May 24, 2000
Page A6
Purttani)
1
¿Clrie ^tartiauó tf)hsvruer
TT^
*
Business
M H M
■ hhm mmhmhhhhi
M
M
H
H
■Hl
M
Portlands Interstate Urban Renewal District in the planning stages
Bv l . r t PtkUMAN
tU K llltJ >OKlLA>uQBSLK>tK
C om ing your w ay soon is the
Interstate Urban Renewal District,
with more territory but one less feature
than any other such program in
Portland - to the consternation o f
some.
The district was originally proposed
by Mayor Vera Katz to generate $30
million to the funding package for the
North Light Rail project, which would
run along North Interstate Avenue
from the Rose Quarter to the Expo
Center. Once proposed as a corridor
four blocks wide, the district as now
planned would be the largest such
program in Portland, covering 3700
acres and expected to generate more
than $150 million in tax increment
funds, according to the Portland
Development Commission’s John
Southgate, the largest such districts
now inexistenceareColumbiaSouth
Shore, at 2700 acres, and Lents at
2400 acres.
The Interstate Urban Renewal District
Advisory Committee is expected to
approve the proposed district, and
its proposed objectives, by the end
o f May. Hearings are scheduled
before the Portland Development
Commission at 6 p.m. June 21 at Kaiser
Town Hall, 3704 N. Interstate Ave.
b efo re the P o rtla n d P lan n in g
Commmissionat 12:30p.m. July 11 at
1900 S.W. Fourth Ave. and before
City Council at 6 p.m. August 16 at
Kaiser Town Hall.
The district will be the only one of its
kind in which PDC will not have the
p o w er to co n d em n p ro p e rty ,
compelling its sale to the city against
the wishes o f its owner.
In an April 25 letterto Harold Williams
ofthe Coalition o f Black Men, Mayor
Katz wrote, “ Knowing the depth o f
fe e lin g s a b o u t co n d e m n a tio n ,
specifically w ithin the African-
American community, I support the
recom m endation o f the Portland
D evelopm ent Com m ission. PDC
recommends that there not be a
condemnation provision as part o f
the Interstate URA. If in the future the
community injtiates a proposal for
condemnation that is acceptable to
the broader community (this would
obviously entail a broad-based
community outreach effort), then we
would be willing to work on this, but
again, WE (the city and PDC) are not
going to initiate it.”
The debate over boundaries came to
a head over the request by the
Portsm outh neighborhood to be
included. Extending from North
C h a ta u q u a B o ulevard to the
Burlington Northern railroad tracks,
Portsmouth contains nearly 700 acres
and is 1.5 miles from the Interstate
route at its nearest point. It also
contains Columbia Villa, the state’s
largest low-income housing project,
which some community groups fear
could swallow up much o f the tax
increment funds.
Advisory Committee members such
as L arry M ills o f the K enton
N eighborhood A ssociation and
Lenny Anderson o f Swan Island
argued that the district was intended
primarily to rejuvenate the immediate
area around Interstate, and tomitigate
the effect o f the new light rail on
traffic.
In
re sp o n se ,
P ortsm outh
neighborhood associations, NA AC P
and Coalition o f Black Men, among
others, were strongly against its
inclusion in the new district.
O th ers favored it. K enton
representatives, in particular, have
said they would like to see acquisition
and conversion ofthe Dancin’ Bare,
a bar with nude entertainment in the
heart o fth e neighborhood business
district. Mills said condemnation
co u ld prove in d isp e n sa b le to
assembling large tracts of land to
accommodate facilities desired by the
co m m unity.
A nderson
said
condem nation could be used to
preserve low-income housing.
As part ofthe draft General Principles
governing activities within the district
the Advisory Committee adopted a
statement saying, “There shall be no
condemnation as part o f the URA
Big City Produce
Named BEST FRESH MARKET in
Portland 1999!!
Neighborhood Association president
E lizabeth Hum phrey countered,
“ Poverty doesn’t run just north and
south, it runs east and west too.” She
latertold The Portland Observer that
inclusion in the district could help the
Housing Authority of Portland secure
a $35 million grant to renovate
Columbia Villa. Condemnation was
an equally large issue forthe fledgling
district. In the past this process has
been used by PDC to remove vast
tracts of homes to make way forthe I-
5 Freeway, Memorial Coliseum and
the expansion o f Emanuel Hospital.
PDC insists it no longer operates in
this way, and uses condemnation
only to acquire select properties.
N onetheless, the A rbor Lodge,
B oise, E lio t and H um boldt
W omen advancing in technical careers
b X j I ama N qyak
FORTHE P o RTLAN d O b SERVER
Throw out the pocket protectors and
throw in a bra: ste re o ty p e o f
technology savvy people must now
be updated to include women. Not
only are women overtaking male
Internet consumers, but according to
th e In te rn e t re se a rc h
firm
VentureOne, they are also making
th em selv es co m fo rta b le in the
executive ranks o f the * dot-com
world. ’ In fact, women have doubled
theirpresence in top-tier management
positions just since 1998, holding an
impressive 45% o f those jobs at
Internet firm s receiving venture
capital funding last year-compared
to only 4% at traditional Fortune 500
companies. Even Time magazine
included five women in its "Digital
50". Obviously, the proliferation o f
technology has had w idespread
benefits for women.
But the benefits are not only in terms
o f their success within its executive
ranks, but also in terms of the freedom
and flexibility it offers to find creative
solutions to juggling a professional
life and a personal life.
My friend Virginia, a married mother
o f one and the top communications
officer at a Washington, D.C'.- based
public relations firm, understands this
p re ssu re .
F o rtu n a te ly ,
an
u n d e rsta n d in g em p lo y er and
technological advances have allowed
her to have the best o f both worlds.
By telecommuting from home two
days a week, she’s been able to
co n tin u e p u ttin g her years o f
experience and PR savvy to use for
clients while also spending quality
time with her new toddler.
In other words the flexibility and
freedom provided by technology
offers perhaps the first step toward
answering the age-old dilemma for
women: to stay at home or not to stay
at home. Whether a women decides
to work with her employer to create
the flexibility she desires or to be her
own boss through a home-based
until and if the Interstate Corridor
URA Advisory Committee decides
that it wants to amend the urban
renew al
plan
to
in clu d e
condemnation.”
PDC attorney Karen Lewis said that
to introduce condemnation into the
d istric t w ould re q u ire m ailed
notification to every property owner
in the district.
Nonetheless, the qualifying language
in the general principles prompted an
angry speech to the committee by
Williams, in which he accused the
committee o f failing to respond to
“the African-American agenda” and
called the qualifying language “an
insult.” He later told the Portland
Observer, “Vera Katz and (PDC’s)
Baruti Arthuree told them to take
condemnation out, but they tried to
put it back in there. No is no.”
business, technology is the key
factor. In fact, while home-based
businesses for women have been
around for centuries, technology has
taken it to a new level. Today, these
businesses are no longer a way to
simply supplement income; they are
income.
Buy the Case, Buy the Pound, or
Buy the Bunch,
You Save BIG at Big City Produce!
Best Greens in Portland.
Best ethnocentric selections in Portland.
722 N. Sumner St. (Corner of N. Albina & N.
Sumner)
One Block West of Jefferson High School.
460-3830
Open 7 Days a Week
Mon-Fri 7:30 - 7:00pm
Sat. 9:00am - 6pm
Sun. 10:00am - 6pm
wireless
directories
internet
beyond
HOME FOCUS
W e’re as open to different races as we are to same-sex partners.
BUY YOUR DREAM HOME
GET A HOME LOAN
GET PERSONALIZED ATTENTION
And w e’re one of the leading companies who sponsor and
encourage diversity support groups and organizations.
www.uswestcom/jobs
D eb o ra h F oster
M a r k e tin g S p ecia list
L q u its («roup R ealtors
5 5 0 5 SL M ilw a u k ee Ave.
50.3-2.3.3-888.3 e \ l 4 8 5 2
cniaflak+wrahf« cquitygn»up£»>m
w ww.ct,uitygroiip.com/dehnrah
D avid Labos itz
SR. Loan O fficer
M o rtgage M ark et, l \ (
825 N F 20th A se. Suite
1.30
50.3-2,34-5160
em ail:das idl/rt teleport.com
tswss.dreamMpprnvcd.com
U S W E S T ■ an affirmative action /equal opportunity employer
k
IWWEST
life's better here @