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She pointed out that TriMet’s #12 bus line serves Northeast Sandy Boulevard, but for much of the boulevard’s length there is no easy or safe way to cross. “There’re no sidewalks, nor are there likely to be, but development is going in,” she said.
A more extreme problem is a series of new developments planned on Northeast 152nd Avenue. Right now, McKnight said, parked cars on both sides of the narrow street make it impossible for emergency vehicles to get through. In addition, the road dead-ends at a former orchard that the community is trying to preserve as open space. “If that happens, these houses will have no other access,” she said.
Driving through the Argay neighborhood, Smith noted the lack of yards, and Manning said the area had some “livability” issues.
Later, Planning Commission members agreed something needs to happen in Mid-county, although they were unsure of what.
Hanson said, “There are a lot of quality pockets here, but there’s no connection. With higher density, we need to know what will be next to it.” He also commented on the lack of streets.
Chris Caruso, an architect, said, “There’s no cohesive design. It’s mishmash — there’s no overall plan for how the area is supposed to develop — there’re lots of flag lots and intermediate streets.”
Smith said the area reminded him of “what areas of Philadelphia looked like 100 years ago, before they were successfully urbanized. We need more strategy, where are the centers and parks? Zoning is not the answer. We need better design for row houses. There are a lot of developers standing in line to do work out here, so we have leverage to make them do things, like build parks. We can create safe public spaces that don’t need community policing to be safe because you have eyes on the street. But you can’t have urban centers without density.”
Stevens said, “I had no idea there had been so much development here. There was a lot that didn’t fit in. It’s not easily solved by zoning. The big thing is this was once rural, and densification is causing it to change. You don’t have a sense of cohesiveness.”
Portland City Planning Commission member Larry Hilderbrand said, “I was surprised at the amount of growth in this part of the city. I saw diverse problems that no one, two or ten solutions will solve. It’s hard to foresee things. It seems that every time you create a planning solution, you create a planning problem. The green canopy is disappearing, but we need to weigh that against (the need for) housing, industry, and (problems caused by) over-regulation. We need to weigh these things.” Addressing the neighborhood volunteers he said, “We need to hear from you guys, which means we have to ask you.”
Planning Commission Chair Paul Schlesinger said, “Speaking for the whole commission, I want to thank Bonny and others for inviting us to this tour and showing us what’s been done here. The good, the bad and the ugly were all represented. We saw the things that did and didn’t make sense. This was a perfect way of going out, getting into the neighborhoods, and seeing what’s needed. I thank you for time well spent.”
After the tour, the commission and city staff feasted on a buffet prepared by Wilkes Community Group Chair Ross Monn. Schlesinger later commented, “We now know the Planning Commission does travel as long as it’s fed. This is no slight to Joan (Hamilton, commission secretary), who gives us water and peanuts.”
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