Newsletter 2015 Fall

FALL 2015 FREE

FALL 2015 HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER PAGE 1

HISTORIC IRVINGTON ¶ NEWSLETTER ¶A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E I R V I N G T O N C O M M U N I T Y A S S O C I AT I O N

By Peter O’Neil

You may have seen us over the summer – dressed in our da-glo vests, clipboards and tape measures in hand, walking the streets

of Irvington, stopping to measure, locate, identify and assess each street tree.

As part of Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry ongoing project to inventory all the street trees in the city, Irvington volunteers took to the streets this summer to help out. We have inventoried 2,600 trees in our neighborhood so far, and all told, Irvington volunteers have contributed more than 350 hours to the project. (Thank you volunteers!) The city is collecting the data to set a baseline of the health and viability of our tree canopy. When the inventory is complete, the neighborhood will create a management plan to maintain and improve our urban forest.

“The data isn’t all collected for Irvington yet, but I expect we will find that much of the canopy is provided by mature trees, and that the need now is to focus on planting all available large sites with appropriately sized large trees in order to ensure that in 30 years Irvington will have large trees as the current ones reach the end of their lifespan,” said Julie Fukuda of Portland Urban Forestry.

The idea is to assure that future generations will benefit from a healthy tree canopy as we do today. The trees are an important public asset in our urban environment where they serve as a buffer between the streets and our homes. They filter storm water, reduce the effects of car emissions, increase property values, calm traffic, and regulate summer temperatures. Our trees are invaluable.

Irvington has a variety of them. There are the magnificent trees like Norway maples, horse

chestnuts, sweetgums and lindens all over the neighborhood. We also have other interesting and unusual species like the Heritage Caucasian Wingnut trees that help create the beautiful tunnel of leaves at Knott & 15th, a variety of evergreen oaks on 11th just north of Knott, Eucalyptus on 11th near Stanton and at least one producing peach tree on Klickitat near 24th. This diversity of trees contributes to the overall health of the canopy and adds to the general well-being of the neighborhood.

The volunteers are finished with our part of the street tree inventory and now Urban Forestry staff will complete it. The next steps for volunteers is to get involved with the creation of our action plan for

Irvington. Some example action items that could be included in the plan are:

• Neighborhood pruning and young tree care workshops

• Neighborhood tree planting events• Educational tree walks or tree bike tours• Tree diversity workshops• Tree pests and diseases workshopsThere will be a Tree Summit on Saturday,

November 7 at Mount Scott Community Center, 5530 SE 72nd Ave in SE Portland where all this will be discussed and plans will be started. If you’d like to get involved, contact me at [email protected]

2,600 Trees and Counting…

By Peter O’Neil

Did you know that homeowners in Portland are responsible for caring for the street trees in front of their

homes? This includes keeping them properly pruned. Homeowners must get a permit from the City to cut any limbs over a quarter inch in diameter. Some street tree pruning permits can be self-issued online if they meet these criteria:

• The street tree is at a residential-zoned property.

• Pruning is for branches less than 6” in diameter at attachment to the stem.

• Pruning is for young tree pruning, crown cleaning or crown raising for clearance of the street and sidewalk.

• The street tree is not a Heritage Tree.

Young tree pruning is the pruning of young trees to develop good structure, including a strong and well established central leader, strong branch attachments, and adequate spacing and distribution of scaffold branches. Young tree pruning occurs on an ongoing basis the first ten years after tree planting.

Crown cleaning is the removal of water sprouts and dead, dying, diseased, crowded, weakly attached, and low vigor branches from a tree›s crown.

Crown raising for clearance of the street and sidewalk removes the lower branches of a tree in order to provide clearance for vehicles, pedestrians, and buildings. The city requires maintaining clearance standards 7.5’ above the sidewalk, 11’ above residential streets, and 14’ above main arterial streets.

Permits for this kind of pruning are free. You can get more information and apply for a permit online at www.portlandoregon.gov/trees/65396.

Tree Pruning Permits

HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER FALL 2015

OFFICERSPresident: Steven Cole [email protected] 503-754-7713Vice President: William Archer [email protected] 503-287-3804Treasurer: Jeff Jones [email protected] 503-281-1023Secretary: Beverly Burn [email protected]: Tiffanie Shakespeare [email protected]

DIRECTORSJim Barta [email protected] 503-544-2429Colin Burn [email protected] Carson [email protected] Christopher [email protected] 503-740-5216Christine Coers-Mitchell [email protected] 503-335-1476Nathan Corser [email protected] 503-493-0671Jon Eaton [email protected] Dean Gisvold [email protected] 503-284-3885Susan Hathaway-Marxer [email protected] 503-281-5629Pam Lindholm-Levy [email protected] 503-460-3100Meryl Llogue [email protected] Michela McMahon [email protected] 503-287-6196Sally McPherson [email protected] Messer [email protected] 503-312-4175Peter O’Neil [email protected] 503-471-3402Tiffanie Shakespeare [email protected] 503-680-2840Beverly Burn [email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRSBeautification Jason Messer • [email protected] Charitable Giving Susan Hathaway-Marxer • [email protected] Preservation Barb Christopher • [email protected] Tour Brian Schaeperkoetter • [email protected] Use Dean Gisvold • [email protected] Representatives Steven Cole • [email protected] Peter O’Neil • [email protected] Steven Cole • [email protected] Advertising Tiffanie Shakespeare • [email protected] Jason Messer • [email protected] Jeff Jones • [email protected] Tiffanie Shakespeare • [email protected]

NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCESAbandoned Vehicles (24-hour hotline) 503-823-7309Abandoned Vehicles (daytime) 503-823-6814Animal Control 503-988-3066Bicycle Program 503-823-2925Garbage Service Info/Problems 503-823-7202Graffiti Cleanup (Info/assistance) 503-823-5860Graffiti Hotline (Police) 503-823-4824Landlord/Tenant Mediation 503-282-1964NE Coalition of Neighborhoods 503-823-4575NE Crime Prevention 503-823-4763NE Precinct (Police) 503-823-2122Neighborhood Mediation 503-823-3152Noise Reporting & Control 503-823-7350Office of Neighborhood Involvement 503-823-4519Parking Enforcement 503-823-5195Rider Advocates 503-823-4223Street Light Outages & Tree Trims 503-823-5216Tree Planting Information 503-823-4489Zoning/Code Enforcement 503-823-7526

LEGISLATORSState RepresentativesLew Frederick [email protected] 503-986-1433Barbara Smith Warner [email protected] 503-986-1445State Senators Michael Dembrow [email protected] 503-986-1723Chip Shields [email protected] 503-231-2564

ica board members • 2014-2015

From the PRESIDENTSteven Cole

Like many parents, our short summer (thanks PPS) revolved around the kids’ summer camps. My daughter spent a week at Grace Art Camp and

four weeks at Oregon Ballet Theater’s Summer Intensive. Both of those were in Portland. However, my son’s music camps were a little more distant. We had to drive around the Pacific Northwest taking him to, and picking him up from, three different summer camps. One camp was with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Whistler, B.C., at which he played bassoon. After a couple of weeks back here in Portland, we took him to Port Townsend for a jazz camp where he played saxophone. After a week of that, we picked him up from Port Townsend and delivered him to Bellingham, Washington for a two-week camp called Marrowstone, where he again played bassoon.

In addition to enjoying a lot of spectacular scenery, I spent some time looking at the development in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Both of those cities are developing faster than Portland as far as buildings going up. However, in some regards, both are starting to surpass Portland in innovative and forward thinking infrastructure. Particularly in the area of bike infrastructure.

Some of you may have read recently that Portland’s congestion is increasing as more people move into the metro area. There are several ways to reduce driving congestion, including improving mass transit and creating transit-oriented development. However, the most inexpensive method, with likely the biggest impact, is to create a better bike infrastructure so that we increase the number of bike riders. More cyclists translates to fewer cars on the road. With our close proximity to downtown and the, soon to be very active, Lloyd District, improving our cycling infrastructure will improve the already great livability of Irvington.

Part of that better infrastructure needs to include protected bikeways as well as additional methods to dissuade fast cars on greenways/bike boulevards. Surveys have shown that there are many people who would like to bike to various destinations, be that grocery stores, schools, or whatnot, but don’t feel comfortable riding in bike lanes on busy streets. More protected bikeways will help Portland take the next step towards becoming a world class biking city.

More cyclists will also help local businesses along our commercial corridors. Studies have shown that when cycling infrastructure is improved, cyclists are more likely to shop at businesses along their routes and spend more money than car drivers. http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/03/the-complete-business-case-for-converting-street-parking-into-bike-lanes/387595/. For NE Broadway, the positive impact will likely be even more dramatic as increasing the bikeway will likely act as a traffic calming device and thus make the corridor more pedestrian friendly, adding a new customer base.

As mentioned in previous articles, the ICA is working with surrounding neighborhood and business associations to improve NE Broadway and we will continue to advocate for better, safer bike access on Broadway/Weidler. We are still working out how best to implement that. We will

also be looking at improved bike access in other parts of the neighborhood and surrounding areas. For instance, the current design of 7th Avenue has often come up as something which could be improved. We will be discussing whether it makes sense to encourage the city to make bike infrastructure improvements on that street, perhaps looking at the possibility of diverters. There should soon be a greenway installed on 26th Avenue. Irvington has allocated funds for bike amenities on Broadway at 26th. There are likely other areas where bike infrastructure could be improved in our neighborhood (possibly Knott). If you have ideas, please contact me.

In June we created a new officer position, that of Communications Officer. Tiffanie Shakespeare takes on that new duty. Part of my goal for this coming year is, once again, to try and improve communication and outreach to our neighbors. We hope to procure lawn signs to give notice to people that a meeting is occurring so more people will attend the meetings. We are already one of the best attended neighborhood board meetings in Portland. However, we can still do better. More diversity of opinion and perspective is always desired. For instance, we would like to get more renters or people who live in multi-family housing who may offer a perspective different from that of a homeowner. We will also continue to improve our website, which has been totally made over in the past year.

Other matters we plan on addressing in the upcoming year include a rewrite of our bylaws. The bylaws are long overdue for a revision as they have not been rewritten for about 25 years. You can find our current bylaws on the ICA website, www.irvingtonpdx.com.

Thank you to those of you who joined us for our summer ice cream social on National Night Out. In partic-ular, we would like to thank Whole Foods who once again donated the ice cream. We will begin to plan our holiday party, which was a resounding success last year. If you are interested in helping to organize that event please give me a call or shoot me an email. We should have some finalized plans in place by the end of October.

Finally, welcome to new board members Ryan Carson, Colin Burns, Sally McPherson, Meryl Logue, and Jon Eaton. And, a big thank you to departing board members Tom Mertes, Nathan Christenson, and Brian Schaeperkoetter for making our neighborhood a better place. While Brian has stepped down from the board, he has taken over as chair of the Home Tour Committee. We want to give Kim Bissell, the former chair of the Home Tour Committee, a special thank you for her incredible leadership in making the home tour a resounding success year after year. While there are many volunteers have been instrumental in making the home tour a national draw, Kim’s energy, organization, and willingness to give her time, were unmatched.

Just a reminder, we have board member positions come up for election every year. If you think that you might be interested in becoming a board member, please feel free to attend our meetings. Even if you don’t want to be a board member, everyone is welcome to attend on the second Thursday of the month at the Irvington School library.

Steve Cole

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The ICA meets on the second Thursday of every month (except July and August), 7 p.m. at the Irvington Elementary School, 1320 NE Brazee St.

Local issues are discussed and all Irvington residents are welcome to attend.

THEIRVINGTON

COMMUNITYASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 12102, PORTLAND, OREGON 97212

Are you looking for the minutes from our recent board meetings? Minutes are posted in full on our Web site at www.irvingtonpdx.com.

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It’s Fall and the leaves are coming down. The schedule for and information about Fall leaf pick up is available at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/363503. The cost is $30. Pick-up for areas in Irvington will be on the following dates:

The website has a search box to determine your area – simply input your address.

You can opt out of the service, but then you cannot rake leaves into the street. You can opt out by following the directions on the website above or by calling 503.865.5323, Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm. The opt out deadline is November 1, 2015.

Please remember that on leaf pick-up days, there will be trucks and removal vehicles on the street making travel in the neighborhood more congested.

FALL LEAF PICKUP

Zone Area Date 1 Date 2NE 3 Irvington D 11/6/2015 11/28/2015NE 4 Irvington A 11/3/2015 11/24/2015NE 5 Irvington C 11/8/2015 12/6/2015

Raise the Wage

The following was submitted by Raise the Wage Oregon, a coalition seeking to raise Oregon’s minimum wage.

The Raise the Wage coalition is a growing group of workers, businesses, and community groups who have

come together to raise up all of Oregon by giving workers a much-needed raise. We believe that Oregonians who work hard and play by the rules should be able to feed their families and their bills.

Right now, an Oregonian working full time for minimum wage is making less than $20,000 per year. No matter where you live, $1,600 a month is not enough to afford the basics such as rent, food, and childcare.

A recent report by Our Oregon found that a $13.50 minimum wage would provide a base self-sufficiency income in even Oregon’s most rural counties. In Portland, the hourly wage needed is much higher – closer to $20 an hour – due to the high cost of living.

For example, to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Portland, a worker would need to earn $18.15 an hour to not be considered “cost-burdened” by their rent (meaning they spent no more than 30 percent of their income on housing). This is why Raise the Wage is also pushing to restore power to cities and counties to address low wages on their own.

Over half a million Oregonians will be impacted if the statewide wage floor is increased to $13.50 an hour. We know that working Oregonians and their families need a raise, and they need it now. To learn more about Raise the Wage or to get involved, go to www.raisethewageoregon.org, or email [email protected].


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By Dean Gisvold

As usual, the Land Use Committee has a full plate and then some.

First, the Planning and Sustainability Commission

(PSC) approved and sent on to City Council the long awaited revisions to Portland’s Comprehensive Plan (Revised Plan), a process required by state law. Although the Board of Directors for the Irvington Community Association approved several recommendations for “downzoning” a small portion of the Historic District along NE Broadway, the PSC chose to ignore those recommendations. The revised Plan does recognize the fact that current zoning guidelines contain twice the capacity needed to accommodate today’s population and the influx of new residents over the next 20 years. In short, additional density is not needed, and indeed, specific downzoning provisions would be appropriate. Go to http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/542536 for a link to the Revised Plan and its many components. There is a change in zoning for the half block between Broadway and Schuyler, from NE 16th to NE 28th. There are also changes to a small area adjoining NE 7th, and from Broadway north a block or so.

From the City, you can share your feedback with the

Portland City Council:

1. Online via the Map App. 2. Email your comments with

“Comprehensive Plan Testimony” in the Subject line to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full name and mailing address.

3. Mail a letter with your comments to:

Council Clerk 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 130 Portland, OR 97204

(Note: be sure to include your name and mailing address.)

4. Attend a public hearing to offer oral

testimony directly to the City Council. The first public hearing for the Comprehensive Plan is tentatively scheduled for November 19, 2015 at 2 p.m. Check the Comp Plan Calendar for updated time, other hearing dates and more information.

More information from the City: the draft Zoning map

for the MU Zones project was scheduled to be released Monday, September 28, and will be available on the Map App. The Discussion Draft for the project has been delayed and will be released shortly after the maps. The Draft will include the policy and code document as well as the Zoning map that corresponds to all of the areas on the proposed Comprehensive Plan map (what you see on the Map App) that are designated Mixed Use.

Second, another City planning project being monitored

by the Irvington Land Use Committee (Committee) are the zoning code changes recommended by the City for additional dwelling units or ADUs. The Committee has generally supported ADUs in Irvington if they comply with historic review criteria, which can make them more expensive. According to a Portland Tribune article, all accessory buildings under the proposed changes, whether used for residents, cars, or storage, would be treated the same, and the height for such structures would be capped at 20 feet. Such structures could be built closer to the street, 40 feet rather than the current 60 feet. This may be a problem for such structures in an historic district; the Committee will be reviewing these changes at its next meeting. Presently, the Systems Development Charges are waived for ADUs, which has turned out to be a major factor in the significant increase in ADUs over the last 3 years. The Irvington Historic District is now seeing almost one ADU application every other month. Another Tribune article detailed one of the problems with new detached ADUs. The County assessor, implementing state law, is reassessing the entire property when there is new construction, the ADU, on one part of the property, which means that the existing house on the property is also reassessed, even though it was not modified in any way. This means that the property taxes for the subject property will increase and such increase could be dramatic. The taxing and assessment laws in Oregon are complex to say the least, thanks in large measure to three constitutional amendments approved by the voters many years ago, which were designed to limit property taxes and annual increases in such taxes. Go to http://portlandtribune.

com/pt/9-news/273749-146747-code-changes-could-boost-number-of-adus for an article about proposed code changes for ADUs. Then go to http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/273752-148211-county-city-at-odds-over-accessorydwelling-units for an article about the assessment issues associated with new, detached ADUs. If you are having trouble sleeping, a sure fire remedy would be to click on the Multnomah County webpage and find your way to their discussion of assessments on real property in the county.

Third, the Committee is also following the work of

the SAC Parking Corridor Group which will be making recommendations on parking permit zones in residential districts. As many of you know, street parking in many portions of Irvington can be a nightmare depending on the time of day. These recommendations may make it easier to establish a parking permit area. More on this topic in the next newsletter.

Fourth, another City project on our radar is the

Residential Infill Project. From the City:

“In response to community concerns about new development in Portland’s residential neighborhoods, the Residential Infill Project will evaluate the city’s single-dwelling development standards. The project will focus on three primary topics: sale of houses, narrow lot development, and alternative housing options. Following an application process with over 90 applicants, Mayor Charlie Hales appointed a 26-member Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) to advise project staff. The SAC had their first meeting on September 15th to introduce the project staff and SAC members. Following opening remarks by Mayor Charlie Hales and Chief Planner Joe Zehnder, the group was given a brief project overview (http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/545267).”

The next SAC meeting will be held Tuesday, October 6,

2015, 6:00-8:30 p.m., 1900 SW Fourth Avenue, Room 2500 (second floor).

Fifth, a brief update on pending historic review

applications: For the property at 2602 NE 13th, the proposal to

demolish an existing non-contributing, vacant house has been granted, but not implemented. We assumed that the applicant wants to get approval of the replacement house before getting rid of the existing house. After discussions with City staff and the Committee, the applicant heard that the house was too tall, wide, and massive to meet the relevant historic review criteria, and that the applicant should move the house further back from the street, get rid of the tuck under garage, and generally reduce the overall mass, scale, and size of the proposed structure. The applicant’s design and construction team wisely availed themselves of the design advice offered by the Landmarks Commission, which advice sounded very much like the advice received from the Committee and the neighbors. After the hearing, the City distributed notes of the meeting, a summary of the comments, and advice from the Commission. You can review same by going to http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/record/7999125 and clicking on download, and reviewing the summary memo. We have not heard from the applicant›s team as to their next move.

The proposed new apartment building proposed for the

parking lot in front of the Marcus Apartments at NE 11th and Schuyler appears to be on hold. The hearing before the Landmarks Commission, a continuation of the type III appeal filed, has been postponed indefinitely. Other than this information, I am not sure what the Bureau of Development Services is doing with this matter. So far, the Commission has continued to deny the applicant’s proposals, originally and as amended.

Finally, the Committee must deal with new review

applications as they are deemed complete by the City and published and mailed to nearby neighbors and the Committee, which presently means 4 new applications and 3 pending applications. We welcome new members and land use meetings are public meetings, generally held on the last Thursday evening of the month at Westminster Church, but not always, depending on room availability, holidays, and other scheduling issues. Best to check with me or one of the current members. We will be posting the schedule for 2015 fourth quarter on the ICA web site as soon as I nail down the dates with the Church.

LAND USE UPDATE


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Great Gifts For Gardeners!

At its meeting on June 11, 2015, the ICA Board awarded grants from its Charitable Giving Program to fifteen (15) organizations

that provide valued service to people living in the Irvington neighborhood. Funds were budgeted for Charitable Giving in the ICA’s approved budget and $20,554 in grants was awarded.

The Grant High School All-Night Party Committee received $1,500 to help fund the June 2016 graduation night party. Grant expects to graduate 380 students in 2016 and this donation will help provide scholarships to students who would not otherwise be able to afford attending the party. The Grant All Night Party is a twenty-eight year tradition that uses many neighborhood volunteers to provide a drug and alcohol-free way for students to celebrate their graduation.

Kinship House, which operates from two small buildings located on NE 8th between Schuyler and Hancock, received $1,500 to provide comprehensive mental health assessment, counseling, and family services for foster children and their families. The program predominantly serves early childhood to school aged children. Their goal is to find each one a permanent loving home.

Loaves & Fishes received $2,000 for the Meals on Wheels program that provides meals served at and delivered from the kitchen facilities at its NE MLK, Jr. Blvd. Center. They routinely deliver hot meals to homebound, low-income adults and have recently seen a significant increase in the number of seniors needing meals. Their efforts to provide seniors with adequate nutrition help to allow many people to maintain their independence and remain in their own homes. Meals on Wheels service is available to anyone age 60 or older, regardless of income, who lives in their service area.

Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT), a non-profit organization that operates from Augustana Lutheran Church on NE 14th and Knott, received $1,000 to support its Housing Justice Program. CAT is Oregon’s only statewide, grassroots, tenant controlled, tenants rights organization. Its mission is to educate and empower tenants to demand safe, stable and affordable rental housing. Their Housing Justice Program aims to develop educated and active leaders who can effectively advocate for low-income tenants.

Irvington Preschool received $1,000 to establish a tuition assistance program for low-income families to offset the cost of monthly tuition. The preschool also operates from Augustana Lutheran Church and has been in Irvington for over 50 years. They serve 30 children annually and on average, over the past four years, 25% of their families have qualified for full or partial tuition scholarship.

Metropolitan Family Services received $3,000 for its Project Linkage program. Project Linkage provides in-home support and transportation services to low-income older adults and people with disabilities, the goal being to help them to continue to live independently. Operating from their location at NE 24th avenue between Thompson and Tillamook, Project Linkage served 122 clients in Irvington, providing over 4,800 rides. They have 15 transportation volunteers who live in Irvington and the Program has strong ties in the neighborhood.

Home Forward (formerly the Portland Housing Authority) received $3,000 to fund a major portion of the cost of foot care clinics for the residents of Dahlke Manor & Grace Peck Terrace. Over 200 low-income, elderly or disabled people live in the two buildings, and the grant pays for the much-needed services of a registered nurse. The foot care clinics enable all the residents to be screened for diabetes and its progression through regular examinations.

NE Child Development Center (NECDC) received $1,000 to fund the majority of the cost for

its weekly Imagination Yoga classes. They currently serve 34 families with children ages one to five and have found that offering yoga to the children in their care helps to build strength, flexibility, self-confidence and compassion. Now in its 30th year, NECDC is a non-profit childcare center located in Westminster Presbyterian Church’s building.

Hancock Street Preschool received $800 to help fund their general tuition financial assistance program. Also located at Westminster Presbyterian Church, the leadership of this preschool has determined that they do not want to turn away any family that might find itself unexpectedly unable to pay tuition during the school year, so they will “bank” this money to aid in their financial support of the families of their attending children.

Blueprint Ensemble Arts received $500 to support its sponsorship program. The non-profit organization, which rents space from Holiday Park Church of God at NE 21st and Tillamook, is a performing arts organization that offers 20 different adult and youth ensembles to meet the needs of a wide and diverse range of singers. Their goal is to provide aid to participant singers that need financial support in order to make progress with their desire to perform choral music. This is the first time that the organization has applied for and received a grant from the ICA.

Irvington School applied for and received $2,054 to support the new principal’s proposal to fund a full scholarship for a student’s participation in the 7th and 8th graders’ spring trip to Washington, D.C. Irvington students, along with adult chaperones, will participate in educational tours in the nation’s capitol during spring break of 2016.

U.S. Grant High School received $1,000 to support arts programs for its students. Beverley Cleary School – Fernwood Campus and Sabin School each received $500 to support arts programs for their students. Alameda School was asked to submit an application for a grant, but declined to do so. Alameda School told ICA representatives that they would pass on the application for an ICA grant in the hope that one of the other neighborhood area schools with more need would be awarded money.

The Charitable Giving Program of the ICA has been in place since 1992 and is a committee of the ICA Board. The Oregon Community Foundation advised the ICA Board on the setup of the program and the guidelines for giving. The guidelines are oriented toward serving the needs of the young people and seniors in our neighborhood. The program has defined criteria for eligibility; specifically (1) that a recipient must be either a public school or a 501c(3) organization under federal IRS rules, and (2) that a recipient must either operate within or be headquartered within the boundaries of the ICA.

Grants are awarded each year in June after a

competitive process administered by the ICA Board that begins in April of each year. Its success is completely dependent upon the success of the Historic Irvington Home Tour. Thank you to all who organize, manage and work on the Home Tour Committee and thank you to all the homeowners who offer their houses for the tour. None of these awards would be possible without the efforts of these dedicated volunteers.

Susan Hathaway-MarxerChair, Charitable Giving Committee

Irvington Community Association Donates over $20,000 to local non-profits in 2015


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IRVINGTON HISTORIC DISTRICT FAQby Peter O’Neil

A question was asked recently that convinced me it was time to start up my Irvington Historic District FAQ again. There‘s still a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about the rules for remodeling in the Historic District and how they work.

Question: “I want to convert my basement to an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Do you need Irvington Historic Society approval if we don’t change the footprint?”

There are several errors just in the framing of that question. The first one is no big deal, but there is no “Irvington historic society”; I suppose the questioner means Irvington Community Association. However, the Irvington Community Association (ICA) does not approve building plans. The city does that. However, the ICA does make exterior design recommendations which the city may, or may not, accept.

The Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS) issues building permits. Historic Resource Review of buildings within historic districts like Irvington is part of the permitting process. BDS inspects and approves your new wiring and plumbing, for example, and it also reviews and approves your exterior design.

All alterations to the exterior of a building in the Irvington Historic District require review and approval by BDS – not just changes to the footprint – but interior changes do not. They still need all the proper building permits, but Historic Resource Review is not necessary for interior changes.

So where does that leave us in answering the question?

The proposed ADU is for a basement conversion. That’s an interior alteration so it does not require Historic Resource Review and approval as long as it does not affect the exterior. Again, it needs all the usual permits, but not historic review. If the construction includes changes to the basement windows to accommodate the ADU, that window change would require the lowest and easiest level of review and approval (Type I). Basement egress windows are routinely approved so that’s a small hurdle.

Question: I want to expand my bedroom and add a master bath, but I heard you can’t do that in Irvington.

What you’ve heard is incorrect. The City’s guidelines allow expansions to homes in the District. Expansions to add floor space either by adding dormers (typically at the back of the house) or by extended the footprint at the back of the house have been approved many times. The key to obtaining approval is to preserve the historic character of the house while expanding the floor space. There are usually a number of ways to accomplish this. The ICA’s Land Use Committee routinely works with home owners to find an approvable approach to get the extra usable floor space they need. For example if you want to add one or more dormers to your roof, making your attic space into a livable area, the dormers will need to fit the general architectural style of the house and the City will require that their size doesn’t overwhelm the size and proportions of the house. Major expansions of the footprint will also need to meet these criteria while also avoiding adding so much mass as to overwhelm surrounding homes.Question: If I expand my house while rehabbing the structure, can I get still the historic property tax breaks? The program you’re referring to is the Oregon Special Assessment which caps the increase in your home’s assessed value for property tax purposes for 10 years. This can be especially useful when planning an addition which will trigger a re-assessment despite the Measure 47 tax limitation rules. If there is substantial rehabilitation coupled with the expansion, if (as is required anyway) the expansion passes the City’s Historic Resource Review process, and if your house is defined as “Contributing” in the District, then yes, you are still potentially eligible for the Special Assessment despite the modification to the structure. For more information see the ICA’s website at www.irvingtonpdx.com or http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/SHPO/Pages/tax_assessment.aspx The Land Use Committee of the Irvington Community Association can help you if you’re thinking of remodeling. We work with homeowners to help them create plans for their remodels that will likely be approved by the city. Just contact me or Dean Gisvold if you have a remodeling project in mind so the Land Use Committee advise you on your particular plan before you go to the city and pay your permit fees.If you have questions about Irvington Historic District, contact me or any member of the ICA Board of Directors.

Most of you know that the Saturday before Mothers’ Day Irvington has a cleanup day at the Holladay Park

Church of God, who hosts the cleanup in their west side parking lot off 21st. The drop box’s go down and your unwanted junk gets hauled away. All the stuff that is too good to toss gets regenerated back into good use again. We are very thankful to the church parishioners and other volunteers who have generously given their time to make this event successful. There have been many requests for document shedding to be part of the cleanup. Unfortunately, it has never worked out. However, the church will sponsor a document shredding event on

October 10th. Please take advantage of this event to unload that pile of papers and unneeded documents. Shredding will be done by Steve Walsh of Steve’s Shredding, who is licensed and bonded.

HOLLADAY Park Church of God2120. BE Tillamook StreetPortland Oregon 972129 am to 1 pmWest parking lot at 21st

50 cents per pound or $10.00 per 12x10” box

DOCUMENT SHREDDING


I’ve lived in and loved Irvington for 23 years – you’ve probably seen me around the neighborhood! I’d love to help you buy or sell in Irvington and beyond!

JUDITH ROLFE237 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232 503-287-8989

503-516-8632 [email protected]

Each Office Independently Owned and Operated

R E S O U R C E S

MORTGAGEremierP

Indies First DayBy Sally McPherson (Sally is co-owner of Broadway Books and an ICA board member)

Irvington resident and bestselling author Cheryl Strayed was recently named national spokesperson for this year’s Indies First Day, a day of celebration

created two years ago by author Sherman Alexie as a way for book authors and illustrators to show their love and support for their favorite local independent bookstores. That first year, more than 1100 of Sherman’s colleagues spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving meeting with customers and hand-selling their favorite books. One of those authors was Cheryl Strayed, who spent much of the day working at Broadway Books in northeast Portland, signing and answering questions about her books—she’s the author of Torch, Wild, Tiny Beautiful Things, and a new book of inspirational quotations, Brave Enough, which will be published on October 27th—and also recommending books by other authors she loves.

In her recent letter to authors and illustrators, inviting them to participate in the event this year, Cheryl described Indies First as “a way to say thank you” to independent booksellers. “There are so many ways that a rich and vibrant network of independent booksellers contribute to the betterment of book culture in America,” she wrote, «but perhaps the most important one is the support they give to authors and illustrators by hand-selling their books. I love that term, hand-selling. It reminds us that humans are involved, humans with a passion for language and stories and pictures.”

Cheryl will be in Australia on November 28th, on tour for her new book, but if she weren’t she said, “I’d be spending this Indies First Day the way I spent the first one—at Broadway Books, the beloved independent bookstore I’m fortunate enough to have in my neighborhood. Several of my local author friends do plan to be at Broadway Books that day, sharing book recommendations and signing their books for customers, so I know it will be a fun day.” Though Cheryl will not be joining them this year, signed and personalized copies of her books are always available through Broadway Books.

Cheryl and her husband, documentary filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, and their son Carver and daughter Bobbi moved into the Irvington neighborhood in 2013, but they have long been customers and supporters of many of the local stores and businesses in northeast Portland. In an interview shortly after they settled into their new home, Cheryl emphasized “I’m an east side person,” explaining why she loves it here: “This is home. I love Portland. I feel so lucky that I have access to an incredibly vibrant urban center – which is really where I see my life – and also the wild places that are so close, within thirty minutes. The coast, too. It’s just an hour and a half away and there you are on this incredibly rugged beach.”

Indies First Day takes place on Small Business Saturday, which this year is November 28th. Shopping at your neighborhood businesses on Small Business Saturday is a great to let them know you appreciate them! Another independent neighborhood bookstore which you should visit is A Children’s Place at 15th and Fremont.

Fine Home Remodeling & MaintenanceThe Total Home Care Difference

503-282-0545w w w . c o o p e r d e s i g n b u i l d e r s . c o mDesign ◦ Remodel ◦ Small Projects ◦ Repair ◦ Maintenance

By Stephanie SwansonEnhabit (formerly Clean Energy Works).

After what seemed like an endless, hot summer, we’re all breathing a sigh of relief as temperatures are finally dropping—winter is just around the

corner! But before the cold sets in for good, fall is the perfect time to take some easy steps to make your home cozier, healthier and safe for this winter and beyond.

Watch your windows. Did you know your windows can help keep your home warm in the winter? Take advantage of the winter sun’s heat by opening south-facing curtains, drapes and blinds during the day, and then closing window coverings at night to keep the heat in. If you don’t have blinds or shades, consider installing them to reduce heat loss (they’ll also help keep your house cool next summer).

Lower the dial and get cozy. Keep your home 10 to 15 degrees cooler when you are not at home, and lower the temperature slightly at night to save energy. Nothing’s cozier than bundling up with blankets on a winter night!

Breathe easy. Many homes trap allergens and pollutants, which affect indoor air quality and can seriously

impact the whole family. Checking for radon and installing a carbon monoxide detector are two simple steps that will help everyone breathe more easily.

Get prepared. Back to school is a great time to take stock of emergency preparedness plans and supplies. It’s also a good time to ensure your home is prepared for what may come. Seismic “hardening” of your home helps keep your home secured during severe storms, high winds and earthquakes. It’s also a necessary first step if you’re looking to get earthquake insurance.

For more information about how to improve the comfort, health and safety of your home, visit Enhabit.org/neighborhood and take a quick online quiz, or if you’re ready – schedule a free in-home visit with an Enhabit-certified contractor. Our qualified contractors and easy financing are available for a variety of home upgrades including energy efficiency improvements, radon mitigation, seismic retrofits and solar energy installations.

Enhabit (formerly Clean Energy Works), a non-profit, is the next step for homeowners who want to make their homes work and feel better. From the initial review of your home, to choosing a trusted contractor or financing to choosing the right efficiency and health and safety upgrades, Enhabit is committed to high-performance home renewal that makes sense.

Fall’s here, and your comfortable, safe home awaits

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 88GRESHAM, OR

Irvington Community AssociationP.O. Box 12102

Portland, OR 97212

F A L L 2 0 1 5

HISTORIc IRVINGTON

By Steve Cole

The challenge to the Irvington Historic District by a group of neighbors from the northeast part

of the District unhappy with the historic designation may well be at an end. For those of you new to the neighborhood, or may have just not heard, a small group of neighbors who live in the blocks which are currently considered by the City as both in the Irvington neighborhood and in the Alameda neighborhood, prepared a formal application to remove the blocks east of 21st and north of Knott from the Irvington Historic District. The core argument advanced by the group was that the area was historically known as part of Alameda, even though a significant part of it was originally platted in the Irvington development.

The application for the boundary change was first rejected at the city level last spring when the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission recommended denial. The Commission noted that there was no difference in the percentage of historic homes in the challenged area, or even the type compared to other areas of Irvington. The next stage of review was a hearing before the State Advisory Commission on Historic Preservation, held in Eugene. The SACHP voted to reject the application. The group then exercised their right of appeal to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., a part of the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Keeper denied their request as well. The only remaining option for the applicants is now an appeal of the Keeper’s decision to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Rebutting the challenge required having several board

members and neighborhood volunteers take time to testify at the various hearings. While we never thought the challenge would be successful, in an abundance of caution, the ICA also hired an expert, at an expense of over $3,000, to prepare the ICA’s formal, technical rebuttal. In support of that formal response, the ICA’s Historic Preservation Committee also assembled some 40 pages of documentation in support of retaining the area in question in the District. Also, a number of neighbors also took time to write letters in support of keeping the Historic

District intact.

Given the proliferation of home demolitions occurring in Alameda and our other abutting neighborhoods, this comes as a relief to many of the neighbors in the challenged blocks, some of whom may initially have been sympathetic to the challenge, but now see the biggest benefit to the historic district in the protection from wanton demolition and construction of hugely out-of-scale, expensive replacements. A recent KGW story which focused on the loss of homes in Alameda has a good visual representation of the impacts from developers who don’t live in our city and are more concerned with making money than neighborhood livability – in an area without Historic District protections. Another side effect of the demolitions and lot-splitting which occurs in other neighborhoods is the loss of stately old trees. In Alameda, many large trees have been cut down in order to build a larger home or add a home to an over-sized lot. In fact, the only proposed demolition we have pending in Irvington is the non-contributing house at 2602 NE 13th, which is described in the land use article by Dean Gisvold.

While the historic district arguably has a few downsides, its benefits are numerous

and undeniable. Those benefits will become clearer in the upcoming years as the neighborhoods around us change in ways that alter their character and further aggravate Portland’s problems with housing affordability.More details of the applications for boundary change and the arguments against it (and a great deal more information about the Historic District) can be found at http://www.irvingtonpdx.com/historic-overview/

Challenge to the Historic District is Rejected

Newsletter 2015 Fall

Documents

Transcript of Newsletter 2015 Fall