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The Portland Design Commission last month essentially sent developer Andy Kelly back to the drawing boards on two projects. Members of the commission found too little ground floor usage, other than the entrance to parking, for the Annex in Gateway, a five-story, 87-unit apartment building slated for 232 N.E. 97th Ave. The commission also felt the structure was too massive and out of character with the area; one member compared it to “a mountain chalet.” The commission also reviewed plans by Kelly for a 100-unit, six-story project at 206 N.E. 102nd Ave. Kelly had proposed to make the development less imposing by breaking it up into two structures, but the commission felt he had not gone far enough in this direction. They also felt that it did not relate well enough to Northeast 102nd Avenue. The session was an optional design advisory session requested by Kelly, a sort of dry run before he submits a formal application.
Despite opposition Red Apple may receive license
Due to opposition from the Wilkes Community Group, the new Red Apple Bar and Grill will have some barriers, not necessarily insurmountable, to obtaining a liquor license.
Wilkes went on record in September as opposing a license for the new establishment at 16126 N.E. Sandy Blvd. based on owner David L. Thompson’s experience as proprietor of a tavern at 6416 N.E. Killingsworth St., in the Cully neighborhood, according to Wilkes Chair Ross Monn. In a letter to Kimberly Mark-Villela of the Portland Liquor License Program, Monn said that in Cully, “Northeast Precinct has repeatedly responded to calls regarding drug activity both inside and outside the premises. There have been numerous incidents of assault, gang activity, gunshots being fired, and a near-fatal assault of a Portland police officer on their property.
“The Wilkes community has no need or desire to see history repeated in the neighborhood.”
According to Monn, Thompson was invited to the September meeting but failed to show up. He did attend the October Wilkes meeting and declared that the Red Apple would be a “family-oriented establishment.” Monn had his doubts. He noted that a floor plan submitted by Thompson showed most of the Red Apple’s 70 seats at the bar, that it will have two pool tables and numerous video poker machines, and that the entire premises will be adults only. “That doesn’t seem very family-oriented to me,” Monn said.
According to Michael Boyer of the city’s Liquor Licensing Program, the city and the Portland Police Bureau will declare “no endorsement” for the application based on community opposition to it. This does not necessarily mean no license to dispense. The staff of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which has authority over liquor dispensing in Oregon, sometimes recommends approval for licenses despite opposition from local jurisdictions. The agency’s appointed board has been known to ignore both the city’s and its own staff in granting and renewing licenses.
East Precinct Commander Mike Crebs said that, contrary to reports, he was not a supporter of the proposed new Red Apple Bar and Grill. “I started out being opposed to this, but after talking to the owners I’ve moved to a position of being neutral.” The elements that impressed him were the thoughtfulness that went into the design of the bar and particularly the presence of windows, the fact that there will be no live music, a full menu provided, and that the applicants were investing their own money into the business, which they will also operate. He urged Wilkes neighborhood residents to “keep an open mind” about the enterprise.
Adventist prevails on station signal
Portland Adventist Medical Center appears to have won in its bid for the city to install a new traffic signal on Southeast Main Street at 96th Avenue, and for TriMet to pay for it as part of its I-205 Light Rail Project.
Adventist had argued that traffic from the station’s 400-space park and ride lot would overload the intersection. TriMet had originally taken the position that the intersection was so close to failure already that it would eventually need a signal anyway, and therefore they shouldn’t be held responsible for providing one. Adventist had threatened to fight the decision, appealing a land use review process for the station if necessary. To avoid this, TriMet’s Permits Coordinator Alonzo Wertz requested that the hearing be postponed from Sept. 28 to Oct. 31 to allow for more negotiations. City Hearings Officer Gregory Frank, who had already granted one delay in the process because he found the public notice of the hearing deficient, granted this one as well.
At mid month Wertz told the Memo that TriMet agreed to pay for the new signal.
The Hazelwood Neighborhood Association’s Linda Robinson, a member of the project’s citizen advisory committee, agreed with Adventist on this issue. “Just because they’re building a new emergency room down the street doesn’t mean TriMet has to provide them with business,” she told the Memo.
Robinson had another concern, so far unmet. She has called for the lot to have two entrances to relieve traffic congestion. TriMet has resisted, since a second entrance would require a second crossing of the new light rail MAX tracks.
Hazelwood HydroPark meeting Nov. 9
There will be a planning meeting for improvements to the new Hazelwood HydroPark at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, Northeast 117th Avenue and Holladay Street. The topics are plans for a horseshoe pit that volunteers may install pro bono and whether to add a community garden to the park.
Oregon Clinic Open House
The new Oregon Clinic corporate headquarters at the Gateway Transit Center will hold a grand opening and open house from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 9. The open house will include tours of the new clinic, free food and possible notable-people appearances. The last could include you.
Cascade Station update
The Portland Development Commission hired the firm Grubb and Ellis to market office development at the 120-acre “urban village” east of Portland International Airport on the MAX light rail red line. Current plans call for construction of 1.2 million square feet of office space on the south and west ends of the project. An IKEA facility is under construction on the east end of the property, a Costco Home Store will open in the center, and there should be an additional 800,000 square feet of retail space in the middle. The Trammell Crow, Bechtel and Charter Oak companies are handling the retail component, staffer Bruce Allen told the PDC. There are plans for two hotels, he said.
In answer to commission questions, Allen said that PDC is selling the office land to developers. Asked if it would be possible for PDC to hang on to the property and simply lease it, he said that this would mean restructuring of the development agreement, but that it could be done. Commission Chair Mark Rosenbaum speculated that the proposed arrangement could provide PDC with a long-term income stream that could pay for additional improvements to the area.
“It will only become more valuable over time,” Rosenbaum said.
League holds meeting on neighborhood study
The League of Women Voters will present its study of Portland neighborhood associations and hold a panel of discussions on its conclusions at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Multnomah County administration building, 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. The panel will include Hazelwood Neighborhood Association Chair Arlene Kimura. Other members present will include Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program Chair Paul Leistner, JoAnne Bowman of the African-American Chamber of Commerce, Linnton Neighborhood Association volunteer Pat Wagner, and Brian Hoop of the Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement. The study represents a year of research into the Portland neighborhood system by the league.
Small Grant application deadline extended
The Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement has extended to Dec. 1 the deadline for applications for its Small Grants program.
Grants of up to $5,000 are available for projects that “build organizational capacity, attract new and diverse membership, and sustain those already involved in their organizations.” The grants are available to all community groups, but all applicants are encouraged to “establish partnerships between neighborhood associations and under-represented community-based organizations.”
City Council allocated $200,000 for the program citywide. The East Portland Neighborhood Office, which will supervise the awarding of grants in this area, has received $37,724, the second-largest amount among the seven neighborhood offices, as its share. To learn how to apply visit: www.portlandonline.com/oni/, click the “2006-07 Neighborhood Small Grants Program” tab.
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