Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
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www.portlandobserver.com
May 05. 2004
Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Weekend of fun with Latino flavor at Waterfront Park
' See El Observador, page B7
I SECTION
C
o in in u n i t y
a I e n d a r
Healing Time
A Community Forum, A Time to
Heal will addresscrim e,com m u­
nity concerns and the conduct
of the Portland Police Bureau
with an open mic at 6 p.m. on
May 14 at the King Neighbor­
hood Facility, 4815 N.E. 7* Ave.
For more information, call 503-
284-0617.
Salvation for Kids
The Salvation Army’s IO* anni­
versary luncheon is all about kids,
from noon to 1 p.m. May I4atthe
Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel,
1 (XX) N.E. Multnomah. For more
information, call 503-963-1187.
Maya Angelou Visit
Maya Angelou joins the Unique
Lives and Experiences lecture
tourat 7:30p.m. on May 19atthe
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
For
tic k e ts ,
v isit
www.eventsunlimited.org.
OAME Luncheon
The Oregon Association of Mi­
nority Entrepreneurs is holding
its 16* annual Entrepreneurship
Luncheon and Trade Show with
keynote speaker Mayor Vera Katz
from 10a.m. to 4 p .m . Thursday,
May 6 at the Oregon Convention
Center. The trade show is free and
the luncheon costs $45.
Women Speak
Women have a voice at Women
in N AACP, a new w om en's
group, meeting from 10:30 a.m.
to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of
each month at the American Red
C ro ss B u ild in g , 3131 N.
Vancouver Ave. For questions,
call 503-249-6263.
Thanks, Mom
A M other’s Day brunch at the
Oregon Z oo’s Cascade Grill is
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 9. The
buffet is $15.95 for adults and
$7.95 for kids. For reservations,
call 503-525-4299.
Old Home Workshop
A workshopcalled So, You Went
A head and B ought an Old
House? is from 6:30 to 8:30p.m.
Thursday, May 13 at Rejuvena­
tion, upstairs at 11(X)S.E. Grand
Ave. Cost is $17. To pre-regis­
ter, call 503-231-7264.
Diabetes Walk
America’s Walk for Diabetes is
at 8 a m. at the Rose Quarter
Amphitheater in Portland and
Esther Shore Park in Vancouver.
R e g iste r
o n lin e
at
www.diabetes.org/walk or call
888-DIABETES.
Housing Needs Filled with Density
Infill apartments
may be sign
of the future
by L f . e P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
In some ways, the two-story block-like
structure on a street o f single-family homes
on N orth M issouri A venue, north o f
Killingsworth Street, is an anomaly. In oth­
ers, it’s the future.
The 10-plex at 5520 N. Missouri is one
example of infill development, the introduc­
tion o f higher density into com munities of
single unit frame houses, each on 5,000
square foot lots. The strategy is intended to
provide more housing within the regional
RENT A H MCE
1-8OO-352 5675
Urban Growth Boundary, where roads and
other infrastructure already exist.
The trend started in 1980 when Portland
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rezoned many single family home neighbor­
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hoods to allow row houses, units sharing
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common walls and built at twice or more the
density of the housing around it. Some fit
well into the neighborhoods they were built
in, but to the chagrin of neighbors, many had
tall living quarters sitting on top of street-
level garages.
One wrinkle in the infill saga has been the
“skinny lot” developm ent. Here, what
seemed like a routine change in the zoning
code in 1991, and a little-noted pattern in the
way lots were legally platted in much o f the
city, allowed developers to build 15-foot­
wide homes at double the zoned density in
many areas.
After much controversy, there was con­
sensus by city officials on two points: Infill
development o f some sort, in some areas,
was worthwhile; and there is a need for
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
better design for the new houses to make
Kurt Haapala, a north Portland resident and chair of the Humboldt Neighborhood Association, doesn 't care much for the
them fit in better with local communities.
development o f a 10-unit apartment complex on a standard size lot north of Killingsworth Avenue on Missouri Street. Haapala
To this end commissioner Randy Leonard,
says
the housing looks atrocious and won t appeal to people looking for permanent housing The owner o f the property hopes
the s tro n g e s t p ro p o n e n t o f “ sk in n y
to cash in on demand for student housing near the PCC Cascade campus and transit rides who don't own cars.
houses,” initiated the Infill Design Project.
At a series o f open houses, residents were housing for students,” he said.
city regulations and development. The zon­ rent here w on’t have cars,” Spitanagel says.
shown apartment, row house and duplex
The units, ranging from 450 to 6<X) square
ing code tends to require less off-street The site is just five blocks from the North
designs and asked to select which one they
feet, should be com plete by July, he says, at parking for housing, especially if it is near
Killingsworth light-rail station on Interstate
liked best. Project manager Bill Cunningham
which time PTR will either sell the complex or mass transit. The CS zone requires no park­ Avenue.
em phasized that the project is dealing with
The builder says the commercial zone
the design o f such developments, not where,
would have allowed the company to build 15
whether or how densely they should be
units on the single residential size lot, but
allowed.
“We didn’t want to overwhelm the neigh­
The North Missouri development was
borhood.” However, he adds, “I’m not a
approved with no public review, builder
believer that higher density is a bad thing.”
PTR Homes having asked for no adjust­
He concedes that there has been badly
ments to the zoning code. The site is zoned
designed infill development, but he argues
CS, which allows housing by right but is
that some of it has been caused by city
intended primarily for commercial develop­
regulations. In the case o f the Missouri
— Humboldt Neighborhood Chair Kurt Haapala on a new infill-housing
ment.
project, for instance, a rule that all the units
project that adds a 10-unit apartment to a standard size residential lot
PTR ’sT om Spitanagel feels that with the
face the street prevented the com pany from
“tremendous expansion" o f Portland Com ­
providing as much open space as they would
munity College’s Sylvania Campus, modest rent it themselves. Heestim ated rents at $475
ing spaces, and this project contains none.
have wished.
apartments here is the highest and best use.
to $550.
“We agree with the city that being so
continued
on page H6
“W e’re really excited about providing
The project is consistent with a trend in close to light rail, many of the people who
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We want housing people would want to live
in permanently. The only reason anyone
would rent this is because they were forced to
because they couldn ’t find anything else.
Fundraiser for PALS
The Police Activities League,
which serves youth in Portland
and Gresham , is sponsoring its
8* annual PAL Campaign for
Cops Helping Kids dinner auc­
tion benefiting PAL at 5:30 p.m.
May 8 at the Multnomah Ath­
letic Club. For more information,
call 503-823-0250.
Dinos on Trial
Dinosaurs are back in Portland
withT. Rex on Trial, an exhibit at
OMSI. Explore the evidence and
decide foryourselfifT . Rex was
a predator or a scavenger. The
hands-on exhibit runs through
May 9.
Interest In Adoption?
A free information meeting for
prospective adoptive parents
held the third W ednesday of
every month from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
at Belmont Public Library, 1038
S.E. 39* Ave. For more informa­
tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit
www.openadopt.com.
A Healing Song
S ankofaa H ealth Institute o f­
fers a free diabetes support
group from 6 to 7:30 p. m . every
th ird T h u rs d a y at A lb e rta
Simmons Plaza, 6707 N E. MLK
Blvd. For more information, call
503-285-2484,
Public Works Effort Has Ripple Effect On Neighborhood
Rebuilding team
adopts northeast
Portland home
Pacific Power energized a northeast Port­
land neighborhood by painting, hammering
and helping to rebuild a home with great
repair needs.
Armed with paint brushes and power
tools about 50 employee volunteers con­
verged on a 1916 home on Northeast 65*
Avenue recently to make repairs and tidy
the inside and out for its elderly, disabled
homeowner.
“Many might wonder why w e'd choose
to expend a lot of energy into fixing up a
stranger’s house when we could be working
on our own homes,” said Nancy Towne-
Smith, a business analyst in Pacific Power’s
Corporate Business Services department
who has helped coordinate the Pacific Power
team for the past three years and is on the
board of Rebuilding Ttigether.
“W e’re able-bodied, hard-working people
who believe in giving back to our com m u­
nity,” Towne-Smith said. "O ur efforts have
a ripple effect on the whole neighborhood,
and it’s worth it to see the good that one day
of hard work can bring to one home, one
person, one area o f the city.”
PHOTO c o t IRTESY OF A cK R O Y I) PHOTOGRAPHY
Pacific Power employees Jamie Sims and Judy Ridenour volunteer to install a new
fence for a northeast Portland resident.
Rebuilding Together pmvides needed home
repair and rehab services for low income,
elderly and disabled homeowners and their
fami I ies in l«x;al communities. The scope o f the
work includes carpentry, electrical, plumbing,
roofing, prep and painting, drywall, debris
removal, yard maintenance and much more.
Rebu i ldi ng Together solicits homeowner
referrals from area churches, neighborh(xxl
associations, concerned neighbors, com ­
munity development corporations and state
and local service agencies.
Last year, the Portland chapter rehabili­
tated 58 homes and six non-profit facilities
through the com bined efforts o f 1,400 plus
skilled and unskilled volunteers. An esti­
mated $950,000 worth o f value was put back
into the Portland community. Materials and
supplies required are either donated to or
purchased by Rebuilding Together and re­
pairs are com pleted by volunteers at no
charge to the homeowner.
“ In addition to im proving the co m m u ­
nity w here we live and w ork, another b en ­
efit is the sense o f accom plishm ent and
team w ork am ong the em ployee v o lu n ­
teers," said T ow ne-Sm ith. “T his activity
helps disprove the m yth that Pacific Power
is ju st a big co rp o ratio n by getting our
em ployees out in the c»>mmunity to in ter­
act with our custom ers in a very positive
and m eaningful w ay."