(Elje “Portland (Dbserucr
March 05. 2003
pa
Kenton Mulls Forced Property Acquisitions
North Portland neighborhood may accept condemnation to lure business developments
______
T h i P ortland O bserv er
The merits and demerits o f con­
demning property for public use
the acquisition o f land against the
ow ner's will — is being considered
for parts o f the Interstate Urban
Renewal District in north Portland.
The Kenton Neighborhood As­
sociation will voice its opinion on
the issue at 7 p.m. on Wednesday,
.MaFCh , 2 a ‘ ? e Ken* " J F:retKXUC
Community Center, 8105 N. Bran­
don Ave.
Last month, a proposal to permit
condemnation in thedistncf sOver-
look neighborhood was defeated
by a vote o f 75 to 41.
Condemnation was also rejected
when the district was established
for the construction o f a Max light
rail line in 2000.
. . C° “
ity aUlV1S,S such “
Harold Williams, Pauline Bradford
and Gary Hampton argued against
it — citing the use o f eminent do­
main to dislocate thousands o f
people for the 1-5 freew ay. Memo­
rial Coliseum and the proposed ex­
pansion o f Emanuel Hospital.
The Kenton proposal would al­
low co n d em n atio n w ithin the
Kenton Downtown Plan District,
30 R egularly shaped area follow,
ing parts o f North Denver and In­
terstate avenues and Willis, Ar­
gyle and Hunt streets.
Unlike Overlook, which specifi­
cally forbade condemnation o f resi­
dences, the Kenton proposal would
allow seizure o f some residential
properties.
Larry M illsof the Kenton neigh­
borhood calls condem nation "a
necessary tool” to help the Port-
necessary tool" to help the Port­
land Development Com m ission
acquire under-utilized property, to
encourage development and revi­
talize the area.
Without it, he said, "If there are
property ow ners w ho w ant to
charge speculative prices and en­
gage in gouging, it could have a
dampening effect on revitalization.
You could achieve significant goals
and never use condem n
and never use condemnation, but
the fact that you have it to use
brings prices back to reality."
V iv ian S m ith , a h aird re sse r
and 4 5 -y e a r K en to n resid e n t,
d isa g re e s.
"I d o n 't th in k i t ’s fair to take
property aw ay from a sm all busi­
ness p erso n an d g iv e it to a big
continued
on p age .16
The power to
quit smoking
is within
your reach.
photo bv D avid P lechl /T he
P ortland O bserver
Northeast Portland lawmaker Jackie Dingfelder reaches out to
Kim Thomas o f the Oregon Food Bank during a Hunger Summit
in Salem. Dingfelder fasted from sunrise to sunset last Wednes­
day to dramatize the plight o f the hungry.
Feeding Oregon’s Hungry
said. “No child in this state de­
serves to go to bed hungry.”
that long-term solution at a Thurs­
The governor also invited Jez
day afternoon Hunger Summit.
A nderson to share her story o f
■ Kulongowski invited Oregon growing up hungry in a small tim ­
Food Bank representatives to out­ ber tow n. A nderson looked for­
line the challenges Oregon faces w ard to two food box days a
and encouraged business owners month.
and activists to find solutions and
“Hunger is the rock bottom level
money.
at which our society makes choices
“I ’m going to raise this (issue) about who we are, and who we
every chance I get,” Kulongowski leave behind,” Anderson said.
continued
from Front
I
R ' f I I V J t 1 1 lLMi I 11*
J f A r< ll
|IJ 1
We know how hard it is to quit
smoking and we know what y
works. Let us give you a helping
hand. Call us today.
O regon Tobacco Prevention & Education Program
Oregon Department
of Human Services
www.healthöregon.org/tobacco
1-877-2NO-FUME (Spanish) TTY: 1-877-777-6534
W H A T ’S T H E
cormcf faeft
'F IN D O U T T H IS W E E K E N D
S a tu r d a y & S u n d a y
1 1 :O O a m -5 :O O p m
ORENCO
S T A T IO N
N E 6 1 s t & C o r n e ll R d
H ills b o r o O R 9 7 1 2 4
5 0 3 .6 4 8 .6 9 6 8
O p e n 8 a m -1 0 p m
R A L E IG H
H IL L S
7 3 0 0 S W B e a v e r t o n - H ills d a le H w y
P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 2 5
503 292 6838
O p e n 8 a m -9 p m
SELLW OOD
12 14 S E T a c o m a
P o r tla n d O R 9 7 2 0 2
5 0 3 .2 3 0 4 9 4 9
O p e n 8 a m -1 0 p m