2 • The Southwest Portland Post
EDITORIAL
October 2016
‘Middle housing’ amendment would make new zoning code meaningless
OPEN FORUM
By Martie Sucec
“The City that works” is Portland’s
motto, but it doesn’t seem to be
working for everyone.
There’s a lot of work, certainly,
in reshaping the city from
its comfortable middle-class
neighborhoods into more and more
multi-story apartments and condos,
with little or no parking.
Modest, affordable houses are
being plowed under. Renters and
homeowners are being displaced
and increasing homelessness
continues to pose challenges the
city can’t handle.
To allegedly deal with some of
these problems, Commissioner
Steve Novick, with support from
Mayor Charlie Hales, introduced
an eleventh-hour amendment
called “Middle Housing” into the
new Comprehensive Plan recently
adopted.
This policy would allow multiple
units on any lot within a quarter-
mile of “centers” and “corridors.”
Multnomah is a center, so all of the
neighborhood would be subject to
this policy.
The Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability has come up with a
set of rules to implement this policy,
but these rules would leave the
determination up to the Bureau of
Development Services to determine
on what lots are appropriate.
So, in other words, the zone that’s
on the zoning map for your property
will no longer mean anything. You
won’t be able to do anything about
several units going up on any lot
on your street, even in the middle
of single-family houses.
The rules say nothing about
the environment or stormwater
management. Also, the new tree
code allows demolishing trees on
any lot zoned R5—now meaning a
house on a 5000 square-foot lot.
We have seen what city policies
and support of rampaging mega-
developers have already done to the
character of many neighborhoods
across the city. Good housing stock
has been destroyed and hundreds
of trees plowed down that are vital
to shade, habitat, soil stability, and
storm water management.
What’s worse is that an
organization called “Portland for
Everyone” is pushing a new rule that
would allow this policy to apply to
any residential lot anywhere in the
city. This group is made up of 1000
Friends of Oregon, developers, and
some community organizations.
They say this kind of wholesale
density is needed to preserve farm
and forest land (urban growth
boundary) and provide “affordable
housing.”
But the new plan itself says that
Portland already has the capacity
for new growth and the UGB is just
fine. And the kind of wholesale
clearance and redevelopment of
still-expensive housing units will
eventually come to threaten the
UGB, not protect it.
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If you don’t like what you
see happening to Portland’s
neighborhoods, you can help in
the campaign the Multnomah
Neighborhood Association has
mounted to stop the out-of-control
development.
Get more information—go to
DontRezoneUs.org. Give testimony
at the City Council on the middle
housing rule on Nov. 9 or write a
letter to City Council (cctestimony@
portlandoregon.gov) telling them
you want the zoning map to
determine what goes on a lot, not
a city bureau whose salaries are
largely paid by developers’ fees.
Donate your time and money
to mount an effective campaign
that will preserve single-family
neighborhoods, trees, and the
environment. Elect city officials that
support healthy policies that will
protect its neighborhood character,
its tree canopy and habitat, and
historical resources.
The Post welcomes reader response.
Please stick to one subject and limit
letters to 300 words and guest columns
to 500 words. We reserve the right to
edit submissions for brevity, clarity,
punctuation, spelling and libel concerns.
Email editor@multnomahpost.com for
more information.
South Burlingame Crimes
The broken window theory is not
without critics, but during the last
year the neighborhood has had an
increase of burglaries from cars,
garages, delivered package thefts,
and break-ins. The frequency and
aggressiveness of these crimes has
also escalated.
It is understood that neither this
response, nor the broken window
theory addresses the underlying
drug epidemic and homelessness.
The individuals inhabiting the
camps appear to be addicts and are
still in the city, somewhere.
South Burlingame neighbors are
currently spending more time on
the trails monitoring the camps.
There is also a renewed interest in
the Neighborhood Watch program,
but neighbors understand most of
these crimes happened during the
late night and early morning hours.
Neighbors said they are frustrated
by the uptick of burglaries and
forced entries. And while they
appreciate police efforts, neighbors
also realize that they are the eyes
and ears of their own communities.
No one wants to enable a drug
abuser, nor do they wish to see
neighbors held up at gunpoint.
Stories about crime in South
Burlingame have been broadcast
re c e n t l y o n F o x 1 2 a n d K G W
television news programs.
(Continued from Page 1)
detail to clean out the camps of the
garbage and stolen items.
Neighbors also spent two days
removing underbrush along the
fences and around the camp sites
making them visible from the
streets with hopes of making it less
appealing for the drug users and
criminals.
Since the abandonment of the
camps in the South Burlingame
neighborhood, there has not been
a report of any petty crimes on
Nextdoor.
Portland Police Officer Andrew
Caspar attended the South
Burlingame meeting and gave
praise to the quick action taken, but
warned that this will likely happen
again.
Caspar shared various Portland
resources. He expressed the
importance of reporting crimes.
These reports are used to delegate
resources citywide.
Caspar briefly discussed the
b r o k e n w i n d o w t h e o r y. T h e
theory is that maintaining and
monitoring urban environments to
prevent small crimes (such
as vandalism) helps to create an
atmosphere of order and lawfulness,
thereby preventing more serious
crimes from happening.
Celebrating
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23
Editor & Publisher .........Don Snedecor
Reporters / Writers...... ....KC Cowan, Jack Rubinger,
................Erik Vidstrand
Copy Editor ......................Janet Goetze
Advertising Sales ...........Don Snedecor
Graphic Design ..............Leslie Baird Design
Printing ............................Oregon Lithoprint
Circulation .......................Rick Hepper
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