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City wants more in-house rentals allowed
The Portland Bureau o f Planning
is considering zoning code changes
to allow small apartments to be cre
ated in or added onto almost any
single family home in Portland.
The proposed changes in the
auxilliary rental proposal were origi
nally scheduled to come before the
Portland Planning Commission on
June 24, but the hearing has been
moved back to July 8.
The A Overlay Zone, developed
during the Albina Community Plan
process in north and northeast Port
land in the early 1990s, allowed
small “granny flat” apartments to be
created within large older homes,
over garages or in back yards in
separate structures in selected areas.
The zone also allowed the building
o f row houses on properties that
have been vacant for at least five
years. The provision caused more
public debate than any other part o f
the plan, and led to the wholesale
removal o f neighborhood boards that
supported it in Irvington and Over
look.
The Planning Bureau now hopes
to apply liberalized versions o f the
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excellent opportunity to learn valuable legal information which will help protect renters
form landlord abuse and neglect. The Renters’ Rights Forum will be held Tuesday, June
17th, 7:00pm at the Turning Point Family C enter- 6552 SW 19th Ave - O ff Vermont. This
event is free and wheelchair accessible. Free childcare will be provided if arranged in
advance. For more information or to register for childcare, cal, the County Alliance of
Tenants at 288-0317.
zone, minus the rowhouse develop
ment proposal, to all single family
homes in the city, according to plan
ner Jim Claypool. Right now only
eight to 12 accessory units per year
are being built, and the city hopes to
increase this to 10,000 to 12,000
over the next 20 years. The new
units could provide needed inexpen
sive housing for the elderly or stu
dents, he says.
The biggest “hot button” in the
proposal, and one Claypool isn’t
sure will be brought forward, con
cerns owner-occupancy.
Right now, when accessory rental
units are built, either the rental unit
itself or the main house must be
owner-occupied. It is the only type
o f housing in the code where this
restriction applies, and some plan
ners wonder if it is legal or practical
to enforce it. If tenants in accessory
rentals became a problem, Claypool
argues, they could be dealt with
through the city’s Chronic Nuisance
ordinance, allow the city to take
action against properties that attract
problem behavior.
Another change concerns add
ons. You cannot now add an addi
tion to a house to create an accessory
rental, or create one in a house less
than five years old. The problem,
Claypool says, is that you can add
onto an existing house for any other
reason, so it is easy to circumvent
this provision. The proposal would
do away with it.
A related change concerns the
size o f the units and the houses they
may be built in. The current regula
tions say that when accessory rent
als are built, they must leave a main
house o f at least 1400 square feet; in
effect, this means the house must be
quite large to begin with. The pro
posed changes are still being devel
oped, but they would allow much
smaller houses to be converted.
The proposals were well received
at two community workshops held
in April attended by about 60 people,
Claypool says. However, since then
o p p o sitio n is g a th e rin g . T he
Laurelhurst Neighborhood Associa
tion is opposing the changes, and
last week the Concordia Neighbor
hood Association voted to follow
suit. A third neighorhood, Piedmont,
has expressed concerns about the
changes.
“ We decided that C oncordia
should be a neighborhood o f single
family homes with detached ga
rages,” former neighborhood chair
and state senator Bob Boyer said.
In Piedmont, former chair Betsy
Radigan said that in the past absen
tee landlords have been a source o f
problems, and the proposed changes
may add to this. “We found that
many landlords were unaware o f the
impacts their tenants caused,” she
said.
Concordia resident Leila Piazza
was less sure. “On one hand, I don’t
like the idea o f a lot o f people con
verting their houses into rentals,”
she said. “On the other hand, it
would be nice to allow an apartment
for someone’s mother-in-law, and
the current regulations don’t allow
that.”
Western cities lend with neighborhood problem solving
Grass roots citizen service centers win confidence from Scottdale, Arizona to Portland
by G regory
L a F orge
When her neighbor’s brush pile
grew into an unsightly mound, an
irritated Dagni Harkema looked no
farther than her son’s elementary
school for help.
She didn’t have to call City Hall
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and talk to some
faceless bureaucrat. Instead, she
sought a familiar face ju st a few
minutes away at the Citizen Service
Center at Sonoran Sky Elementary
School.
“I ’m not the kind o f person to
com plain. I w o u ld n ’t have know n
who to call at C ity Hall and I
would have been intim idated,” said
H arkem a, a 4 4 -y e a r-o ld h o m e
m aker and school volunteer. “I
d id n ’t know w hat (the center) did
but I w ent in and said, ‘M aybe you
can help m e .’”
The roadside eyesore in the hilly
development in north Scottsdale was
cleaned up within a few weeks,
thanks to the efforts o f a” neighbor
hood specialist” who, Harkema re
called," took over the problem and
followed through.”
Carla Cole, coordinator for one o f
W est Seattle’s two neighborhood
centers, provides services to the
n early 35,000 resid en ts o f the
D uw am ish Peninsula and keeps
abreast o f residents’ concerns and
fears as well as keeping up to date
with the political scene.
“I see m yself as an overt double
agent, serving both the city and the
neighborhood,” Cole said. “People
complain they’re so isolated from
Seattle out here. But we help con
nect the neighborhood to the city
and we provide convenience.”
S eattle’s program has been a
P O L IC E A T
Asian Gang Sting Nets 16
A six month long investigation into
Asian AStreet Gangs operating in the
Portland area has concluded with the
arrest o f 16 suspected gang members,
and the recovery o f over $150,000 in
property.
Gang Enforcement Team mem
b ers began m ak in g a rre s ts on
T hursdayand continued o v er the
weekend.
Individuals arrested have been
charged with a number o f crimes,
including weapon charges, burglary,
theft and drug related offenses. Those
arrested were lodged at the justice
Center jail and have recently been
arraigned, or are scheduled for ar
raignment.
Search warrants were also served
at homes located at 5736 SE W ood
ward Street and 3736 SE Milwaukie
Avenue. These two residences are
believed to have been used to store
stolen property.
The investigation began in Decem
ber 1996 after members o f the Asian
Community expressed concern re
garding the increased level o f gang
and criminal activity occurring in their
community.
Members o f the Asian Gang De
tail o f the Gang Enforcement Team,
has received information from con
tacts on the street and within the com
munity, o f three prolific street gangs
operating in the Asian community.
•The gangs were identified as the
Nasty Boyz, the Oriental Ghetto anc
the V-Boyz. Officers believed tha
these gangs were involved in home
and commercial burglaries, stealing
property from vehicles, and weapor
related offenses.
A plan was developed that involved
two undercover Gang Team officers,
posing as the business owners o f an
electronic store front.
The operation also involved the
officers developing a rapport with
gang members, while gaining their
trust and confidence.
For additional information contact
Captain Derrick Foxworth, pager299-
7778.
Teen girl shot in street gunfire
On Monday.Portland Police Of
fices responded to the 5000 block o f
N. Albina in regard to a person shot.
Officers arrived to discover Tracy
Green, black female, 17 years, o f SE
Portland, fatally wounded.
It appears Green was w alking
southbound on N Albina, mid-block
between N. Webster and N. Alberta,
with three other females when the
incident occurred.
A large late 80’s dark blue over
light blue colored domestic vehicle
carrying two black males, traveling
eastbound on N. Webster, stopped at
the intersection ofN . Albina and fired
multiple rounds in the direction o f the
females.
Green was struck in the upper torso
by the gunfire and died at the scene.
The other subject involved were not
injured. The victim, after being shot
was pulled into 5021 N. Albina by the
others.
Investigators believe the shooting
is gang related. Anyone with infor
mation regarding this crime is re
quested to contact Investigative-Ser
geants C. Kanzler or T. Wagner at
823-0400.
Katz responds to Rose Festival shooting
Editor's note Mayor Vera Katz
released thefollowing statement Tues
day regarding the weekend shooting
death o f Kenneth Shanafelt at S W 2nd
& Salmon
“I have called Mrs Shanafelt’s home
to personally give her my condolences
and hope to talk with her lace-to-face
tomorrow I want her to know that as
Mayor, what happened to her and her
family outrages me. and that as a person impossible for law abiding citizens to
who has been both wife and mother, 1 enjoy the heart o f our downtown.
grieve with her for her loss.
Any death as the result o f violence
Late this afternoon, I received a is tragic. The circumstances o f Mr.
briefing from the Police Bureau and I Shanafelt’s innocent encounter with
want to assure everyone we are work this violence makes it the more diffi
ing to do everything we can to catch cult for people to understand. Finally,
the person responsible for this hor I want to urge anyone with informa
rible act. I refuse to turn this city over tion that may help find the perpetrator
to a criminal element that makes it to please call the Police Bureau.”
Emergency services coordinator arrested
Emergency Medical Services Co
ordinator for the Portland Fire Bu
reau, Tom Steinman was indicted Fri
day by a Multnomah County Grand
Jury on 12 counts o f Theft. Bail has
been set at $165,000
Steinman. a 22 year veteran of the fire
bureau is alleged to have embezzled over
$110,000 from city funds into his per
sonal accounts. Six month sago Steinman
was placed on adm in istrati ve leave pend
ing this investigation
model for other cities. Even some
urban c o u n tie s, such as C lark
County, Nev., which surrounds Los
Vegas, are studying the concept and
have come to Seattle for ideas.
In Portland, Ore., the city has
established offices in eight neigh
b o rh o o d s. U n lik e S e a ttle and
Scottsdale, however, Portland has
geared its offices to support neigh
borhood groups, providing techni
cal assistance to 93 neighborhood
associations.
“A lot o f copying goes on in our
offices,” said Diane Linn, director
ot Portland s Office o f neighbor
hood Associations.
Each office is staffed with a coor
dinator, a crime prevention special
ist and other support staff to assist
residents. The cost to Portland is
about $1.7 million a year.
“In many ways, we provide a lot
o f helpful services,” Linn said. “It
breaks down sometimes. We have
our problems but overall, I think
people see it as an asset.”
St. Petersburg, Fla., officials set
up City Hall in the Mall - in a 10-
foot by 12-foot booth at the Tyrone
ou need a mortgage.
• You don’t have
a big down payment.
Square Mall, the busiest in the re
gion - in 1990.
Here, residents can pay utility
bills, watch City Council meetings
on a television monitor, fill out a
voter-registration form and browse
through city job openings.
“People don’t expect to see gov
ernment in the mall when they’re
shopping for a dress or a refrigera
tor,” said Joni Riedmillert, the site’s
supervisor. “But I think they find it
convenient, and I don’t think it’s
just a matter o f saving money on a
stam p.”
Maybe
you should
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