Advocacy News

The Portland Plan - Adopted Plan Now Available

The long-awaited Portland Plan is now available in adopted form.

Click here to see the Adopted Plan.

Portland Comprehensive Plan

The update of the Portland Comprehensive Plan is in full swing. You can sign up for the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability’s e-news here. You’ll want to click on the “Policy Expert Groups Updates” segment of the e-news. The Neighborhood Centers and Residential Development & Compatibility sections are where our neighborhood design and development issues can be found, in the plan update process to date. Good participation in the upcoming neighborhood mapping meetings is critical - - if your neighborhood concerns are to be addressed in plans for its future!

Check out the calendar and please plan to attend.

Click here for the
Comprehensive Plan Update E-News of May 2013

Central City 2035 (CC2035) is an update to the 1988 Central City Plan, which is the existing plan and policy for downtown and central areas of Portland, Oregon. In coordination with the Portland Plan, CC2035 will address challenges and opportunities in the Central City to ensure that this unique economic, transportation, cultural and educational hub will be a vibrant resource for all Portlanders over the next 25 years. You can view the project website at Central City 2035, which includes more detailed information about the project, the new Advisory Group, an event calendar, and ways to stay informed.

The first phase in Central City 2035 is a Concept Plan, which will set overall direction and policies for the Central City. In order to help frame the Concept Plan, the Central City 2035 team hosted a Symposium Series in late 2010 and early 2011. The symposiums featured discussions among stakeholders and experts on critical questions. The CC2035 Advisory Group will integrate the results of the symposiums into the Draft Concept Plan.The Central City Plan has now emerged with a new Stakeholder's Advisory Committee.Use this link to see their schedule.

Economics of Preservation ‐ the latest from the National Trust

When we talk numbers and statistics regarding preservation’s economic benefits, we always want to stay up-to-date. Thanks to the work of Donovan Rypkema, David Listokin, Michael Lahr, and Mandala Research, LLC, and others, all featured in this updated two-pager compiled by Jennifer Buddenborg of the Mountains/Plains Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, we can stay current and in-the-know.
Click here to download a two page pdf entitled: "12 Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation"

Follow our blog Portland Preservation

With so much going on in the Portland area related to historic preservation, we thought it was time to create a tool to keep people up to date as much as possible. Our blog Portland Preservation will help you stay on top of preservation issues in and around the Portland area. We hope you'll check it out!

Portland Public Schools

by Cathy Galbraith

Portland Public Schools Historic Buildings Assessment:

Portland Public Schools Historic Buildings Assessment is available for download on the PPS website. For more information about schools in your neighborhood or others you may be interested in, click here. This information will be important as the Portland School Board works to develop a new bond funding proposal.

Memorial Coliseum

• The Portland Development Commission has a website specifically dedicated to the Rose Quarter Development Project: "Future Rose Quarter development will realize the long-anticipated community vision of a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use district that showcases leading edge sustainability practices, creates jobs, and is well integrated and connected with the surrounding neighborhood and adjacent Lloyd district. This process will eventually result in the creation of a Rose Quarter Development Strategy and a determination on the future of Memorial Coliseum."

Click here for a status update on May 4, 2012.

If this issue is important to you, be sure to sign up for their mailing list so that you will be automatically notified when new information is posted on the site.

• The National Park Service officially listed Memorial Coliseum in the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The Rose Quarter Stakeholder Advisory Committee needs to keep this designation in mind as they detemine recommended future uses for the Coliseum and development in the Rose Quarter. Congratulations to everyone who has worked to preserve this modern Portland architectural icon.

To read more about this listing or other structures recently added to the National Register in Oregon, click here.

Historic Preservation Needs Assessment

The Bosco-Milligan Foundation, owner and operator of the Architectural Heritage Center, has expanded field services and technical assistance citywide, with the goal of helping residents preserve what is important to them, in their corner of the city. This project is assisted by a Partners in the Field challenge grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Our first step was to ask Portland residents like you what your primary concerns are and to find out what tools and training you need in order to be more effective in preserving your neighborhood history.

We held a series of five meetings across the city of Portland, to collect information from residents who are interested in or concerned about historic preservation. Responses have now been compiled into a Historic Preservation Needs Assessment, available below.  Based upon this report, workshops will be developed to address common themes and to provide technical assistance and training for residents interested in becoming pro-active preservationists.

Click Here for a PDF of the 2009 Portland Historic Preservation Needs Assessment.

Economic Reasons For Investing In Historic Preservation

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has posted an article on the their Web site on the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as it relates to historic preservation. They offer a compelling case for spending money on preservation because “Dollar for dollar, historic preservation is one of the highest job-generating economic development options available.”

Click here for the full article, with links, including quotes from our "guru" Donovan Rypkema.

The Future of Skidmore/Old Town Historic District

The zoning code amendments that would allow much taller buildings on five “opportunity sites” was greatly debated by City Council, along with the proposed Design Guidelines and a Resolution to encourage the use of Eric Ladd’s cast iron artifacts in projects in the district. The entire package was tabled  in early 2010. The important issue is however, still simmering and about to be raised again. Expect a new task force soon!

The National Trust for Historic Preservation weighed in, opposing the zoning amendments and supporting the design guidelines and cast iron resolution, as we did. See the Bosco-Milligan Foundation’s letter to City Council (PDF) and the National Trust’s (PDF), plus a statement from Art DeMuro (PDF), Chairman of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. See the Portland Planning Bureau’s website for all of the documents that the Council is considering as it decides the future of Portland’s National Historic Landmark district. The National Park Service has expressed their concern about the impacts of the taller new buildings on the NHL status of the district.

Historic Landmark Commission Hearings 

Click here for more information on Historic Landmark Commission public hearings and other commissions overseen by the City of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services.