DRAFT
Cully Association of Neighbors General Meeting Tuesday October 10, 2017
Grace Presbyterian Church, 6025 NE Prescott.
Board Members Present: Laura Young, David Sweet, Jake Antles and Mac McKinlay.
Welcome and Introductions: Members were welcomed and board introduced themselves.
Additional Agenda Items: Erwin Bergman said he was told that he would be included in the agenda. He was granted time to present an announcement.
Agenda Approved.
Announcements from the Floor:
Jake Antles – Community Caring Day at Oak Leaf Mobile Home Park 10/28, NE Killingsworth and 45th. Volunteer opportunities to help improve Oak Leaf grounds 9am-noon, noon-2, 2-4.
Marilee Dea – Stand Together Under One Roof 10/14 9am-3pm Rose City Park Presbyterian Church NE 45th and Hancock (by Sandy). Diverse presentations from social, racial and environmental groups.
Andrew Pritchard- Take a stand against the Oregon Air National Guard expanded flight maneuvers. They are damaging health and our communities.
Erwin Bergman presented a draft letter for Board to the Chief Operating Officer of Portland Airport opposing the increased Air National Guard flights. Gave a brief history of flights and community opposition since 2000. Explained that he was not going through CNAC (Citizen Noise Advisory Committee) because it only represents counties, not neighborhoods most affected.
Future of Broadmoor Golf Course Land: Presented by Bob Salinger, Conservation Director of Audubon Society of Portland. Talk focused on the ecological values of the Broadmoor land, the history of efforts to preserve or expand those values and specific comments on the proposal brought to CAN last month by Don Mazziotti to industrialize the land as part of a complex scheme to help alleviate the housing crisis.
a) How does a golf course have ecological value? It provides significant open space, needed in NE Portland. It contains two arms of the Columbia Slough, identified by Portland and Metro as a habitat of value. It is home to a large number of native animals, including some threatened species. It contains a rich canopy of hundreds of large trees. It is adjacent to habitat restoration sites on three sides. It is a major connector and corridor between local ecosystem components. Thus it provides natural, educational and community opportunities.
b) Historical context – Oregon’s 20-year Plan notes the diminishing amount of industrial land, and requires industrial lands acreage in Portland not be reduced below a certain point. Industrial developers have used this requirement to put limits on Portland’s tree planting plan, to prevent nature preservation on Hayden Island and to convert golf courses into industrial sites. In the formulation of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan, alternative strategies to the conversion of golf courses to industry were (1) cleaning up old brownfields (sites damaged by previous industry) for industry, (2) make better use of existing industrial land and (3) prohibit the conversion of existing industrial land into commercial areas. In the case of Broadmoor, the City decided to convert the land fronting on Columbia Blvd. to industrial and preserve the rest as natural. However, a deal was almost finalized, under pressure from the owner to industrialize the entire site. This possibility was eliminated due to a large public outcry. Audubon believes it will probably be necessary eventually for Portland to seek a waiver from the State’s industrial acreage requirement.
c) The Homer Williams plan to somehow convert industrial sites in other parts of Portland to residential land in tandem with the conversion of the Broadmoor land to industrial, which has not yet been formally submitted as a request to the City, will have to be opposed strongly by citizens and neighborhoods if it is to overcome financial interests. One important aspect of the conflict is the importance of jobs. It was pointed out that an increase in both industry and transportation has not led to increased employment. Unemployment continues to rise. Also much of the so-called industrial land is currently being used or converted to warehouses and marijuana plantations, both of which offer minimal employment.
Many questions and suggestions were received. Guests from Sunderland Neighborhood presented arguments against the industrialization proposal and discussed how they could be most effective in conjunction with CAN and CNN.
Portland Bureau of Transportation: Anne Hill presented the history and relationship between Portland’s Local Transportation Infrastructure Charge (LTIC) and the Neighborhood Streets Program (NSP).
The LTI Charge on developments that increase street use was developed to help pay for improvements on Portland’s 250 miles of unimproved and under-improved streets. The money would be used for the Neighborhood Streets Program. However, the plan is somewhat unrealistic because of the high cost of improvements (about $1.6 billion for the entire 250 miles). Also PBOT surveys indicated that there is a lack of correspondence between the locations of fee paying and actual need for improvements, and a prohibitive inability of the developments to pay the high LTIC.
PBOT’s answers to some of the problems involved creative street improvement projects and a restructuring of the LTIC. Non-standard street design is promoted. Regular grading and pot-hole filling for gravel streets rather than paving is used. And an open-ended methodology for selecting street improvement projects is used:
Strategy
Pro-active approach to projects
Repeatable process for future funding cycles
A short list of neighborhood street projects
Process
Step 1. Equity – Under-served populations
Step 2. Effectiveness – Neighborhood access
Step 3. Efficiency – Project readiness
In addition, a financial cap is placed on the LTI Charge for each category of development (R5, R7, R10, R20). This will reduce the income received, but that loss should be partially compensated by the fact that more developments will be able to begin and pay the lower LTIC.
Acceptance of General Meeting Minutes Taken September 12, 2017. After noting correction, Marilee Dea moved to approve the minutes, second Andrew Pritchard. Motion carried.
CNN Report, Travis Niemann, Marilee Dea: A Community Café will be held October 12th, 5:30-7:30pm at IRCO Asian Family Center. CNN unanimously opposed the Air National Guard expanded continuous descent approach.
Board Report, Jake Antles: Alma Velasquez is leaving the CAN Board. She will stay on as newsletter Editor. There is an open position, and interested parties should inform a Board member. Laura stated the election will be held at the next CAN General meeting.
Land Use Report, David Sweet: Living Cully Plaza, 6729 NE Killingsworth, now owned by Hacienda CDC, will include community space, retail shops and 153 affordable housing units.
There will be a meeting on October 17, 7-9pm at Cully Grove Common House, 4779 NE Going to discuss the future of Living Cully Plaza. In addition, Nan Stark will discuss the Residential Infill Project.
There will be an Open House with dinner at Living Cully Plaza October 27, 6-8pm.
Old Business: Laura Hallett (see below) will attend the CNN Crime and Safety meeting for CAN October 11th.
New Business: Laura Hallett, manager of Arbor Mobile Home Park, has been dealing with motor homes left in street parking spaces in violation of City code. She has had success in getting them removed by photographing the vehicles, notifying Abandoned Autos, (503) 823-7309 and telling the vehicle owners of her action.
Loretta Guzman, owner/manager of the Bison Café was introduced, noting her work on indigenous service projects.
Next CAN General Member Meeting, November 14, 2017
Next CAN Board Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Adjournment: David Sweet moved to adjourn the meeting, second by Mac McKinlay. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted by Mac McKinlay