OLD TOWN/CHINATOWN VISIONS COMMITTEE REVIEW 2009

In the spring and summer of 2009, Old Town/Chinatown community members met in early morning meetings at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to review the function of the Old Town/Chinatown Visions Committee. Recommendations are to be reviewed by executive leadership of the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood and Business Association leadership, then the members of the Old Town Chinatown Visions Committee, the Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association and the Old Town Chinatown Business Association. If agreeable, this committee requests that all three groups officially adopt this report and its recommendations. These actions fundamentally change how the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood functions. Therefore, communication of these actions outside the neighborhood will also be necessary.

Visions Committee Review Committee Members: Monica Beemer Ed Blackburn Art DeMuro/Steve Robinson Kevin Diaz Fern Elledge Michael Gaeta Patrick Gortmaker Cynthia Haruyama David Hooff Pat Janik Louis Lee Rebecca Liu Anne Naito Campbell Mari Watanabe Howard Weiner Dorian Yee Stephen Ying Other meeting attendees included Alexander Mace, Father Bob Loughery, Jodie Jacobsen, Eric Robison, and Kate Wagle

Facilitator: Peter Englander

Why a Visions Review There was an emerging belief that it was time to review the Old Town/Chinatown Visions Plan: The Old Town/Chinatown Visions Plan1 (Visions Plan) calls for periodic review. The last review was 20032.

1 Old Town Chinatown Visions Plan, adopted by Portland City Council on December 10, 1997

1 Unlike when the Visions Plan was originally crafted, there has been continued strength of the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association over many years with active sub-committees such as Old Town Chinatown Communications Committee (publisher of the Old Town Crier), Arts/Culture/History, and Public Safety. These changes warranted thought about shifting responsibilities and decision-making in the neighborhood. The re-creation of a business association in the neighborhood3. A self-functioning Old Town/Chinatown entertainment community that has operated on its own, apart from the Visions Committee. Leadership succession questions. A need to review membership structure of and commitment to the neighborhood land use review responsibilities, typically handled in Portland by a neighborhood land use committee though split in Old Town/Chinatown between the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association and Visions Committee. The Block 25 land use recommendation decision making process had been confusing. Tensions during the process questioned whether communication and conflict resolution had been effective. Similar to the 2003 Visions/Development Plan review, continued questioning of roles and responsibilities of the Visions Committee in relation to these other neighborhood community groups. Significant progress in neighborhood revitalization since 2003, coupled with future public investment coming from the River District Urban Renewal Area, for which a River District Urban Renewal Advisory Committee has been has established by the Portland Development Commission. Currently, five of sixteen members on the River District Urban Renewal Area Committee represent Old Town/Chinatown interests 4. The Visions Committee served its intended purpose. Therefore, should the Visions Committee be dissolved?

All members of the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood were invited to participate in the proposed four step review process:

1. Strength/Weakness/Opportunities/Threats analysis 2. Parsing analysis – acknowledge what other groups are doing, support them in doing it and move away from the duplication (spend less time reviewing what the other groups are doing) 3. Re-define the Visions Committee role – Communication among all parties (what is coming up for people this month to discuss vs. what happened at other meetings, thus promoting the kind of communication articulated in the 1997 Visions Plan and 2003 Visions/Development Plan Update); participation in land use issues; review of neighborhood agreement approach, commitment to participate and motivation to honor them; advocating for Old Town/Chinatown priorities at Portland City Council, Portland Development Commission, and the Portland Business Alliance and other specific interest groups such as Historic Landmarks Commission.

2 Old Town/Chinatown Visions and Development Plan Update, January 2003 3 The Old Town/Chinatown Business Association was spawned out of the Visions Committee in 2004 and became a 50(c)(36) in 2007. The Historic Old Town Business Association had ceased to function in 2001 4 Five positions on the River District Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee are drawn from Old Town/Chinatown: The Neighborhood Association (2); Visions Committee (1); Business Association (1); and the Chinese Community (1).

2 4. Structure the organization – how matters will be handled - voting vs. true consensus, advanced dissemination of information, addressing matters that require immediate response (similar to the kind that was given to Land Use) only if they indeed require immediate response.

Strength/Weakness/Opportunities/Threats and Visions Plan Review Sessions included discussion about the Visions Committee as a group that had been meeting monthly, and the Visions Plan and Update documents.

Strengths identified included the diversity of its members, the equal recognition and mutual respect of all who participated, the “town hall” nature of the meetings and the reputation that Visions Committee was considered by many to be “the neighborhood meeting to attend” because quick updates from other meeting were always part of the agenda and future developments were always discussed. It was also believed that the unique nature of the Visions Committee set it apart from other neighborhoods in the city, a quality that helped raise the neighborhood’s visibility with City Council, the Portland Development Commission, the Portland Business Alliance5 and others.

Review of the Visions Plan brought agreement that the Visions Plan and Old Town/Chinatown Development Plan6 documents had been valuable references for orienting neighborhood newcomers, and had historically been a road map for making recommendations to the Portland Development Commission’s annual budget process. There was also agreement that portions of the Visions Plan document were outdated.

Weaknesses centered on the lack of a clear or consistent decision making process; for example, voting occurred sometimes and not other times. Therefore, it was unclear how a given decision or position would be reached. For instance, the final recommendation for the land use on Block 25 in North Old Town/Chinatown, including whether to locate both the Resource Access Center and Blanchet House on the block, was an example of how consensus may have been misrepresented. There was concern that the authority of the Visions Committee was misunderstood internally to the neighborhood, as well as externally. There was also concern that people may have different interpretations of the Visions Plan principles themselves (re-stated here on page 5).

While the meeting time of 2nd Wednesdays at 11: 30-1:00 is better for some, it was inconvenient for others, especially residents and restaurant owners. In addition to meeting times, there was a question as to whether the Visions Committee still had wide participation. Vigilance to ensure wide participation has not been consistent. Rather, the seriousness of a given issue in the neighborhood has driven participation. The strength of the Visions Committee is dependent upon whether all community stakeholders come and actively participate:

5 Referred to in previous Visions documents as the Association for Portland Progress. The Portland Business Alliance is the result of a merger between the Association for Portland Progress and the Portland Chamber of Commerce. 6 Old Town/Chinatown Development Plan, accepted by the Portland Development Commission and adopted by Portland City Council in December, 1999.

3 “The Vision Committee has no legal authority, such as the Neighborhood Association. Its influence is in its ability to represent all the stakeholders of the community and to proactively promote and update the adopted Vision and Development Plans.”7

Lastly, there was mention of whether the 1999 Old Town/Chinatown Development Plan needed updating, since public investment recommendations had used both the Visions Plan and Development Plan documents to justify project prioritization. Since future public investment will come from the River District Urban Renewal Area, any update, if needed, would likely involve the River District Urban Renewal Area and its advisory committee.

Threats to Visions Committee were the importance of strong leadership and stewardship for the principles of Visions to survive, and whether the Visions Committee has the same stature it once had, given the current strength and diverse representation at the Neighborhood Association, Business Association and River District Advisory Committee.

Public Safety was heavily discussed during Review Committee meetings. There was a belief that public safety was not being adequately addressed by the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association. Part of the resolution on how to address this was to increase involvement by more community and regular members of Visions.

Opportunities for the Visions Committee could include clear decision making protocols, renewed recognition and stewardship of the Visions Principles and Development Plan. There is also an opportunity for new leadership to step forward to continue the valued neighborhood town hall forum where all had equal standing. This format differs from the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association, which runs their monthly board meetings using a parliamentary process that allows only elected directors to vote.

The Review Committee felt strongly that stewardship of the Visions Plan principles is important. The Plan has not only been used as a roadmap in the priority of developments but also as a reference tool. The committee also felt that a strong Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association Public Safety Committee with broad participation was key to the success of the neighborhood. There was a discussion to look at changing the committee to the Livability Committee which would provide this group a large scope for areas of concerns such as public safety, public rest rooms, and emergency preparedness. .The combination of public safety and recognition of the time and energy required to manage the festival streets, currently performed by the Old Town/Chinatown Business Association, resulted in consideration of hiring paid staff once again (there had been paid staff in the 1990s under the former Historic Old Town Chinatown Business Association).

The Visions/Neighborhood Association Joint Land Use Committee resolved the housing balance question during consideration of a set-aside of housing resources at the Portland Development Commission. Other gentrification matters have not been addressed to date. Additional issues include the effectiveness of Good Neighbor Agreements, when they were required and the de-facto nature of the Visions Plan as a Good Neighborhood Agreement.

7 Old Town/Chinatown Visions and Development Plan Update, January 2003, page 5

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The Visions Committee town hall forum has indeed allowed all to speak equally. Thus, when a matter comes up, the Visions Committee could continue to be used for this purpose. This does take a commitment, however, from the Visions Committee leadership to take on issues and an agreeable Neighborhood Association to delegate these matters to the Visions format.

The Review Committee questioned whether a Joint Land Use Committee, which had 3 members each from the Neighborhood Association and the Visions Committee, continued to be the right approach. Some Review Committee members thought that a joint committee may result in a belief that there are differing objectives of the Visions Committee from the Neighborhood Association, recognized as a threat to the effectiveness of both groups.

The Review Committee discussed whether specific city agencies or policies should be part of future reviews and agreed that the changing nature of policies and committees change so quickly that it is better to address these on a case by case basis and not make them part of future documents. The one threat to the document was the effort it takes to keep a document updated – both the original plan and the update discussed annual review. No annual reviews have taken place, and each process to create the document, update it and now review it takes months and dedication of a group that has increasingly less time for reviews.

Throughout, the Review Committee agreed that the original Principles of the Visions Plan were important to uphold in some form or fashion, as well as a commitment of all to steward these principles regardless of the existence of a Visions Committee. The original principles are as follows:

The Solution: The solution to our conflicts involves all parties within the neighborhood coming together, and agreeing on the following principles:

We are a diverse area, and all of the diverse components of the community have a right to be in Old Town/Chinatown. We understand the area is heavily impacted by an environment of high drug trade, poor retail/business climate, limited mixed income housing, and the Region's highest concentration of social service providers. All parties agree on a need for an economic development plan as a means for a better environment in which both businesses and social service providers can prosper. This requires a balance, which is best achieved not by regulations but by the various parties working together, and communicating with each other. All parties need to go beyond the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood to achieve broader community support to carry out our vision for a better future. The various elements of the community (neighborhood associations, business associations, social service providers, missions, Chinese community, as well as groups outside the community such as the Portland Development Commission, the Association for Portland

5 Progress, etc.) need to work closely to promote the vitality of Old Town/Chinatown. Our work must be done in concert with the City and the County. We need their resources and their approval, so that our plan for Old Town/Chinatown is recognized as the vision of a united community.8

These principles fall into four themes: 1. This neighborhood is uniquely diverse. 2. It is important that those that live, work, own property and businesses and run organizations in Old Town/Chinatown honor this diversity by finding ways to work together for the benefit of the neighborhood. 3. It is important that Old Town/Chinatown succeed economically, including for all those who live here as well as those who work here. 4. The neighborhood benefits the most when it works closely with those outside Old Town/Chinatown that have influence and impact to Old Town/Chinatown.

The Review Committee addressed three topics that seemed to culminate the committee’s deliberations:

1. What actions could be recommended to eliminate confusion and improve neighborhood decision making? 2. Are there actions that should take place to maintain influence of the neighborhood to others making decisions impacting it (PDC Commission, City Hall, Multnomah County, etc)? 3. How should the principles of Visions live on, including the ability to have an open forum different than the structure of the neighborhood association.

After the Review Committee discussed the matters outlined above, it came to the following recommendations:

1. After a formal review and revision by a designated committee of the Neighborhood Association, recommend re-adoption of the Visions Principles by the Neighborhood Association, Business Association, and any other formally recognized group in Old Town/Chinatown, and do so annually: More effort needs to be invested in reaching out to all members of the community. The Visions principles help remind members of the community why there is a Visions Plan and how neighborhood members agreed to treat each other – a good neighborhood agreement.

2. Request that the Neighborhood Association use the „General Meeting‟ tool in their by-laws to convene the neighborhood in a “town hall” fashion when issues warrant a forum where

8 Old Town Chinatown Visions Plan, adopted by Portland City Council on December 10, 1997, Page 1-2

6 all have equal standing during the discussion. If the Neighborhood Association agrees to this, the Visions Committee will no longer hold a monthly meeting. It is up to the neighborhood chair whether and when votes are taken at a General Meeting9, or whether the temperature of a given issue then goes back to the Neighborhood Association for a vote. If the Neighborhood is not interested in performing this function, the Visions Committee may need to continue.

3. Expand the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association Public Safety Committee with a committee chair charged with overseeing public safety, emergency preparedness, public restrooms, good neighborhood agreement monitoring and drug & alcohol abuse. Visions Review Committee members were clear that reducing the number of monthly meetings is important in fostering clarity of roles in the neighborhood. Eliminating confusion was the primary reason for this and the following recommendations. However, the desire to have a town hall forum and a “place” where the principles of Visions live was still important to the Review Committee.

At these meetings, review of Visions Principles and discussion of livability could be standing agenda items, with facilitation that would preserve the town hall format. Broad participation would be sought to enrich discussion. Committee notes would then be reported to the Neighborhood Association.

4. Drive formal neighborhood decision-making towards the Neighborhood Association. The Committee agreed that the Visions Committee has been more effective in creating an equally accessible town hall, and less effective at neighborhood decision-making. Visions could continue to be a good place to hash out issues in depth where more time could be allotted than the busy neighborhood association meeting, and provide a “temperature reading” of neighborhood stakeholders. The town hall forum helps by providing an equal voice versus the board and non- board structure of the neighborhood association. However, neighborhood decisions should be made at neighborhood association meetings.

5. Use the Visions meeting time (second Wednesday) for the neighborhood Land Use & Development Planning Committee meeting: Eliminate the “Joint” in Land Use Committee: Suggest to the Neighborhood Association that the Land Use Committee become a committee of appointed members of the neighborhood association as done elsewhere, eliminating separate representation from Visions and as anyone in the neighborhood is considered part of the Neighborhood Association. The Land Use and Development Planning Committee will be comprised of seven official voting members under the Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association bylaws. All seven members of the Land Use and Development Planning Committee must be approved by confirmation vote of the Neighborhood Association Board and each member will serve for a staggered term of 2 years.

9 See Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association by-laws.

7 Each member of the Land Use and Planning Development Committee shall at all times be eligible for membership in the Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association. The Land Use and Development Planning Committee members will pick their own chair and co-chair. The Land Use and Development Planning Committee shall be granted Executive Authority over neighborhood land use decisions and operate under specific guidelines approved by the Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association. Any executive decision of the Land Use and Development Planning Committee may be appealed to the Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association Board of Directors for rehearing by any interested person or entity whose rights have been affected by the decision. Such decision may be reversed in full, reversed in part or remanded back to the Committee by a majority vote of the Board. Any action outside the approved guidelines will be null and void. Continue to use the Old Town/Chinatown Development Plan and principles from the Old Town/ Chinatown Visions Plan as a guide. Encourage Land Use leadership to delegate responsibility so the task of monitoring the myriad of land use issues does not fall upon one person, and others learn the intricacies of this important function.

6. Declare success in the Visions Plan recommendation to re-create a business association.

7. Coordinate representation at the River District Urban Renewal Advisory Committee: Since future public investment will be driven more by this advisory group, focus these efforts there, using the five-member representation on the sixteen-member advisory committee. Advocate to maintain the strong representation given the need for continued need for financial support. Coordination would take place at the Land Use & Development Planning Committee, along with any other PDC budget recommendations (such as continued recommendations about the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area).

8. Further discuss whether paid management of certain activities might be warranted: The neighborhood has had paid staff in the past. Maybe there are matters best handled by paid staff going forward.

8 APPENDIX

History and Background In 1997, the Old Town Chinatown community created a Visions Committee to bring together everyone having interest and involvement in the neighborhood to improve neighborhood-wide understanding and communication, and to work together to achieve the multiple neighborhood objectives. Difficult decisions had recently been made to locate a mental health facility at the Royal Palm, and the community was sure there was a better way to make these decisions and to relate with each other. The belief was that by creating a Visions Plan and a Visions Committee, mutually agreed upon principles could guide recommendations and decision making within the neighborhood instead of the decisions for the neighborhood being directed by the City of Portland, Multnomah County and/or the Portland Development Commission10. The 1997 Visions Plan report had the following overview and challenge:

“Overview: The Old Town/Chinatown Vision Statement represents the efforts of the people of the diverse Old Town/Chinatown community. We have come together to craft a vision of what we want the area to be, and how we propose to bring this vision about. Our intent is not only that we embrace this vision, but also that it be embraced by others in the City who have influence over what happens in this neighborhood. Consequently, we will be taking this vision to the City Council for their formal acceptance and so that they can incorporate it into their future work.

The Challenge: The past few years have been marked by conflict and mistrust among the various elements of the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood -the business community, the social service providers, the Chinese community, the retail and night life businesses. The problem came to a head over the siting of the Mental Health West facility at the Royal Palm Hotel. But there has been a long history of conflicts within our community; conflicts which have negatively impacted the vitality of the area, and which have harmed all of us. Appendix A sets forth a history of the community and of the ongoing debate about how to resolve these conflicts.”11

The Visions Plan report was adopted by Portland City Council on December 10, 1997. The Visions Committee was created not to replace the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association or the existing Historic Old Town Business Association, but to bolster those groups and bring them and the community based organizations together to one table.

10 The Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood has been part of the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area since 1974. Many decisions and public investments in real estate and public rights of way within the neighborhood had, and would continue to come from the Portland Development Commission. 11 Old Town Chinatown Visions Plan, adopted by Portland City Council on December 10, 1997.

9 In 1999 the Visions Committee worked with the Portland Development Commission to create an updated development plan - there had been many past plans used to guide public investment12. With a number of development projects completed or underway, the Visions Committee chose to combine a reinforcement of its objectives with a review and update to the 1999 Development Plan into the 2003 Old Town/Chinatown Vision-Development Plan Update. A small sub-committee of eight community members took on the following charge:

1. To evaluate the Vision and Development plans to determine what has been accomplished, what needs to be worked on, changed or included. 2. To define the on-going purpose and goals of the Vision Committee, and its relationship to the Neighborhood Association. 3. To propose the makeup and role of the Joint Land Use Committee 4. To ensure that the Vision Committee represents all facets of the community, and proactively reaches out to the community. 5. To address the issues that tend to divide the community: the diverse points of view in the neighborhood regarding gentrification, balance, and development versus historic preservation.

It was also during the 2003 Old Town/Chinatown Vision-Development Plan Update that the Joint Land Use and Design Review Committee was formed. This joint committee between the Visions Committee and the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association was made up of three voting representatives from the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association and three from the Visions Committee. The committee selected their own chair and was given executive authority to represent both the Neighborhood Association and Vision Committee on neighborhood land use issues. Any broader neighborhood issues such as gentrification, and balance were to be addressed by both the Neighborhood Association and Visions Committee at large.

During this time and through 2006, the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association grew stronger under consistent leadership and participation, mostly from property owners and neighborhood business leaders. In 2005, directed by the 2003 Old Town/Chinatown Vision-Development Plan Update and impending opening of the 3rd and 4th Avenue Festival Streets, the Visions Committee created a business development sub-committee which has since, and once more under consistent leadership, evolved into the re-creation of a business association; the Old Town/Chinatown Business Association. Additionally, a substantive effort lead by PDC and involving a number of public participation efforts culminated into the Ankeny Burnside Development Framework, adopted by the PDC Board in December, 2006. This development framework set the stage for substantial redevelopment on seven contiguous blocks, established a new home for Portland Saturday Market in Waterfront Park and Legacy Fountain.

In 2006, PDC led a North Old Town/Chinatown Redevelopment Feasibility Study which incorporated the development framework inclusive of a location for the long-supported expansion of the Blanchet House and a new Resource Access Center, an objective of the City’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness. In October, 2007, the neighborhood was pressured to locate both the Resource Access Center and Blanchet house onto one block, Block 25, at the northern end of New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District.

12 Old Town/Chinatown Development Plan, accepted by the Portland Development Commission and adopted by Portland City Council in December, 1999.

10 Block 25 was one of three primary blocks surrounding the Chinese Garden (Blocks 24 and 26) that made up the PDC primary study area that showed long term opportunity for new market rate development of housing, office and retail for the neighborhood.

In the middle of the North Old Town Redevelopment Feasibility study, the Portland Development Commission was considering policy to set aside 30% of all tax increment resources in each urban renewal area for affordable housing. The Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association/Visions Committee Joint Land Use and Design Review Committee was asked to come to agreement on a housing goal as requested in the 2003 Visions/Development Plan Update. The committee recommended, and the Portland Development Commission Board adopted a set-aside in the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area at the budget for current projects, a 22% set-aside, due to the amount of previous affordable housing investment in Old Town/Chinatown.13

The Joint Land Use and Design Review Committee took the lead on the Block 25 recommendation. After four months of intense discussion involving the Old Town/Chinatown community, Portland City Council commissioners and the Portland Development Commission Board, an agreement was reached to locate the Resource Access Center on other City-owned property at Broadway and Hoyt (Block U). The neighborhood supported an expanded Blanchet House on Block 25, leaving the balance of the block for future mixed use residential redevelopment as defined by the North Old Town Chinatown Redevelopment Study, adopted by the PDC Board in September, 2008, and supported by additional tax increment through the annexation of property, including Block 25, into the River District.

Though the process was very difficult, one positive outcome was the increased involvement by neighborhood residents, including condominium owners at Old Town Lofts and McCormick Pier, as well as artists from Everett Street Lofts and a renewed participation from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA). This is the very reason that the Visions Plan was put into place, it was tested again and though difficult, the outcome was ultimately positive.

13 See Joint Visions Committee Letter dated January 10, 2007

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