Dedicated to development that respects the integrity of Historic Irvington
Email: steven.unger@comcast.net
September 22, 2008
* * * LANDMARKS COMMISSION DENIES PERMIT * * *
All --
The Historic Landmarks Commission voted today 6-0 to uphold our appeal of the Irvington Squire project and to deny the developer's permit application. Short of an appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), that is the final word on this permit application. The Commission cited the proposed height and massing of the project as their principal objections. They also cited the need to retain the mature streets trees.
The Commission is scheduled to adopt formal findings at its 10/13 meeting. Adoption of the findings initiates a 21-day period during which the applicant (or any other party with standing) may file with LUBA for an appeal. It is unlikely, in my view, that the applicant will do so. What seems more likely is one of the following:
(1) The developer will abandon the project and possibly sell off the land to some other party.
(2) The developer will revise his project to meet the Commission's concerns and reapply under design review -- which would start the process all over again.
(3) The developer will revise his project to meet the non-discretionary Community Design Standards and, thus, avoid design review. This would be a process similar to that used by the developers of the Tanzamook project on NE Tillamook. NOTE: The maximum height of a building under the Community Design Standards is 55 feet.
I'm not sure how long it would be before we would learn the developer's intentions. Could be days, weeks or months ahead. I'm fairly certain that they will want to wait until the formal findings are approved before deciding how they wish to proceed. Right now we're checking to verify the process for developing these findings and whether we, as the prevailing party, have any rights to review the findings before they go before the Commission next month.
Thanks again to everyone who wrote letters, testified, provided moral support or otherwise helped us prevail. Irvington's collective neighborhood voice has, once again, been heard.
Dean Smith, co-chair
ICA Land Use Committee
503-464-7769 (office)
503-351-0521 (cell)
Email: smithd1111@comcast.net
* * * SUCCESS AT THE APPEAL HEARING * * *
Friends and neighbors,
For those interested in how the Landmarks Commission hearing went on Monday, August 25th, I have good news. In a "preliminary" showing of Commission sentiment, all five Commissioners said they would support reducing the size of the Irvington Squire by one floor -- as the ICA had proposed -- and confirmed that saving the mature street trees along NE 15th Avenue was a necessity. They were less convinced of the need to set back the building an additional six feet from the curb, but we are confident that that will be necessary in order to ensure the survival of the trees. Both their arborist and ours appear to agree on that.
While this is a preliminary show of hands -- the hearing record will be open until September 2nd for any new testimony and then the applicant will have another seven days to respond to that testimony -- it appears to be a decisive victory for the neighborhood as it is largely inconceivable that the Commission members would reverse their view.
A significant acknowledgement by Commission Chairman Art DeMuro was that the City attorney's office has confirmed that design guidelines do prevail over the underlying zoning when there is a conflict between the two. This has been our position all along, and it is reassuring -- and highly significant -- that the Commission and the City have confirmed this fact.
The Commission meets again on September 22 to review the final testimonies and make its final decision. While no new testimony will be taken at that meeting, it will be important to have plenty of Irvington folks in the room to remind them of the level of community sentiment and the importance of their decision.
By the way, the Commission made a special point to compliment the neighborhood on its preparation and quality of testimony. Christine Coers-Mitchell, ICA Board President, and Dean Gisvold, co-chair with me this past year on the Land Use Committee, did really excellent jobs presenting our case. And we had a wonderful contingent of nearly a dozen neighbors who spoke eloquently about why the Irvington Squire needs to be reduced in size. In all, there were about 40 or so of us wearing "Shrink the Squire" buttons in attendance. Thanks to all!
By the way, besides the applicant's architect and attorney, only one citizen stood up to speak in support of the project!
Again, thanks to everyone for your letters (another 60+ poured in just over the past week) and earnest support. It's not over yet, but we believe we're most of the way there!
Kind regards to all,
Dean Smith, co-chair
ICA Land Use Committee
503-464-7769 (office)
503-351-0521 (cell)
Email: smithd1111@comcast.net
Documents that you can access:
Developer's Response to ICA's Appeal Follow-up Tesimony - September 2008
Developer's Drawing Submitted as Appeal Follow-up Tesimony - September 2008
ICA's Arborist Appeal Follow-up Letter - September 2008
ICA's Appeal Follow-up Letter - August 2008
ICA's Arborist Report - August 2008
Developer's Arborist Report - August 2008
ICA Request for Appeal - July 2008
"Notice of Decision" from the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) - July 2008
ICA Letter - May 2008
ICA Letter - February 2008
Attachment to the ICA Letter - February 2008
Lanmark Commission comments from Design Advide Request (DAR) - October 2007
ICA Letter as input to the DAR - October 2007
ICA Letter - October 2006
Selected pages from the Community Design Guidelines
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Click here to view selected pages from the Community Design Guidelines
Click here to view
ICA Letter - October 2006
Click here to view
the ICA Letter as input to the DAR - October 2007
Click here to view
the Landmark Commission's comments from Design Advide Request (DAR) - October 2007
Click here to view ICA Letter - February 2008
Click here to view Attachment to the ICA Letter - February 2008
Click here to view ICA Letter - May 2008
Click here to view
"Notice of Decision" from the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) - July 2008
Click here to learn about the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission
Click here to see a list of the current members of the Landmarks Commission
Click here for sample Letter of Concern that you can send to the Landmarks Commission (in MS Word format)
Click here for a list of possible comments you might include in your letter
