HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
The Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Board’s March meeting was so busy it kept us overtime. We heard and discussed progress on a brand new school building, a pitch by a county commission candidate, a proposal for rezoning eastside neighborhoods and an update on the Avalon sanctuary.
Eric Gerding from Portland Public Schools described current planning for Cleveland High. As of this writing, it looks as if the 1929 building will be replaced. Architectural and engineering design work and interactions with the city will take two years, by which time the district hopes there will be money to start building.
We heard from Kevin Fitts, who is running for a District 1 spot on the Multnomah County Commission. He is a longtime activist for improved community mental health responses and homeless solutions and is executive director of the Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association.
Luke Norman and Laura Fleming, volunteers with Portland: Neighbors Welcome, presented a proposal being made to City Council for a broad upzone of the inner eastside. It would allow for any residential lot to be used to build up mixed-income, mixed-use urban neighborhoods by allowing street-scale apartment buildings. The area would be from SE Powell Blvd. to NE Fremont St. and 7th/12th Ave. to 60th/58th Ave.
HAND Board member Mark Linehan updated us on progress at Avalon, the mini-sanctuary on city property near New Seasons being readied by WeShine. They will hold a press conference on Friday, April 12 at the site, and an open house in June.
The next HAND meeting will be Tuesday, April 16, 7 pm on the St. Philip Neri campus. We welcome one and all.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association
By Louise Hoff
Montavilla is welcoming some changes this spring. The Montavilla Neighborhood Association has re-launched the MNA Newsletter with lots of information and links to info and events around Montavilla. Go to montavilla.org to sign up.
Our monthly public meetings, open to all residents in our neighborhood, are resuming. In March we met at Flying Pie Pizza, where the Portland Bureau of Transportation provided updates on the 82nd Ave. Project, its updated design on the Davis (Vestal) intersection as well as the Glisan Greenway project. Both are still open to public feedback.
The city and county are planning several homeless shelters in our neighborhood. The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) will be hosting a meeting to engage with the community on their Montavilla Community Village Project in the coming weeks. It will be held at the Montavilla United Methodist Church, Wednesday, April 3, 6 pm. We encourage all MNA members to attend and share their feedback with JOHS. MNA and METBA are working on Good Neighbor Agreements between the shelter management and community.
We meet every second Monday of the month. Our next meeting will be April 8, 6:30 pm.
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Nadine Fiedler
The Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association’s March meeting on Zoom focused on several important topics, including the completion of the maintenance yard construction and new path into Mt. Tabor Park from SE 64th Ave. and SE Division St., and the role that MTNA played in the past in saving this property from being sold; the joint cleanup with MTNA and the North Tabor NA, set for Saturday, April 20, at the Unity Fellowship site at SE 45th Ave. and SE Stark St.. Come! Volunteer!; the possibility of requesting a temporary location for the Belmont Library branch when it closes for renovation for an entire year; the MTNA Board election in May—the Board has current vacancies, and MTNA encourages neighbors to get involved to help support the neighborhood; and requests from political candidates to speak at MTNA meetings
We invite all neighbors to come be a part of the process! The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 17, 7 pm. You can find a link to all meetings under the Meetings and Events tab on our website, mttaborpdx.org. Come join us!
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Brian Hochhalter
The Richmond Neighborhood Association (RNA) held its monthly meeting March 11. Meetings are the second Monday of the month, 7-9 pm, except January. They are held in-person at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. You can also participate via Zoom. The link to pre-register for Zoom is on the agenda, which is posted to richmondpdx.org and the RNA Announce listserv. To be added to the listserv, email richmondnasecretary@gmail.com.
Hector Lopez, Project Manager with Portland Public Schools’ (PPS) Office of Modernization presented preliminary plans and options for the Cleveland High School remodel. One proposal includes the complete demolition of the historic façade. Another option retains the historic façade as part of the remodel/modernization of the school.
Rob Nosse, Oregon House Representative District 42, spoke about recent legislative activity in Salem. PPS will receive $30 million to relocate their headquarters and the property will be sold to the Albina Vision Trust. Multnomah County and the City of Portland will receive funds to create a drop-off center for first responders to take individuals exhibiting addiction related distress for treatment.
The RNA Board voted to hold the annual Board member election in June, centered around the June 10 monthly meeting. Consider becoming a Board member to be more involved in the community or to start a new community project.
The Richmond Spring Cleanup takes place Saturday, May 18. Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd., will be the site for cars/trucks to drive in to unload for FREE, bulky waste and metal/electronics/Styrofoam recycling–NO construction or demolition material. The popular, huge U-Price-It plant and rummage sale will return.
Volunteers are needed for the Cleanup event. Morning snacks and pizza lunch provided. We also need two-person pickup-truck crews to pick up items from seniors’ homes for $20/hr. Contact richmondcleanup@gmail.com to volunteer or be a truck-crew. If you have a passion for recycling, helping our seniors or getting involved in fun community events, this is the event for you.
The next RNA meeting is Monday, April 8. Everyone is welcome. Come and check out a meeting and learn about ways to get more involved in your community.
South Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Cathy Kudlick
The South Tabor Neighborhood Association continues to meet with city officials and candidates who reach out to us about the upcoming May elections.
At our March 21 meeting we heard from PBOT (Portland Bureau of Transportation) representatives about the Missing Modal Links Program related to the Safe Routes to School Project, as well as the latest plans for 82nd Ave. And District 3 Candidate Daniel DeMelo give a brief statement followed by questions from neighbors.
Our next meeting will be in person Thursday, April 18, 7-8:30 pm at All City Church, 2700 SE 67th Ave. (enter from the back parking lot). Come meet your neighbors, share your ideas and join us for exciting new projects in the works on the third Thursday of every month.
To learn more, follow us on social media and/or join our low-key, low-traffic mailing list at southtabor.org.
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
By Gloria Jacobs
Our March meeting focused on the proposal from Portland: Neighbors Welcome that would add language to the Housing Bureau Strategic Plan (HBSP) for increased density in inner eastside neighborhoods. The proposal–Inner Eastside For All–would allow for what they call “four floors and corner stores” to be built between approximately SE 12th and SE 60th avenues and SE Powell and NE Fremont streets. There was a good turnout and a lot of new faces. Opinions were varied. Many welcomed the effort to increase housing availability and hopefully make renting more affordable, but there were worries about how this development would actually occur. Would it be the small groups of people building community together through creating shared living spaces in small apartment buildings? Or would it be developers buying up lots and leaving them vacant while they put together large enough parcels to make it profitable? What would the effect be on longtime residents? How about the recent Residential Infill Project that already allows for the expansion of ADUs and small multiplexes? You can learn more at portlandneighborswelcome.org/inner-eastside-for-all.
This summer we plan to repaint the beloved Sunnyside Piazza at SE 33rd Ave. and Yamhill St. The piazza is one of the oldest intersection art installations in Portland and it needs a refresh. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the Piazza Working Group at board@sunnysideportland.org.
Annual Board elections will be held Thursday, May 9. Please reach out to president@sunnysideportland.org if you are thinking of joining the Board and want to learn more.
At our Thursday, April 11 Board meeting we will hear from the CEI Hub Task Force, which is building awareness around the dangers to all of Portland posed by the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, the bulk fuel storage facility located between the Willamette River and Hwy 30 in N Portland.