Hello Neighbor,
Thank you for checking back in.
First I want to state how impressed I am with our CNA board members who have been working tirelessly on our neighborhood’s behalf. I have worked with many boards of directors, in both the private and public sectors, and can say with total confidence this board is as capable as any corporate board with which I have ever worked. The board has been discussing oil train spills, toxic air and soils problems generated by industry, Summer Concerts at Fernhill Park, neighborhood Clean-Up day, and assisting Concordia University’s Community Outreach programs by offering the opportunity to reach our readers via the pages of Concordia News. We are pleased we can provide this venue to help Concordia University in its effort to make a positive impact on our community.You will find updates to some of these topics in this issue of Concordia News, and I encourage you to dig deeper for information of special interest to you.
Opportunity to input on neighborhood land use plans
At the June 14 board meeting we heard from our own Land Use & Transportation Committee and from Mary Kyle McCurdy, staff attorney for 1,000 Friends of Oregon. Mary gave us an update on potential changes to City of Portland building code. Mary Kyle has been advocating on behalf of ͞Portland for Everyone,͟ whose focus is to provide community input to the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to help balance the need for increased density with the quality and character of existing neighborhoods.
There is probably nothing that will impact our neighborhood more in the near and far future than the upcoming building code changes, so please keep an eye out for updates. Most importantly, give your voice a vote in the decision making process. This is no time to sit on the fence to see what happens. The board is only one voice amongst many stakeholders, so we need each one of you to voice your opinion. The public outreach phase is now kicking off.
Looking forward, we have serious challenges and opportunities in which your board can play a vital role in affecting positive change, but we can only do this if we hear from you. Sad to say, but over the last six months I’vereceived only seven comments or requests for topics to be added to the board agenda. So we are working on what we believe to be your most important issues, but given the limited input, we’ve had, we might be missing something that’s important to you.
This request for input is not just for board consideration, it also affects what we pursue as relevant news͟ when publishing Concordia News.
Amanda Fritz likely at September General Meeting
Amanda Fritz, City of Portland Commissioner, has tentatively accepted the board’s invitation to attend CNA’s September 12th General Meeting. We will be asking her what Concordia neighborhood –relevant agenda items she will focus on during her upcoming city council tenure. Hearing directly from Commissioner Fritz, and helping her understand what is important to us, provides an opportunity for all parties to insure we are working together for the benefit of our community. I invite you to attend this important General Meeting. Please let me know if you have specific questions you would like put to the Commissioner.
Thanks again,
Isaac Quintero
Chair/Concordia Neighborhood Association