To: The Land Use Hearings Officer

From: Lynne Coward

1427 NE 17^th Ave. (Lot #1)

Re: LU 07-166143 AP

Date: December 19, 2007

My comments are offered as the owner of Lot #1 in the subdivision approved in 1996, and, as the recent land use chair for the Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association. It is in the latter capacity that I have gained a particular perspective on this case.

I purchased my row house in September of ’98. Of importance was the high quality of architectural design and the fact that the developer had a plan for the entire block. Each unit had its own design that fit into a whole. The features were urban and of a pedestrian scale and detail.

As more buyers emerged I realized that this block of ours was becoming a truly special place. We had all bought in wanting to become part of the urbanization going on in Portland. The alleyway in the block became a meeting place and the residents developed a strong sense of connection to each other and to place. Gordon Oliver of the “Oregonian” wrote a two-page article about the transition our block represented. The AIA came out for a tour of an exemplary development. The police have commented on the low level of crime here.

Upon becoming land use chair in 2000, I learned about the neighborhood plan. That plan was developed by tireless residents who went through all the “wickets” to develop the plan and, in 1987, to gain its adoption into the city’s Comprehensive Plan. It is my belief that that plan and the continued attention given to new development were most important in the revival of Sullivan’s Gulch---turning around the neighborhood’s earlier reputation and making it so desirable today.

The staff report totally ignores the Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Plan. That plan describes our block as a “transition” between the higher density of the Lloyd District to the west and the neighborhood core to the east. Seven stories is not a transition between the four stories of the Lloyd Place Apartments directly west of lot #8 and the two-story single family homes on the east side of NE 17^th Ave. Maintenance of this “buffer” is critical to protecting the single-family core from encroachment. I note that Holladay Park Plaza owns several parcels east of NE 17^th.

The 1996 subdivision plan is the outcome of strong neighborhood attention and a cooperative development team. The result was approval all around.

The staff report seems to miss the significance of taking the block as a whole—the relationship among the buildings and the dependence of one upon the other. The applicant is definitely not addressing relationship. In fact, they are proposing a building more connected with the “parent” building across the street than anything on our block. At least the earlier permitted building included designs that referenced features of the existing row houses.

Had Pacific Retirement Services wanted to develop a building within the envelope of the previously approved plans, our block would probably have had no objections. But in going for a significantly larger building, PRS’s move suggested to us that we needed to learn more about the past land use reviews for our block. For this we engaged Michael Harrison. Mr. Harrison provided a written initial review of the files and what he saw as our situation. Aware now of the provisions in the ’96 subdivision approval, we see those provisions now as our base----going-in position.

I have served as a point person for the block, but am not its representative. Residents from ten of the homes on the block have communicated their general support for maintaining the ’96 provisions. Several of them will either be testifying today or sending written testimony.

For myself, I am asking that the integrity of the ’96 decision be maintained by not allowing the phrase “substantial conformance” to be removed from the development on block #8. I would like to see the “96 decision reaffirmed, as well as those parts of the “98 decision for which we received proper notice.

Thank you for your consideration.