Eastmoreland
NA chair Robert
McCullough shares
war stories at
the Multnomah
neighborhood
meeting – Page 3
Jack Rubinger
interviews Betsy
Kauffman and
Joanie Quinn of
Spilt Milk
– Page 8
Ten new baby
goats join the
humans and other
animals at Tryon
Life Community
Farm
– Page 5
The Southwest Portland Post
Volume No. 24 Issue No. 7
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Complimentary
May 2016
Westside candidates answer questions and mingle at Multnomah Center forum
PRIMARY ELECTION 2016
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Election season is here. Vote-by-mail
ballots were scheduled to be sent to
registered voters April 28. The primary
election, which includes presidential
candidates, is Tuesday, May 17.
On a warm evening in late March,
approximately 150 local neighbors
gathered in the Multnomah Center
auditorium to listen to variety of
diverse candidates vying for the
offices of Portland mayor and city
commissioner.
Tables loaded with campaign
handouts and buttons encircled the
room. Some of the candidates mingled
with community members and some
sat at their tables ticking off statistics
and reasons why the incumbents,
city commissioners Steve Novick and
Amanda Fritz, shouldn’t keep their
jobs.
Ted Wheeler, candidate for Portland mayor, answers a question from Beth Omansky, Multnomah crime prevention chair. Deborah
Harris, business employment specialist, speaks to the press about her mayoral candidacy. (Post photos by Erik Vidstrand)
As this reporter has noted at
numerous town meetings focused
on crucial issues facing Southwest
neighborhoods, very few young people
were in attendance.
The forum was sponsored by
Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. The
facilitator explained the rules allowing
no questions or applause from the
audience.
Questions had been pulled from an
earlier online survey incorporating
homelessness, home demolitions, infill,
transportation, the tree canopy, and
maintaining the charm of Multnomah
Village.
Portland City Commissioner
positions #1 and #4
At 7 p.m. sharp, the first four
candidates, competing for City
Commissioner Position #1 sat on stage
in front of a brilliant red velvet curtain.
(Continued on Page 3)
Heritage tree in Multnomah Village endangered by new development
“Demolition of Portland.”
Nothing can make citizens stand
up and take notice, however, like the
destruction of heritage trees. And in
Portland is undergoing “growing
Multnomah Village, one tree on a lot
pains” as thousands of new residents
at 7316 SW 33rd Ave has become the
come into the city and seek homes.
subject of debate and concern.
The rush to develop has led to many
The property was purchased on Feb.
smaller homes and buildings being
24 from the elderly owner, Roger Slade,
sold to make way for new construction.
for $185,000. The buyer is listed as
Businesses must close or relocate,
Ronald Layton. On March 11, Layton
cottages are demolished to build larger
resold the property to Renaissance
houses, and old-timers bemoan the
Custom Homes for $450,000—a sizable
“changing landscape.” A Facebook
increase in value.
page is dedicated to decrying the
Neighbors have heard that
Renaissance
plans to split
the lot into two
parcels, for two
new houses.
B u t t h e y a re
most upset
over the fate
of a Northern
Deodar Cedar
tree on the
southern end of
the lot, which
they fear is
slated to be cut
down.
Sara Long,
activist and
City Council
candidate,
learned of
the possible
destruction of
t h e t re e a n d
took action. She
climbed into it
and said she’ll
do everything
A similar heritage cedar tree is located on Southwest 31st Avenue she can to keep
near Capitol Highway. (Post photo by Don Snedecor)
it from being cut
By KC Cowan
The Southwest Portland Post
down.
“I told the (Portland) city council that
tree is coming down over my cold, dead
body,” Long said.
The new tree code (Title 11), allows
developers to remove heritage trees
for the cost of a $1200 permit. Long is
furious that such an old tree can be cut
down for so little money
Others agree. Multnomah vice chair
Martie Sucec testified to City Council
that the Deodar Cedar tree was brought
as a sapling from England in the early
1900s. She claimed it was cherished
by the property owner and he was
promised it would not be cut down
when the land was sold.
In addition, many are upset over
the low sale price, followed by a much
higher resale to the developer. Sucec
called it “predatory.” Long categorizes
it as elder fraud and contacted City
Commissioner Nick Fish’s office about
it.
Commissioner Fish’s policy advisor
Jamie Dunphy has a strong background
in elder fraud and abuse and said, on
paper, the sale does look suspicious.
However, there could be many reasons
for the low sale price.
“There could have been a dozen
reasons,” Dunphy said. “There could
have been a reverse mortgage on it.
There could have been a contested
inheritance sale; there could have
been liens against the house, or a
foreclosure.”
And while Commissioner Fish’s
office would be more than willing to
look into it further, one thing stops
Dunphy—they haven’t been asked to
do so by the former owner or his family.
“I talked to my former colleagues at
the state AG’s (attorney general’s) office.
And they pointed out very quickly that
we don’t have authorization to talk
to them on behalf of this individual,”
Dunphy said.
“The information we got was from a
third party. You can’t go talking about
people’s financial information without
explicit, written permission on their
behalf.”
Meanwhile, although the first legal
day the tree could come down was April
5, nothing has happened yet. There is a
“No Trespassing” sign up on the house
(one on the tree vanished) but although
Long checks daily, there’s been no sign
of a tree removal crew.
“I come back every day to check on
it. Every morning. And people (in the
neighborhood) are supposed to get in
touch with me if it happens,” she said.
Long criticized Renaissance and its
president Randy Sebastian. “He wants
to take this little home, which would
have been a wonderful starter home for
someone,” Long said, “and he wants to
tear it down and throw it in the landfill
and then cut (down) this beautiful tree
and build two McMansions right next
to each other.”
Sebastian said the tree might not
necessarily have to be sacrificed. “We’re
doing everything we can to save the
tree,” he said in a voice mail message.
“We may or may not be able to,
depending on the root system. We even
changed the floorplan to accommodate
the tree.”
But Sabastian is under no obligation
to do so. The City’s tree policy does not
protect trees on lots 5,000 square feet
or larger. Therefore, modest homes on
large lots can be bulldozed, along with
historic trees, so larger homes can be
built.
(Continued on Page 3)