Page 4 * St. Johns Review * #11 - MAY 29, 2015
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Commu
High Density Development Proposed for St. Jo
PSU Urban Planning students
presented their capstone project at
the Cathedral Park Neighborhood
Association meeting on Tuesday,
May 12: conceptual designs for
a proposed large development on
the St. Johns riverfront. The 15-
acre Steel Hammer property just
south of the BES Water Lab is
currently for sale and has garnered
the interest of at least two devel-
opers of residential buildings. The
students have conducted outreach
through walking tours and meet-
ings to get feedback from neigh-
bors who’ve expressed interest in less
intense building and ample green space.
The students admit however, that a de-
veloper is likely to build what pencils
out best—four or fi ve upscale apartment
buildings covering most of the proper-
ty, with heights of 45’ to a possible 70’
with bonuses. The buildings would be
set back 50 feet from the river.
There are challenges facing the plan.
Zoning change
The zoning would have to change and
the St. Johns Plan 2004 overridden, a
process that seems to be taken for grant-
ed by the neighborhood association and
likely encouraged by city staff who see
north Portland absorbing a great deal
of the expected growth in the Portland
area. The assumption that the site will
be developed as high density housing is
odd since the relatively new St. Johns
Plan was the culmination of two years
of community and stakeholder feedback
that prohibited residential uses on most
of the site. The original overlay was a
response to Union Pacifi c Railroad’s
wish that no residential building take
place on the river side of the tracks bi-
secting the property due to safety and
liability issues. It’s not clear if anyone
has contacted Union Pacifi c to discuss
the proposed change of zone.
Train whistles affect property
Train tracks cut through the site and
their whistles blow from one side of
the property at Burlington all the way
to the other side at Richmond around
2am each night. To make the site even
tolerable for prospective residents, a
whistle-free zone would have to be im-
plemented and crossing arms added to
Burlington and Richmond to the tune of
several million dollars each. This would
presumably have to be paid for by the
developer possibly with help from the
Port and City.
Needs for a greenway buffer
A riverside buffer is badly needed
to aid in the restoration to a healthy
Willamette River. It would help fi lter
and clean storm water runoff and shade
the water’s edge for endangered salm-
on small fry as well as allow habitat for
water dependent animals such as turtles,
frogs and beavers. There is green space
on either side of the property and con-
nectivity is important.
There is contamination
According to Matt McClincy, DEQ’s
Portland Harbor Source Control Co-
ordinator, the property once housed a
plywood mill that brought in grit from
sandblasting ships to use as fi ll material.
He says the grit may permeate the soil
and contains serious contaminants such
as Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
the most harmful pollutant in the su-
perfund, a carcinogen and endocrine
disrupter that can damage the nervous
system of young children; polycyclic ar-
omatic hydrocarbons (Pahs), a byprod-
uct of burning petroleum and coal that
can turn to vapor readily and may be as
harmful as PCBs; and there are heavy
metals such as lead. A developer would
be held to a lower standard of clean up