Advocacy News

Special Events!

Portland Mayoral and City Council Races:
Forums on Historic Preservation and Urban Design in Portland
Free to All Attendees!

Dates:

Tuesday, February 21st - Council seat:
Amanda Fritz, Mary Nolan and Teressa Raiford
Hosted at Architectural Heritage Center
(701 SE Grand Avenue)     6:30–8:30 PM

Tuesday, March 6th — Council seat:
Steve Novick, Jeri Williams and Mark White
Hosted at AIA/Portland offices
(403 NW 11th)       6:30–8:30 PM

Wednesday, March 21st — Mayoral candidates:
Elaine Brady, Charlie Hales, and Jefferson Smith
Hosted by HPLO at White Stag Block
(70 NW Couch)        6:00–8:00 PM

Portland City Council election campaigns for Mayor and two Council seats are well underway, with candidates who have filed and are thoughtfully campaigning for your vote. This election cycle, we believe that the future of historic preservation and urban design in Portland are significant election issues. What better way to determine the depth and breadth of each candidate’s commitment to Portland’s heritage than to ask the candidates themselves? As a nonprofit, we can’t participate in the races of particular candidates, but we can provide important and vital information on issues related to our mission of historic preservation education and advocacy.

Three organizations—the Bosco-Milligan Foundation/ Architectural Heritage Center (that’s us), AIA/Portland-Oregon, and the Historic Preservation League of Oregon have come together to coordinate and host three separate forums, one for the Mayoral race, and two for the City Council races.

Please check our website and/or look for our biweekly enews for any updates.

Note: if you are not receiving our enews, it’s because we don’t have your current email address.
You can sign up for enews by clicking here.

The Portland Plan - Proposed Draft Now Available

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

Click here to see the Draft Plan.

Public hearings are scheduled for three Tuesdays in November: November 8th at Jefferson High School, November 15th at Parkrose High school, and Novemberc29th at City’s Development Services building. All public comments are due by November 30th.

Click here to see our Comments on the Draft Plan.

Click here to see the Landmarks Commission Comments on the draft Portland Plan

Please consider adding your support for our position in your comments.

To submit written comments by email
Send comments to psc@portlandoregon.gov with the subject line "Portland Plan testimony."

To submit written comments by mail
Send a letter with your comments to the
    Planning and Sustainability Commission
    1900 SW 4th Ave.
    Portland, OR 97201-5380
    Attn: Portland Plan testimony.

 

Portland's Central City 2035 Plan

The Bureau of Planning & Sustainability has conducted two Historic Preservation-specific symposia on May 20, 2011 and June 17, 2011.

The intent of these sessions is to identify historic preservation policy issues, from the views of important stakeholders including the Landmarks Commission, property owners and developers, preservation advocates, including our own Executive Director Cathy Galbraith, and others. This took place at Session #1.

Session #2 presented the findings from the first session, with the objective of arriving at Historic Preservation Policy documents for inclusion in the Central City 2035 Plan. This is our opportunity to define the Portland's future for historic preservation.

About Central City 2035 and the Symposium Series

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. The River Plan/Central Reach is also a coordinated effort with Central City 2035 and will address a broad set of issues. You can view the project website at Central City 2035, which includes more detailed information about the project and the 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 Historic Buildings Assessment:

Portland Public Schools has released their Historic Buildings Assessment and it is available for download on the PPS website. For more information about schools in your neighborhood or an 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 for 2012 & 2013.

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."

The city has engaged a professional architectural team to assess its restoration needs and costs. This work is underway as of December 2011.

Veterans Focus Group Meeting
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Portland Development Commission – Commission Room

Meeting purpose:

  • Update on Veterans Memorial Coliseum progress – design, budget, funding
  • Discussion of Regional Arts and Culture Council artist selection process
  • Review Memorial Gardens concepts

         For More information, please visit the project website:
                  RoseQuarterDevelopment.org

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 will certainly be raised again. Expect to see Skidmore/Old Town in the City's upcoming work on the Comprehensive Plan.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has 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.

Portland Public Schools

by Cathy Galbraith

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.