October 09, 2002
Page A 8
Miracles Social Club Fights to Stay Open
co n tin u ed
fr o m F ront
netw orking opportunities and ed u
cation fo r people w ho are trying to
learn how to live again."
The success has been p henom
enal, she said. As m em bership
num bers rise, fees have dropped
from $55, to $25 and finally to $5.
F or Friday night dances. M iracles
usually has a turnout betw een 200
and 300 m em bers and for special
events, like fashion show s, som e
tim es m ore than 500 people show
up.
NEIGHBORHOOD RESPONSE
Som e neighbors, like B am ell
W ilson w ho rents garage space
across the street, are pleased to be
in such a close proxim ity to the
M iracles Club.
“I’ve seen som e o f these people
before, out there in the streets look
ing like zom bies,” W ilson said.
"T h ey ’re not lo o k in ’ like zom bies
anym ore, they’re lookin’goodw ith
g o o d jo b s and nice cars. I’m really
im pressed.”
O th er n eig h b o rs are no t so
happy.
N ancy Johnson, the presiding
president o f the K ing N eig h b o r
hood A ssociation, said people call
her at 2 a.m . and 3 a.m. to co m p lain
about noise, loitering and cars rac
ing dow n side streets after M iracles
C lub events.
A nother neighbor, w ho declined
to give her nam e, said since she
m oved into the neighborhood t wo-
and-a-half years ago M iracles C lub
m em bers often gather on the side
w alk outside her bedroom w indow
after dances.
“T h ey ’ll be out there scream ing
and it sounds like figh tin g ,” she
said. “ 1 know m ostly they are ju st
being social, but its really, really
loud. I lose a lot o f sleep .”
F our years ago, M arlys M ock
and her husband, T om B enton said
th e y fo u n d a fa n ta s tic h o u se
around the co m er from M iracles.
T he couple said they purchased
the house w ith plans o f starting a
fam ily. But w hen M iracles has
dances, som etim es their drivew ay
gets blocked and if the south door
o f the building is open, M ock and
B enton site problem s w ith w hat
they call “unreasonably loud m u
sic.”
T h e couple said they once co n
fronted children running around
the neig h b o rh o o d at night and
urinating on the sidew alks and
w ere told their parents w ere inside
the club.
“ I d o n ’t care if I liv e in L ake
O sw e g o o r n o rth P o rtla n d , a
n e ig h b o rh o o d s h o u ld n 't be su b
je c te d to re c u rrin g stre sse s b e
c a u s e o f o n e o r g a n i z a ti o n .”
M o ck said . “ S o m eth in g n eed s to
be d o n e ab o u t the p a rk in g v io la
tio n s, e x c e ssiv e n o ise an d u n su
p erv ised ch ild ren . I su p p o rt w hat
th ey d o at th e M ira c le s C lu b and
w o u ld like to see som e m u tu al
re sp ect fo r th e n e ig h b o rs. T h ese
w as doing before, it may continue
w ithout incurring fines or apply
ing for a zoning variance.
Rocky Polzin, land-use ch air
m an for the King N eighborhood
A ssociation, said the variance pro
cess is long and difficult. He said it
involves com m unity im pact state
m ents and neighborhood support
am ongst o th er m ore com plicated
ZONING PROBLEMS
CITY SUPPORT
M iracles has in c u rre d fines o f
u p w ard s o f $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 in the nam e
o f the property ow ner. B ut thanks
to c ity c o m m is s io n e r s D a n
S altzm an and E ric Sten, and M ar
g aret M ah o n ey , d ire c to r o f the
PHOTO BY
D avid P lechl /
T he P ortland
O bserver
— Miracles Secretary Marvis Brown
T he problem M iracles faces are
tw o fo ld . N e ig h b o rh o o d c o m
plaints aside, their building is zoned
for residential rather than com m er
cial use. Before M iracles moved in,
the building w as occupied by an
industrial w holesale business. This
business operated w ithout v io lat
ing zoning laws because o f a grand-
fath erclau se, m eaning as long as a
business continues to do w hat it
dow s,” he said. "M iracles is in
violation, so w hy d o n ’t they have
to pay?”
th a t th in g s h a v e b e e n b e tte r
sin ce th e a g re e m e n t w as sig n ed
in2(MX), but said th e re ’s ro o m for
im provem ent.
“75 to 200 people com e to these
events and they only have six legal
parking spaces,” N ancy Johnson
said. “Even if they are not blocking
our drivew ays, w here are all the
neighbors going to park?”
THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE
M iracles C lub has not yet filed
Bennett Williams
a form al application for a condi-
has a Polaroid
* tional use perm it o r a zoning vari
picture o f himself
ance, but board m em bers are a l
taken by photogra
ready doing their best to increase
pher Steve Slater
com m unity aw areness about the
inside the Miracles
Club. Slater charges club and gather support.
R aym ond D. C rutchley, an at
$4 a shot and
torney for H artfield and C rutchley
donates the pro
A ttorneys and L egan C onsultants,
ceeds to the drug
has
v o lu n teered his assistan ce
and alcohol free
w ith the variance process.
facility.
Nobody had any experience with this
business stuff, so we just moved in and
started on our mission.
are ju s t b asic fu n d a m e n ta ls o f
b e in g p o lite .”
neighborhood association at the
tim e, said at first the neighborhood
turned a blind eye and so did the
city. T om C arter, a senior planner
in the code developm ent section
o f the City O ffice o f Planning and
D evelopm ent R eview , explained
that in general, the city does not do
proactive investigations into zon
ing issues and responds to them
jj
legal issues and is best handled by
experienced legal counsel.
W hen M iracles m oved in, the
ow ner o f the building, Jack Gorman
o f B eaverton, could have applied
for a variance. He did n ’t. N either
did M iracles.
“W e w ere ju s t a bunch o f grass
roots o rganizers,” M iracles Secre
tary M arvis B row n said. “N obody
had any experience w ith this b usi
ness stuff, so w e ju st m oved in and
started on our m ission.”
Polzin, w ho w as president o f the
on a com plaint and inquiry only
basis.
“W e ’re not out there patrolling,
for exam ple,” C arter said.
W hen M iracles’ property ow ner
dug up a fuel tank and repaved the
parking lot, Polzin discovered the
w ork w as done w ithout a perm it.
He issued a form al com plaint to the
city. N eighbors d id n ’t understand
w hy M iracles w as able to make
changes w ithout going through
the perm it process.
Polzin understands frustrations
with regards to zoning. He has
accum ulated nearly $7,000 in fines
for rem olding his nearby residence
w ithout perm its.
“There are people w ho have been
in this neighborhood for 30 years
w ho have to pay fines for bad
steps or old paint and broken w in
city o ffic e o f p la n n in g and d e
v elo p m en t rev iew , the p arties
have been allo w e d to ig n o re the
bill p e n d in g a c o n d itio n a l use
p erm it p ro cess.
“W e understand w hat they are
doing and believe in them ,” an
assistant to Saltzm an said.
S upport o f the neighborhood is
also essential to the variance pro
cess. M iracles has signed a G ood
N eig h b o r A g reem en t w ith the
n e ig h b o rh o o d a ss o c ia tio n , the
N ortheast C oalition o f N eighbors
and the city O ffice o f N eighbor
hood Involvem ent.
T h e a g re e m e n t s ta te s th a t
M iracles will m onitor parking and
u n su p e rv ise d c h ild re n aro u n d
th e p re m ise s w ith a fo o t p atro l
and k eep no ise dow n d u rin g s o
cial ac tiv itie s. N e ig h b o rs agree
B row n hopes the attorney can
help the club com e to term s w ith
the neighborhood, but she said it
som etim es feels like going up
against a brick wall.
“All these people w ho are doing
the com plaining now w ould have a
lot m ore to com plain about if 300
m ore people w ere out on the street
adding to the crim inal quotient in
stead o f in our building^’ Brow n
said.
H er g re a te st fe a r is th a t if
M iracles does get the variance,
their landlord may turn around and
sell the building out from under
them . B row n sees all o f the new
developm ent along M LK and w or
ries that it may be ju s t a m atter o f
tim e before M iracles has to find
another location.
“Ultimately, we may have to go,”
she said. “ But these issues o f sub
stance abuse, at risk youth and
dom estic abuse - they will still be
there.”
David Plechl contributed to this
story.
Voter Participation Encouraged with ‘Vote for Children’
Face painting and gospel sing
ing will a part o f the mix at a Vote for
C hildren com m unity kick-off to be
held Saturday, Oct. 12from 10a.m.
to 6 p .m . atC hrist M em orial Church
on 1552N . K illingsw orth.
E v e n t o rg a n iz e rs h o p e the
daylong event w ill help raise north
and northeast P ortland v o ter reg
istration by 5 percent.
“W e h av e the p o w er to step
up an d m ake a d iffe re n c e ,” said
C lin to n N elso n , ac o m m u n ity o r
g a n iz e r fo r the V o te fo r C h ild ren
p ro g ra m . “ If w e w an t to see
c h a n g e s in o u r n eig h b o rh o o d s,
o u r sch o o ls and o u r c o m m u n i
ties, w e have to g et o u t and vo te.”
The Vote for Children program
w orks under the prem ise that by
teaching elementary schoolchildren
about the dem ocratic process, more
adults will be inclined to vote.
Through participation in essay con
tests, mock elections and neighbor
hood canvassing efforts, kids learn
the value o f their vote and pass that
knowledge onto their parents.
Last year, New Jersey-based Vote
for Children noticed voterparticipa-
tion had dropped significantly withi n
Portland’s minority population. So
comm unity volunteers targeted 14
north and northeast Portland el
em entary schools and ended up
signing on 24. All o f these schools
received a stipend o f $500to pay for
sample ballots, mock voter boxes
and any additional costs incurred
during the program.
In January, all 24 schools that
succeed at increasing voter par
ticipation will receive an aw ard o f
$5,000 to be used for field trips,
outdoor learning adventures and
other educational activities o f the
school’s choice.
“T hese children are our future
and som ebody dropped the ball | in
Portland],” N elson said. “W e ca n ’t
afford to let that happen again.
V otes do m atter. W e have the
pow er to step up.”
For m ore inform ation on the
V ote for Children com m unity kick
off, co n tac t C linton N elson at
5 0 3 .2 3 6 .4 9 4 9 e x t. 2 9 , e m a il
cn elso n @ voteforchildren.org or
v is it
th e
w e b s ite
at
w w w .voteforchildren.org.
T r a J n t i o n o f E x c e l . Jlen.ce
W est C oast
B lack P ublishers A ssociation
A wards of M erit
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