Land Use & Planning Committee

The Planning Committee is responsible for overseeing the Sullivan's Gulch Neighborhood Plan, and developing plans and programs relating to the planning needs of the neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Plan was adopted in 1987, and is being reviewed to determine what modifications are needed (see below).

Summary of Neighborhood Plan Review

February 2001

Prepared by:
Lynne Coward, land use chair

At its retreat in late 1999, the SGNA board made review of our 1987 Neighborhood Plan one of its priorities. The land use committee reviewed all aspects of the plan and provided the board during two board meetings with an overview of the plan. It is now time to summarize our work and make recommendations for the future.

In general the committee and the board found the 1987 Plan to reflect sound thinking that will continue to serve us well into the foreseeable future. With few exceptions, major amendments are not needed. Those who put together the Plan in the mid-eighties provided an invaluable service that needs to be remembered-especially in its historical context. (See Patricia Swenson's interview with Kathleen Todd.)

The values expressed in the Plan remain solid, yet the issues facing the neighborhood today are changing,

• · The diversity of population that is central to our sense of ourselves, is threatened by displacement as property values move higher. Homelessness has visibly increased.
  
  
• · The Broadway business district appears to be developing with an array of neighborhood-oriented businesses, yet, we have lost some long-term businesses, forced out by higher rents. This past year has seen the defeat of a LID (Local Improvement District) initiative to make improvements on Broadway and Weidler between 16th and 24th Avenues.
  

• · Traffic on Broadway / Weidler has grown from 10K vehicles per day to over 13K per day. Development and related traffic changes at both ends of the neighborhood have produced increased pressure on the surrounding streets-both in traffic and on-street parking. The extension of fareless square suggests parking permits may be needed at the western end of the neighborhood.

Looking beyond our Plan and our neighborhood borders, we can see other changes that will eventually impact us.

1. The Lloyd District is reviewing its urban renewal goals. While a major new housing component has been mentioned as desirable, how this will happen as a part of public policy remains unclear. .There are no plans at this time to amend the original urban renewal plan or change the zoning. As we have learned with the Transworld development, the city's mixed-use zoning (which applies to most of this district) permits housing only if a developer chooses; other incentives will be required, or the zoning modified.
   

   Glimcher Lloyd Ventures of Columbus, OH, which owns the Lloyd Center and much of the surrounding property, is looking for additional commercial development on those properties. If the current jobs focus continues unmodified, Sullivan's Gulch will find itself alone as a residential area in a sea of commercial development south of Broadway.
   
   

2. Further to the west, the Rose Quarter is in the process of being redefined, the Eastside Esplinade is nearing completion and multiple studies are looking at reconfiguring I-5 and its interchanges. (The mayor has recently suggested burying it.) What has been an eyesore as one crosses the Willamette to the eastside may be going through a renaissance.
   

   Related to the Rose Quarter is the desire of a group of interests to obtain a major league baseball franchise and build a new stadium-the most likely site being the Board of Education property just north of Broadway. Initiatives around this continue. Surrounding neighborhoods should, as early as possible, come to their own conclusion as to how such a facility will affect our quality of life and make sure that we are a part of the conversation if this idea begins to become real.
   
   

3. At the eastern end of the neighborhood we are facing a proposal for a major land use change on the Albina Fuel site. With an intersection already at its maximum capacity, any new development is problematic. While we support an urban intensity of mixed-use, we are again faced with zoning choices that do not ensure a mixture. We have begun to explore the possibility of a MAX site that could alleviate some of the traffic issues.

Proposal for Actions and Plan Revisions

The committee has noted throughout the plan document where text changes are needed. In addition to these changes, significant new planning projects should be undertaken within the next several years.

1. Broadway & Weidler Business District

More than most neighborhoods in the city, Sullivan's Gulch is highly dependent upon its business district for its identity and attractiveness. It is also dependent upon its location and favorable transportation alternatives. These elements require a unique handling as we integrate them into the residential component of our neighborhood-conventional solutions sell us short.

The 1987 Plan called for the decoupling of Broadway and Weidler. The adoption of the B/W Corridor Study and the subsequent major capital improvements on those two streets preclude our achieving a decoupling.

The defeat of the Broadway Weidler LID should tell us that more than street improvements are needed. In fact, the Broadway / Weidler Corridor Study mentions up front that new planning and urban design are needed for Weidler. Some properties along Weidler have been improved, but the majority of parcels remain investment properties and many are being allowed to deteriorate. There is not sufficient substance and momentum at this point to suggest a LID without a better sense of common benefit.

In their 1982 study, "Sullivan's Gulch: Problems, Issues and Strategies" graduate students at Portland State foresaw this problem. They make specific recommendations that would encourage a smooth transition from the commercial uses on Broadway to the residential uses to the south.

When the neighborhood and affected property owners are ready, and when there is sufficient planning assistance from the City, we should revisit this area, consider rezoning and develop any urban design guidelines that may be necessary. The LID improvements can be built into that eventual resolution.

2. Albina Fuel Site

The pending zone change on the Albina Fuel site and the current controversy over a Home Depot store in Hollywood have called attention to the City's ability to define a Main Street. Sullivan's Gulch is the quintessential example of a Main Street community.

One strategy in addressing the Albina Fuel site is to get the city to recognize that it needs to focus on the problems of defining a Main Street. Are current zoning categories and development review processes sufficient to encourage and protect these districts in the face of large-scale commercial development? . The issue here is truly a matter of scale-auto and pedestrian- do they mix-or, can they mix?.

Beyond the single issue of the Albina Fuel site is the health of the Broadway Business District and its central role in defining our neighborhood. With Dan Delany in the lead, we are beginning to establish a relationship with the Northeast Broadway Business Association (NEBBA) and Dan is working with Todd Coward on ideas for connecting our businesses to our community web page in a manner that stresses the community aspect of our relationships.

3. Transportation & Traffic

The Albina Fuel site, as well as transit planning in the Lloyd District, requires us to take a comprehensive look at how traffic and parking patterns impact our neighborhood. Here again, we need to look beyond the conventional solutions. For a pedestrian neighborhood bereft of park space we must reclaim our public right-of-ways to support community life.

The Board should charge a committee with the broad task of addressing traffic and parking issues within the larger framework of reclaiming our public right-of-ways. Further, projects and events that "nurture" community should work with this committee to consider bold moves that advance this agenda.

4. Affordable Housing

Last, but perhaps most important, and difficult-- how do we keep housing in Sullivan's Gulch affordable to maintain the diversity we prize? We have made a beginning by acknowledging the fact of homelessness among us, and our committee on homelessness has published a list of resources for neighbors to use in seeking to help. Our neighborhood liaison person, Rebecca Currin, has contributed an article to the newsletter relating a specific example of how these resources were used effectively.

At this time Annie Neal has volunteered to take the lead on this issue. We have discussed various approaches. Probably we need to begin by leading the community to an understanding of the issues involved. While SGNA is not in the business of providing services, we can inform ourselves on the dynamics of the issue, learn where resources are and lobby local and state governments for priorities. The housing issue links us all through land values.

This report reflects the work of the following neighbors who have participated as members of the Land Use Committee as it has met throughout the last year:

Elizabeth Bunga
Dan Delany
Phil Harris
Tobbe Hennby
Peyton Snead

Micah Baginski, Dave Brook, Sy Kornbrodt, and John Taylor have given special assistance on the Albina Fuel site issue. SGNA Chair, Colin James has not only served on the city's rewrite of the subdivision code, but kept informed of developments and given advice regarding the Albina Fuel site.