volunteer organization that seeks to
research the stories of the Garden Home
area, preserve memories and educate
newcomers to the neighborhood’s
wealth of history.
Elaine Shreve has been the guiding
force behind the historical society. She’s
excited about the century home project,
and has big plans for the future, too.
“Our project for next year is to get a
large sign at the intersection [of Garden
Home and Oleson roads] that says:
‘Historic Garden Home,’ or something
like that,” she said.
Shreve and Vanture believe there is
much to celebrate in Garden Home.
Some of it is hidden, or off the main
road, but just give them enough time
and Garden Home will soon be much
more than a wide spot in the road people
pass through.
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