Santa knows who's naughty or nice

Developer Wally Remmers probably wants a permit for Christmas. Click here to watch the city's progress on his building plans for Beaumont Village; once the permit is issued we can file the LUBA appeal. That is, unless Remmers decides to give us a Christmas present and withdraws or sufficiently modifies the project.

Richmond neighbors get a nod from LUBA

Overcoming a motion to dismiss from the developers and the city of Portland, which issued the permit, to deny their appeal of a parking-less building in their midst, Richmond Neighbors for Responsible Growth will get to make their case in front of the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

As the story says, the fight is far from over, but this is an encouraging sign. Read more here.

Alameda steps up

We appreciate help from all over; this letter from our neighbors to the south encourages us in our fight against the city's approval of badly planned developments such as the one proposed for Northeast Fremont.

Thank you!

Alameda Neighborhood Association

3118 NE 32nd Avenue

Portland, OR  97212

November 2, 2012

Jean Hester 

Bureau of Development Services

1900 SW 4th Ave, Ste 5000

Portland, OR 97201

Dear Ms. Hester,

 The Alameda Neighborhood Association Board of Directors supports the efforts of the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association opposing the construction of a fifty-unit residential structure at 4423 NE Fremont Street without on-site space for parking of tenant vehicles.

 Without on-site parking, thirty or forty vehicles will be added to the already overburdened on-street parking spaces nearby.  Beyond inconvenience, noise, and pollution, the added congestion will result in increased traffic hazards for pedestrians and drivers.  Negative impacts can be expected on businesses and current residents in the area.

 Although City regulations do not currently mandate off-street parking spaces for residential structures, the City has a broad responsibility to ensure the public safety and economic security of its citizens and business-owners.  Allowing new development at the expense of those already committed to the surrounding neighborhood is highly inappropriate.  A conscientious developer would work with the neighborhood to eliminate anticipated difficulties.

 BWNA's concerns are well-founded and appropriate.  The members of BWNA are rightly working to maintain the livability of our neighborhoods, and ANA supports their effort.

 We ask that you do not allow this construction to proceed without adequate on-site parking, and please keep us informed regarding progress toward resolving this issue.

 Sincerely,

 Scott Rider,  Chair - Alameda Neighborhood Association

Jim Brown,  Chair - Land Use and Transportation - Alameda Neighborhood Association

cc:  Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association

City wraps its research

In advance of the big parking hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 13, the city has announced the results of its studies into parking and other issues related to proposed developments such as the one undergoing permiting for Northeast Fremont.

One of the studies puts car ownership at 72 percent, and shows that the area of impact (as far as parking is concerned) is two blocks. Estimating a couple of people per each of the 50 units proposed for the Northeast Fremont location, that's about 72 additional vehicles roaming an already tight area with a history of collisions and near misses. With this statistic, we should be able to make an even stronger argument for traffic-safety measures.

Read more here.

Say that again?

This from a description of the latest round of studies done by the city re the latest wave of development and, I think, addressing (sort of) the fact that the Northeast Fremont site doesn't sit within the required proximity to frequent transit:

"A change that could be made to the zoning code would be to make the areas eligible to the frequent transit service exemption for minimum parking requirements correspond to the current TriMet service levels or to redefine frequent service to correspond to TriMet’s current definition."

On Election Day, here's more voting to do

Fill this survey out by November 10 and make your voice heard on apartment buildings without parking, such as the one proposed for our neighborhood.

Knowledge is power

There's a free land-use workshop on Saturday, Oct. 13, and at least one member of the Beaumont Wilshire Neighbors for Responsible Growth will be there. It sounds like a good way to grok some of the big issues looming around here. To sign up, go here.

Site photographs, 4419-4439 N.E. Fremont St., September 2012

Looking north from Northeast 44th Avenue and Fremont Street; all streetfront tenants have vacated the project.

Looking northwest from south side of Fremont Street

Looking west on Fremont Street

We are making headway

Greetings neighbors and fellow activists,

Beaumont Wilshire Neighbors for Responsible Growth continues to determine and understand the impacts of the building proposed for 4419-4439 N.E. Fremont St. and how to address them. We will report soon on developer Wally Remmers’s parking study, which took at least a six-square-block area as its sample.

We continue to voice concerns with City Council and staff of numerous city bureaus, in particular:

• Permit suitability of the site per the city’s own criteria for such developments (site is outside the required 500-foot proximity to “frequently operating transit service”; site lacks good street connectivity)
• Traffic
• Public safety
• Fire, police, and medical response on Fremont, a city-designated major emergency response route
• Lack of parking
• ADA requirements
• Storm-water runoff
• Pedestrian facilities that maintain the existing positive pedestrian experience and safety in light of garbage/recycling/compost pickups and deliveries via Fremont

What we want

Keeping in mind that regardless of what is built on the site, the time is now to demand safety/livability mitigation measures. We argue for some, if not all, of the following:

• Reduction of the proposed building to three stories from four
• A moratorium on the project until site qualifications are reviewed against city criteria and safety impacts for tenants and neighbors are assessed
• Stoplight, crosswalk, and other safety measures
• Parking district and/or parking included in the project
• Pedestrian accommodations/green space at street level
• Amended emergency response plan for Fremont
• A Good Neighbor Agreement (visited annually)
• Long-term, a revision of the CS zoning to include height and scale restrictions

Join the effort 
(see https://sites.google.com/site/beaumontapartment/ and http://bwnrg.blogspot.com/ for details)

• Donate to the legal fund if a legal challenge is unavoidable (thank you to all those who have contributed so far)
• Make your concerns known by contacting representatives and others involved

• Sign up with BWNRG
• Attend meetings: Oct. 8 neighborhood meeting, Oct. 18 Beaumont Wilshire Neighbors for Responsible Growth, Nov. 13 hearing on the city-sponsored parking study; check the BWNRG website and blog for updates.