Existing Conditions Report Economic and transportation studies under separate covers April 2003 Bureau of Planning City of Portland, Oregon To help ensure equal access to information, the City of Portland Bureau of Planning offers accommodation to persons with disabilities. Call 503.823.7700 in advance to arrange for accommodation. TTY: 503.823.6868 Acknowledgments Portland City Council Vera Katz, Mayor Jim Francesconi, Commissioner Dan Saltzman, Commissioner Erik Sten, Commissioner Randy Leonard, Commissioner Portland Planning Commission Ethan Seltzer, President Richard Michaelson, Vice President Ingrid Stevens, Vice President Ernie Bonner (through January 2003) Amanda Fritz Larry Hilderbrand Paul Schlesinger Ronald Sykes Portland Bureau of Planning Vera Katz, Commissioner-in-Charge Gil Kelley, Planning Director Joe Zehnder, Principal Planner St. Johns/Lombard Plan Staff Bureau of Planning Barry Manning, Project Manager Ellen Wax (Project Manager through November 2001) Troy Doss, City Planner Marguerite Feuersanger, City Planner Julia Gisler, City Planner (through January 2003) Elizabeth-Anne Riis (through July 2002) Office of Transportation Rich Newlands, Transportation Planner Mauricio Leclerc, Transportation Intern St. Johns/Lombard Plan Consultant Team Lennertz Coyle & Associates, LLC DKS Associates E.D. Hovee & Company Ellen Vanderslice St. Johns/Lombard Plan Citizen Working Group Jane Bogus, St. Johns Neighborhood Association Stephen Duh, Member-at-large Gerry Howard, St. Johns Boosters Elizabeth Humphrey, Member-at-large Tom Kloster, Member-at-large Peter Laughingwolf, Friends of Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association (through January 2003) Paul Maresh, University Park Neighborhood Association Rick Merck, Member-at-large Trevor Nelson, St. Johns Neighborhood Association (through July 2002) Patt Opdyke, The Community Association of Portsmouth Erik Palmer, Friends of Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association Barbara Quinn, Member-at-large Steve Weir, North Portland Business Association Laura Woodruff, Member-at-large St. Johns/Lombard Plan Technical Advisory Committee Tom Bouillion, Port of Portland Rich Butcher, Bureau of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Laurel Butman, Office of Management and Finance Mary Carroll, Multnomah County Carolyn Sharp, Bureau of Environmental Services Matt Emlen, Office of Sustainable Development Dave Evonuk, Bureau of Water Works Kerry Hampton, Portland Public Schools Carol Herzberg, Portland Development Commission Ross Kevlin, Oregon Department of Transportation Steve Kountz, Bureau of Planning Pamela Kambur, Housing Authority of Portland Irvin McGeachy, Bureau of Police Tony Mendoza, TriMet Tim O’Brien, Metro Judy Sanders, Bureau of Housing and Community Development Nan Stark, Bureau of Development Services Lewis Wardrip, Portland Office of Transportation David Yamashita, Bureau of Parks and Recreation Contents Chapters Title Page 1 Introduction 1 2 Policy Parameters 7 3 History and Urban Form 17 4 Demographics 45 5 Land Use 61 6 Housing 81 7 Transportation 87 8 Economic Conditions 89 9 Environment 91 10 Public Facilities and Services 107 11 Community Organizations 131 12 Previous Plans and Studies 137 Maps Title Page 1 St. Johns/Lombard Plan Boundary 2 2 Portland Heritage Trees 42 3 Existing Comprehensive Plan 67 4 Existing Land Use 76 5 Age of Structures 77 6 Improvements to Total Value 78 7 Environmental Resources 92 8 Potential Flood Hazard Areas 102 9 Potential Landslide Hazard Areas 103 10 Relative Earthquake Hazard Areas 104 11 Parks 113 Figures Title Page 1 Planning Process Flow Chart 4 2 Land Use Planning Structure 7 3 Total Population 50 4 Study Area Age Breakdown 52 5 Adjusted Median Income 54, 85 6 Study Area Educational Attainment 55 7 Median Gross Monthly Rents 85 8 Crime Statistics, Assault 120, 121 9 Crime Statistics, Robbery 121 10 Crime Statistics, Auto Theft 122 11 Crime Statistics, Burglary 123 12 Crime Statistics, Drug Abuse 124 Tables Title Page 1 Population, by Neighborhood 50 2 Race and Ethnicity 51 3 Race and Ethnicity, by Neighborhood 51 4 Hispanic Population 51 5 Age of Population 52 6 Number of Households 53 7 Average Number of Persons Per Household 53 8 Single Parent Families 53 9 Median Household Income 54 10 Household Income, by Neighborhood 54 11 Educational Attainment 55 12 Occupations 56 13 Transportation to Work, by Neighborhood 57 14 Number of Housing Units 82 15 Housing Units in Structure Type 82 16 Housing Unit Occupancy Status 83 17 Housing Units, by Tenure 83 18 Age of Housing 83 19 Median Value of Housing Units 84 20 Median Gross Monthly Rents 84 21 Park Facilities 110 22 Crime Statistics 120 Existing Conditions 1. Introduction What Is the St. Johns/Lombard Plan? The St. Johns/Lombard planning process is designed to explore the features that make St. Johns and Lombard Street great places. The process will also look at issues affecting the area now, and develop strategies to increase the long-term vitality of the area so that they become better places in the future. The process entails a comprehensive study that will examine and analyze land use, transportation, economic conditions, infrastructure and community facilities and services in the study area. Ultimately, strategies will be adopted to implement the community’s vision for the area as well as the Region 2040-based town center and main street concepts. Part of the planning process includes an evaluation of the existing Portland Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan map designations, and a recommendation for amendments to promote compact, efficient, mixed-use, transit-supportive, and pedestrian friendly development. Transportation planning activities will include circulation and congestion management analyses. Strategies for improving transportation access and circulation for all travel modes—pedestrian, bike, transit and auto—will be developed, as will strategies for balancing parking needs. A broad-based public participation process and program of coordinated technical/interested agency involvement is in progress. Final plan products include an implementation strategies report and a proposed St. Johns/Lombard Plan that includes proposed map and text amendments to the Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan. The Portland City Council will review the proposals for adoption. Why Plan for St. Johns and Lombard Street Now? St. Johns and Lombard Street are important places in Portland’s urban fabric with great historic value and many community amenities. Both places are valued by the community and have the potential to become even more vibrant places in the coming years. St. Johns and Lombard Street are highlighted in the Region 2040 Growth Concept for their importance within the city and the region, based on location, accessibility, and existing development patterns. The Region 2040 Growth Concept designates Lombard as a ‘main street’ and St. Johns as a ‘town center.’ The designations mean that the areas are appropriate for mixed-use development and greater transportation facility and service options. (See Chapter 2, Policy Parameters, for more information.) Existing Conditions Report 1 Project Boundary The St. Johns/Lombard plan area includes the St. Johns town center (downtown St. Johns, the hillside of Cathedral Park, and the Willamette riverfront), and North Lombard Street from Columbia Park to downtown St. Johns. (See Figure 1 below) The area encompasses parts of the Friends of Cathedral Park, the Community of Portsmouth, St. Johns, and University Park neighborhoods. Together, these four neighborhoods are often referred to as the ‘peninsula.’ Map 1: St. Johns/Lombard Plan Boundary Existing Conditions Report 2 Purpose of this Report The information compiled in this report will guide the development and implementation strategies of the St. Johns/Lombard Plan. This report includes information on existing land use, demographics, transportation system, and community facilities and services in the St. Johns/Lombard plan area. It also includes information on policies that will influence the planning process, economic and market conditions, relevant planning issues, and community organizations serving the area. Planning Process The Bureau of Planning initiated the St. Johns/Lombard Plan in the fall of 2001. The process includes a citizen and technical agency participation program that will be ongoing throughout the entire project and will parallel specific project phases, tasks and products. The project process is represented graphically in Figure 2 on the next page. The first phase of the project focuses on collecting information about existing conditions in the study area. A vision and design phase overlaps the existing conditions work, and brings together members of the community and technical experts to discuss ideas about how the area should develop in the future. This phase of the project will culminate in development of an urban design concept at community workshops that will draw participation from a broad spectrum of interested parties. After this, the proposed urban design concept will be analyzed to determine what types of opportunities and constraints to development the proposal raises. Then, a further round of analysis and input from citizen and technical advisors will take place and strategies will be developed to implement the preferred concepts. These strategies will be included in the proposed St. Johns/Lombard Plan that will be reviewed by the Portland Planning Commission in the summer of 2003. The Planning Commission’s recommended St. Johns/Lombard Plan will be presented to City