We hope to see a large turn out at the June 3rd General Meeting when project staff from the City’s Bureau of Planning present the results to and solicits input from the neighborhood regarding the Cully-Concordia Schools/Families/Housing Assessment. The Cully-Concordia Schools/Families/Housing Assessment is a cooperative effort of the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Portland Public Schools (PPS) to look at portions of the Concordia and Cully neighborhoods, and focus on three public schools, Faubion, Rigler, and Scott, along with the PPS owned, former Whitaker Middle School site. The objectives of this project are to explore how to increase and sustain the attractiveness of the Cully-Concordia area for families with school age children and create an action list and build partnerships to follow up on ideas generated through the process. Key questions that are being addressed are:

• How do the existing conditions of the area, and anticipated growth and change affect local school capacity/viability and neighborhood livability?
• What is the potential for schools to serve as multi-purpose centers of community life in a way that benefits their educational mission?
• What are key missing neighborhood amenities that affect neighborhood livability?
• What are some potential strategies to address school issues?
• How can redevelopment enhance community goals?

This project began in the Fall 2007 and has focused to date on information collection including interviews with over 70 diverse stakeholders, from parents to service providers and associations like Concordia Neighborhood, on their thoughts of the project area and the questions above. Planning staff is nearly done with an Assessment report that summarizes what staff has learned about the project area. In April and May, a Community Discussion Group met to talk about issues, review information collected and begin strategizing on potential actions to improve local schools and community livability. The group will meet again in mid-June to shape the action plan after broader community input.

Please join us at the June 3rd General Meeting when project staff will present information gleaned from the Assessment, report on some initial strategies generated by the Community Discussion Group, and solicit Concordia Neighborhood input on all of the above. A similar presentation will take place at the Cully Association of Neighbors meeting on June 10, and a third community input meeting will take place at one of the local schools, to be scheduled for June.

Project information can be viewed at the Bureau of Planning’s website under planning projects.