A new 39-unit
apartment building
is planned for
Multnomah Village
– Page 4
Local artist Lux
Jacques has opened
Fly Haberdashery in
the French Quarter
– Page 6
EarthTalk: The 40
percent of a Americans
who live in coastal
areas are at most risk
of financial loss
– Page 7
The Southwest Portland Post
Volume No. 26 Issue No. 3
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Complimentary
January 2018
Residential Infill Project to add duplexes and triplexes to single-family housing
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
According to city planners, there is
a need to house roughly 40 percent
more people than live here today by
2035. That is approximately 250,000
residents. For that reason, planners
are looking at how single-dwelling
neighborhoods can accommodate
some of that growth.
In response to community concerns
about demolitions, the scale of new
homes, and the supply of housing in
Portland, the city’s Residential Infill
Project is updating the city’s single-
dwelling zoning rules in order to meet
the changing housing needs of current
and future residents.
The Residential Infill Project also
addresses additional housing op-
portunities such as duplexes and tri-
plexes and tiny houses on narrow lots.
However, according to Martie
Sucec, chair of the Multnomah Neigh-
borhood Association, the 2035 Port-
land Comprehensive Plan states
there is more than enough capacity
under the current zoning to handle
the housing growth projected for the
next 20 years.
“There is no need for this dramatic
infill,” Sucec said referring to a map
produced by the city that shows areas
affected near Multnomah Village and
West Portland.
As part of the comprehensive plan,
the city’s website acknowledged ad-
equate land supply to meet its 20-year
housing needs.
The challenge lies in providing a
diverse range of unit types and prices
in locations that help meet the needs
of all, including low-income popu-
lations, communities of color, and
people of all ages and abilities.
At a recent Southwest Land Use
Committee meeting, Jim Peterson,
Multnomah land use chair, ques-
tioned city officials how their map was
being incorporated in Multnomah.
“This map looks like the blueprint
for the “a” overlay which seems very
counterproductive and will only lead
to gentrification,” Peterson said.
Where one old house used to rest on a large lot, it was demolished and now two
houses near completion. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
The intent of the “a” overlay zone is
to allow increased density for devel-
opment that meets additional design
compatibility requirements.
“Staff avoided the question,” Peter-
son said. “We had asked that Morgan
Tracy, project manager, attend a future
neighborhood meeting.”
According to Sandra Wood, a super-
(Continued on Page 3)
City managers give 30 percent design review to Multnomah subcommittee
Highway Project.
Steve Szigethy, project manager for
the Portland Bureau of Transportation
along with Ruben Gonzales-Baird
By Erik Vidstrand
and Becky Tillson, project manag-
The Southwest Portland Post
ers for the Bureau of Environmental
Services, presented the 30 percent
A couple of days before Thanksgiv-
design.
ing, the Multnomah Neighborhood
“You are encouraged to review the
Association’s Capitol Highway Sub-
25-page plan and share your feedback
committee assembled to glimpse the
with Steve,” said Chris Lyons, chair
city’s latest rendition of the Capitol
of the subcommittee.
“In the coming months,
PBOT will be meeting
one-on-one with im-
pacted homeowners. If
you live along Capitol
Highway, please check
with your neighbors
to ensure that they are
plugged into this proj-
ect.”
Szigethy said that all
plans are estimates and
that 60 percent design
will be available in April
2018, and 100 percent by
summer.
A member asked how
this committee could
be useful during the
design process.
“This subcommit-
tee will be briefed at
each design review,”
Szigethy said. “We plan
to hold another open
house at 90 percent re-
The Capitol Highway Project design map is unveiled view.”
“To schedule a visit
at an open house sponsored by the Portland bureaus of
by the city from now
transportation and environmental services.
until the end of Febru-
(Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
CAPITOL HIGHWAY PROJECT
ary, please contact David Backes at
david.backes@portlandoregon.gov
or call (503) 823-5811.”
Szigethy then presented various
design components. The first in-
cluded a continuous sidewalk on the
east side of the road.
“Community feedback revealed
a preference for the east side of the
roadway because people walk there
today on an informal pathway,” said
Szigethy.
There will be a protected bike lane
on this same side of the road and will
be separated from the roadway by a
curb and planter strip. A multi-use
path will line the west side of the
road.
“This decision was based on costs
and property impacts on the steeper
west side of the roadway,” Szigethy
said. “PBOT is working with TriMet
to consolidate stop locations for the
#44 bus and to improve pedestrian
crossings at those locations.”
There will be small pockets of on-
street parking where properties have
no other option for vehicle parking.
These areas are located north of SW
Alice Street on the east side of the
roadway.
“This design is intended to reduce
impacts to property frontages and
mature, healthy trees,” said Szigethy.
There were concerns about tree
removal. Szigethy responded that
some trees will be removed due to
right-of-way issues but new ones will
be planted. Urban foresters surveyed
trees and were not concerned about
certain older trees full of ivy and said
they would not touch the older firs.
“We hope to award a [construction]
contract in January 2019,” Szigethy
said. “Tree cutting and utilities would
begin by spring of 2019.”
A number of safety improvements
will include flashing beacons for
crosswalks and improved bus stops.
“There won’t be pocket stops
(where buses pull off the main road),”
Szigethy said, “but this way traffic
will have to slow down.”
Lyons announced that the transpor-
tation bureau would be requesting
(Continued on Page 6)
Subscribe to The Post and help us keep the presses rolling! Form on Page 2.
The Southwest Portland Post
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509
Portland, OR 97206