The result of more than a year of collaboration between the City and the Project Advisory Group, the project will result in 17 acres of new neighborhood-serving commercially zoned property and 5 acres of property designated for additional commercial development by the Comprehensive Plan, after specific traffic safety issues are addressed at Powell Blvd.

These land use changes have been advocated strongly by the EPAP and other community members throughout the planning process and represent an important step toward providing additional businesses and amenities in an otherwise underserved part of the city. They also support the Portland Plan’s Economic Prosperity and Affordability Strategy, which seeks to expand economic opportunities for Portlanders, and the Healthy Connected City Strategy, which promotes complete and vibrant neighborhood centers and corridors.

City Council received testimony from community members who spoke about the City’s larger responsibility to East Portland on issues ranging from infrastructure funding to poverty eradication strategies. Some additional revisions to the City’s home business regulations and multi-family residential design standards were touched on in the Staff Report, which would address some of these concerns but were beyond the scope of this project. These issues are being carried forward into the larger Comprehensive Plan Update process currently underway.

On Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012, Council will hold a public hearing on The SE 122^nd Avenue Rezone Project – Recommended Draft, which includes changes to support more commercial activity in a historically underserved neighborhood. Led by the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, this action will help create a more complete neighborhood as described in the Portland Plan’s Economic Prosperity and Affordability Strategy and Healthy Connected City Strategy.

This project implements portions of The SE 122^nd Ave Study: a Pilot Project of the Comprehensive Plan, which was endorsed by the City Council in February 2011. The proposed recommendations will change the zoning applied to numerous properties along the SE 122^nd Avenue corridor between Powell Blvd and Foster Road from multi-dwelling residential designations to commercial designations.

The project also incorporates zone changes requested by the Portland Parks Bureau. Four parcels of property under their ownership and included within the Leach Botanical Gardens will be rezoned from low-density residential to open space, thus bringing these properties’ zoning into conformance with current and anticipated future use. No new development is proposed for this part of the project area.

Comprehensive Plan Map changes will also be made to eight lots with frontage on Powell Blvd. This intersection has been identified by the Oregon Department of Transportation as one of the top-5% Safety Priority Index System locations in the state, an indicator of safety concerns that require additional consideration when potential new development might affect traffic and pedestrian safety. Future zone change applications for these properties will be made through a quasi-judicial process, allowing the Portland Bureau of Transportation to outline required traffic safety improvements and allocate the cost of these improvements.

For more information on the SE 122^nd Avenue Rezone Project, please contact John Cole, Senior Planner, at (503) 823-3475 or john.cole@portlandoregon.gov.

The PSC recommendation included approximately six acres of land near the intersection of Powell Boulevard and SE 122^nd Avenue that had tentatively been withdrawn by City staff in response to concerns the Oregon Department of Transportation had about safety. The commissioners directed staff to work with ODOT to resolve these outstanding safety and traffic modeling concerns prior to City Council consideration and adoption, tentatively scheduled for later this fall.  

Staff briefly reported on proposed changes to the City’s home occupation regulations and multi-family density and design issues that were also discussed by the project advisory group during the course of the rezone study. The PSC recommended that these topics be included in the Comprehensive Plan Update currently underway.

In response to these concerns and in an effort to keep the remainder of the 122nd Avenue Rezone Project on schedule, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is presenting an amendment to their report. The amended proposal removes the properties shown on attached map 1 from the initial rezoning recommendation. These properties will retain their existing multifamily residential zoning designation. The recommended properties to be rezoned from the Holgate Boulevard intersection south remain in the staff proposal, which will be presented to the Planning and Sustainability Commission on June 26.

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation completed their analysis of the proposed rezonings included in the SE 122nd Avenue Rezone Project; specifically, the impact that these zone changes will have on future traffic levels on the surrounding transportation network. After removing properties identified by ODOT as potentially creating traffic hazards from the initial proposal, the Southeast 122nd Avenue Rezoning Project Transportation Analysis concludes that the amended proposal will have no significant impact on ODOT facilities or the local street system. 

PSC Hearing

SE 122nd Ave Rezoning Project

June 26, 2012, 6 p.m.

1900 SW 4th Ave room 2100

The proposal includes zoning changes along SE 122nd Avenue to allow more commercial and mixed uses in the area. The report also includes recommendations for citywide changes to the Home Business program and additional areas of study for density and residential design work that will be forwarded to the Comprehensive Plan Update project.

After the hearing, the PSC can make recommendations that may revise the report, which will be forwarded to the City Council for final action at a public hearing later in the summer.

For more information about the project, contact John Cole at John.Cole@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-3475, or Chris Scarzello at Christina.scarzello@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-7716.

Proposal details promote neighborhood-serving commercial uses

Some of the proposed changes to the area include:

• Adding 22 acres of commercially zoned property to the area.
• Revising the Home Occupation regulations to allow more intensive operations along major city traffic streets like 122nd Ave.

The goal of these proposed zoning changes is to promote more neighborhood-serving commercial uses in this underserved neighborhood. Issues around multi-family residential design and zoning are being considered under the Comprehensive Plan Update.

Project proposal headed to City Council

The proposal is scheduled to go before the Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) on June 26th for their review and recommendation to City Council. Members of the public (and especially residents who live near or along SE 122nd Ave) are encouraged to attend this meeting and offer testimony. The proposal will be available online for public review after May 25, 2012. Following this PSC meeting, City Council is tentatively scheduled to review and act on the recommendations in July 2012.

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Did you know you can have a small business in your home? 

There are a few rules about home businesses that are intended to maintain the residential appearance of your neighborhood.

Read more about it here:

http://www.portlandonline.com/bds/index.cfm?c=36684

The open house featured series six “stations” with information boards or posters. City staff were on hand to discuss the findings and concepts presented at the open house and record community members’ comments. The open house was set up as a series of six “stations” covering the following topics: Commercial Rezoning Proposal, Multi-Family Zoning,  Home Businesses Home Design Issues, Small Business Resources, and Sidewalks. 

Download the open House materials:

• Commercial Rezoning Proposal
• Commercial Zoning Typology
• Current Zoning Map
• Home Business handout

Here’s what they said

Participants were encouraged to fill out a survey about the project proposals. The information gathered is helping guide the project team to form their final recommendations for the project. Here are some highlights of the comments shared by residents either in person or through the Open House survey:

• “We need more commercial zoning along 122nd.”
• “We need more bikeable/walkable access to shopping.”
• “I think it’s good to let people start businesses in their home so long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.”
• “We want new housing to be compatible with existing housing. Not sticking out and different.”
• “We would like business to support our population – not just a busy street lined with apartment complexes.”

Thanks for your input!

Now we have something to share and want to get your feedback. Come to the open house and tell us what you think about:

• Commercial development along SE 122nd Ave: Where and what type?

• Small businesses in your home: What types are allowed and what are the rules?

• Sidewalk construction on 122nd Avenue: Where are new sidewalks being installed?

The open house for the project is scheduled for Thursday, February 23, 2012, at Gilbert Park Elementary School. Free refreshments will be served at the event. Come on by!

Event Details

SE 122nd Ave Rezoning Project Open House

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Drop by anytime between 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Gilbert Park Elementary School Cafeteria

13132 SE Ramona St.

Access is from the main parking lot on the east side of the school.

For More Information

John Cole

503-823-3475

john.cole@portlandoregon.gov

PAG meetings were held in December and January to consider implementation options from the 122nd Avenue Pilot Study recommendations. In December the group discussed preliminary areas for commercial rezoning, as well as key challenges of multi-family zoning and home business permitting. At the January meeting, the group continued to give feedback on specific potential sites identified for rezoning and further explored design compatibility standards for the area. Read the minutes from both meetings.

Potential Areas for Rezoning

Fewer than 10 acres of land (or 38 parcels) are under consideration for either zoning changes or changes to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map, a draft of which was presented at the January PAG meeting. Members indicated that additional properties should be considered for commercial designation to adequately meet the demand for goods and services that would be created if and when the neighborhoods’ multi-dwelling residential areas are built out.