Far SW Neighborhood Association s1

Far SW Neighborhood Association Minutes January 27, 2015

Marcia Leslie called the meeting to order. Neighbors were asked to introduce themselves. Neighbors who signed in: Virginia Hendrickson, Peter Johnson, George Vranas, Venita Davis, Gary Whitney, Ned Devereaux, John Prutsman, Jerry Paul, Don & Pauletta Robert- son, Jeremiah Stromberg, Jeff Clark, Wayne Person, Bud & Denise Jeffords, Michael & Marcy Brillman, Sheila Logan, Steve Beining, Gene Hammond, Marcia Leslie. Marcia introduced our guest, Bruce Goldson of Theta LLC, a planner retained by the builder, Mr. Labonsky, who will discuss the recent developments on the Haines St. lots. A new application was submitted on January 2 that would divide the property into three lots, replacing the application for four lots that was withdrawn in September in response to issues raised by the residents of the neighborhood. Lots range from 12,956 s.f. to 16,970 s.f. but are divided in a way that further lot splits would not be possible. At this time there is no description of structures that will be built on the lots. It is unclear whether the existing covenants, which in addition to other limitations restrict building height, will be honored. Easement arrangements with the 6035 Gunther property for stormwater drainage have not been finalized.

The new application is in the review process, and any further litigation will be delayed because Mr. Labonsky has replaced counsel for the second time.

A further concern is drainage issues. Mr. Goldson reports that Mr. Labonsky has met with the city to discuss stormwater drainage. There is some uncertainty about the source of the drainage issues. If the drainage source is from a private system rather than stormwater, the City will not be involved. There is a possibility that the drainage comes from PCC, and the planned rain garden project at PCC hopefully will resolve this problem. The city has approved no curbs or sidewalks with the new Haines construction, since that would further impede stormwater drainage.

The September meeting minutes were approved.

Committee Reports:

SWNI Board: Marcia Leslie The SWNI Board continues to review the Comprehensive Plan and has entertained motions from the Transportation, Land Use and Parks Committees for suggested modifications, including changing neighborhood center designations to neighborhood corridor, i.e. Multnomah Village. Another concern has been parking and safety concerns at the Fred Meyer gas station being constructed on Barbur. Watershed Resource funding has been restored and in the future may have a designated committee in the SWNI structure. The issue of minority involvement was discussed and SWNI voted to join the "Intertwine" which helps organizations create an equity strategy for their group. Jen Seamans of the Water- shed Resource Council reports that in the SWNI Neighborhoods, 24% of public school students are of color and 20% qualify for reduced or low cost lunches. In the Markham school there are 13 different languages. The ONI Neighborhood Summit, “In it Together” on Feb. 28 will address issues of equity and inclusion.

Public Safety: Marcia Leslie The Community Policing event in October was well attended. A new Crime Prevention Specialist has been named, Jenni Pullen. Jenni will replace Stephanie Adams who has 2 moved to a new position. The Deputy District Attorney, assigned to the SW area, Laurie Abraham, is retiring and Jenna Plank has been named as her successor. There are three proposals for grant applications from the Public Safety Committee: Safe Routes to Schools/ Sunday Parkways; Safety Vigils; NET Training.

Land Use: Nick Merrill The Land Use committee has been focused on Comprehensive Plan issues. Nick who, in his role as a Land Use attorney, has been retained by Haines St. residents as legal counsel, engaged with the concerned Haines Street residents in further discussion of the Haines Street lot development issues.

Parks: Virginia Hendrickson The Parks Replacement Bond passed. The bond will provide budget stabilization to prevent cuts, but there will be no additional money. Parks has been gathering community input to determine priorities for funding of projects in two categories: one-time budget issues, and on-going and unfunded budget issues. The Parks Committee has addressed issues of concern related to the Comprehensive Plan. In addition, discussions have focused on the Willamette Greenway route through Willamette Park which is likely to have an increase in cycle traffic when the Sellwood Bridge opens, and Google’s proposed “Fiber Huts” on Terwilliger Parkway (this may now be a non-issue, since Portland was not selected for Google’s implementation).

Transportation: Wes McMullen Wes was not present to provide a report.

Old Business:

SWCP: From March through July the focus will be on the PCC area transportation issues, OHSU has been the focus in the fall and winter. Noelle Dobson of Metro will attend our March meeting.

Petition re: 53rd Street Cut-and-Fill Tunnel: Marcia has prepared a petition that neighbors may sign if they object to the proposed 53rd Street tunnel for Light Rail.

Tree Code: The Tree code went into effect on January 2. For a summary of the Tree Code go to SWNI.org/Crestwood.

New Business:

Bylaws: The ONI template has been completed and each Neighborhood Association will need to revise their bylaws in accordance with the revised template. George Vranas, Nick Merrill and Marcia will undertake this task.

City Surplus Properties: Far SW has one identified surplus property, the water tank on Buddington. New policy calls for transfers of surplus properties to the Park Bureau when the property is adjacent to a park, which is not the case for the Buddington water tank.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 24, 2015.