Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Author Archives: Gordon Riggs

23rd Annual Columbia Slough Regatta

Posted on by Posted in Events, Health and Wellness

Sunday August 06, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Join our on-the-water festival and celebrate the Columbia Slough!

At this year’s Regatta, over 500 people will have the opportunity to rent a canoe or kayak from the Council (free of cost) to explore and learn more about this special hidden gem.  Despite the name, the Columbia Slough Regatta is not actually a race, but more of a leisurely wildlife-watching group paddle. The event celebrates the watershed with fun and free activities for community members to develop connections with nature and neighborhood resources.

For more information and to register, visit: columbiaslough.org/events/event/248/

Attention Neighbors of the Portland International Airport

Posted on by Posted in Events, Land Use & Transportation

The Oregon Air National Guard (OANG) and the Port of Portland will co-host a community “Fly Day” on July 8, 2017 at Helensview High School and you’re invited!

The intent of the Fly Day is to demonstrate the ground track and flight profile of the Continuous Descent Overhead Approach flown by 142nd Fighter Wing aircraft, as well as to answer any questions about this expanded procedure.

The Fly Day event is scheduled for July 8, 2017 from 1PM to 3PM. at

Helensview High School

8678 NE Sumner St, Portland, OR 97220

In the event that the winds and weather necessitate an easterly traffic flow, the location will be moved to the Columbia Children’s Arboretum.

Columbia Children’s Arboretum

10040 NE 6th Dr. Portland, OR 97211

A booth will be set-up at the Helensview school on the afternoon of the event to provide updated information.

For more information about the Continuous Descent Overhead Approach procedure follow the link below:

https://popcdn.azureedge.net/pdfs/Continuous%20Descent%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

For any other questions contact:
Port of Portland – Noise Management Department
Phone: 503.460.4100 (Oregon) / 800.938.6647 (Washington)
E-mail: pdxnoise@portofportland.com
Web: http://www.portofportland.com/Noise_Mgmt_Home.aspx

Safe Routes to Groceries

Posted on by Posted in Events, Health and Wellness

Safe Routes to Groceries event
on July 15th
at New Seasons Market Concordia
on 5320 NE 33rd Ave. in Portland, OR.

This is a celebration of bicycling to get groceries. This is an alternative to driving to the store. We know that half of automobile trips are 3 miles or less and we want people to consider the sustainability aspect of bicycling to bring home fresh food in a convenient and sage manner.

The event will provide

  • Free white plastic buckets for rear rack panniers (& will help affix them to the bikes!)
  • We will be featuring Bicycle ambassadors from Portland Bureau of Transportation helping people find their best low volume streets from home to fresh food.
  • Queen Bee and North Street Bags showing off beautiful panniers for carrying groceries in style.
  • Cosmo spaghetti sauce samples.
  • Grand Central Bakery goodies
  • Cat Six Bicycle store will be on hand to evaluate bicycles and offer a discount for tune up/repair.
  • Cat Six and Clever Cycles will be showing bicycles built for carrying groceries and kids

Raffle to win a pair of North Street Panniers.

This is a first for Portland. New Seasons is taking on this campaign to help people use the Bicycle Boulevards in order to get groceries in a sustainable manner.

For more information, visit PBOT Events Calendar or Every1Bikes.

CNA Stands Against Hate

Posted on by Posted in CNA

In light of recent events in our city – and rising racial, cultural and faith-based tensions across our country – the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) reiterates our commitment to fostering a strong and safe neighborhood.

We cannot rely on legislation alone to eliminate hate from our world. Instead, resistance must come from the bottom up, from within our own communities.

We agree with the recent statement from our Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, which “strongly encourages all our neighbors, friends we know and those we have not met yet, to stand in solidarity with marginalized and vulnerable communities and individuals. Find ways to get trained in ‘bystander intervention,’ and ‘disrupting racism’ trainings.

“Get to know all your neighbors, even those who may be different from you, as your neighbors are your greatest assets in our ability to create resilience and safety during challenging times.”

We may have a history of challenging racial relations, and are in the midst of a period of growth and sometimes uncomfortable change. However, we believe Portland today will stand together against hate, and our community will not tolerate fear tactics and intimidation.

The CNA board of directors has changed our board meeting time and date so we no longer conflict with RACE TALKS, held on the second Tuesday of each month, beginning at 6 p.m. at McMenamins Kennedy School.

We invite our neighbors to join us at Race Talks for important conversations. The July 11 event topic is “Protecting Yourself Physically and Emotionally in Trying Times.”

Standing united in amity and peace,

Your CNA Board of Directors

Chris Lopez, Chair
Daniel Greenstadt, Vice-chair
Heather Pashley, Treasurer
Steve Elder, Secretary
Ali Novak
Amelie Marian
Donn Dennis
Garlynn Woodsong
Isham ‘Ike’ Harris
Jody Pollak
Robert Bowles
Truls Neal
Tyler Bullen

SPRING EGG HUNT

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Events, Volunteer Opportunities
SPRING EGG HUNT
Saturday, April 15
Fernhill Park
(Playground along NE 37th Avenue)

The hunt begins at 10 am SHARP.

Don’t be late – it ends in a flash!

Volunteers needed to:
– stuff 6,000 plastic eggs with candy on Friday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Meet at the American Legion at 2104 NE Alberta St.
– hide 6,000 candy-filled eggs on Saturday, April 15. Meet at Fernhill Park (Playground along NE 37th Avenue) at 8 a.m.

Sponsored by Concordia Neighborhood Association & American Legion Post 134

Contact Katie Ugolini at Social@ConcordiaPDX.org or 503.449.9690.

Here’s the DIY process to battle demolition

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News

By Steve Elder, CNA Media Team

It started when neighbors of a house on 35th Avenue got notice that a development group had applied to demolish the house.

A permit is issued in 35 days if no one appeals. There is a $1,318 filing fee to apply for delay unless a neighborhood association seeks a waiver. Concordia Neighborhood Association Board members unanimously went along, and a neighbor, Tricia, signed as appellant to seek the delay.

You must closely follow the rules to successfully pursue a demolition delay. Start by reading the appeal application carefully. Read the guide by Restore Oregon and Portland Bureau of Development Services. Attend a hearing or listen to an online recording of a previous hearing.

There are four requirements for a successful delay appeal, which must be met or the appeal will be denied without a hearing.

  1. Notify all permit applicants by certified mail. Ask for a meeting. Keep copies for the appeal.
  2. Show the property’s significance. This was tricky. The target looked ordinary but was affordable by first time homebuyers.
  3. Describe a plan to save the house. The target was ready for occupancy – maybe remodel the kitchen or add an auxiliary dwelling unit.
  4. Show you can afford to buy the house. The sale to the developer was not recorded, so Tricia had to guess the price. She used the tax value plus an estimate for a kitchen remodel and ADU. Tricia is an investor and showed she could borrow against of the value of her property on short notice for enough to buy and improve the target house.

If your written appeal meets the four criteria, a hearing date is set. In this case, the hearings officer was polite, but very firm. Your hearings officer may only consider the four core issues, and courtroom procedure is followed. In this case, the developer didn’t object, so Tricia’s evidence was accepted by default.

She won the delay, so no permit could be issued for 60 days. The ostensible purpose of the delay is to let parties seek an alternative to demolition, but the developer isn’t required to negotiate.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a CNews series of stories about local housing challenges and solutions. If you have ideas for future installments, send them to CNewsEditor@Concordia.org.

We should not get rid of cars so quickly

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Opinion

Is the city of Portland, abetted by developer-friendly activists, trying to abolish private automobiles? It certainly looks that way when you consider a report by mayor Charlie Hales’ planning department, a group styling itself Portland for Everyone and several informal groups.

A picture in a June pamphlet published by the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for the Residential Infill Project features a row of four “skinny” houses with driveways, two with cars. A second version of the picture shows the same houses with the cars and driveways photoshopped out.

The city doesn’t just make off-street parking vanish. The report allows no “front-loaded” garages at all.

Portland for Everyone is pretty much in accord with the city’s call for smaller houses, lower roofs and mostly shorter setbacks. It would go further to outlaw off-street parking. Its website urges us to “end stealth parking subsidies,” that off-street parking runs up the cost of housing and “tilts the scale toward automobile usage and away from forms of transportation that work better in cities.” Works better for whom?

Some of us have arthritis, or groceries or young children to carry. We don’t want to drive around the block to find a place to park.

Clearly the trend is away from cars. Presently in Portland there is less than one car per household. Perhaps in the future all will walk, ride a bicycle or use public transportation.

There are alternatives that address many of the points of the anti-car people. I have gotten permits for and presently am building a residence that addresses many issues raised:

  • Do away with garages. Most people use their garages for storage rather than car shelter. I got an “exception” to my permit for a parking space in front of the house. Answering the charge that garage doors are ugly, my house will have a front window and no garage.
  • Make driveways permeable, not concrete slabs. I am using an open concrete lattice.
  • Group driveways for adjacent houses. A driveway has only to be nine feet wide. Adjacent houses could share a driveway that branches off to each neighboring house.
  • Alleys that abut 15 percent of Portland lots. Cleaning and using them for car access would make neighborhoods more livable.

Bicyclists, walkers and bus riders have rights. They may be the wave of the future. But it shouldn’t be all at once.

We shouldn’t just slam the car door on private transportation.

Opinions expressed by these writers do not necessarily reflect the views of Concordia Neighborhood Association. Deadline is the 10th of the month prior to publication. Please contact CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org earlier to discuss space limitations.

National Night Out to include parade, music, fun!

Posted on by Posted in Arts & Culture, Concordia News, Events

Neighbors are invited to join in on the National Night Out Celebration on the evening of Tues., August 2nd.

This unique community event will be fun for the whole family with a focus on community building to prevent crime and fear of crime. National Night Out is held on the first Tuesday of August every year around the country and is designed to strengthen neighborhood spirit and community partnerships, generate support for participation in local anti-crime programs, heighten community awareness of crime and drug prevention, and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Our neighborhood celebration will begin at 6 p.m. with a pedestrian and bicycle parade at Dekum Court, Home Forward’s Public Housing Community, located at NE 25th & Saratoga. The parade will wind its way to Fernhill Park via Dekum, NE 33rd Avenue, Ainsworth St., and NE 37th Avenue. We hope to see everyone, individually or in groups, get out and join the parade. Children and adults, marching bands, sports teams, church and civic groups, city officials, dance troupes and kazoo bands are all welcome! We will have a bicycle decoration station at Dekum Court beginning at 5 p.m., so bring your bikes, trikes, and strollers and get creative! The celebration will continue at Fernhill Park with the last concert of our free Summer Concert Series, Wanderlust Circus Orchestra at 6:30 p.m.

Alley Goat Walk – Saturday, June 25th

Posted on by Posted in Events

Alley Goat wealk goatwalk_sonny2

Hello Concordia Neighbors!

Hope you are staying cool these past few days. Summer is here!

And with that said, we wanted to kick off our summer in the alleys with a goat walk on Saturday, June 25th, starting at 10am!

In order to do this, we will need some alleys to walk through for the day, which will be open to the public. Would anyone be interested in sharing their alleys for the walk? This will also be done in conjunction with an alley cleanup, so if you’re interested in having your alley cleaned, this would be a great way to have it done.

Description:

Pet some adult and baby goats and walk them on leashes as they munch their way along alleys to get rid of invasives like ivy, blackberry and other weeds. Great for kids! Goat cheese, blackberry jam, and crackers will be provided. Bring your own beverage. Use the opportunity to talk to neighbors about possibilities for cleanup and beautification. We’ll also be cutting down weeds as we go.

Please contact me promptly if you or someone else you know who lives on an alley would be interested in this project. We would love to show others the potential of our alley spaces!

Best,

Samuel Garcia

samuel26@pdx.edu

(415) 902-2245

Next Week: Take part of 5836 NE Mason St home with you!

Posted on by Posted in Land Use & Transportation
5836-Mason-Exterior-1-768x360
5836 NE Mason, a home in poor condition to be deconstructed, not demolished
This June 24& 25, Cully neighbors are invited to stop by the Orange Splot LLC/Lovett Deconstruction site. Located at 5836 NE Mason St, this site in Cully Neighborhood will be participating in the City of Portland’s Deconstruction Incentive Pilot Program. 

One of the project’s deconstruction grant goals is to see how much material can be made available for re-use here in Cully Neighborhood. So, they are are inviting neighbors and others curious about deconstruction, or in need of some materials (think: outdoor firewood, brick, cabinetry), to come and take a little piece of this old house home with you! We are all curious to see what the local market for deconstructed home materials might be.

Those interested in picking up wood in particular should prepare to bring your hammer. Our staff will try to take care of as much de-nailing as possible, but there may be a bit left to do (after the compulsory waiver-signing of course). People are also encouraged to stop by anytime during working hours from the 20th to the 25th to chat about deconstruction or Mason St. Townhomes with Lovett Deconstruction and/or Orange Splot LLC staff.

More details about the deconstruction are available on the Orange Splot blog.
About the Builder
Mason St. Townhomes will be constructed by Orange Splot LLC, a small development company based in Cully, with a mission to pioneer new models of community-oriented, affordable, green housing in Portland. More about Orange Splot LLC and about Mason St. Townhomes is available on the company website: www.orangesplot.net.