Ordinance No. 177082 AS AMENDED
Adopt and implement the North Macadam Plan (Ordinance)
The City of Portland ordains:
Section 1: The Council finds:
General Findings
1. The North Macadam planning effort has resulted in a series of documents with similar names. For ease of understanding these findings, the following references are used. The documents being adopted through this ordinance are North Macadam Plan (Exhibit A), Zoning Code for North Macadam (Exhibit B), North Macadam Design Guidelines and Greenway Design Guidelines for North Macadam (Exhibit C) and Supporting Information for North Macadam Plan (Exhibit D). Hereinafter these documents are referenced as North Macadam Plan, North Macadam Zoning Code, and North Macadam Design Guidelines, respectively, and their contents are referred to as the amendments or the provisions.
2. In 1977, the Portland City Council adopted the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill Policy Plan, which is also part of Portland's Comprehensive Plan.
3. Portland’s Comprehensive Plan was adopted on October 16, 1980 through Ordinance No. 150580 and acknowledged for compliance with Statewide Planning Goals on May 3, 1981. On January 25, 2000, the Land Conservation and Development Commission completed its review of the city’s final local periodic review order and periodic review work programs, and re-acknowledged the plan’s compliance with the statewide planning goals.
4. On March 24, 1988, the Portland City Council adopted the Central City Plan (Ordinance No. 160606 and Resolution No. 34417) designating the North Macadam District as a mixed use neighborhood with commercial zoning and a required housing area.
5. In November 1996, City Council unanimously accepted a report prepared by the City Engineer entitled North Macadam District Street Plan. City Council then directed the Bureau of Planning to recommend measures for implementing the Street Plan.
6. On April 18, 1997, the Bureau of Planning published the Planning Commission Proposed Draft for recommendations to implement the North Macadam District Street Plan.
7. On November 25, 1998, through Resolution No. 35742, the City Council directed the Bureau of Planning, in consultation with the Bureau of Environmental Services, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation and the Portland Development Commission, to conduct a comprehensive revision of the Willamette Greenway Plan and implementing regulations. Resolution No. 35742 further specified that the revision of the Willamette Greenway Plan would be coordinated with the North Macadam revision process.
8. On August 11, 1999, the Portland City Council accepted the North Macadam District Framework Plan, approved a work program for implementation of the plan, and approved the planning process for the North Macadam Urban Renewal Plan (Ordinance No. 173651 and Resolution No. 35815). The mission of the North Macadam Framework Plan is to support a lively, urban neighborhood; a diverse population; integrated jobs and housing; accessible and well-crafted open spaces; active streets; a building scale that is friendly to pedestrians; convenient transit; and a quality urban design.
9. The Bureau of Planning’s Proposed North Macadam Plan and Proposed Zoning Code for North Macadam were published on April 24, 2002. Public hearings on the plan and zoning code were held on May 14, 2002 and May 28, 2002. Work sessions before Planning Commission were held on June 4, June 25, July 9, July 16, and July 30, 2002. On July 30, 2002, at the conclusion of their deliberations, the Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council adopt the plan and zoning code with amendments.
10. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on August 27, 2002, to consider testimony on a Portland Development Commission request to amend the required heights in an area north of the Marquam Bridge, near the RiverPlace development. The amendment proposed to lower the required heights closest to the Willamette Greenway and raise the required heights further from the greenway. After receiving oral and written testimony from over 25 people (and receiving a petition signed by 187 residents of the American Plaza Condominiums), Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject the proposed height change amendment.
11. The Bureau of Planning’s Proposed North Macadam Design Guidelines were published on April 24, 2002 and the Portland Design Commission on July 18, 2002 held a public hearing on the guidelines. On August 22, 2002, at the conclusion of their deliberations, the Design Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council adopt the guidelines with amendments.
12. The Recommended North Macadam Plan, the Recommended Zoning Code for North Macadam and the Recommended North Macadam Design Guidelines and Greenway Design Guidelines for North Macadam were published on September 10, 2002. Public hearings on these documents were held by the Portland City Council on October 9 (and October 10), 2002. Planning staff brought written materials to the public hearings constituting the entire record of the project and the city proceedings on the plan. These materials included oversized exhibits and materials contained in a filing cabinet. Planning staff placed these materials before the City Council and made them available during the public hearings. All of these materials are specifically incorporated into the City Council record.
13. On October 30 and 31, 2002, City Council held an amendments hearing to receive additional testimony on staff proposed amendments to the recommended documents. These amendments were in response to City Council direction, public testimony and information from other City bureau staff. These amendments included a Portland Development Commission request to amend the heights in an area north of the Marquam Bridge. Bureau of Planning staff supported a revision of this amendment that included a wider greenway, similar to that in North Macadam, and a stepping down of the building heights from west to east. On October 31, 2002, at the outset of the continued hearing on the proposed amendments, the Council set aside time specifically to hear and consider testimony on the PDC amendment request to increase heights north of the Marquam Bridge.
14. City Council voted to adopt the North Macadam Plan and its implementing documents on November 13, 2002. The adopted documents were published on December 13, 2002.
15. As part of the Council’s action to adopt the North Macadam Plan, Council directed staff to change the district’s name from “North Macadam” to “South Waterfront.” Subsequent copies of plan documents will reflect this name change.
16. North Macadam Plan provisions implement or are consistent with the Statewide Planning Goals, the Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan, the Portland Comprehensive Plan, and the Portland Zoning Code as described in the findings that follow and in the record of the city proceedings on the plan. These rules, policies and plans provide a basis for allowing and limiting new residential, commercial and employment activities in the plan area.
17. The North Macadam Plan includes action charts that are approved by resolution. These action charts represent a commitment from public and private groups to help implement the policies and objectives of the plan. Every listed implementor has agreed to the assigned action by verbal consent or by submitting a letter of support.
18. It is in the public interest that the recommendations contained in the North Macadam Plan be adopted to direct and manage change and to regulate development in the plan area.
Statewide Planning Goals Findings
State planning statutes require cities to adopt and amend comprehensive plans and land use regulations in compliance with the state land use goals. Because the North Macadam Plan has a limited scope and the amendments in this ordinance address only some of the topics of the Statewide Planning Goals, only the state goals addressed below apply.
19. Goal 1, Citizen Involvement, requires provision of opportunities for citizens to be involved in all phases of the planning process. The preparation of North Macadam Plan has provided numerous opportunities for public involvement. Findings of compliance with Portland Comprehensive Plan Goal 9, Citizen Involvement, and its related policies and objectives, also demonstrate compliance with this goal. The amendments are supportive of this goal in the following ways:
a) In November 1996, City Council accepted the North Macadam District Street Plan. City Council then directed the Bureau of Planning to recommend measures for implementing the Street Plan. Bureau of Planning staff met numerous times with interested groups and individuals between January 1997 and September 2002.
b) On June 4, 1997, City Council adopted Resolution No. 35618 and appointed the North Macadam Steering Committee to lead a public-private planning process. The North Macadam Steering Committee was asked to establish a vision for district development as well as develop a district-wide framework plan.
c) The Design Commission held a public hearing on June 5, 1997 to consider the proposed amendments to the special design guidelines for the North Macadam District of the Central City Plan. Notice of this public hearing was mailed to over 200 persons. The Design Commission public hearing was also advertised through the Office of Neighborhood Associations’ (ONA) public outreach calendar. (ONA is now known as the Office of Neighborhood Involvement or ONI).
d) The North Macadam Steering Committee members met more than 30 times from June 1997 through August 2000. The North Macadam Steering Committee extensively advertised their efforts, their meetings were open to the public and testimony was accepted at all meetings.
e) In 1998, the North Macadam Steering Committee established work groups to help prepare and review drafts of the North Macadam Framework Plan and the North Macadam Urban Renewal Plan. The six work groups were Greenway and Parks; Housing; Jobs; Land Use and Development; Market Analysis and Financial Strategy; and Transportation and Infrastructure. These work groups were comprised of representatives of property owners, public agencies, institutions, and neighborhood associations and community organizations.
f) In August 1999, City Council charged staff from the city bureaus with driving the next phase of the planning process. The North Macadam Steering Committee reorganized the work groups into advisory groups. The six advisory groups were Greenway/Parks, Housing, Jobs, Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure, Market Analysis and Financial Strategy. These advisory groups were comprised of representatives of property owners, public agencies, institutions, and community organizations. The advisory groups met regularly between August 1999 and April 2000. The advisory groups provided advice to City staff on the preparation of the proposed revisions for North Macadam.
g) The following organizations were represented on one or more of the work group and/or advisory committees: American Society of Landscape Architects; Association for Portland Progress; Audubon Society of Portland; The Bookin Group; Bureau of Environmental Services; Bureau of Planning; Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill Neighborhood Association; David Evans & Associates, Inc.; Enron Micro Climates, Inc; FFA Architects; 40 Mile Loop Trust; Group Mackenzie; GSL Properties; Housing and Community Development Commission; Housing Authority of Portland; Housing Development Center; Innovative Housing, Inc.; League of Women Voters; Melvin Mark Development Company; National College of Naturopathic Medicine; National Marine Fisheries Service, NW Region; North Macadam Development Council; Northwest District Association; Office of Planning and Development Review; Old Spaghetti Factory; 1000 Friends of Oregon; Oregon Fish and Wildlife; Oregon Health & Science University; Oregon Pacific Investment Development; Pacific Richland Company; Parsons Brinckerhoff; Portland Community Design; Portland Development Commission; Portland Office of Transportation; Portland Parks and Recreation; Portland State University; Schnitzer Investment Group; SERA Architects; Shiels Obletz Johnsen; Spencer and Kupper; Tri-Met; US Bank Trust; Westwood Swinerton Construction; The Zidell Companies.
h) Members of the North Macadam Steering Committee and the Urban Renewal Advisory Committee received written notification of all committee meetings. In addition, notification of all advisory group meetings was sent to representatives of the following: Bank of America; Brian McCarl & Co; City Commissioner James Francesconi’s office; City Commissioner Charlie Hales’s office; County Commissioner Diane Linn’s office; City Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s office; City Commissioner Eric Sten’s office; Community Development Network; Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill Neighborhood Association; David Evans & Associates, Inc; Entouch Systems; Eric Hovee & Co; Fannie Mae; Fishman Environmental Services; GreenWorks; Harza Engineering Company; Housing Authority of Portland; Housing Development Center; League of Women Voters; Mayor Vera Katz’s Office; Metro; National College of Naturopathic Medicine; Northwest Housing Alternatives; NSP Development; Oregon Department of Transportation; Pacific Housing Advisors, Inc; Portland Community Reinvestments, Inc; Portland Office of Transportation; PIVOT; Portland Community Design; Portland State University; Prendergast & Associates; Reach Community Development; StastnyBrun Architects, Inc; Tri-Met; Willamette River Keepers; Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.
i) Beginning in September 1999, everyone on the North Macadam general mailing list received written notification of all meetings of the North Macadam Steering Committee, the work group committees, and the advisory committees. The North Macadam general mailing list is comprised of all members of the North Macadam Steering Committee, the work group committees, advisory Committees, and all interested parties and/or individuals who requested information.
j) The Bureau of Planning published two public review drafts containing amendments to policy, zoning code and design guidelines in December 1999. A three and a-half-month public review process followed the release of these draft documents.
k) In February 2000, the Bureau of Planning held two informational meetings and three workshops to review the public review draft with any interested party. Public comment on the draft documents was accepted until March 31, 2000.
l) The Bureau of Planning sent a notice announcing the availability of the public review draft and the schedule for the meetings and workshops to over 1000 individuals and organizations on the Bureau’s North Macadam general mailing list. The North Macadam general mailing list consists of all committee members and interested parties affiliated with specific committees and work groups, in addition to people interested in North Macadam with no specific committee affiliation. The notice was also sent to all those who had requested information on the proposed revisions for the North Macadam District, Central City issues, and the Willamette River greenway. In addition, the schedule for the February 2000 informational meetings and workshops was included in the local newspapers and on both broadcast television and radio.
m) Between December 1999 and March 2000, the Bureau of Planning received more than 600 specific suggestions from 53 individuals for changes to the public review draft documents. This included participants in the meetings and workshops, representatives of city bureaus, and others interested in the North Macadam District. In addition to comments from workshop participants, suggestions, comments, and questions were received through U.S. mail, email and interagency memorandums.
n) Bureau of Planning staff met with any individual who requested a meeting. Any group comprised of at least five individuals that requested a meeting about the proposals contained in the public review draft was granted a meeting, at a location of its choice. Staff met at the Bureau of Planning offices with any individual who requested a meeting to answer questions and hear comments about the proposals. Bureau of Planning staff met with approximately 25 individuals and 20 groups of five or more between August 1999 and October 2000.
o) On October 13, 2000, the Bureau of Planning published the proposed revisions for the North Macadam District. This three-volume set included the following documents: Proposed Revisions to the Central City Plan, Willamette Greenway Plan, and Title 33, Zoning Code; Proposed North Macadam District Design Guidelines; and Appendices.
p) A Planning Commission hearing notice was sent to the 921 individuals who requested information about the North Macadam planning process. The notice informed them of the availability of the proposed revisions for the North Macadam District and the upcoming public hearings before Planning Commission.
q) On October 25, 2000, the required Measure 56 notice was mailed to forty property owners whose property was proposed to be affected by the proposed revisions.
r) On November 14, 2000, a joint public hearing with both the Planning Commission and the Design Commission was held. In addition to presentations from staff and members of the North Macadam Steering Committee, over 90 individuals provided the Planning Commission and Design Commission with testimony on the proposed documents.
s) On November 21, 2000, Bureau of Planning staff met with the Planning and Design Commission in a work session on the North Macadam proposals.
t) Bureau of Planning staff met with the Design Commission on January 19, 2001, and on March 15, 2001 to discuss issues pertaining to the North Macadam proposals.
u) Bureau of Planning staff and the Portland Design Commission held three workshops to develop design principles for the North Macadam District on April 27, 2001; May 18, 2001; and May 25, 2001.
v) The Bureau of Planning briefed the Planning Commission on the status of the project on June 12, 2001and August 28, 2001.
w) An interbureau technical team was formed in September 2001 to facilitate the development of the proposed revisions. The team, known as the Core Group, was led by the Bureau of Planning with representatives from the Portland Development Commission, the Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Parks and Recreation, Portland Office of Transportation, and the Office of Planning and Development Review. Members of the Core Group briefed the members of the North Macadam Urban Renewal Advisory Committee on October 18, 2001 to update them on the current planning concepts.
x) Staff from the Core Group representing the Bureau of Planning, the Portland Office of Transportation, and the Portland Development Commission met with numerous stakeholders and groups including developers, institutions, neighborhood associations, property owners, and other public interest organizations to discuss concepts related to the plan between November 2001 and July 2002. The Core Group also briefed organizations and commissions, including the North Macadam Urban Renewal Advisory Committee, on the concepts.
y) Staff from the Core Group briefed the Planning Commission on November 11, 2001 regarding the revised framework concepts for the North Macadam District.
z) Portland Development Commission staff briefed the Portland Development Commission on December 12, 2001, on the updated North Macadam budget and planning process.
aa) Beginning in early 2002, information about the North Macadam Plan was added to the Bureau of Planning Internet site (www.planning.ci.portland.or.us) and has been regularly updated since then. Details include an overview of the plan; team and contact information; maps and photos; documents available; events and dates; as well as text and graphics from the Community Open Houses. The website also includes links to the other agency and bureau webpages related to the North Macadam planning process.
bb) The Oregonian, Portland Business Journal, the Daily Journal of Commerce, Southwest Neighborhood News, The Multnomah Village Post, Willamette Week, Portland Tribune, and Southwest Connection newspapers have all had feature articles, editorials, letters and/or updates about the North Macadam planning process and events.
cc) The Bureau of Planning, with staff assistance from the Core Group, held two open houses on the draft land use, parks and greenway and transportation concepts for the North Macadam District. The open houses were on February 5 and February 9, 2002. Approximately 60 people attended the open houses.
dd) On March 26, 2002, the Bureau of Planning briefed the Planning Commission on the Science and Technology Quarter and the status of the North Macadam project.
ee) The Proposed North Macadam Plan, the Proposed Zoning Code for North Macadam, and the Proposed North Macadam Design Guidelines were made available to the public on April 24, 2002, three weeks prior to the first Planning Commission public hearing.
ff) Notice of the upcoming North Macadam Plan Planning Commission hearing and copies of the three proposed documents were sent to Metro on April 29, 2002.
gg) On April 12, 2002, notification of the upcoming Planning Commission hearing was sent to 1,217 groups and/or individuals who had expressed interest in the North Macadam Planning process or who had requested notification. In addition, the 33 property owners in North Macadam were sent the legally required Measure 56 notice on April 12, 2002.
hh) Planning Commission held two hearings on the Proposed North Macadam Plan and the Proposed Zoning Code for North Macadam. The first hearing was held on May14, 2002 and the second occurred on May 25, 2002. Approximately 50 individuals, representing property owners, neighborhood residents and other stakeholder groups as well as various local agencies, gave oral and/or written testimony on the proposed plan and proposed zoning code.
ii) Planning Commission held five work sessions (June 4, June 25, July 9, July 16, and July 30, 2002) during the summer of 2002 to review and deliberate on the proposed documents and the requested amendments. At the July 30, 2002 work session, Planning Commission voted to accept the Proposed North Macadam Plan and the Proposed Zoning Code for North Macadam, as amended.
jj) During the Planning Commission’s deliberations on the North Macadam project, the Portland Development Commission requested that the Bureau of Planning include an amendment that would change the required building heights in an area adjacent to the North Macadam plan area, directly north across the Marquam Bridge. The amendment area lies within the North Macadam Urban Renewal Area. Planning Commission decided that, due the unique circumstances of this request, the Bureau of Planning should send out public notice on this proposal and that the Commission would hold an additional hearing to receive public testimony.
kk) On August 6, 2002, the Bureau of Planning mailed out a notification regarding the upcoming Planning Commission hearing on the height change proposal north of Marquam Bridge. This notice was sent to 533 people, including residents of nearby condominiums.
ll) The Bureau of Planning’s report on the height change proposal was made available to the public on August 15, 2002. This report was available at the Bureau of Planning offices as well as on the Bureau’s website. The report also included an invitation to an upcoming open house on the proposal.
mm) On August 22, 2002, a public open house, hosted by Portland Development Commission staff and assisted by Bureau of Planning staff, was held at the RiverPlace Community Room. City staff presented the proposal, reviewed illustrations and maps, and answered questions from interested citizens. Approximately 45 people attended the two-hour open house.
nn) Planning Commission held a public hearing on August 27, 2002, to receive testimony regarding the Bureau of Planning proposal to amend the required heights north of the Marquam Bridge. Approximately 25 people testified regarding this proposal, with an additional 187 residents of the American Plaza Condominiums signing and submitting a petition in opposition to the proposal. After deliberating on the merits of the proposal, Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny the proposed amendment. Bureau of Planning did not forward the request to City Council as part of the North Macadam Plan. However, those who submitted testimony or who asked to be included on the North Macadam mailing list were sent public notice of the upcoming City Council hearings on the North Macadam project.
oo) The City legislative process for considering new land use plans and new land use regulations is contained in Chapter 33.740 of the Zoning Code. The Bureau of Planning, Planning Commission and City Council followed this process in developing a proposed North Macadam Plan, giving notice and holding hearings on the Plan and adopting the Plan. During this legislative process, the City Council received many proposed amendments, including the proposed height change for property north of Marquam Bridge. The Council heard testimony on all of these amendments and considered all oral and written testimony received before voting to adopt the North Macadam Plan. The Council’s actions are consistent with legislative process of Chapter 33.740 and, as described below, with the City’s Comprehensive Plan. For these reasons, the Council’s actions are also consistent with Statewide Planning Goals 1 and 2.
pp) On June 14, 2002, notice of the upcoming Design Commission hearing on the Proposed North Macadam Design Guidelines was mailed to 869 people who had requested such notifications.
qq) On July 18, 2002, Design Commission held a public hearing to consider testimony related to the Proposed North Macadam Design Guidelines. Approximately twenty individuals testified on behalf of property owners, neighborhood and other local interest groups.
rr) At a work session held on August 22, 2002, Design Commission voted to recommend the North Macadam Design Guidelines and Greenway Design Guidelines for North Macadam.
ss) On September 12, 2002, notice of the City Council hearings on the recommended documents was mailed to 1,232 people who had requested to be on the North Macadam Plan mailing list.
tt) On October 9 and 10, 2002, the City Council held hearings on the following documents: Recommended North Macadam Plan, Recommended Zoning Code for North Macadam, and North Macadam Design Guidelines and Greenway Design Guidelines for North Macadam.
uu) On October 30 and 31, 2002, City Council held an amendments hearing to receive additional testimony on staff proposed amendments to the recommended documents. These amendments were in response to City Council direction, public testimony and information from other City bureau staff. These amendments included a Portland Development Commission request to amend the heights in an area north of the Marquam Bridge. Bureau of Planning staff supported a revision of this amendment that included a wider greenway, similar to that in North Macadam, and a stepping down of the building heights from west to east.
vv) City Council continued the amendments hearing to November 6 and 7, 2002, to receive additional public testimony and deliberate on revisions to staff amendments, including the request of amend the required building heights north of Marquam Bridge.
20. Goal 2, Land Use Planning, requires the development of a process and policy framework to provide a basis for all land use decisions and assures that decisions and actions are based on an understanding of the facts relevant to the decision. This goal also requires that each plan and related implementation measure shall be coordinated with the plans of affected governmental units. These amendments support this goal by:
a) Updating the Portland Comprehensive Plan for the North Macadam District, a subdistrict of the Central City. Portland City Council adopted the Portland Comprehensive Plan on October 6, 1980 by Ordinance No. 150580. The Department of Land Conservation and Development acknowledged the plan for compliance with statewide planning goals on May 3, 1981. Subsequent updates resulting from periodic review occurred in June 1988, January 1991, March 1991, September 1992, May 1995 and January 2000. On January 5, 2000, Portland successfully completed its first state-sponsored periodic review, which signified the Comprehensive Plan’s compliance with the Statewide Planning Goals (Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Order #001132).
b) Becoming a part of the City’s acknowledged Comprehensive Plan, which contains mechanisms to ensure conformance with its policy framework. The mechanisms in the recommended revisions for North Macadam include amendments to the City’s Zoning Code, Zoning Map, Central City Fundamental Design Guidelines, and the Central City Plan urban design map.
c) Being based on research reports that covered all aspects of planning and the citizen involvement effort through which it was developed. The North Macadam Steering Committee, with citizen representatives, guided both the development of the research reports and the citizen involvement process. The reports used in the preparation of these recommended amendments are arranged in chronological order and include the following documents:
◻ North Macadam District Street Plan, PDOT, December 1996
◻ Marquam Hill to North Macadam District Tram Ridership Analysis, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, August 1998
◻ Market Evaluation Study, E.D. Hovee, October 1998
◻ Willamette Greenway Trail Design Standards, GreenWorks and Perron Collaborative, October 1998
◻ Willamette Greenway User Survey, City of Portland, Parks and Recreation, October 1998
◻ North Macadam District Street Design Standards and Criteria Plan Transportation Report, David Evans & Associates for Lloyd Lindley and PDOT, November 1998
◻ The Economic Benefits of Greenways, Bureau of Planning, February 1999
◻ Summary of Development Standards, City of Portland, Bureau of Planning, February 1999
◻ North Macadam District: Framework Plan. North Macadam Steering Committee’s Recommended Plan, accepted by Portland City Council, August 11, 1999
◻ North Macadam District Public Review Drafts: Policy and Zoning Code Implementation Amendments and Updated Design Guidelines, City of Portland, Bureau of Planning, December 16, 1999
◻ North Macadam Urban Renewal Area, 2 Year and 5 Year Plan, PDC, January 14, 2000
◻ Comments on the North Macadam District Public Review Drafts, City of Portland, Bureau of Planning, April 20, 2000
◻ North Macadam Transit and Parking Strategies, PDC, June 24, 2000
◻ Phase II North Macadam Framework Plan: Greenway/ Parks Advisory Committee Vision and Design Program, StastnyBrun Architects, Inc and the Greenway/Parks Advisory Committee, June 2000
◻ North Macadam District Right-of-Way Criteria and Street Standards, City of Portland, Office of Transportation, July 20, 2000
◻ North Macadam Jobs Strategy, PDC, July, 2000
◻ North Macadam Residential and Office Financial Pro Formas (Preliminary Draft), E.D. Hovee and Company, July 5, 2000
◻ North Macadam Residential and Office Pro Formas Summary of Work to Date, E.D. Hovee and Company, July 17, 2000
◻ INTERNAL DRAFT: Development Testing Work for North Macadam Development Options, Planning Bureau, City of Portland, May 2001
◻ Portland Design Commission Design Advisory for the North Macadam District, Portland Design Commission, City of Portland, November 2001
◻ Stormwater Management Assessment and Integrated Strategy for the North Macadam District, prepared by the City of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Services and the Portland Development Commission, January 2002 and URS Corporation, Limno-Tech, Inc. and SERA Architects.
◻ Building Bioscience in Portland: An Assessment of Oregon Health & Science University’s Research Prospects and Portland’s Bioscience Economic Potential, Technology Partnership Practice, Battelle Memorial Institute, February, 2002
◻ Marquam Hill Plan Alternative Location Analysis: Land Availability Assessment, City of Portland, Bureau of Planning, February 2002
◻ Financial Issues Impacting the North Macadam District, Steven M. Siegel Consulting, May 4, 2002.
d) Implementing the policies, objectives and actions called for in Portland’s Central City Plan policy for North Macadam.
e) Implementing the policies of the Willamette Greenway Plan, which is an acknowledged part of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan. The Willamette Greenway Plan calls for restoration of the banks of the Willamette River. The amendments contain provisions for bank restoration. The Willamette Greenway Plan calls for increased public access to and along the Willamette River; the amendments establish 13 public rights-of-way and accessways within the North Macadam District to the Willamette River Greenway.
f) Identifying actions that help the North Macadam District contribute to the realization of the Central City mixed-use design type in Metro’s Region 2040 Plan. The amendments facilitate the creation of at least 3,000 housing units and up to 10,000 jobs.
g) Including intergovernmental coordination throughout the initiation, development and review of the North Macadam Plan and its implementing measures. See findings for Portland Comprehensive Plan Goal 1, Metropolitan Coordination.
21. Goals 3 and 4, Agricultural Lands and Forest Lands, requires the preservation and maintenance of the state’s agricultural and forest lands, generally located outside of the urban areas. The North Macadam Plan supports this goal because the policies and objectives promote the provision of additional housing, commercial, employment and recreation opportunities within an urbanized area inside the Portland metropolitan area urban growth boundary, thereby reducing development pressure on agricultural and forest lands and the need to expand the urban growth boundary.
22. Goal 5, Open Space, Scenic and Historic Areas, and Natural Resources, requires the conservation of open space and the protection of natural, historic and scenic resources. The amendments are consistent with this goal in the following ways:
a) The amendments call for the development of a district that protects, conserves, maintains, and enhances the scenic, historic, economic, and recreational qualities of land along the riverfront and in natural areas.
b) The amendments preserve existing view corridors from the protected viewpoints along Terwilliger Boulevard. These viewpoints are defined, described, and protected through the Scenic Views, Sites and Corridors, Scenic Resources Protection Plan, which City Council adopted in March 1991.
c) The amendments retain a design overlay zone throughout the district, which will protect scenic, historic and architecturally significant values and sites by subjecting all new development to a design review process, which includes consideration of these resources. A further objective of the design overlay zone is to help ensure that new development is visually attractive, compatible with the positive design characteristics of its surroundings and responsive to its surroundings.
d) There are no significant wildlife areas within the North Macadam District. However, the amendments support this goal by building communities of native vegetation that will increase the functional habitat values in the riparian zone.
23. Goal 6, Air, Water and Land Resource Quality, requires the maintenance and improvement of the quality of air, water and land resources. The amendments are consistent with this goal in the following ways:
a) The amendments call for implementing measures that include a comprehensive, multi-objective, stormwater management system, bank stabilization, and bank restoration, which will greatly enhance the North Macadam District.
b) The amendments foster the development of new employment opportunities in the Central City. Locating new jobs and housing units in the Central City will reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by allowing thousands of residents to live close to where they work and other support services. Compact mixed-use development with a balanced transportation system should reduce VMT in the plan area and positively impact air quality.
c) Intense urban use of the vacant and redevelopable sites in the North Macadam District enables efficient use of these lands and helps maintain the region’s urban growth boundary and natural resources.
d) The amendments call for significant stretches of the riverbank to be enhanced to create riparian habitats that foster fish and wildlife.
e) The amendments call for the creation of an vibrant, mixed use urban district that is connected to and enriched by a clean and healthy river.
f) The amendments will help to create an environment that is not heavily dependent on auto travel by implementing policies and development standards supporting an overall mode split of at least 30 percent for transit, bicycles and pedestrians, with a work trip mode split of at least 40 percent. A 30 percent mode split for transit, bicycles and pedestrians will help reduce air pollution through decreased use of auto travel by creating opportunities for living within close proximity of employment centers.
g) The amendments implement the construction and maintenance of the Willamette Greenway Trail in North Macadam. This river trail loop connects the North Macadam District to the 40-Mile Loop, a series of trails and parks that are interwoven and interconnected throughout much of Portland and Multnomah County. A larger system of accessways and enhanced pedestrian streets leads to surrounding districts and neighborhoods. These walkways also link a network of parks and open spaces that provide settings for wildlife and human activity.
h) The amendments call for creatively addressing environmental challenges such as, but not limited to, soil contamination and freeway noise.
24. Goal 7, Areas Subject to Natural Disasters and Hazards, requires the protection of life and property from natural disasters and hazards. The amendments are consistent with this goal in the following ways:
a) The amendments foster the transition of a close-in industrial area, which is located adjacent to a densely populated neighborhood and the downtown core, from industrial into residential and commercial uses. Some hazardous substances used in prior industrial practices will be removed or isolated as part of any new development in the district.
b) Part of the North Macadam District lies within the 100-year flood plain of the Willamette River. The amendments include actions to reduce risks associated with flooding and reduce the amount of stormwater reaching the Willamette River.
c) The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries has placed much of the North Macadam District in high earthquake risk category. Soil stability is addressed by a combination of existing and acknowledged Goal 5 regulations and building codes. Structural codes have previously been revised to correspond to the higher earthquake risk assessment.
25. Goal 8, Recreational Needs, requires satisfaction of the recreational needs of both citizens and visitors to the state. The amendments are consistent with this goal by recommending revisions to policies and development standards and by identifying future actions, including:
a) Establish approximately 8 acres of new parks and plazas and link them with existing open space facilities through a system of trails for pedestrians and bicyclists to improve pedestrian and bicycle circulation to and within the district. The amendments also provide the opportunity to acquire additional park land through development incentives including bonuses.
b) Develop a recreational trail along the edge of the Willamette River. This portion of the greenway trail will be the last developed segment needed to link the riverfront and Willamette parks. The bifurcated greenway trail also will provide a continuous bicycle and pedestrian route between the Sellwood and Broadway Bridges, thus providing pedestrian and bicycle links between the district and the east side of the river.
c) Allow for the siting, under some conditions, of museums or exhibit kiosks within the greenway setback.
26. Goal 9, Economic Development, requires providing adequate opportunities for a variety of economic activities vital to public health, welfare, and prosperity. The amendments address this goal by recommending revisions to policies and development standards, and by identifying future actions that are anticipated to:
a) Create a distinctive riverfront neighborhood of exceptional urban character with a diversity of jobs and housing.
b) Attract job-intensive businesses that support family-wage incomes.
c) Encourage a range of businesses from start-up firms to corporate headquarters, with particular focus on knowledge-based industries, to locate in the district.
d) Create the necessary infrastructure, including street improvements, public transit facilities and parking facilities, aimed at fostering the market for office and retail development.
e) Identify areas where public services limit the intensity of new development and give a priority to actions that increase the capacity of services, particularly transportation.
27. Goal 10, Housing, requires providing for the housing needs of citizens of the state. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal and are intended to foster creation of:
a) A distinctive riverfront neighborhood of exceptional urban character with a diversity of jobs and housing.
b) A required housing area within the district, as shown on the urban design plan map and a required residential development area, as shown in the code.
c) At least 3,000 new housing units between now and 2019, with an action calling for analyzing the implications for the district’s infrastructure by providing an additional 2,000 housing units.
d) At least 800 units of housing affordable to those earning less than 120% median family income (MFI), with at least 375 of these units affordable to those earning less than 50% MFI.
e) Housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households and incomes.
f) Affordable housing, middle-income housing and large dwelling units (3+ bedrooms) within new development, by including within the Zoning Code floor area bonuses as a tool to achieve this result.
g) Housing incentive programs, by public agencies, in areas that require housing.
h) Programs to assist those employed in the district to become owners or renters of housing in the district.
28. Goal 11, Public Facilities and Services, requires planning and development of timely, orderly and efficient public service facilities that serve as a framework for urban and rural development. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal in that they:
a) Identify and prioritize actions needed to improve the provision of public services within North Macadam. Specifically, the amendments call for transportation improvements needed in the areas of public transit, auto circulation and parking.
b) Contain actions for sanitary sewer, stormwater, water and utility improvements throughout the district.
c) Contain policies and actions to construct and maintain parks and the Willamette Greenway Trail.
d) Establish public investment priorities and strategies for transportation, parks and greenway, infrastructure, and jobs and housing.
Findings below addressing compliance with Portland Comprehensive Plan Goal 11: A through I, Public Facilities, and related policies and objectives also demonstrate compliance with this goal.
29. Goal 12, Transportation, requires providing for a safe, convenient and economic transportation system. The amendments are consistent with this goal because a transportation concept has been developed in conjunction with the amendments. The amendments enable the development of a less auto-dominated environment in the North Macadam District that will reduce pressure on the transportation system by encouraging additional transit, walking and bicycling trips. The amendments for the North Macadam District meet this goal in that they:
a) Contain policies, objectives and action items that support multimodal transportation system improvements, transit service enhancements and improvements of the bicycle and pedestrian system and facilities serving residents, employees and visitors to and within this urban district, with strong connections to the Willamette River and the greenway.
b) Provide for the development of adequate parking facilities consistent with transportation demand management strategies.
c) Establish a North Macadam District Transportation Management Association.
d) Establish strategies that support the phased development of parking to provide up to 12,000 total off-street spaces by the year 2019, for all parking types including office, retail, residential and visitor spaces.
e) Implement the North Macadam District Street Plan and create an urban grid system with improved internal circulation and vehicular access to, from and within the district.
f) Address the attractiveness, ease of use, safety, and expansion of opportunities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
g) Call for the development of bikeways that are separate from pedestrian pathways wherever practical, particularly in parks and open spaces.
Findings below addressing compliance with Portland Comprehensive Plan Goal 6, Transportation, and its related policies and objectives also demonstrate compliance with this goal.
30. Goal 13, Energy Conservation, requires development of a land use pattern that maximizes the conservation of energy based on sound economic principles. The amendments for the North Macadam District meet this goal in the following ways:
a) New mixed use, high-density urban development is focused using height and density controls into areas that are or will be served by public transit.
b) The amendments for the North Macadam District will foster the creation of up to 10,000 new jobs in an area that will be served by transit, including an extension of the Portland Streetcar line. The location of employment opportunities in close proximity to high-density housing will make it possible to live close to work. Living close to work reduces reliance on the automobile and prevents the depletion of fossil fuels.
Findings below addressing compliance with Portland Comprehensive Plan Goal 7, Energy, and its related policies and objectives also demonstrate compliance with this goal.
31. Goal 14, Urbanization, requires providing for an orderly and efficient transition of rural lands to urban use. The amendments for the North Macadam District meet this goal by:
a) Locating the most intense urban development opportunities where public services are presently provided and/or are planned to be improved.
b) Supporting the regional urban growth boundary by ensuring that development opportunities exist in this urbanized area, consequently reducing potential need for conversion of rural lands to urban uses.
c) Fostering the construction of new urban infrastructure so that intensification of development can occur in the area. The development of high-density housing and employment opportunities in the district will reduce development pressure on lands that are not yet urbanized.
Findings below addressing compliance with Portland Comprehensive Plan Goal 2, Urban Development, and its related policies and objectives also demonstrate compliance with this goal.
32. Goal 15, Willamette River Greenway, requires the protection, conservation, enhancement, and maintenance of the natural, scenic, historic, agricultural, economic, and recreational qualities of land along the Willamette River. The amendments are consistent with this goal because they recommend the creation of an exemplary open space network that embraces the river as the district’s “front yard” and provides a range of urban amenities, beauty, and ecological functions. Specifically, the amendments:
a) Help implement the city’s vision for the greenway, guided by a design coordination plan, developed through a public-private partnership.
b) Enhance and help complete the Willamette River greenway and greenway trail connecting it with the rest of the 40-Mile Loop on the west side of the Willamette River.
c) Provide opportunities along the river for recreation, education, contemplation and observation of the natural world, as well as alternative and nonpolluting transportation.
d) Within the greenway, build communities of native vegetation that offer visual variety and functional and enhanced habitat for wildlife.
e) Include an action to expand the width of the greenway area to 150’ wherever possible.
f) Include an action to develop the greenway using a variety of riverbank treatments to provide for bank stability, improved habitat, and views of the river at key locations.
Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan Findings
Metro has adopted an Urban Growth Management Functional Plan (UGMFP) that requires local jurisdictions to adopt and amend comprehensive plans and land use regulations that are consistent with its provisions.
33. Title 1, Requirements for Housing and Employment Accommodation, requires that each jurisdiction contribute its fair share to increasing the development capacity of land within the urban growth boundary (UGB). This requirement is to be generally implemented through citywide analysis based on calculated capacities from land use designations and reported through the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan Compliance Report, February 1999. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this title because:
a) The North Macadam District’s housing target is new construction of at least 3,000 housing units over the next 20 years, with the possibility of pursuing an additional 2,000 housing units.
b) The North Macadam District is already a job center within Portland’s Central City Plan area. The amendments will also support projects that retain jobs and projects that will create 10,000 net new jobs in the district.
34. Title 2, Regional Parking Policy, regulates the amount of parking permitted by use categories for jurisdictions in the region. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they establish parking maximums for the North Macadam District that are consistent with the parking maximums in the Central City and encourage the use of transit while reducing congestion. The parking maximums for North Macadam meet or are more restrictive than the parking limitations stated in Table 3.07-2 – Regional Parking Ratios.
35. Title 3, Water Quality and Flood Management Conservation, calls for the protection of the beneficial uses and functional values of resources within Metro-defined water quality and flood management areas by limiting or mitigating the impact of development in these areas. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this title because they:
a) Contain actions for improvements to the area’s stormwater disposal system such as encouraging ecoroofs and minimizing impervious areas, thereby reducing runoff and enhancing water quality in the Willamette River.
b) Help prevent soil erosion and ensure riverbank stability through a mix of structural and non-structural (bioengineered) approaches.
c) Develop “green” accessways at regular intervals between district development and the greenway to meet multi-objective stormwater management opportunities.
d) Allow landscaping in the space between the building and the required building line, which will support both the stormwater management goals and the urban design goals of the district.
36. Title 5, Neighbor Cities and Rural Reserves, defines Metro’s policy regarding areas outside of the urban growth boundary (UGB). This title does not apply to plan because the project area is within the urban growth boundary.
37. Title 6, Regional Accessibility, recommends street design and connectivity standards that better serve pedestrian, bicycle and transit travel and that support the Region 2040 Growth Concept. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this title in the following ways:
a) The transportation concept supports the completion of the Central City’s street pattern in an area that has an incomplete street network. The street plan supports the expected urban development through the addition of new streets and multimodal facilities integrated with current and future development. A street grid system will be created that helps achieve compliance with Metro’s requirements for connectivity in Title 6.
b) The amendments will improve street capacity for all modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling, and transit use.
c) The amendments contain actions to enhance the mode split for transit and other alternative transportation options within and through the North Macadam District. One option, the Portland streetcar, will link the district with the downtown core and Northwest Portland. It will also provide a transit link from the district to the regional light rail system. A potential bicable aerial tram link between North Macadam and Marquam Hill will further enhance the alternative transportation options and accessibility for the district.
d) They support the completion of the Willamette Greenway trail in the North Macadam District. The completion of this portion of the recreational trail will improve bicycle and pedestrian travel within the district and to destinations both north and south of the district.
38. Title 7, Affordable Housing, recommends that local jurisdictions implement tools to facilitate development of affordable housing. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this title because they call for the following:
a) A land use policy objective to provide at least 800 units of affordable housing to households earning less than 120% median family income (MFI), with at least 375 of these 800 units affordable to those earning less than 50% MFI.
b) A land use policy objective that calls for the creation of housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of household types and incomes.
c) Inclusion of Zoning Code provisions that provide incentives for developers to earn additional floor area through an affordable housing replacement fund bonus.
39. Title 8, Compliance Procedures, outlines compliance procedures for amendments to comprehensive plans and implementing ordinances. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this title and enhance implementation of the Region 2040 Growth Concept Plan through a process that has included all required notifications and reviews. Notification of the Planning Commission’s consideration of the tentative proposals for the North Macadam District was sent to Metro on October 13, 2000. An additional notice with a full copy of the text of the amendments was sent to Metro on April 29, 2002.
Portland Comprehensive Plan Goals Findings
The City's Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the Portland City Council on October 16, 1980, and was acknowledged as being in conformance with the statewide planning goals by the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) on May 1, 1981. On May 26, 1995 and again on January 25, 2000, the LCDC completed its review of the City's final local periodic review order and periodic review work program and reaffirmed the plan’s compliance with the statewide planning goals.
40. Goal 1, Metropolitan Coordination, calls for the Comprehensive Plan to be coordinated with federal and state law and to support regional goals, objectives and plans. The North Macadam planning process has included participation of representatives from city, regional and state agencies, ensuring consistency with applicable local, regional and state plans. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal in the following ways:
a) Notification of significant proposals, including a public review draft and the amendments, was sent to Tri-Met, Metro and relevant state agencies for compliance with regional, state and federal laws, regulations, and plans.
b) Tri-Met has participated in the formation of the amendments as a member of both the North Macadam Steering Committee and the North Macadam Technical Management Team.
c) The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has participated through a charrette and in correspondence regarding the habitat requirements of endangered species.
Policy 1.1, Urban Growth Boundary, calls for support of the concept of an urban growth boundary for the Portland metropolitan area. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they will foster the development of significant amounts of higher density housing and the creation of additional jobs at an urbanized location within the UGB. The recommended housing and employment opportunities will help to relieve some of the pressure to expand the UGB.
Policy 1.4, Intergovernmental Coordination, calls for continuous participation in intergovernmental affairs with public agencies to coordinate metropolitan planning and project development and maximize the efficient use of public funds. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in the following ways:
a) The amendments will implement provisions of the North Macadam Framework Plan and the Central City Plan. These two plans were developed through a process that included extensive review, coordination, and the participation of many state, regional, and local governmental organizations.
b) The amendments ensure the efficient use of public funds. Tri-Met, the Housing Authority of Portland, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation, the Bureau of Environmental Services, the Bureau of Development Services (previously known as Office of Planning and Development Review), and the Portland Office of Transportation all worked with the Portland Development Commission and the Bureau of Planning in developing the amendments for the North Macadam District.
c) The Planning Bureau sent the 45-day notice of the amendments for the North Macadam District to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) on September 27, 2000.
Policy 1.5, Compliance with Future Metro Planning Efforts, calls for the review and update of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan to comply with the Regional Framework Plan adopted by Metro. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they will help to foster the concentration of higher density development within the Central City. Also, the amendments will help achieve the housing and jobs targets for the North Macadam District of the Central City required by Metro’s Functional Plan. Further, compliance with this policy is also stated in the Metro UGMFP findings above (findings 33-39).
41. Goal 2, Urban Development, calls for maintenance of Portland's role as the major regional employment, population and cultural center by expanding opportunities for housing and jobs while retaining the character of established residential neighborhoods and business centers. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they foster the creation of at least 3,000 new housing units and up to 10,000 new jobs at a location within the Central City. This will reduce pressure for population increases within established neighborhoods.
Policy 2.1, Population Growth, calls for accommodating the projected population increase within the existing city boundary. The amendments for the North Macadam District further implement this policy by fostering the development of at least 3,000 new housing units in a new Central City neighborhood that was formerly an industrial area. In addition, recommended code amendments offer floor area bonuses as an incentive for residential and mixed-use development within the North Macadam District.
Policy 2.2, Urban Diversity, calls for promotion of a range of living environments and employment opportunities to attract and retain a stable and diversified population. The amendments support this policy by creating opportunities for increased amounts of high-density housing. The amendments support the creation of a new neighborhood with at least 3,000 housing units and up to 10,000 jobs to accommodate a diverse population.
Policy 2.6, Open Space, calls for providing opportunities for recreation and visual relief through the preservation of parks, cemeteries, golf courses, trails, and parkways; development of a loop trail that encircles the city; and promotion of the recreational use of the city's rivers, creeks, lakes, and sloughs. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in the following ways. They:
a) Encourage a diversity of well-designed open spaces throughout the district to serve residents, employees and visitors.
b) Contain actions to develop a strategy, including funding options, for the acquisition, maintenance, and development of a system of parks throughout North Macadam.
c) Contain an objective and actions to complete the Willamette Greenway Trail in the district.
d) Provide incentives for the private sector to contribute to the quality and quantity of open space in the district.
e) Provide opportunities for both active and passive recreation and visual relief by promoting and providing recreational opportunities along the Willamette River.
Policy 2.7, Willamette River Greenway Plan, calls for the implementation of the Willamette Greenway Plan, preserving a strong working river while promoting recreation, commercial, and residential waterfront development along the Willamette River south of the Broadway Bridge. The amendments will continue to comply with the requirements of the Willamette Greenway Plan within North Macadam by maintaining and adding to the greenway setback in North Macadam, and by clarifying trail requirements along the river for this subdistrict of the Central City. In addition, the amendments also:
a) Provide physical and visual connections to the Willamette River from both the district and the adjoining neighborhoods.
b) Integrate natural resource values related to water quality, stormwater, and fish and wildlife habitat into the district’s infrastructure and urban form.
c) Implement the city’s vision for the greenway, guided by a design coordination plan, developed through a public-private partnership.
d) Complete the Willamette River greenway and greenway trail by connecting it with the rest of the 40-Mile Loop trail.
e) Builds communities of native vegetation within the greenway to offer visual and functional habitat for wildlife.
Policy 2.9, Residential Neighborhoods, calls for allowing a range of housing types to accommodate increased population while improving and protecting the city's residential neighborhoods. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by enabling the creation of a complete mixed-use neighborhood with at least 3,000 new housing units and up to 10,000 jobs, as well as retail space, parks and open spaces, a street grid, streetcar and transit stops. The residential and employment opportunities presented by the underutilized North Macadam District will help alleviate some of the growth pressures on existing neighborhoods.
Policy 2.10, Downtown Portland, calls for reinforcement of downtown Portland as the principal commercial, service, cultural and high density housing center in the city and the region. Additionally, the policy calls for maintaining downtown as the principal retail center in the city. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they call for development of high-density housing and employment opportunities in and adjacent to the downtown core. North Macadam residents and employees will provide a nearby market for downtown’s retail center. The amendments support the development of public transit connections, including the Portland Streetcar linking the downtown area with the North Macadam District.
Policy 2.11, Commercial Centers, calls for expanding the role of major commercial centers that are well served by transit and strengthening these centers with uses that are compatible with surrounding uses. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they reinforce retail and office use in the Central City, both in downtown and in the North Macadam District. Specifically, the amendments include action items to consider the feasibility of developing a business innovation center in the district and to develop the telecommunications infrastructure needed to ensure that North Macadam is a competitive location for high technology jobs. The amendments also call for attracting job-intensive businesses that support family-wage incomes.
Policy 2.12, Transit Corridors, calls for providing a mixture of activities along major transit routes and main streets supporting the use of transit and compatible with the surrounding area, especially where vacant land affords an opportunity for infill development. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in that they:
a) Encourage development types and uses that encourage trips other than by single occupancy vehicles.
b) Promote pedestrian-oriented development that reinforces connections to transit facilities and the greenway and parks.
c) Facilitate the extension of the Portland Streetcar line into the North Macadam District.
d) Foster the development of jobs, housing, and retail along the streetcar line.
e) Improve the pedestrian and bicycle connections within the North Macadam District and between the North Macadam District and the adjacent residential and commercial areas.
f) Prepare a transit service strategy for the district that includes phasing and implementation and establish an implementation plan for the transit hub.
g) Encourage increased transit service in the North Macadam District while maintaining existing service levels in adjacent districts and neighborhoods.
Policy 2.15, Living Closer To Work, calls for the location of greater residential density, including affordable housing, near major employment centers and encouraging home-based work where the nature of the work is not disruptive to the neighborhood. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they will foster the creation of at least 3,000 new housing units and up to 10,000 new jobs in the district. The amendments support conducting a market study to determine the feasibility of developing a business innovation center in the district. The amendments also call for developing the telecommunications infrastructure within the district, ensuring North Macadam’s ability to attract high technology jobs.
Policy 2.16, Strip Development, calls for discouraging the development of strip commercial areas and focusing future activity in such areas to create a more clustered pattern of commercial development. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they emphasize the concentration of higher density urban development within the Central City area.
Policy 2.17, Transit Stations and Transit Centers, calls for encouraging transit-oriented development patterns at light rail transit stations and at transit centers to provide for easy access to transit service. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they foster the intensive development of at least 3,000 new housing units and up to 10,000 new jobs close to the extension of the Portland Streetcar line and additional bus routes. These amendments also emphasize a pedestrian- and bicycle-oriented environment that supports transit use throughout the district.
Policy 2.18, Transit Supportive Density, calls for establishing average minimum residential densities within one-quarter mile of existing and planned transit streets and transit corridors. Where existing development patterns preclude these densities, this policy calls for allowing increased density on vacant lots. The amendments support this policy because the recommended development standards for this area increase the allowed density, including adding bonus incentives for residential development.
Policy 2.19, Infill and Redevelopment, calls for encouraging infill and redevelopment as a way to implement the Livable City growth principles and accommodate expected increases in population and employment, particularly within the Central City. The amendments support this policy by promoting the development and redevelopment of a sparsely developed portion of the Central City as a high density, mixed use, urban neighborhood of at least 3,000 housing units and up to 10,000 jobs.
Policy 2.20, Utilization of Vacant Land, calls for providing full utilization of existing vacant land except in those areas designated as open space. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because the programs and projects ensure that development and redevelopment of existing vacant lands are at densities that maximize the area’s potential for absorbing growth.
Policy 2.22, Mixed Use, calls for continuation of a mechanism that will allow for the maintenance and enhancement of areas of mixed use character where areas act as buffers and where opportunities exist for the creation of mixed use nodes. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because the district is designated and zoned for Central Commercial (CX), which allows mixed commercial and residential uses. The amendments encourage complementary mix of housing, employment, retail, open space, and recreational and institutional facilities.
Policy 2.25, Central City Plan, calls for encouraging continued investment within Portland’s Central City while enhancing its attractiveness for work, recreation and living. This policy further calls for implementation of the Central City Plan by coordinating development, providing aid and protection to Portland’s citizens, and through the enhancement of the Central City’s special natural, cultural and aesthetic features. These amendments support this policy because they help fulfill the policies and objectives of the Central City Plan by encouraging development activities in the North Macadam District. The Central City Plan findings below also support this goal.
42. Goal 3, Neighborhoods, calls for preserving and reinforcing the stability and diversity of the city’s neighborhoods while allowing for increased density in order to attract and retain long-term residents and businesses and insure the city’s residential quality and economic vitality. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they foster the development of a new high density urban neighborhood in the Central City, reducing development pressures on existing neighborhoods within the city. The North Macadam Plan calls for the development of at least 3,000 new housing units in the next 20 years.
Policy 3.1, Physical Conditions, calls for providing and coordinating programs to prevent the deterioration of existing structures and public facilities. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with actions aimed at completion of the street network and improving the limited existing infrastructure and public facilities within the North Macadam District for the benefit of property owners and future developers, employers and residents of the district.
Policy 3.2, Social Conditions, calls for providing and coordinating programs to promote neighborhood interest, concern, and security and to minimize the social impact of land use decisions. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with actions to create amenities within the district that will benefit the residents of the area and the entire city. These programs include the creation of affordable housing, creation of new parks, and the completion of the Willamette Greenway Trail. The amendments also support the extension of the Portland Streetcar to the North Macadam District, which will form a transit link to the University District, Downtown, River District, and the Northwest District.
Policy 3.3, Neighborhood Diversity, calls for promoting neighborhood diversity and security by encouraging diversity in age, income, and race and ethic background. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by fostering the development of a new mixed income neighborhood. Objectives for the plan include creating housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to broad range of household types and incomes. The plan also promotes both ownership and rental housing options within the district.
Policy 3.5, Neighborhood Involvement, provides for the active involvement of neighborhood residents and businesses in decisions affecting their neighborhood. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because the development of the amendments for the North Macadam District included outreach to and participation of the North Macadam Development Council and the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill Neighborhood Association as well as other interested stakeholder groups. Additional public outreach and involvement activities are described in the findings on State Goal 1, Citizen Involvement.
Policy 3.6, Neighborhood Plans, calls for maintenance and enforcement of neighborhood plans that are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and that have been adopted by City Council. The North Macadam District is a part of both the Central City and the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in the following ways:
a) The Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill Policy Plan contains a policy that calls for the North Macadam District to develop with a mixture of land uses that includes housing. The amendments for the North Macadam District will help to implement this policy, fostering the construction of up to 3,000 new housing units in North Macadam. The amendments further support this policy by ensuring that the area develops as a mixed-use, high-density urban neighborhood that includes housing and employment opportunities.
b) One of the policies of the Downtown Community Association Residential Plan, adopted in July 1996, is to enhance amenities in downtown. The amendments for the North Macadam District improve the downtown’s residential and employment environment by containing improvements to the transportation infrastructure, including an extension of the Portland Streetcar through the district. In addition, the amendments contain policies and actions to create new parks and the completion of the Willamette River Greenway in North Macadam, both of which will provide new open space, recreational opportunities and transportation links for residents of the downtown, as well as other neighborhoods.
43. Goal 4, Housing, calls for enhancing Portland’s vitality as a community at the center of the region’s housing market by providing housing of different types, tenures, density, sizes, costs, and locations that accommodate the needs, preferences, and financial capabilities of current and future households. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this goal because they foster the construction of up to 3,000 new residential units in the North Macadam District for households of varying incomes.
Policy 4.1, Housing Availability, calls for ensuring that an adequate supply of housing is available to meet the needs, preferences and financial capabilities of Portland’s households now and in the future. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this goal because they foster the construction of 3,000 new housing units in the North Macadam District across a range of households and incomes. Bonus floor area and height are provided as incentives for the development of low to moderate-income households for ownership and rental housing.
Objective A, calls for designating sufficient buildable land for residential development to accommodate Portland’s share of regional household growth to reduce the need for urban growth boundary expansions. The amendments support this objective by maintaining the Central Commercial (CX) zoning for the district, which allows housing. The amendments also include a residential emphasis area south of the Ross Island Bridge. Increased floor area and height, earned through bonus provisions, also help to accommodate additional residential development in North Macadam.
Objective B, calls for developing new relationships and mechanisms that increase private investment in, and production of, housing. The amendments support this objective because they include policies and objectives that call for promoting public investments that leverage private investments that meet the district’s goals, including housing opportunities.
Objective E, calls for encouraging the efficient use of infrastructure by focusing well-designed new and redeveloped housing on vacant, infill, or under-developed land. Currently, much of the North Macadam district consists of vacant land. The amendments support this objective because they encourage the overall development, including new infrastructure that fosters a high-density urban neighborhood with at least 3,000 new housing units.
Objective F, calls for encouraging housing design that supports the conservation, enhancement, and continued vitality of areas of the city with special scenic, historic, architectural or cultural value. The amendments support this objective because they include design guidelines that consider the integration of ecological concepts in site and development design. The design guidelines also call for the consideration of North Macadam’s history and special qualities.
Policy 4.3, Sustainable Housing, calls for encouraging housing that supports sustainable development patterns by promoting the efficient use of land, conservation of natural resources, easy access to public transit and other efficient modes of transportation, easy access to services and parks, resource efficient design and construction, and the use of renewable energy sources. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they promote the construction of high-density housing that makes efficient use of land and is energy efficient due to common wall construction.
Objective A, calls for the placement of new residential developments at locations that increase potential ridership on the regional transit system and support the Central City as the region’s employment and cultural center. The amendments support this objective because the North Macadam District will be served by public transit, including the extension of the Portland Streetcar through the district. Increased residential and employment opportunities in the district will also increase potential transit ridership.
Objective B, calls for establishing development patterns that combine residential with other compatible uses in mixed-use areas such as the Central City. The amendments support this objective because future development of the North Macadam district will include residential, office, commercial, retail and recreation uses.
Policy 4.4, Housing Safety, calls for ensuring a safe and healthy built environment and assisting in the preservation of sound existing housing and the improvement of neighborhoods. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because the construction of at least 3,000 new housing units in the district will reduce the development pressure on existing residential areas in the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood. New housing constructed in the district will meet all applicable state and city building codes, ensuring that it will be safe and well constructed.
Policy 4.6, Housing Quality, calls for encouraging the development of housing that exceeds minimum construction standards. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they contain provisions and incentives for housing that is attractive, well-designed, and contains elements such as eco-roofs and large household dwelling unit bonuses.
Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities, calls for striving for livable mixed-income neighborhoods that collectively reflect the diversity of housing types, tenures (rental and ownership) and incomes. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they encourage the creation of housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households and incomes. The amendments also call for promoting both ownership and rental housing options.
Objective A, calls for achieving a distribution of household incomes similar to the income distribution found citywide and in the Central City. The amendments support this objective because they seek to create housing that is affordable to a broad range of incomes, including the provision of at least 800 units of housing affordable to those earning less than 120% of the region’s median family income.
Objective B, calls for maintaining income diversity by allowing a mix of housing types and tenures. The amendments support this objective because they seek to promote both ownership and rental housing options. The amendments also encourage housing opportunities for those employed in the district and nearby job centers.
Objective D, calls for encouraging housing opportunities for extremely low and very low income households (below 50% MFI) to avoid their concentration in any one area of the city. The amendments support this objective because they call for providing at least 375 housing units in the district that are affordable to those earning less than 50% median family income.
Objective G, calls for encouraging the development and preservation of housing that serves a range of household income levels at locations near public transit and employment opportunities. The amendments support this objective. See the findings for Policy 4.3, Sustainable Housing, Objective A and Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities.
Policy 4.8, Regional Housing Opportunities, calls for ensuring opportunities for economic and racial integration throughout the region by advocating for the development of a range of housing options affordable to all income levels throughout the region. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they call for creating housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households and incomes. The amendments also offer incentives for affordable housing.
Objective B, calls for supporting regulations and incentives that encourage the production and preservation of housing that is affordable at all income levels throughout the region. The amendments support this objective. See the findings for Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities, Objective A.
Policy 4.9, Fair Housing, calls for ensuring freedom of choice in housing type, tenure, and neighborhood for all, regardless of race, color, age, gender, familial status, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, source of income or disability. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include policies, objectives and actions to ensure that housing in North Macadam is available to households of varying incomes, including low to moderate-income households.
Policy 4.10, Housing Diversity, calls for promoting creation of a range of housing types, prices, and rents to create culturally and economically diverse neighborhoods and allow those whose housing needs change, to find housing that meets their needs within their existing community. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include policies and objectives to create housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households and incomes, including low to moderate-income households. The construction of high density housing in North Macadam will also expand housing choices for those living in surrounding neighborhoods who may want to remain in the community but may not want to live in single family detached housing.
Objective A, calls for keeping Portland inviting to households with children by ensuring through public and private action the availability of housing that meets their needs throughout the city. The amendments support this objective because they include bonus provisions for the development of large household dwelling units (more than two bedrooms), which would appeal to households with children.
Objective B, calls for supporting homeownership opportunities in new multidwelling housing by encouraging the creation of condominiums, cooperatives, mutual housing associations and limited equity cooperatives. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they encourage the development of high-density residential units and do not preclude the development of condominiums within the district.
Objective C, calls for accommodating a variety of housing types that are attractive and affordable to potential homebuyers at all income levels. The amendments support this objective. See the findings for Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities.
Objective E, calls for supporting opportunities for renter households by providing a range of housing types, sizes and rent levels throughout the city. The amendments support this policy. See the findings for Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities.
Policy 4.11, Housing Affordability, calls for promoting the development and preservation of quality housing that is affordable across a range of household income levels. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they call for creating housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households and incomes. The amendments also call for providing at least 800 housing units that are affordable to those earning less than 120% MFI, with at least 375 of those units affordable to those earning less than 50% MFI.
Objective A, calls for including strategies and actions that encourage the provision of housing affordable to all income levels in neighborhood, community and other area plans that pertain to housing. The amendments support this policy because they include strategies and actions such as developing a Housing Implementation Strategy to achieve district housing goals, including the production target for at least 788 affordable housing units as further defined by income category. Another action calls for promoting the creation of housing incentive programs, by public agencies, in areas of required housing within the district.
Objective D, calls for promoting conservation programs and energy-efficient practices and programs that reduce housing operating costs for energy, sewer and water usage. The amendments support this policy because they seek to integrate development with the natural landscape by promoting low impact development strategies that minimize impervious areas, use multi-objective stormwater management systems, create water-quality friendly streets and parking and enhance natural area revegetation. The amendments also include actions that call for the creation of eco-friendly regulations for construction and design, including eco-roofs.
Objective E, calls for working in partnership with the Housing Authority of Portland to preserve its portfolio of federally assisted housing at rent levels affordable to extremely and very low income households. The amendments support this policy because the Housing Authority of Portland is listed as an implementor of an action item that seeks to develop a Housing Implementation Strategy to achieve the district’s housing goals, including the production of affordable housing units.
Policy 4.12, Housing Continuum, calls for ensuring that a range of housing from temporary shelters, to transitional, and to permanent housing for renters and owners is available, with appropriate supportive services for those who need them. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they seek the creation of housing throughout the district that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households and incomes. In addition, bonus floor area is available for construction of middle-income housing, as well as for financial contributions to the Affordable Housing Replacement Fund.
Objective D, calls for stimulating production of a variety of housing types that are affordable and responsive to the needs of very low, low, moderate and middle-income households. The amendments support this objective because they include a policy that calls for the provision of at least 800 housing units that are affordable to those earning less than 120% MFI, with at least 375 of those units affordable to those earning less than 50% MFI.
Policy 4.13, Humble Housing, calls for ensuring that there are opportunities for development of small homes with basic amenities to ensure housing opportunities for low-income households, members of protected classes, households with children, and households supportive of reduced resource consumption. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they will foster the development of at least 3,000 new housing units. These housing units are expected to include apartments and condominiums, which are typically smaller, more energy efficient and less costly to maintain than single family detached dwelling units and other low density housing types.
Policy 4.14, Neighborhood Stability, calls for stabilizing neighborhoods by promoting: 1) a variety of homeownership and rental housing options; 2) security of housing tenure; and 3) opportunities for community interaction. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy. See findings for Policy 4.3, Sustainable Housing and Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities.
Objective A, calls for promoting and maintaining homeownership options within neighborhoods. The amendments support this objective because they seek to promote both ownership and rental housing options in the North Macadam district.
Objective B, calls for promoting housing opportunities that build a sense of community, civic involvement and neighborhood pride. The amendments support this objective because they encourage a complementary mix of housing, employment, retail, open space, recreational and institutional facilities. The amendments also encourage housing opportunities for those employed in the district and nearby job centers.
Objective E, calls for increasing opportunities for construction, acquisition or preservation of housing affordable to area residents in locations where rising property values and gentrification contribute to their involuntary displacement. The amendments support this objective. See findings for Policy 4.7, Balanced Communities, Objective D.
Objective K, calls for enhancing the quality of the design of new infill residential development. The amendments support this objective. The North Macadam District includes the design overlay zone with new development subject to design review. See findings for Policy 4.1, Housing Availability, Objective F.
44. Goal 5, Economic Development, calls for fostering a strong and diverse economy that provides a full range of employment and economic choices for individuals and families in all parts of the city. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they support the types of development and infrastructure necessary to attract target industries. The target industries include medical and bioscience technologies. These target industries are supportive of the job density goals of the area. The amendments provide the framework for the creation of a district that will support up to 10,000 new jobs.
Policy 5.1, Urban Development and Revitalization, calls for encouraging investment in the development, redevelopment, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of urban land and buildings for employment and housing opportunities. The amendments support this policy because they will facilitate the redevelopment of vacant and underutilized land for a new urban neighborhood containing at least 3,000 new housing units and up to 10,000 new jobs. In addition, the amendments include a policy to support near- and long-term district goals through strategic public and private investment and development.
Objective B, calls for supporting programs and policies which serve to maintain Downtown Portland and the Lloyd District as the major regional employment, cultural, business and governmental center. It also calls for implementing the Central City Plan and carrying out the urban development goals of the Comprehensive Plan. The amendments support this objective because they advance the implementation of the Central City Plan, particularly the goals, policies and objectives for the North Macadam subdistrict. In addition, the amendments call for the provision of 10,000 jobs and at least 3,000 housing units by 2019.
Objective D, calls for the provision of a diversity of housing types and price ranges to meet the varied needs of Portland citizens, including market, moderate and low income housing. The amendments support this objective. See findings for Policy 4.10, Housing Diversity.
Objective E, calls for defining and developing Portland’s cultural, historic, recreational, educational and environmental assets as important marketing and image-building tools as the city’s business districts and neighborhoods. The amendments support this objective because they include the recognition of the historic elements of the district as it transitions from an industrial area to an urban mixed-use neighborhood. The amendments also call for promoting building forms that respect the relationship of the district to the river and the adjacent neighborhoods. This includes providing physical and visual connections to the Willamette River from the district and adjoining neighborhoods.
Objective F, calls for recognizing and supporting environmental conservation and enhancement activities for their contribution to the local economy and quality of life for residents, workers and wildlife in the city. The amendments support this objective because they include a policy objective to promote design and investment, both public and private, that reflects a complementary relationship between the built environment and open space in the district. The amendments also include a policy to improve the environmental conditions of the district through the design of sites, buildings, the transportation system and parks, greenway and open space.
Policy 5.2, Business Development, calls for sustaining and supporting business development activities to retain, expand, and recruit businesses. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include a District Development policy objective that calls for encouraging a range of businesses from start-up firms to corporate headquarters, with particular focus on knowledge-based industries, especially bioscience technology, to locate in the district. The district development goals include providing up to 10,000 new jobs by the year 2019.
Objective A, calls for developing incentives for businesses to locate and stay in Council-designated target areas. The objective also calls for encouraging Council-designated target industries to locate, stay and expand within the City, particularly in the target areas. The North Macadam plan area lies within the larger North Macadam Urban Renewal Area. The amendments support this objective because they encourage the provision of up to 10,000 new jobs, including medical and bioscience industries such as a potential expansion of Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) into the district.
Objective B, calls for incorporating economic considerations in long-range planning activities undertaken by the Bureau of Planning. The amendments support this objective because the Portland Development Commission has played an important role in the advancement of North Macadam Plan policies and objectives related to the district’s economic development. This includes an objective to attract job-intensive businesses that support family wage incomes. Actions related to the district’s economic development include developing a district economic development strategy to promote bioscience businesses within the district and conducting a marketing study to determine the feasibility of developing a business innovation center in the district.
Objective D, calls for ensuring citizen involvement in the policy development and decision-making process on publicly funded economic development projects and activities. The amendments support this objective. See findings for Statewide Planning Goal 1, Citizen Involvement for a listing of citizen involvement opportunities included within the North Macadam planning process.
Policy 5.3, Community-Based Economic Development, calls for supporting community-based economic development initiatives consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and compatible with neighborhood livability. The amendments support this policy because they will foster the development of a dense, mixed use urban environment that includes necessary commercial, retail and institutional services and amenities. The amendments also call for encouraging a range of businesses from start-up firms to corporate headquarters, with particular focus on knowledge-based industries, to locate in the district.
Objectives A and B, call for assisting and coordinating with broadly-based community coalitions to implement development objectives, programs and actions of adopted community or neighborhood plans. The amendments support this objective because this plan’s implementation actions include several state and city agencies, the CTLH neighborhood association, and private individuals, groups and/or organizations as action implementors.
Policy 5.4, Transportation System, calls for promotion of a multimodal regional transportation system that encourages economic development. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because the North Macadam Plan includes policies, objectives, action items that call for improvements to the existing street system to provide better access to the regional transportation system. These improvements include but are not limited to the following:
a) Strategies that support the phased development of parking to provide up to 12,000 total off-street spaces by the year 2019.
b) The extension of the Portland Streetcar through the district
c) Potential development of a suspended cable transportation system between Marquam Hill and North Macadam.
d) Improved access to and within the district by creating an urban grid system that provides for internal circulation and connects to adjacent neighborhoods and the greenway trail.
e) High-quality pedestrian environments that establish strong linkages between district uses, surrounding downtown, Lake Oswego, and adjacent neighborhoods.
f) Increased transit service in the district while maintaining existing service levels in adjacent districts and neighborhoods.
Objective C, calls for the City to work closely with public agencies, such as Tri-Met, and the private sector to deliver an efficient and effective transportation system and network and to improve transit connections between residential communities and work sites. The amendments support this objective because they support the development and extension of the Portland Streetcar and a regional streetcar line that connects the district to downtown, Lake Oswego, and adjacent neighborhoods. The streetcar would connect to bus routes and light rail service provided by Tri-Met. The amendments also call for establishing a high-density district of at least 3,000 housing units and up to 10,000 jobs, thus providing residential opportunities close to employment centers.
Objective D, calls for supporting transit-supportive development and redevelopment along designated transit streets and in the vicinity of light rail stations. The amendments support this objective because they call for a high density, mixed-use district, which includes residential and employment uses. Bonus provisions and ability to transfer floor area help foster development, including in the western portion of the district near Macadam, Moody, and Bond, which will serve as the primary transit streets.
Objective E, calls for promoting safe and pleasant bicycle and pedestrian access to and circulation within commercial areas and providing convenient, secure bicycle parking for employees and shoppers. The amendments support this objective because they call for providing high-quality pedestrian environments that establish strong linkages between district uses (including commercial), surrounding neighborhoods, downtown, and the greenway. The amendments also call for promoting pedestrian-oriented development that reinforces connections to transit facilities and the greenway and parks. Recommended code amendments include provisions that require locker rooms and long-term bicycle parking in larger commercial projects.
Objective G, calls for pursuing special opportunities for alternative modes of transportation to serve as attractors themselves, including projects such as water taxis, streetcars and bicycle/pedestrian facilities and amenities. The amendments support this objective because they include policies, objectives and actions that support the development of multimodal transportation system in North Macadam. This includes an extension of the Portland Streetcar to the district, studying the feasibility of a river taxi system that serves the entire Central City and completing the Willamette Greenway trail to link North Macadam to the rest of the 40-Mile Loop Trail.
Objective H, calls for pursuing transportation and parking improvements that reinforce commercial, industrial and residential districts and promote development of new commercial, industrial and residential districts. The amendments support this objective because the North Macadam Plan recognizes and endorses the redevelopment of an underutilized portion of the Central City into a high density, mixed use urban district that includes residential, commercial and other employment opportunities. The amendments include a transportation policy that supports the development of a multimodal transportation system to serve residents, employees and visitors to and within this urban district, with strong connections to the Willamette River and the greenway. Establishing effective parking strategies to address existing and planned development, including a code provision to allow shared residential parking if approved through Central City Parking Review, is a key objective of the North Macadam transportation policy.
Policy 5.5, Infrastructure Development, calls for the promotion of public and private investments in public infrastructure to foster economic development in Council-designated target areas. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy through the plan’s District Development policy which calls for supporting near- and long-term goals for the district through strategic public and private investment and development. This plan policy includes an objective to promote public investments that leverage private investments in the district. In addition, the amendments support Policy 5.5 by improving access to and within the district. The amendments also support the development of water, sanitary, and stormwater systems to support higher densities while complying with local, state and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality. In addition, development in this district will allow greater transit options and opportunities for both the future residents of North Macadam, as well as the residents in the adjacent neighborhoods.
Objective E, calls for using public investment as a catalyst to foster private development in Council-designated target areas. The amendments support this objective. See findings for Policy 5.4, Infrastructure Development.
Policy 5.6, Area Character and Identity within Designated Commercial Areas, calls for promotion and enhancement of the special character and identity of Portland’s designated commercial areas. The amendments for the North Macadam District, a subdistrict of the Central City, support this policy by fostering an integrated and unique relationship between the urban character of the district with the Willamette River and the Willamette Greenway . This includes promoting building forms that respect the relationship of the district to the river and the adjacent neighborhoods and integrating natural resource values into the district’s infrastructure and urban form.
Objective C, calls for promoting voluntary improvements to the physical environment within commercial areas that are attractive to customers and visitors. The amendments support this objective because the amended code will include voluntary bonus provisions that promote physical improvements such as water features, public fountains, additional greenway or open space within the district. The amendments do not preclude the use of these bonuses with commercial development.
Objective D, calls for implementing crime prevention measures, including design improvements, in commercial areas to increase the safety of business people, employees and customers and to maintain and promote neighborhood patronage. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include policies that promote pedestrian-oriented development and encourage a complementary mix of housing, employment, retail, open space, recreational and institutional facilities, which foster an active, populated environment at all hours. In addition, the amendments include design guidelines that seek to incorporate street level lighting of public areas that provides a sense of community, activity and security.
Policy 5.7, Business Environment Within Designated Commercial Areas, calls for promotion of a business environment within designated commercial areas that is conducive to the formation, retention, and expansion of commercial businesses. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in the following ways:
a) Support the development of infrastructure in the district
b) Identify streets where there will be a retail emphasis and provide development and zoning tools to support retail along these identified streets
c) Develop policies to attract target industries and provide policy to support these target industries and enhance fulfillment of the job density goals of the district.
Objective A, calls for promoting business, economic growth, formation of capital and the creation and retention of jobs in designated commercial areas. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include policy language to encourage a range of businesses from start-up firms to corporate headquarters, with particular focus on knowledge-based industries, especially bioscience technology, to locate in the district.
Objective F, calls for encouraging the retention and development of higher density housing and mixed-use development within commercial areas. The amendment support this objective because they include providing for 10,000 jobs and at least 3,000 housing units in the district by the year 2019.
45. Goal 6, Transportation, calls for protection of the public interest and investment in the public right-of-way and transportation system by encouraging development of a balanced, affordable and efficient transportation system consistent with the Arterial Streets Classification and Policies by:
• Providing adequate accessibility to all planned land uses;
• Providing safe and efficient movement of people and goods while preserving, enhancing, or reclaiming neighborhood livability;
• Minimizing the impact of inter-regional trips on city neighborhoods, commercial areas, and the city street system by maximizing the use of regional trafficways and transitways for such trips;
• Reducing reliance on the automobile and per capita vehicle miles traveled; Guiding the use of the city street system to control air pollution, traffic and livability problems; and
• Maintaining the infrastructure in good condition.
The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan, effective June 21, 1996, is the successor document to the Arterial Streets Classifications and Policies but the name has not been revised throughout the Comprehensive Plan text. The two names are used synonymously in these findings.
The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because the North Macadam Plan includes policies, objectives and action items that call for supporting pedestrian-oriented development types and uses that encourage trips other than by single occupancy vehicles. The amendments also call for the development of a multimodal transportation system that serves residents, employees and visitors to the district. In particular, the transportation policy includes an objective to improve access to and within the district by creating an urban grid system that provides for internal circulation and connects to adjacent neighborhoods and the greenway trail. An additional objective of these amendments including providing at least 3,000 housing units and 10,000 jobs in the district, which will allow those living in the district to also work in the district, thereby reducing their reliance on automobile transportation. The findings on State Goal 12, Transportation also address this Comprehensive Plan goal.
Policy 6.1, Intergovernmental Coordination, calls for coordinating long-range transportation planning activities, facilities and improvements with development activities and with regional transportation and land use plans in order to achieve maximum benefit with the limited available funds. This policy also calls for coordinating with agencies and governments in the development of the Transportation System Plan. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with actions that implement transportation provisions of the Transportation System Plan, Central City Plan and Central City Transportation Management Plan. These plans were developed to address both land use and transportation issues concurrently. The transportation actions implemented through the amendments for the North Macadam District were developed with the full participation, and in partnership, with the Portland Office of Transportation, Tri-Met, and Metro.
Policy 6.2, Regional and City Travel Patterns, calls for traffic to use streets in a manner consistent with the Arterial Streets Classifications of those streets. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because the kind of traffic accessing the district via Macadam Avenue and Moody/Bond is consistent with their designations as a Major City Traffic Street and Traffic Access Streets, respectively. In addition, the North Macadam Plan contains objectives and actions that support an urban grid street network, which encourages bicycle, transit, and pedestrian use. The development of this street network will help to disperse local traffic onto Local Service Traffic Streets. Implementation of the North Macadam Plan will also provide for improvements to regional transit and trafficway systems.
Policy 6.4, Coordinate Land Use and Transportation Planning, calls for coordinating land use planning with transportation planning and requires that the Transportation Element be a guide in land use planning and in the transportation project development process. The amendments support this policy because the North Macadam planning process has included significant input from the Portland Office of Transportation and other transportation agencies. PDOT staff has assisted Bureau of Planning staff in the development of the North Macadam Plan to ensure consistency with applicable Transportation Element and Comprehensive Plan provisions.
Policy 6.5, Neighborhood Collector and Local Service Street Traffic Management, calls for managing traffic on Neighborhood Collectors and Local Service streets according to the hierarchy established in the Transportation Element, and the land uses they serve. The amendments support this policy because the North Macadam Plan calls for the development of an urban street grid network that should encourage non-local traffic to use streets with higher traffic classifications.
Policy 6.6, Urban Form, calls for supporting a regional form composed of mixed-use centers served by a multimodal transportation system. The policy also states that new development should be served by interconnected public streets which provide safe and convenient pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle access. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with projects that will foster the redevelopment of the district as a major part of the Central City. The Central City is the most intense of the mixed-use centers of the region. The amendments also support this policy with actions to enhance alternative transportation modes, creating within the district a multimodal environment. Improvements are planned for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit patrons, including the provision of high quality pedestrian environments that establish strong linkages between district uses, transit facilities, surrounding neighborhoods, downtown and the greenway.
Policy 6.7, Public Transit, calls for the development of transit as the preferred form of person trips to and from the Central City, regional and town centers, and light rail stations at all times. The policy also calls for enhancing access to transit and reducing transit travel times on the primary transit network, including the Central City. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with projects that enhance transit service to and through the area and the Central City. This includes objectives and actions to support the development of the Portland Streetcar to connect North Macadam to downtown and encouraging increased transit service in North Macadam while maintaining existing service levels in adjacent districts and neighborhoods. Increased residential and employment opportunities in the district will help support additional transit usage.
Policy 6.8, Regional Rail Corridors, calls for assigning priority to the funding and development of the regional mass transit system to reduce both the need for new regional traffic facilities and reliance on the automobile. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with a policy and action item to extend the Portland streetcar to the district, thereby providing a link between the district and light rail stations in the downtown. The amendments also support the possible extension of the streetcar to Lake Oswego.
Policy 6.9, Transit-Oriented Development, calls for increasing residential densities on residentially zoned lands and encouraging transit-oriented development along Major City Transit Streets and Regional Transitways. This policy also calls for the transit-oriented development at activity centers, at existing and planned light rail transit stations, and at transit centers, in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with programs aimed at creating transit supportive densities of housing, employment and commercial development on every development site within the renewal area and near increased transit routes, including the extension of the Portland Streetcar. The amendments include a provision for a required residential area south of the Ross Island Bridge and the CX zone that covers the district allows housing. In the required residential development area of North Macadam, new development must include at least one dwelling unit per 1,000 square feet of new site area (43 units per acre).
Objective A, calls for making the existence or ease of providing transit to office buildings and other major employment centers a major consideration in approving locations for these activities. The amendments support this objective because the objective of providing up to 10,000 jobs in North Macadam is coupled with improving the transit and transportation system, including a Portland Streetcar alignment along the Moody/Bond couplet. The amendments also include an objective of encouraging increased transit service in the district while maintaining existing service levels in adjacent districts and neighborhoods.
Objective B, calls for locating all new medium and high-density development in transit-oriented developments and requiring all major developments along transit lines to orient to the transit line and provide either a transit stop on site or connection to a transit stop. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include objectives that support development types and uses that encourage trips other than by single occupancy vehicles and they also promote pedestrian-oriented development that reinforces connections to transit facilities and the greenway and parks.
Objective C, calls for providing infrastructure needed to support public and private transit-oriented development and designing transit routes and transit facilities to support transit use. The amendments support this objective because they include development objectives that call for establishing public investment priorities for transportation, parks and greenway, infrastructure, housing and jobs.
Policy 6.10, Barrier-Free Design, calls for transportation facilities that are accessible to all people, and requires that all improvements to the transportation system in the public right-of-way comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by including projects that will lead to new transit facilities and transportation infrastructure. All new facilities are expected to be developed barrier free and will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Policy 6.11, Pedestrian Transportation, calls for planning and completing a pedestrian network that increases the opportunities for walking to shopping and services, institutional and recreational destinations, employment, and transit. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include objectives and actions to complete the local street network, which will allow pedestrian access to transit, employment, shopping, and the Willamette River. The amendments will aid the completion of the Willamette Greenway Trail, which will provide a pedestrian and bicycle connection to downtown, the John’s Landing area, and Willamette Park. In addition, the amendments include objectives to promote pedestrian-oriented development that reinforces connections to transit facilities and the greenway and parks and provide a high-quality pedestrian environments that establish strong linkages between district uses, surrounding neighborhoods, downtown and the greenway.
Objective C, calls for improving the quality of the pedestrian environment by implementing pedestrian design guidelines to ensure that new public and private development meets a pedestrian quality standard and by developing special design districts for Pedestrian Districts and Main Streets. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include a land use objective that calls for promoting pedestrian-oriented development that reinforces connections to transit facilities and the greenway and parks. The amendments also include design guidelines that call for facilitating transit connections between pedestrians and transit services and facilities.
Objective F, calls for exploring a range of funding options for pedestrian improvements to supplement reliance on general transportation revenues. The amendments support this objective because they include a district development objective that calls for identifying and seeking a variety of local, state, federal and nonprofit funding sources to support district improvements, including those for pedestrians.
Policy 6.12, Bicycle Transportation, calls for making the bicycle an integral part of daily life in Portland, by implementing a bikeway network, providing end-of-trip facilities, improving bicycle/transit integration, encouraging bicycle use, and making bicycling safer. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include policies to complete the local street grid network and the Willamette Greenway Trail and to achieve at least a 30 percent mode split and at least a 40 percent work mode split for public transit, pedestrian and bicycle trips. Implementation of the North Macadam Plan will support alternative modes of transportation, including bicycling and walking.
Objective A, calls for completion of a network of bikeways that serve bicyclists’ needs, especially for travel to employment centers, commercial districts, transit stations, institutions and recreational destinations. The amendments support this objective because they will foster the development of an urban street grid in a transportation deficient district as well as actions to construct new and improve existing bicycle and pedestrian connections to and through the district.
Objective C, calls for maintaining and improving the quality, operation, and integrity of bikeway network facilities. The amendments support this objective because they contain actions to construct new, and improve existing, bicycle and pedestrian connections to and through the district and to study the possibility of providing improved bicycle access from the Ross Island Bridge.
Objective D, calls for providing short- and/or long-term bicycle parking in commercial districts, along Main Streets, in employment centers and multifamily developments, at schools and colleges and in recreational areas. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include code language that that requires long-term bicycle parking for larger commercial developments in North Macadam.
Objective E, calls for providing showers and changing facilities for commuting cyclists and supporting the development of such facilities in commercial buildings. The amendments support this objective because they contain a requirement that locker rooms are included in all nonresidential projects that are 100,000 square feet or larger.
Policy 6.13, Transportation Demand Management, calls for requiring the use of transportation demand management techniques such as carpooling, ridesharing, flexible work hours, telecommuting, parking management, and employer-subsidized transit passes to mitigate the impact of development-generated traffic. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by calling for a North Macadam District Transportation Management Association and by preparing and enacting a district Transportation Demand Management Plan.
Policy 6.14, Parking Management, calls for managing the parking supply to take into account both transportation capacity and parking demand, and implementing measures to achieve Portland’s share of a regional per capita parking space reduction. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with actions that include parking and transit improvements to implement the Central City Transportation Management Plan. These include limiting parking maximum parking ratios and capping supplemental parking, reviewing and revising parking regulations based on changes to infrastructure and transit capacity, on-street parking requirements that recognize the limited accessibility of the North Macadam District, and emphasizing structured parking instead of surface parking. The amendments also include a code provision to allow shared residential parking if approved through CCPR as well as an action item to examine opportunities for parking structures that are shared by several developments.
Policy 6.15, On-Street Parking Management, calls for managing the supply, operations and demand for parking and loading in the public right-of-way to encourage economic vitality, traffic safety, and livability of residential neighborhoods. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with actions fostering the creation of additional local streets with opportunities for the creation and management of the on-street parking supply. Amendments to Title 33: Portland Zoning Code, contain parking prohibitions in active building use areas, which promote active ground-level building uses for pedestrians. In addition, the amendments include an action item to study the possibility of expanding the permit parking program in part or all of the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood.
Policy 6.16, Off-Street Parking, calls for the provision of adequate, but not excessive, off-street parking for all land uses. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with a transportation policy to establish strategies that support the phased development of parking to provide up to 12,000 total off-street space by the year 2019, for all parking types. The amendments also include actions to develop and implement a district wide parking strategy and to examine opportunities for parking structures shared by several developments. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.14.
Policy 6.17, Institutional Parking, calls for encouraging institutions to regulate parking facilities to first provide short-term parking for users, and secondly, to use demand management to minimize the amount of employee parking required. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by continuing to require analysis of parking through Central City Parking Review for institutional uses other than colleges or medical centers that propose in excess of 60 spaces. In addition, the amendments set maximum parking ratios for office, college and medical center uses. These maximum ratios are comparable to other Central City subdistricts with good transit service.
Policy 6.18, Clean Air and Energy Efficiency, calls for encouraging the use of all modes of travel that contribute to clean air and energy efficiency. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because the transportation policy supports the development of a multimodal transportation system to serve residents, employees and visitors. The amendments also include actions to increase the level of alternative transit modes available within the district. The amendments also support other modes such as walking and bicycling. See the findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.11, Pedestrian Transportation and Policy 6.12, Bicycle Transportation.
Policy 6.19, Multimodal, calls for the coordination of the planning, development, and interconnection of all modes of passenger transportation. The transportation policy of the North Macadam Plan is consistent with this policy because it supports the development of a multimodal transportation system in the district to serve residents, employees and visitors. The amendments also support this policy with the following actions:
a) Extend the Portland Streetcar into and possibly through North Macadam to Lake Oswego.
b) Establish a pedestrian friendly urban street grid.
c) Improve access to and within the district.
d) Construct new and improve existing bicycle and pedestrian connections to and through the district, including crossings over Interstate 5 and connections to the Willamette Greenway Trail.
e) Develop an implementation plan for a transit hub that could accommodate a potential tram between Marquam Hill and the North Macadam District.
Policy 6.21, Freight Intermodal Facilities and Freight Activity Areas, calls for the development and maintenance of a multimodal transportation system for the safe and efficient movement of goods within the city. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because it will complete the grid system of local streets that serve the district and improve access to the district at its northern, central, and southern portals.
Policy 6.22, Right-of-Way Opportunities, calls for the preservation of existing and abandoned rail rights-of-way and examination of their potential for future rail freight, passenger service, or recreational trail uses. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with projects that include the extension of the Portland Streetcar through the district. Further, the North Macadam Plan points out the possibility of preserving the Willamette Shore Line rail corridor for future streetcar, trolley, and/or light rail alignments.
Policy 6.25, Access Management, calls for the City to work with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to develop access management agreements for state highways within the city. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by calling for improvements to Macadam Avenue by extending the North Macadam Street Standards. The amendments also call for the street improvement work, including access enhancement, to be coordinated with the ODOT.
Policy 6.26, Central City Transportation Management Plan (CCTMP) calls for including portions of the Central City Transportation Management Plan as part of the Comprehensive Plan. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with actions that implement provisions of the CCTMP in the district. Implementing projects include transit enhancements, support of the completion of the North Macadam District Street Standards and the update of the North Macadam District Street Plan, and the creation of additional off-street parking for bicyclists and cars. Amendments to Title 33,Zoning Code, include changes to parking requirements within the district that are more reflective of the anticipated high-density, mixed use character of the area than of the previous industrial character.
Policy 6.27, Adequacy of Transportation Facilities, calls for ensuring that amendments to the Comprehensive Plan or to land use regulations that change allowed land uses and significantly affect a transportation facility, are consistent with the identified function, capacity and level of service of the facility. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because transportation improvements are planned to address impacts of increased development in the district that may be allowed by changes to land use regulations. In addition, the plan seeks to limit transportation impacts by setting minimum requirements for residential development, limiting the size of retail uses and restricting the amount of parking allowed in the district.
Policy 6.28, Public Involvement, calls for carrying out a public involvement process that is consistent with Metro guidelines and provides information about transportation issues and processes to citizens, especially to those traditionally underserved by transportation services. The amendments for the North Macadam District have met and exceeded the requirement of this policy as described by the findings under State Goal 1, Citizen Involvement and Comprehensive Plan Goal 9, Citizen Involvement.
Policy 6.29, Transportation Education, calls for publicizing activities and the availability of resources and facilities to encourage the use of alternate modes of travel to the automobile. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by providing an action to prepare and enact a district Transportation Demand Management Plan. This action will likely include a large educational component as part of its program.
Policy 6.30, Street Vacations, calls for allowing street vacations only when there is no existing or future need for the right-of-way, the established city street pattern will not be significantly interrupted, and the functional purpose of nearby streets will be maintained. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because it contains actions that aid the completion of a street grid in the district while limiting the need for vacations where existing streets exist.
46. Goal 7, Energy, calls for the promotion of a sustainable energy future by increasing energy efficiency in all sectors of the city by ten percent by the year 2000. The amendments are consistent with this goal because the North Macadam Plan supports the development of significant amounts of jobs and housing in a high-density, mixed-use district that lies within the most substantial employment center in the region. The clustering of housing opportunities near employment opportunities helps to reduce vehicle miles traveled. The amendments for the North Macadam District also support the enhancement of public transit, enhancement of walking and bicycle connections, and the development of high-density buildings that minimize heat loss through the use of common walls/floor-ceilings. In addition, the amendments contain an incentive for developers to add eco-roofs as part of their development projects.
Policy 7.3, Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings, calls for encouraging energy efficiency in existing residences, focusing on the most energy-wasteful units, by helping to develop and promote public/private partnerships, utility, local, state, and federal programs. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with policies, objectives and actions that support the creation of high-density, high- and mid-rise development. Such residential projects minimize costs for space heating and related energy consumption, through the use of shared or common walls/ceilings and floors. In addition, the amendments contain an incentive for developers to add eco-roofs as part of their development projects.
Policy 7.4, Energy Efficiency Through Land Use Regulations, calls for promoting residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include policies and actions to create a new mixed use urban district with at least 3,000 new housing units, up to 10,000 new jobs, an urban street grid system, and achievement of at least a 30 percent mode split for public transit, pedestrian, and bicycle trips and a work mode split of at least 40 percent.
Objective A, calls for promoting land use patterns that increase energy efficiency in buildings and transportation systems by making energy efficiency a critical element when developing new regulations and modifying old regulations, including long-range planning efforts. The amendments support this objective because they call for the provision of 10,000 jobs and at least 3,000 housing units in North Macadam by 2019 as well as encouraging a complementary mix of housing, employment, retail, open space, recreational and institutional facilities. In addition, the amendments support the development of a multimodal transportation system to augment the increased residential and employment densities.
Objective B, calls for promoting density, location, and mix of land uses that decrease the length of required daily trips and encourage the consolidation of related trips. The amendments support this objective. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 2.15, Living Closer to Work; Policy 5.4, Transportation System; and Policy 6.6, Urban Form.
Objective D, calls for reducing energy consumed for space heating residential buildings by promoting the construction and renovation of attached single and multifamily dwelling units. The amendments are consistent with this objective because the code language includes development standards that will foster high density, mixed use and residential development such as apartments and condominiums.
Policy 7.6, Energy Efficient Transportation, calls for providing opportunities for non-auto transportation and for reducing gasoline and diesel use by increasing fuel efficiency. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with policies, objectives and actions that call for an urban street grid system and the achievement of at least a 30 percent mode split for public transit, pedestrian, and bicycle trips and at least a 40 percent work trip mode split. In addition, the amendments include improved mass transit service to the district and encouraging the use of hybrid buses as an alternative mode of transportation.
Objective C, calls for supporting efforts to ensure the energy efficiency of the transit system, including good street maintenance and transportation system management. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include an action item to establish a North Macadam District Transportation Management Association.
Objective H, calls for promoting walking and bicycle commuting by developing bikeways and walkways, providing bicycle lockers, and implementing bicycle commuter services such as long-term bicycle parking, showers and changing facilities. The amendments support this objective. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.12, Bicycle Transportation, Objectives D and E and Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.19, Multimodal.
Objective J, calls for matching carpool riders and providing transit information to city employees and promoting public/private partnerships to increase employee ride-share, transit use, and flextime. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include actions such as preparing and enacting a district Transportation Demand Management Plan that will likely include those methods mentioned in Objective J.
Policy 7.7, Telecommunications as an Energy Efficiency Strategy, calls for researching and supporting telecommunication opportunities that will reduce the need for travel. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by including an action to develop the telecommunications infrastructure needed to ensure North Macadam is a competitive location for high technology jobs.
47. Goal 8, Environment, calls for maintaining and improving the quality of Portland's air, water and land resources, and protecting neighborhoods and business centers from noise pollution. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they:
a) Propose policies to improve the quality of stormwater that enters the Willamette River.
b) Promote high density, mixed-use urban development that ensures the efficient use of land. The greater intensity of development permitted in this urban area helps to maintain the urban growth boundary instead of expanding it to accommodate additional residential and commercial/office development.
c) Reduce auto-generated air pollution through the creation of housing and employment opportunities within the district.
d) Enhance transit service and transit facilities while also improving the pedestrian network to encourage walking.
Policy 8.2, Central City Transportation Management Plan, calls for the Central City Transportation Management Plan to guide future city efforts to maintain air quality standards in the central business district while allowing for expanded employment and housing opportunities throughout the Central City. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by specifically providing regulations that implement the Central City Transportation Management Plan. These regulations manage the supply of off-street parking to improve mobility, promote the use of alternative modes of transportation, maintain air quality, and enhance the urban form of the North Macadam District.
Policy 8.3, Air Quality Maintenance Strategies, calls for the implementation of the action elements of the Central City Transportation Management Plan (CCTMP) and ozone maintenance plan to provide for long-term maintenance of air quality standards. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with projects that implement CCTMP actions. These actions include improving connectivity, creating opportunities to both live and work in the district, and the creation of additional parking facilities for autos and bicycles.
Policy 8.4, Ride Sharing, Bicycling, Walking, and Transit, calls for promoting the use of alternative modes of transportation such as ridesharing, bicycling, walking and transit. The amendments support this policy for reasons expressed in the findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.9, Transit-Oriented Development, Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.11, Pedestrian Transportation, and Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.12, Bicycle Transportation.
Policy 8.5, Interagency Cooperation – Water Quality, calls for continuing cooperation with federal, state, and regional agencies involved with the management and quality of Portland’s water resources. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because they support compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act and Metro’s Title 3 policies. See findings for the Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan, Title 3, Water Quality and Flood Management Conservation.
Policy 8.7, Land Use and Capital Improvements Coordination, calls for maintaining the coordination of land use planning and capital improvement to ensure the most efficient use of the city’s sanitary and stormwater run-off facilities. The amendments for the North Macadam District support in the following ways:
a) Includes actions to develop water, sanitary and stormwater sewer systems to support increased development and higher densities complying with local, state and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality.
b) Amends Title 33: Portland Zoning Code and other development standards to comply with local, state, and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality, and to prevent untreated runoff and subsurface discharges from areas of potentially contaminated soil.
Policy 8.8, Groundwater Protection, calls for conserving domestic groundwater and surface water resources from potential pollution through a variety of regulatory measures relating to land use, transportation, and hazardous substances. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with projects that will spur the redevelopment of lands in North Macadam. The amendments also include an environmental design objective to creatively address environmental challenges within the district including, but not limited to, soil contamination.
Policy 8.10, Drainageways, calls for the regulation of development within identified drainageways for multiple objectives. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with programs that include policies, objectives and actions to improve water quality and mitigate stormwater runoff. The amendments include a new bonus incentive that is available through the installation of an eco-roof.
Objective A, Stormwater Runoff, calls for conserving and enhancing drainageways for the purpose of containing and regulating stormwater runoff. The amendments support this objective because they include an objective that calls for promoting low impact development strategies that minimize impervious areas, use multi-objective stormwater management systems, create water-quality friendly streets and parking lots and enhance natural area revegetation. In addition, the amendments include an action item to develop water, sanitary and stormwater sewer systems to support higher densities in the district and comply with applicable local, state and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality.
Objective B, Water Quality and Quantity, calls for protecting, enhancing and extending vegetation along drainageways to maintain and improve the quality and quantity of water. The amendments support this objective because they include a transportation objective of developing “green” accessways extending west from the greenway into the district as a means of providing multi-objective stormwater management opportunities. The amendments also include bonus provisions for the inclusion of eco-roofs in development. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 8.10, Objective A.
Policy 8.11, Special Areas, calls for recognizing the unique land qualities of the following special areas: Balch Creek watershed, East Buttes terraces and wetlands, Fanno Creek watershed, Johnson Creek basin, Northwest Hills, Skyline West, Southwest Hills and the Willamette River Greenway. The policy calls for the adoption of specific planning objectives for these special areas. The amendments support this policy because the North Macadam Plan includes policies, objectives and action items that recognize the special features and needs of the district including its location along the Willamette River.
Objective H, Willamette River Greenway, calls for protecting and preserving the natural and economic qualities of lands along the Willamette River through implementation of the City’s Willamette River Greenway Plan. The amendments for the North Macadam District support the preservation of the natural and economic qualities of lands along the Willamette River through implementation of the City's Willamette Greenway Plan. The amendments amend both the greenway standards for potential development within the greenway setback as well as amending greenway design guidelines applicable to the North Macadam District. These revisions contain actions to provide additional open spaces through the use of incentives. In addition, the amendments include polices and objectives that promote and support strategic public investments in the district to help leverage private investment and development. See findings for State Goal 15, Willamette River Greenway.
Policy 8.13, Natural Hazards, calls for controlling the density of development in areas of natural hazards consistent with the provisions of the City’s building code, chapter 70, the floodplain ordinance and the subdivision code. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy with policies and actions intended to expand the greenway setback areas within which development is limited, to encourage regrading of that area to increase flood storage and to build communities of native vegetation throughout the greenway setback area to prevent erosion of the riverbank.
Policy 8.14, Natural Resources, calls for the conservation of significant natural and scenic resource sites and values through a combination of programs which involve zoning and other land use controls, purchase, preservation, intergovernmental coordination, conservation, and mitigation. The policy also calls for balancing the conservation of significant natural resources with the need for other urban uses and activities through the evaluation of economic, social, environmental, and energy consequences of such actions. The scenic and natural resources in the area were identified, evaluated and protected, as appropriate, when the city adopted the Central City Plan and the Scenic Resources Protection Plan. These resources are further protected in the amendments for the North Macadam District through viewpoints and view corridors and a land use objective to provide physical and visual connections to the Willamette River from both the district and adjoining neighborhoods. In addition, the amendments include a land use objective to integrate natural resource values into the district’s infrastructure and urban form.
Objective E, Soil Erosion Control, calls for protecting natural resources where appropriate from sediment and other forms of pollution through the use of vegetation, erosion control measures during construction, settling ponds and other structural and non-structural means. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include an objective to ensure riverbank stability to prevent erosion through a mix of structural and non-structural (bioengineered) approaches.
Objective G, Improving Turnouts Along Scenic Routes and at Viewpoints, calls for improving and maintaining turnouts along scenic corridors and at identified viewpoints throughout Portland. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include code language which require viewpoints with resting places where people can safely stop (major viewpoints) along the greenway trail.
Objective H, Bike and Pedestrian Routes, calls for enhancing the value and beauty of Portland’s bicycle and pedestrian routes by locating them to take advantage of significant viewpoints, scenic sites and scenic corridors. The amendments support this objective because they include objectives and actions to construct and complete the Willamette River greenway and greenway trail connecting it with the rest of the 40-Mile Loop. The greenway’s location and the recommended code language will provide ample opportunities where the bicyclists and pedestrians can view and enjoy the natural and scenic qualities of the greenway and the Willamette River.
Policy 8.15, Wetlands/Riparian/Water Bodies Protection, calls for the conservation of significant wetlands, riparian areas, and water bodies which have significant functions and values related to flood protection, sediment and erosion control, water quality, groundwater recharge and discharge, education, vegetation, and fish and wildlife habitat. The policy also calls for the regulation of development within significant water bodies, riparian areas, and wetlands to retain their important functions and values. The amendments support this policy because they include policies, objectives and actions that will combine increased urban development with providing additional ecological functions throughout the district, including in the riparian area. This includes integrating natural resource values into the district’s infrastructure and urban form such as minimizing impervious areas, using multi-objective stormwater management systems, creating water-quality friendly streets and parking lots and enhancing natural area revegetation.
Objective A, Wetland/Water Body Buffer, calls for conserving significant riparian, wetland and water body natural resources through the designation and protection of transition areas between the resource and other urban development and activities. The objective also calls for restricting non-water dependent or non-water related development within the riparian area. The amendments support this objective because they include code language that increases the regulated greenway setback to 100 feet and that emphasizes the ecological functions of riparian areas nearest the river. These areas have the highest level of required landscaping and the least allowance for human activity and non-river dependent development to enhance conservation of riparian areas along the river.
Objective B, Water Quality, calls for maintaining and improving the water quality of significant wetlands and water bodies through design of stormwater drainage facilities. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this objective with projects to enhance the west bank of the Willamette River and improve the quality of the stormwater entering the Willamette River from the district. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 8.10, Drainageways, Objective B. The amendments for the North Macadam District also require plantings of riparian vegetation throughout the greenway setback.
Policy 8.17, Wildlife, calls for conserving significant areas and creating new areas that increase the variety and quantity of fish and wildlife throughout the urban area in a manner compatible with other urban development and activities. The amendments support this policy because they contain objectives and actions to build communities of native vegetation that offer visual variety, and functional and enhanced habitat for native wildlife throughout the greenway setback. In addition, the amendments call for improving riverbank and in-water conditions to provide enhanced fish and wildlife habitat.
Policy 8.20, Noise Abatement Strategies, calls for reducing and preventing excessive noise levels from one use which may impact another use through ongoing noise monitoring and enforcement procedures. The amendments are consistent with this policy because they include an objective to creatively address environmental challenges including, but not limited to, soil contamination and freeway noise.
48. Goal 9, Citizen Involvement, calls for improved methods and ongoing opportunities for citizen involvement in the land use decision-making process. The amendments are consistent with this goal because the North Macadam planning process included extensive citizen involvement activities that were conducted as part of developing the amendments. This includes neighborhood and interest group meetings, open house events, and public hearings before the Planning Commission, Design Commission, and City Council as described in the findings for State Goals 1 and 2.
Policy 9.1, Citizen Involvement Coordination, calls for encouraging citizen involvement in land use planning projects through active coordination with relevant community organizations, the reasonable availability of planning reports, and notice of official public hearings. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because of the citizen involvement activities that were conducted as part of the development of these amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, Central City Plan; Title 33: Portland Zoning Code; and the North Macadam District Special Design Guidelines. These activities are described in the findings that address Statewide Goals 1 and 2.
Policy 9.4, Intergovernmental Cooperation, calls for promoting citizen involvement in land use decisions initiated by other governmental agencies. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy. Bureau of Planning staff met with potential implementing agencies and developed action charts describing the implementation activities expected in the district. The planning process included coordination with planning and transportation agencies such as the Portland Development Commission (PDC), Bureau of Development Services (BDS) (formerly known as Office of Planning and Development Review), Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) and the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met) as described in the findings for State Goals 1 and 2.
49. Goal 10, Plan Review and Administration, calls for Portland’s Comprehensive Plan to undergo periodic review to ensure that it remains an up-to-date and workable framework for land use development. The implementation of the amendments for the North Macadam District will be in accordance with State law and the adopted Comprehensive Plan goals, policies, objectives and Comprehensive Plan map. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal, as they are the legislative update of the Central City Plan, which is an element of the Comprehensive Plan. These amendments better reflect the desired future development of North Macadam.
Policy 10.1, Comprehensive Plan Review, calls for implementing a process for the review of the Comprehensive Plan goals, policies, objectives, and implementation provisions on a periodic basis. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because they are the updates of the North Macadam element of the Central City Plan.
Policy 10.3, Long Range Planning Framework, calls for adopting the land use goals and policies as the long range planning framework and guide to the development and redevelopment of the city. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because long range goals, policies, objectives and actions have been developed for the plan area and are included in the North Macadam Plan.
Policy 10.6, Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan Goals, Policies, and Implementing Measures, requires that all proposed amendments to implementing ordinances be reviewed by the Planning Commission prior to action by the City Council. The amendments support this policy because the North Macadam planning effort followed the process and requirements for notice and hearing in City Code 33.740 – Legislative Procedure. The Planning Commission reviewed the amendments at public hearings on May 14, 2002 and May 28, 2002 and at work sessions on June 4, June 25, July 9, July 16, July 30, and August 27, 2002, all prior to City Council action.
Policy 10.10, Amendments to the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations, calls for amendments to the zoning and subdivision regulations should be clear, concise, and applicable to the broad range of development situations faced by a growing, urban city. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by promoting good planning and striving to improve the code document in the following ways:
a) The amendments integrate new development regulations for the North Macadam subdistrict within the existing Central City Plan district chapter of the Zoning Code.
b) The amendments provide a running “commentary” that explains the ramifications of each proposed regulation as well as those that have been moved from other locations within Zoning Code.
Policy 10.13, Design Review, calls for the development of recommendations for Council consideration for additional areas where design review would be appropriate and prepare design review standards for both existing and proposed areas. The amendments for the North Macadam District require all new development in the district to undergo design review, which includes compatibility with the design vision for the district. The design guidelines for the district have been updated as part of this legislative project for the North Macadam District. The Portland Design Commission held a hearing and reviewed the proposed design guidelines before making a recommendation to City Council.
50. Goal 11 A, Public Facilities, General, calls for the provision of a timely, orderly and efficient arrangement of public facilities that support existing and planned land use patterns and densities. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal. Where necessary and appropriate, implementation actions and strategies for public facility provision over the next twenty years have been identified and prioritized.
Policy 11.1 A, Service Responsibility, calls for the City of Portland to provide, where feasible and as sufficient funds are available from public and private sources, infrastructure, public facilities and services appropriate for all land use types for all land within its boundaries of incorporation. The amendments support this policy by providing mechanisms and incentives, establishing public investment priorities, and phasing infrastructure improvements for the following facilities and services:
a) Streets and other public right-of-ways,
b) Sanitary and stormwater sewers,
c) Parks and recreation,
d) Water supply,
e) Planning, zoning, buildings and subdivision control,
f) Energy and communication services, and
g) Transit services.
Policy 11.1, D, calls for providing a public participation process in the implementation of this policy, ensuring that property owners, residents, and existing community organizations in areas affected by proposed changes in service delivery have opportunity to review and comment on plans for such changes. The amendments are consistent with this policy. See findings for State Goal, 1 and Comprehensive Plan Policy 5.3, Objectives A and B.
Policy 11.2, Orderly Land Development, calls for urban development to occur only where urban public facilities and services exist or can reasonably be made available. The North Macadam Plan is consistent with this policy in that it provides the policies, strategies and implementation mechanisms for the development of urban public services into the last undeveloped land parcels within the Central City.
Policy 11.4, Capital Efficiency, calls for supporting maximum use of existing public facilities and services by encouraging new development to occur at the maximum densities allowed by the Comprehensive Plan and through the development of vacant land within presently developed areas in order to make maximum use of existing public facilities and services. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by encouraging higher density infill development and redevelopment of underutilized sites in the plan area where some public facilities exist and additional public facilities will be improved through the provisions of the North Macadam Plan.
Policy 11.5, Cost Equitability, calls for the costs of improvement, extension and construction of public facilities should be borne by those whose land development and redevelopment actions made such improvements necessary. The amendments are consistent with this policy because they promote public investments that leverage private investments in the district, with phased infrastructure improvements to use public funding most efficiently.
48. Goal 11 B, Public Rights-of-Way, calls for preserving the quality of Portland’s land transportation system; protecting the City’s capital investment in public rights-of-way; and improving city streets in a way that balances the identified needs and the limited resources available. The amendments are consistent with this goal by providing mechanisms to improve existing public rights-of-way into and through the North Macadam district and by providing for the construction of additional dedicated public rights-of-way. The findings for Comprehensive Plan Goal 6, Transportation also support this goal and its policies and objectives.
Policy 11.8, Maintenance, requires that when prioritizing the expenditure of general fund revenues on the public rights-of-way, that the first priority will be to maintain and prevent deterioration of the existing street system. This policy is not directly relevant to the amendments for the North Macadam District, since nearly all of the current transportation system in the district has been identified as needing improvement. However, funding for the improvement and construction of rights-of-way within the North Macadam District will come from promoting public investments that leverage private investment.
Policy 11.9, Transit Corridors, calls for giving high priority to improvements which promote more effective public transportation for those streets functioning as transit corridors. The amendments are consistent with this policy by providing an implementation strategy, which prioritizes the completion of the Moody/Bond corridor. The Moody/Bond couplet will function as a transit corridor into and through the district.
Policy 11.11, Local Service Street Improvements, calls for constructing local service streets in accordance with existing and planned neighborhood land use patterns and accepted engineering standards, including the provision of sidewalks on most streets. The amendments are consistent with this policy for the reasons stated in the findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.5, Neighborhood Collector and Local Service Street Traffic Management.
Policy 11.12, Transit Improvements, calls for constructing or modifying transit streets to promote more efficient and effective public transportation and improve pedestrian access to transit. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include policies, objectives and actions to improve transit streets within North Macadam, including implementation strategies for bringing the Portland Streetcar and buses into the district. The amendments also call for developing an implementation plan for a transit hub in the district.
Policy 11.13, Bicycle Improvements, calls for providing bikeway facilities appropriate to the street classifications, traffic volume, and speed in the design and construction of all new or reconstructed streets. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they include policies, objectives and actions to improve streets to be used by bicyclists within North Macadam, including improved bicycle access from the Ross Island Bridge, across the Interstate 5 freeway, and from Sheridan Street, Bancroft Street, and the Willamette Greenway Trail. A bifurcated trail along the Willamette Greenway will improve the safety of both pedestrians and bicyclists.
Policy 11.14, Public Bicycle Parking, calls for providing for safe short-term and safe, sheltered long-term bicycle parking in the right-of-way and in publicly-owned garages throughout the Central City and in other areas of the city where needed. The amendments support this policy. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.12, Bicycle Transportation, Objective D.
Policy 11.16, Local Improvement Districts, encourages the formation of local improvement districts (LIDs) in currently developed areas to make street improvements, including sidewalks, drainage, and street trees, where feasible. The amendments for the North Macadam District support the formation of local improvement districts or a comparable instrument to provide additional funding for the development of district infrastructure, including greenway improvements.
49. Goal 11 C, Sanitary and Stormwater Facilities, calls for ensuring an efficient, adequate and self-supporting wastewater collection treatment and disposal system which will meet the needs of the public and comply with federal, state and local clean water requirements. The amendments for the North Macadam District provide for the development of a multi-objective stormwater management system. The amendments were developed with the assistance of the Bureau of Environmental Services in part to ensure coordination with their ongoing efforts to develop efficient, adequate and self-supporting systems that meet the needs of the public. In addition, the amendments include an action to develop water, sanitary and stormwater sewer systems to support higher densities while complying with local, state and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality.
Policy 11.18, Maintenance, calls for maintaining and improving the existing sanitary and storm sewer system through preventive maintenance and ongoing appraisal. The amendments allow for construction, maintenance and upgrades to the sanitary and stormwater systems throughout the district, as development occurs. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Goal 11 C.
Policy 11.20, Combined Sewer Overflows, calls for the control and reduction of combined sewer overflows. The amendments for the North Macadam District identify the need to develop water, sanitary, and stormwater sewer systems to support higher densities, complying with local, state, and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality.
Policy 11.22, Sewer Connections, requires all new developments within the city limits to be connected to sanitary sewers except those that can be provided with acceptable sub-surface disposal, if a sewer is not available. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because they contain an action to develop water, sanitary, and stormwater sewer systems to support higher densities complying with local, state, and federal regulations for fish protection and water quality, and to prevent untreated runoff and subsurface discharges from areas of potentially contaminated soil.
Policy 11.23, New Construction, calls for giving priority, in the development of new sewer systems, to those unsewered areas developed at urban densities where health hazards or demand exist. The amendments are consistent with this policy because the goal of a higher density district close to the Central City matches an increased demand for stormwater and sanitary sewer services in North Macadam.
Policy 11.25, Stormwater Management, calls for integrated master planning for stormwater management with other city activities to achieve adequate drainage and to minimize pollution and erosion problems. The amendments for the North Macadam District meet this policy by proposing to develop water, sanitary, and stormwater sewer systems supportive of the higher densities expected in the district. In addition, several City bureaus, including Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Office of Transportation, Bureau of Parks and Recreation, Portland Development Commission and the Bureau of Planning have all participated in and reviewed the North Macadam Plan and its amendments for consistency and integration with the activities of these bureaus.
Policy 11.26, Impervious Surfaces, calls for limiting, where necessary, the increase of Portland’s impervious surfaces without unduly limiting development in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan. The amendments are consistent with this policy because they include an objective to integrate development with the natural landscape by promoting low impact development strategies that include minimizing impervious areas. The amendments also include limitations on impervious surfaces in the greenway setback.
50. Goal 11 E, Water Service, calls for ensuring that reliable and adequate water supply and delivery systems are available to provide sufficient quantities of high quality water at adequate pressures to meet the existing and future needs of the community, on an equitable, efficient and self-sustaining basis. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they facilitate the development of water systems supportive of the higher densities expected in the district. See findings for Comprehensive Plan Goal 11 A.
Policy 11.34, Fire Protection, calls for installing and maintaining public fire hydrants with adequate flow to serve the fire protection needs of all city residents and businesses. The amendments are consistent with this policy as the Portland Fire Bureau has reviewed the North Macadam Plan and has not raised any concerns regarding the installation and maintenance of public fire hydrants in the district.
51. Goal 11 F, Parks and Recreation, calls for maximizing the quality, safety and usability of parklands and facilities through the efficient maintenance and operation of park improvements, preservation of parks and open space, and equitable allocation of active and passive recreation opportunities for the citizens of Portland. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they contain policies, objectives and actions to provide parks and open space to meet the needs of the anticipated residents, visitors and workers within the North Macadam District and to provide for their maintenance.
Policy 11.44, Capital Programming, calls for maintaining a long-range park capital improvement program that balances acquisition, development and operations; provides a process and criteria for capital improvement project selection; and emphasizes creative and flexible financing strategies. The amendments are consistent with this policy because they include an objective and actions that call for developing an implementation program, based on a public/private partnership, for acquisition, construction, operations and management of the greenway and parks facilities. In addition, the amendments include an objective of providing incentives, such as the open space bonus fund, for the private sector to contribute to the quality and quantity of open space in the district.
Policy 11.45, Improvements, calls for basing the priorities for improvement and development of parklands on documented needs and the following criteria: low long-term maintenance costs, location in deficient areas, broad community support, location adjacent to schools and other public facilities, support of neighborhood stabilization and community development projects and policies, and consistency with park master development plans. The amendments support this policy. The amendments for the North Macadam District contain implementation measures to provide parks and open space to meet the needs of the anticipated residents and workers within the district. The amendments also include mechanisms to provide for the maintenance of parks and open space in the district to be funded from sources other than the general fund. The North Macadam District is currently considered a park-deficient area. Implementation of the amendments addresses this deficiency by providing for the construction of over 10 acres of additional parks and open space.
Policy 11.46, New Parklands, calls for increasing the supply of parkland, giving priority to areas where serious geographical and service level deficiencies exist and to the completion of the 40-Mile Loop system. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because they identify areas where additional parks should be developed and give priority to the development of new park and public recreation facilities. The amendments also provide objectives and actions with implementing measures to complete the greenway trail and connect it with the 40-Mile Loop Trail.
52. Goal 11 G, Fire, calls for developing and maintaining facilities that adequately respond to the fire protection needs of Portland. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they include actions that will ensure adequate street and accessway widths for emergency vehicles. In addition, by completing an urban street grid network throughout the district, emergency access, including fire response, will be improved.
Policy 11.56, Emergency Access, requires streets to be of high structural quality, sufficient width, and maintenance levels ensuring access to emergency and service equipment. The amendments for the North Macadam District meet this goal by including objectives and actions that will ensure adequate street and accessway widths for emergency vehicles.
53. Goal 11 H, Police, calls for the development and maintenance of facilities that allow police personnel to respond to public safety needs as quickly and efficiently as possible. The amendments support this goal with the creation of a high-density, mixed-use area, with a large residential population, and significant concentrations of employment. The amendments for the North Macadam District also support a pedestrian friendly environment by identifying areas requiring active building uses and ground floor windows, which support a more secure pedestrian experience. The amendments also provide for enhanced pedestrian streets and intersections throughout the district.
Policy 11.61, Safety, calls for providing traffic improvements, such as sidewalks and bikeways, to promote safe routes to schools, particularly for students required to travel long distances. The amendments for the North Macadam District meet this policy by containing policies and actions for an urban transportation grid system that will provide safe access for bicyclists and pedestrians to and from schools in the adjacent neighborhoods.
54. Goal 12, Urban Design, calls for enhancing Portland as a livable city, attractive in its setting and dynamic in its urban character by preserving its history and building a substantial legacy of quality private developments and public improvements for future generations. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this goal because they include provisions designed to improve the urban design quality of the area. These provisions include the establishment of an urban design plan for the district, adoption of land use and urban form policies, objectives and actions, subjecting new development to design review, and the adoption of design guidelines for district development including the greenway.
Policy 12.1, Portland’s Character, calls for enhancing and extending Portland’s attractive identity by building on design elements, features, and themes identified within the city. Further, this policy calls for recognizing and extending the use of city themes that establish a basis of a shared identity reinforcing the individual’s sense of participation in a larger community. The amendments for the North Macadam District enhance and extend Portland’s attractive identity. The creation of a subdistrict within the Central City, with its own unique character, is a primary implementation objective of the amendments for the North Macadam District. The North Macadam District is the largest undeveloped area within the Central City. The vision for North Macadam reflects and reinforces Portland’s unique character and aspirations. The signature of the district is its enthusiastic embrace of the Willamette River. Thus, one objective of the North Macadam Plan is to promote building forms that respect the relationship of the district to the river and the adjacent neighborhoods.
Objective A, calls for giving form to the City and extending the intimate and human scale that typifies Portland by preserving public access to light and air by managing and shaping the mass, height and bulk of new development. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include policies, objectives and actions that preserve the pedestrian-oriented human scale of development. This includes code language that requires special building height corridors and tower orientations, building lines and ground floor active uses, all of which enhance the urban quality of the Central City and still preserve public access to light and air. In addition, the code language includes a stepping back of building heights from the Willamette greenway in an effort to enhance the pedestrian experience by preserving public access to light and air along the greenway.
Objective C, calls for enhancing the sense Portlanders have that they are living close to nature. This includes improving access to the City’s rivers, establishing a system of trails that connect Portland’s urbanized areas with nearby riparian areas, and designing new development to enhance the natural environment. The amendments support this objective. The amendments include objectives to provide physical and visual connections to the Willamette River from both the North Macadam district and the adjoining neighborhoods. In addition, the amendments call for promoting design and investment, both public and private, that reflects a complementary relationship between the built environment and open space in the district. Further, the amendments include the integration of development with the natural landscape by promoting low impact development such as enhancing natural area revegetation.
Objective E, calls for integrating into private and public development projects appropriate thematic design elements that reinforce Portland’s desired identity. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they support development that recognizes the industrial history of the district, including development of the greenway as well as fountains and water features.
Objective F, calls for encouraging innovative design solutions in private development projects that add diversity and depth to Portland’s character. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include updated development standards and special design guidelines that encourage and allow for innovative design elements.
Objective G, calls for extending, celebrating and enhancing urban linear features such as rivers and linear parks. Further, the objective calls for integrating these linear features into the City’s transportation system. The amendments support this objective because they include developing and completing the Willamette River greenway and greenway trail through the district. A bifurcated trial will allow both bicyclists and pedestrians to commute to work.
Objective H, calls for preserving and enhancing public viewpoints, scenic sites and scenic corridors and, as new development occurs, create new views of Portland’s rivers, bridges, surrounding mountains and hills and the Central City skyline. The amendments support this objective because they call for an urban form that provides physical and visual connections to the Willamette River from both the district and the adjoining neighborhoods. In addition, the amendments include the development of viewpoints along the greenway trail to provide new views of the river, bridges and city skyline.
Policy 12.2, Enhancing Variety, promotes the development of areas of special identity and urban character. The amendments for the North Macadam District enhance the development of a unique, vibrant, high-density urban riverfront neighborhood. Further, the amendments for the North Macadam District have a policy objective to integrate the urban character of the district with riparian and recreational opportunities.
Objective B, calls for enhancing the residential scale of Portland’s neighborhoods while accommodating the growth allowed by the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they encourage the development of a high-density residential component of the district that incorporates distinctive design elements that respect the relationship of the district to the Willamette River and the adjacent neighborhoods.
Policy 12.3, Historic Preservation, calls for enhancing the City’s identity through the protection of Portland’s significant historic resources. Further, the policy calls for preserving, incorporating and reusing historic artifacts as part of Portland’s fabric. The amendments are consistent with this policy because they call for recognizing and integrating the historic elements of the district as it transitions from an industrial area to an urban mixed-use neighborhood.
Objective A, calls for preserving and accentuating historic resources as part of an urban environment that is being reshaped by new development projects. The amendments support this objective as described in the findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 12.3.
Objective F, calls for preserving artifacts from structures and sites that are historically, architecturally and/or culturally significant and seek to reintroduce these artifacts into the City’s streetscape and building interiors. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include an objective to integrate elements that reflect the site’s history into the development of the greenway and parks.
Policy 12.4, Provide for Pedestrians, calls for providing a pleasant, rich and diverse experience for pedestrians which include comfortable, safe and attractive pathways that connect Portland’s neighborhoods, parks, water features, transit facilities, and attractions. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by establishing an urban street grid, completion of the Willamette Greenway Trail through the district, pedestrian access to the river’s edge, and pedestrian-enhanced streets and accessways. The amendments also provide regulations for active building uses, required building lines, minimum and maximum building setbacks, ground floor window regulations and parking access restricted streets. These regulations ensure a rich, safe and pleasant pedestrian environment.
Objective A, calls for ensuring that the safety and convenience of pedestrians are not compromised by transportation improvements aimed at motor vehicle traffic and should contribute to Portland’s sense of community. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they promote pedestrian-oriented development that reinforces connections to transit facilities and the greenway and parks. See additional findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 12.4.
Objective B, calls for enhancing the environment occupied by Portland’s pedestrians including the enrichment of places with designs that express the pleasure and hold the pleasant surprises of urban living. The amendments support this objective by calling for the provision of high quality pedestrian environments that establish strong linkages between district uses, surrounding neighborhoods, downtown and the greenway.
Objective D, calls for reinforcing commercial areas that include a storefront character and/or are on transit streets by requiring development to be oriented to pedestrians. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include regulatory provisions that call for ground floor active uses and required windows above the ground floor.
Objective E, calls for completing the 40-Mile Loop and Willamette Greenway trails and establishing links between these trails and Portland’s residential neighborhoods, regional greenspaces and parks. The amendments support this policy because they include completing the Willamette River greenway and greenway trail in North Macadam by connecting it to the 40-Mile Loop. Further, the transportation policy, objectives and actions include the development of connections between North Macadam, the greenway and adjoining neighborhoods.
Policy 12.5, Promote the Arts, calls for humanizing the city through the promotion of the arts and excellence in design, including punctuating the community with works of art used to emphasize focal points, mark transitional locations, celebrate public buildings and to enhance the City’s sidewalks, open spaces, plazas and parks. The objectives are consistent with this policy because they include design guidelines which call for integrating works of art and/or water features with site and development designs, when included in the development proposal. In addition, the amendments include an action item to promote the use and integration of public art throughout the parks, greenway and open spaces in North Macadam.
Policy 12.6, Preserve Neighborhoods, calls for preserving and supporting the qualities of individual neighborhoods that help to make them attractive places. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by creating incentives and regulations that will lead to the creation of a complete neighborhood. The policy update for the Central City Plan calls for the development of a district as a vibrant high density, mixed use riverfront neighborhood with significant amounts of new housing and jobs, accommodating up to 10,000 jobs and at least 3,000 housing units. The plan includes an objective to promote building forms that respect the relationship of the district to the river and the adjacent neighborhoods.
Objective A, calls for encouraging new developments to respond to the positive qualities of the place where they are built and to enhance that place through their development. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include a policy to create a distinctive riverfront neighborhood of exceptional urban character. This includes an objective of promoting building forms that respect the relationship of the district to the river and the adjacent neighborhoods.
Policy 12.7, Design Quality, calls for enhancing Portland’s appearance and character through development of public and private projects that are models of innovation and leadership in the design of the built environment. This policy also calls for establishing design review in areas that are important to Portland’s identity, setting, history and to the enhancement of its character. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by encouraging the design of the built environment to meet standards of excellence while fostering the creativity of architects and designers. The amendments for the North Macadam District also include revised design guidelines for the district.
Objective A, calls for establishing guidelines of design acceptability that ensure continuation of each design district’s desired character. The objective states that design guidelines should make the public’s objectives for the design review process clear to those developing property. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they update the special design guidelines for the North Macadam district, making it clearer for those developing property to build on this area’s desired character.
Objective B, calls for continuing the design review process to ensure public review of public and private development proposals. The amendments support this objective because the plan continues the application of the design overlay zone to the North Macadam District. This overlay zone includes subjecting new development to design review.
Objective C, calls for providing clear design guidelines that use examples to illustrate a variety of ways to achieve compliance with each design guideline. The amendments support this objective because they include updated design guidelines with additional illustrations that show a variety of ways to comply with these guidelines.
Objective H, calls for establishing specific zoning requirements that further the implementation of the Urban Design Goal and the Goal’s associated policies and objectives. The amendments are consistent with this objective because they include code language that establishes updated development standards related to special building height corridors, tower orientations, required building lines, accessway setbacks, ground floor active uses and required windows above the ground floor.
Policy 12.8, Community Planning, calls for considering urban design issues as part of area plans to help establish, preserve and enhance the identity and character of each study area. The amendments for the North Macadam District comply with this policy by subjecting all development in the district to design review. Design criteria are provided in both the Central City Fundamental Design Guidelines, as well as special design guidelines applicable to North Macadam.
Objective A, calls for considering urban design issues such as the protection and enhancement of scenic resources, the location of trails, pedestrian paths and bicycle routes, and the need for new open spaces as a part of the development of community and area plans. The amendments support this policy for the reasons described in the findings for Comprehensive Plan Policy 12.1, Objective H and Comprehensive Plan Policy 8.14, Objective H.
Objective C, calls for exploring the potential for linkages between the urban design elements and other planning strategies such as consideration of open space, scenic, cultural and historic resources and environmental areas. The amendments support this policy because they call for integrating natural resource values into the district’s urban form. In addition, the amendments support promoting design and investment that reflects the complementary relationship between the built environment and open space.
Willamette Greenway Plan Findings
The Portland City Council adopted the Willamette Greenway Plan (WGP) in 1987 as part of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan. The goal of the WGP is to protect, conserve, maintain and enhance the scenic, natural, historic, economic and recreational qualities of the lands along the Willamette River. The plan contains direction and policy and identifies implementation measures developed by the City to comply with Statewide Goal 15, Willamette River Greenway. The Willamette Greenway Plan is implemented by the greenway zone regulations in the Portland Zoning Code and the Willamette Greenway Design Guidelines. The amendments for the North Macadam District support the goals of the Willamette Greenway Plan in that they will aid the completion of the Willamette River Greenway in the North Macadam District.
55. Objective 1, calls for restoring the Willamette River and its banks as a focus for the city, its neighborhoods, and residents through coordinated public investment and private development. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this goal by amending the policies, Zoning Code and design guidelines by recommending an update to the Central City Plan policy for North Macadam calling for the creation of a vibrant urban neighborhood connected with, and enriched by, a clean and healthy river. The amendments also provide strategies to improve riverbank and in-water conditions and ensuring riverbank stability to prevent erosion.
56. Objective 2, calls for increased public access to and along the river, including a continuous recreational trail and viewpoints. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this objective by providing implementation strategies for increased access to the river by the public and by property owners, and future employers, employees, clients and residents of the district. These strategies include the creation of a greenway design coordination plan that will be charged with developing a district wide greenway, which includes a bifurcated trail system for wheels and pedestrians. The greenway design coordination plan also will identify specific locations for trails and viewpoints providing access to the river. The amendments also include connections to other transportation systems including the 40-Mile Loop and studying the feasibility of a river taxi system that serves the entire Central City.
57. Objective 3, calls for conserving and enhancing the remaining natural riverbanks and riparian habitat along the river. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this objective by amending the policies, Zoning Code and design guidelines calling for plantings, landscaping, and other elements specifically designed to conserve and enhance the riverbanks and riparian habitat. The amendments also call for the creation of an exemplary open space network that embraces the river and provides for a range of ecological functions, including building communities of native vegetation that offer visual variety and functional and enhanced habitat for wildlife.
58. Objective 4, calls for providing an attractive quality environment along the Willamette River. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this objective by facilitating the creation of an exemplary open space network that embraces the river as the district’s “front yard” and provides a range of urban amenities, aesthetic experiences and ecological functions. This includes code language that fosters good urban design by limiting the tower orientation of buildings to preserve views, requires active ground floor uses and updates the greenway design guidelines. The amendments also call for an “activity area” that will facilitate the relationship between buildings and the greenway. Further, the amendments encourage urban development that is complementary to the river environment.
59. Objective 6, calls for reserving land within the greenway setback for river-dependent and related recreational use. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this objective by facilitating the completion of the Willamette Greenway Trail through the district. The Willamette Greenway Trail is part of Portland’s recreational 40-Mile Loop Trail system. The amendments provide an implementation strategy for development of a system of trails through the greenway, including a bifurcated trail for wheels and pedestrians, and trails that allow both visual and physical access to the river.
60. Objective 7, calls for meeting the requirements of Statewide Planning Goal 15, Willamette River Greenway. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this objective by facilitating the completion of the Willamette Greenway Trail through the district and by providing opportunities for enhanced riverbank treatments. See the findings for State Goal 15, Willamette River Greenway.
Central City Plan Findings
Portland City Council adopted the Central City Plan in 1988 and portions of the plan have been updated since that time.
61. The Central City Plan contains a specific policy applicable to North Macadam, Policy 21: North Macadam, which is being revised as part of this North Macadam project. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with the Central City Plan because they reinforce the goal of encouraging the continued investment within the Central City while enhancing its attractiveness for work, recreation and living. The amendments also emphasize the Central City as the economic, cultural and educational center of the region while also improving transportation and open space networks in the Central City.
62. Policy 1, Economic Development, calls for building upon the Central City as the economic heart of the region and guiding the Central City’s growth to foster the city’s prosperity and livability. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this goal by calling for the creation of a vibrant urban neighborhood and infrastructure necessary to support high technology industries. This includes the creation of up to 10,000 new jobs and at least 3,000 housing units. The amendments also call for a district economic development strategy to promote bioscience in the district as well as encouraging a range of businesses from start-up firms to corporate headquarters, with a particular focus on knowledge-based industries.
63. Policy 2, The Willamette Riverfront, calls for the enhancement of the Willamette River as the focal point for views, public activities and development that knits the city together. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by amending the policies, Zoning Code and design guidelines to create a vibrant urban neighborhood connected to and enriched by a clean and healthy river. In particular, the land use and urban form policy includes an objective to provide physical and visual connections to the Willamette River from both the district and the adjoining neighborhoods. Additional strategies call for a design coordination plan for the planning and implementation of a greenway with a network of paths, habitat for fish and wildlife, and recreational opportunities.
64. Policy 3, Housing, calls for maintaining the Central City’s status as Oregon’s principal high density housing area by keeping housing production in pace with new job creation. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by proposing policies and development standards supportive of the development of at least 3,000 residential units. Strategies include the identification of a residential emphasis area east of Bond and south of Gibbs. Other strategies include the provision of bonus floor area for the construction of middle-income housing, large dwelling unit (3+ bedrooms) housing, and an affordable housing replacement fund. In addition, the amendments include an action item that will analyze the implications of providing an additional 2,000 housing units (above the goal of 3,000 units) by 2019. Further, the amendments address affordable housing by calling for the provision of at least 800 affordable units to those earning less than 120% MFI, with at least 375 of those units affordable to those earning less than 50% MFI.
65. Policy 4, Transportation, calls for improving accessibility to the Central City from the rest of the region, and to extend the Central City’s ability to accommodate growth. This policy also calls for extending the light rail system, as well as actions that will maintain and improve other forms of transit and the street and highway system, while preserving and enhancing the city’s livability. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy because they contain policies that call for:
a) Constructing and extending the Portland Streetcar to the district. The streetcar will link the district with the rest of the Central City and Northwest Portland. It will provide a mass transit connection to the light rail and transit mall in downtown.
b) Completing the urban street grid as identified in the revised North Macadam District Street Plan, to improve the traffic flow to, within and through the district.
c) Recognizing that parking is an element of the transportation system by providing adequate parking in structures and surface lots that can be phased out over time.
d) Extending Portland’s pedestrian friendly street grid into the district.
e) Encouraging the use of bicycles and alternative transportation by developing bikeways that are separate from pedestrianways wherever practical, particularly into and through parks and open spaces, and ensure that bicycle and pedestrian access exists to link internal employment, residential, neighborhood services, recreational and transit destinations.
f) Improving connections from the North Macadam District to other parts of the Central City and the southwest neighborhoods by making improvements to the north, central and south portals of the district. This includes enhancing access at the Bancroft/Hood/Macadam intersection, Harrison or Lincoln Streets, Gibbs and/or Curry Street, Bond Avenue, and River Parkway.
g) Encouraging development types and uses that encourage trips other than by single occupancy vehicles.
h) Preparing a transit service strategy for the district that includes phasing and implementation. Expand public transit service, as development occurs to ensure that a 30 percent mode split can be reached and maintained, with a 40 percent work mode split.
i) Connecting North Macadam to the regional light rail system.
j) Participating in the creation of a river taxi system that serves the entire Central City and nearby destinations.
66. Policy 5, Human Services, calls for providing social and health services for special needs populations, and assisting dependent individuals to become more independent. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by amending the policies, Zoning Code and design guidelines in the following ways:
a) Obtaining bonus floor area for contributions to the affordable housing replacement fund.
b) Developing the pedestrianways and greenway trail in ways that eliminate access barriers to the disabled and elderly.
c) Supporting the development of housing that is attractive and affordable to a broad range of households, with an emphasis on those employed in the district.
d) Developing a Housing Implementation Strategy to achieve district housing goals including approximately 800 affordable units across a range of income levels, all below 120% MFI.
67. Policy 6, Public Safety, calls for the protection of all citizens and their property and creation of an environment in which people feel safe. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by including projects that address crime prevention through environmental design principles by increasing the number of people in the area, completing the street grid which will improve emergency access, and creating opportunities for mixed use development that includes office, retail, residential and recreation uses, thus increasing the presence of people in the district.
68. Policy 7, Natural Environment, calls for improving the Central City’s environment by reducing pollution, keeping the Central City clean and green, and providing opportunities to enjoy nature. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by amending the policies, Zoning Code and design guidelines in the following ways:
a) Reducing air pollution by developing housing close to employment centers, which enhances the opportunities for using alternative transportation.
b) Completing the greenway trail and connecting it to the 40-Mile Loop.
c) Providing frequent opportunities to access and view the river.
d) Enhancing the Willamette riverbank using a variety of riverbank treatments to provide for bank stability, improved habitat, passive recreational use, and access to the river’s edge at key locations.
e) Developing green accessways for pedestrians and bicyclists along east-west rights-of-ways and easements.
f) Requiring dense plantings of native riparian plants within the greenway setback.
g) Replacing the garden roof bonus with an eco-roof bonus that encourages environmentally beneficial roofs with plants and superior stormwater management capabilities that will improve water quality of the Willamette River.
69. Policy 8, Parks and Open Spaces, calls for building a park and open space system of linked facilities that tie the Central City districts together and to the surrounding community. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by developing a funding strategy for acquisition and maintenance of parks throughout the North Macadam District. The amendments also call for the development of additional active and passive park space in this park deficient area, including Ross Island Bridge Park, a neighborhood park and an urban plaza. The transportation policy includes an objective to develop “green” accessways as a means of providing pedestrian linkages from the greenway to the rest of the district. A bifurcated recreational trail within the greenway setback will help establish a public transportation connection between the North Macadam district and downtown to the north and John’s Landing to the south.
70. Policy 9, Culture and Entertainment, calls for the provision and promotion of facilities, programs and public events and festivals that reinforce the Central City’s role as a cultural and entertainment center for the metropolitan and Northwest region. The amendments for the North Macadam District are consistent with this policy by amending the policies and development standards to encourage and support the development of a series of parks throughout the district and a greenway of 100 feet in width and over a mile long running alongside the Willamette River. In addition, the amendments call for the development of a public plaza in the northern part of the district, allowing for large and small public gatherings. The amendments also include an action item to promote the use and integration of public art throughout the parks, greenway and open spaces in North Macadam.
71. Policy 10, Education, calls for the expansion of educational opportunities to meet the needs of Portland’s growing population and businesses and to establish the Central City as a center of academic and cultural learning. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by extending the streetcar into the district. This will provide a link to Portland State University, Central Library, Lincoln High School, the Downtown Cultural District, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art in the River District. The amendments also support possible educational and learning projects within the greenway setback, including interpretative kiosks and museums or exhibits that document the history, economy and ecology of the Willamette River and North Macadam.
72. Policy 12, Urban Design, calls for enhancing the Central City as a livable, walkable area that focuses on the Willamette River and captures the glitter and excitement of city living. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by amending the policies, Zoning Code and design guidelines in the following ways:
a) Creating new open spaces, particularly along the river.
b) Completing the Willamette Greenway Trail between the South Waterfront Park and John’s Landing.
c) Connecting the Willamette Greenway Trail to the existing 40-Mile Loop.
d) Completing the street grid in the district, including accessways and the creation of an enjoyable pedestrian experience.
e) Requiring enhanced pedestrian intersections throughout the district with landscaping and street furniture.
f) Encouraging the human experience through requiring active ground floor uses at street level.
g) Providing excellence in urban design through updated district design guidelines.
h) Promoting building forms that respect the relationship of the district to the river and the adjacent neighborhoods.
73. Policy 12, Plan Review, calls for periodically reviewing the progress of the Central City Plan. The amendments support this policy because the North Macadam Plan is an update to the Central City Plan for the North Macadam subdistrict that refines and revises district polices, objectives and actions to better represent the future goals and desires for the district.
74. Policy 21, North Macadam District, calls for the development of North Macadam as a mixed-use neighborhood with significant residential development along the riverbank and commercial development in the western part of the district along a future light rail line. This policy is the subject of the amendments for the North Macadam District in the North Macadam planning process. City Council’s adoption of these revisions will revise this policy.
75. Urban Design Plan Map for North Macadam. The amendments for the North Macadam District implement the projects shown on the urban design map for North Macadam in the following ways:
a) Revising the area of required residential development.
b) Requiring enhanced pedestrian intersections that allow for wide and inviting pedestrian thoroughfares, street furniture, and places for stopping, sitting, or shopping.
c) Providing for the siting and maintenance of viewpoints within the greenway.
d) Enhancing the boulevard treatment for Macadam Avenue.
e) Studying the feasibility of the creation of water taxi stops.
CENTRAL CITY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT PLAN FINDINGS
Portland City Council adopted the Central City Transportation Management Plan (CCTMP), in September 1995 to promote economic vitality, livability, and environmental quality in the Central City. The objectives of the CCTMP include creating and retaining new housing and jobs in the Central City, reducing automobile use, increasing mass transit use and improving air quality. The amendments for the North Macadam District support the policies of the CCTMP by fostering the development of at least 3,000 residential units and up to 10,000 jobs, improving the transit service to the district, and fostering the development of a spacious greenway. The amendments for the North Macadam District further support the specifics of this plan in the following ways:
76. Policy 1: Growth with Livability, calls for supporting the vitality of existing residences and businesses and the development of new housing in the Central City. This policy also calls for measures that will attract new jobs to the Central City, as well as ongoing maintenance and improvements to the transportation systems for all modes. The CCTMP policies are intended to support economic development in the Central City with transportation policies and infrastructure supportive of high-density development that will accommodate growth. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by:
a) Fostering the development of up to 10,000 new jobs and at least 3,000 new housing units.
b) Providing bonus provisions for the development of housing, especially affordable housing.
c) Providing implementation mechanisms for improvements to existing trafficways and for the delivery of improved transit and traffic systems to new employment centers and new housing.
77. Policy 2: Circulation and Access, calls for maintaining and enhancing the economic vitality and livability of the Central City through balanced transportation management programs which enhance mobility and access. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in that they:
a) Focus infrastructure investments on facilities that provide access to and within the emerging North Macadam district, including actions to create a transportation management association and improving pedestrian and bicycle access and safety.
b) Construct new sidewalks and other improvements, including street furniture and streetlights that enhance the pedestrian environment.
c) Construct and maintain a bifurcated trail system within the greenway, proposed to be 12 feet wide for each of the two segments. One segment will be for wheels and the other for pedestrians.
d) Construct bikeways, pedestrianways and accessways accommodating bikes and pedestrians.
e) Construct the Portland Streetcar into, and possibly through, the district.
f) Increase and improve transit to and through the district, including the addition of more buses, a tram, and a transit hub.
g) Construct improvements to portals, including the Bancroft/Hood/Macadam and Macadam/Curry/Gibbs intersections, and transportation and pedestrian access improvements to downtown, RiverPlace, and the Corbett-Terwilliger Lair Hill neighborhoods.
h) Construct River Parkway as an additional north/south neighborhood street.
i) Make improvements to Bond and Moody Avenues.
j) Reduce number and location of curb cuts by restricting parking access on Bond and River Parkway.
k) Provide linkages between the riverfront and pedestrian areas by using accessways.
l) Implement the North Macadam District Street Plan, which sets out a complete street network in the North Macadam District.
78. Policy 3: Mode Split, calls for reducing the mode split of single-occupant vehicles by commuters in order to reduce vehicle miles traveled per capita and lessen congestion during the peak hour. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they:
a) Facilitate the location within the North Macadam District of streetcar, bus, tram, water taxi, a transit hub, and/or light rail improvements through the availability of land, funding, or both.
b) Construct new and make improvements to existing bicycle and pedestrian connections to the district, including crossings over Interstate 5, and connections at Sheridan Street, Bancroft Street, and the greenway trail.
c) Connect North Macadam to the regional light rail system.
d) Achieve at least a 30 percent mode split for public transit, pedestrian and bicycle trips, with at least a 40 percent work mode split.
e) Prepare a transit service strategy for the district that includes phasing, implementation, and expansion of public transit service as development occurs to ensure that the 30 percent mode split objective can be reached and maintained.
f) Develop an implementation plan for the transit hub including design and engineering of needed improvements.
g) Study the feasibility of the creation of a river taxi system that serves the entire Central City and nearby destinations.
h) Complete the Willamette Greenway trail, making it accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians as a transportation route.
i) Accommodate up to 10,000 jobs and at least 3,000 housing units within the district, which may result in lower vehicle miles traveled.
79. Policy 4: Parking, calls for managing the supply of off- and on-street parking to improve mobility, support economic development, promote the use of alternative modes, and minimize impacts on adjacent neighborhoods. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by applying parking requirements that both encourage economic development and enhance pedestrian and transit activity. This includes:
a) Encouraging on-street parking throughout the district to support adjacent land uses.
b) Managing the supply of off-street parking in structures and surface lots to support new and existing economic development and to enhance the urban form of the Central City. This includes using maximum parking ratios, limiting supplemental surface parking and redeveloping surface spaces to other uses, and sharing parking spaces between uses to fully utilize the parking spaces within the district.
c) Controlling the maximum parking ratios for new office and residential development to recognize improvements in transportation infrastructure and transit service.
d) Allowing residential parking to be operated as shared, short-term commercial parking if it is approved through Central City Parking Review.
e) Encouraging ground floor active use areas to help foster a lively and attractive pedestrian environment.
80. Policy 5: Transit, calls for ensuring that the transit system will be a key component in stimulating economic development in the Central City, supporting the density and diversity of activities that lead to high levels of pedestrian and bicycle trips, minimizing automobile congestion, and improving air quality. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in the following ways:
a) Expand transit capacity and service within the Central City by extending the Portland Streetcar and bus routes to the North Macadam District, connecting to other Central City districts and city neighborhoods.
b) Establish a North Macadam District Transportation Management Association and prepare and enact a district transportation demand management plan.
c) Prepare a transit service strategy for the district that includes phasing, implementation and expansion of the transit service as development occurs to ensure that the 30 percent mode split (and 40 percent work mode split) objective can be reached and maintained.
d) Support the development of a bicable aerial tram between the North Macadam district and Oregon Health & Science University on Marquam Hill.
e) Establish a transit hub at the proposed tram landing.
f) Study the feasibility of the creation of a river taxi system that serves the entire Central City and nearby destinations.
g) Develop a public/private funding strategy for the Portland Streetcar.
h) Adopt design guidelines that encourage pedestrian-oriented environments and the likelihood of increased transit use.
81. Policy 6: Demand Management, calls for increasing the demand and availability of transit and ridesharing, and supporting walking, bicycling and other alternatives to the single-occupancy vehicle in every district of the Central City. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy in the following ways:
a) Establish a North Macadam District Transportation Management Association and prepare and enact a district transportation demand management plan to support trip reduction programs.
b) Create incentives to participate in transportation demand management strategies and programs.
c) Encourage high density, mixed use development that generates a low proportion of auto trips to jobs.
82. Policy 7: Pedestrian Network, calls for supporting the Central City as a pedestrian-friendly environment with good pedestrian connections to adjacent neighborhoods and a high level of pedestrian activity due to the availability, accessibility, convenience, safety, and attractiveness of the pedestrian network. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by calling for the following:
a) Achieve a 40 percent work mode split for home-based work trips.
b) Complete the Willamette Greenway trail, connecting it with the rest of the 40-Mile Loop Trail.
c) Limit parking access on Bond and River Parkway to minimize pedestrian-vehicle conflicts and encourage safe pedestrian movement.
d) Require minimum and maximum building setbacks at many locations and intersections throughout the district.
e) Study the possibility of providing improved pedestrian access to North Macadam from the Ross Island Bridge.
f) Require ground floor windows and/or other active building uses at many locations throughout the district.
g) Create green accessways, accessible as pedestrian connections, between the urban interior and the greenway setback.
h) Implement pedestrian-friendly design guidelines to ensure that a pleasant and enjoyable environment is created.
i) Construct new and make improvements to existing pedestrian connections to the district, including crossings over Interstate 5, and connections at Sheridan Street, Bancroft Street, and the greenway trail.
83. Policy 8: Bicycle Movement, calls for developing a bicycle plan for the Central City that establishes a bicycle route network, and developing strategies, including setting priorities, for implementation of programs and projects. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy through policies that encourage the following actions:
a) Achieve a 40 percent work mode split for home-based work trips.
b) Construct a bifurcated trail system in the greenway, effectively separating wheels from pedestrians, and accommodating recreational users, bicycle commuters, and the occasional emergency vehicle.
c) Explore regional transportation improvements, including bicycle system improvements in the Macadam corridor south of the North Macadam District.
d) Construct new, and make improvements to existing, bicycle and pedestrian connections to the district, including crossings over Interstate 5, and connections at Sheridan Street, Bancroft Street, and the greenway trail.
e) Study the possibility of improving the bicycle access from the Ross Island Bridge.
f) Provide parking, showers and locker room facilities (bicycle end-trip facilities) for larger commercial projects in the district.
84. Policy 9, Air Quality, calls for implementing an air quality plan that will ensure compliance with federal clean air standards. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy through policies that call for:
a) Accommodating new housing and jobs, with the emphasis on housing for those employed in the district, thus reducing vehicle miles traveled.
b) Encouraging concentrated, mixed-use development that creates a low proportion of auto trips to jobs and fosters the use of alternative modes of transportation.
c) Establishing maximum parking ratios consistent with other parts of the Central City.
d) Supporting clean transit options like bicycles, walking, and streetcar travel.
CORBETT-TERWILLIGER-LAIR HILL POLICY PLAN FINDINGS
The Portland City Council adopted three policies of the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill (CTLH) Policy Plan as part of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan in 1977. These policies apply to the area within the boundaries of the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood. The North Macadam subdistrict of the Central City Plan is within the boundaries of the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood. The amendments for the North Macadam District support the CTLH Policy Plan’s adopted policies because the amendments ensure that the area develops as a mixed-use neighborhood, that includes housing and transportation improvements.
85. Land Use and Density Policy calls for preserving the existing residential neighborhoods by stimulating compatible housing development and support services. The North Macadam Plan focuses new development and redevelopment east of I-5, in the Macadam Corridor, away from the existing residential neighborhoods to the south and west. In addition, the amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because these amendments provide policies, regulations, and incentives to ensure the development of at least 3,000 new housing units in the district. All development projects in the district will be subject to design review ensuring consistency with development expectations.
86. Transportation and Traffic Circulation Policy calls for increasing the livability for the community planning area by reducing and controlling vehicular traffic that passes through the residential neighborhood and taking into consideration the circulation needs of residential, commercial, and industrial interests. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy by calling for the following:
a) Study the possibility of expanding the permit-parking program in all or part of the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood.
b) Construct an urban street grid system for internal circulation and to improve connections to adjacent neighborhoods.
c) Improve the Moody-Bond corridor as the district’s primary transit corridor.
d) Construct improvements to enhance access to the district, including the Bancroft/ Hood/Macadam intersection, Harrison or Lincoln Streets, Gibbs and/or Curry Street, Bond Avenue and River Parkway.
e) Increase and improve transit service to and through the area, including the Portland Streetcar.
f) Construct new and improve existing bicycle and pedestrian connections over Interstate 5, and connections at Sheridan Street, Bancroft Street, and the greenway trail.
87. Macadam Corridor Policy calls for controlling development and improvements in the Macadam Corridor. The amendments for the North Macadam District support this policy because they call for improvements to Macadam Avenue. The amendments also provide implementation mechanisms for improving the traffic and transit opportunities along the Macadam Corridor, including an action item to explore regional transportation improvements such as transit, vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle improvements south the North Macadam district.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:
a. Adopt the Planning Commission’s report and recommendations on the North Macadam Project as shown in the document titled Recommended North Macadam Plan dated September 10, 2002 and as amended by the North Macadam Project: Amendments Report (Exhibit F), as the basis for the items listed in directives “b” through “j” below. The Planning Commission’s report and recommendation is attached to and incorporated in this ordinance as Exhibit A;
b. Amend Portland’s Comprehensive Plan, to incorporate the North Macadam Plan policies and objectives associated with each policy as shown in Exhibit A and as amended by North Macadam Project: Amendments Report (Exhibit F). The policies relate to land use and urban form, greenway and parks, transportation, district-wide environmental design and district development;
c. Amend Title 33, Planning and Zoning, of the Municipal Code of the City of Portland, to incorporate all code amendments approved by the Council in the Zoning Code for North Macadam, Exhibit B, and as amended by North Macadam Project: Amendments Report (Exhibit F). Adopt the commentary in Exhibit B as an expression of legislative intent and as further findings to support the Council’s action;
d. Amend the Central City Plan, to incorporate North Macadam Plan Vision as part of the Central City Plan’s vision; to incorporate changes to the Policy 21: North Macadam, and as shown in the North Macadam Project: Amendments Report (Exhibit F);
e. Replace the Special Design Guidelines for the North Macadam District of the Central City Plan with the North Macadam Design Guidelines and Greenway Design Guidelines for North Macadam, as shown in Exhibit C and as amended by the North Macadam Project: Amendments Report (Exhibit F);
f. Adopt the Supporting Information Document, attached to this ordinance as Exhibit D, as further legislative findings in support of this ordinance;
g. Amend the Willamette Greenway Plan, as shown in Exhibit E;
h. Adopt the North Macadam Project: Amendments Report, attached to this ordinance as Exhibit F, as further legislative findings in support of this ordinance;
i. Adopt the Background Information on Amendment Request 17: Height Change for North of the Marquam Bridge, attached to this ordinance as Exhibit G, as further legislative findings in support of this ordinance;
j. Adopt the Addendum to the North Macadam Project: Amendments Report, attached to this ordinance as Exhibit H, as further legislative findings in support of this ordinance; and
Section 2: The effective date for directives a through j will be January 20,2003. The time between adoption and the effective date will allow time for staff to complete an update of the North Macadam District Street Plan, to be consistent with relevant North Macadam Plan elements, including transportation policies, objectives, action charts and concept.
Passed by the Council, NOV 13 2002
GARY BLACKMER Auditor of the City of Portland
Mayor Vera Katz By /S/ Susan Parsons
Marie Johnson Deputy
October 9, 2002
BACKING SHEET INFORMATION
AGENDA NO. 1224, 1320, 1357, 1401-2002
ACTION TAKEN:
OCT 09 2002 CONTINUED TO OCT 10 2002 2 P.M. TIME CERTAIN
OCT 10 2002 CONTINUED TO OCT 30 2002 2:40 P.M. TIME CERTAIN
OCT 30 2002 CONTINUED TO OCT 31 2002 2 P.M. TIME CERTAIN
OCT 31 2002 CONTINUED TO NOV 06 2002 2 P.M. TIME CERTAIN
NOV 06 2002 CONTINUED TO NOV 07 2002 2 P.M. TIME CERTAIN
NOV 07 2002 PASSED TO SECOND READING AS AMENDED NOV 13 2002 2 P.M. TIME CERTAIN
ORDINANCE/RESOLUTION/COUNCIL DOCUMENT NO. 177082 AS AMENDED
COMMISSIONERS VOTED AS FOLLOWS: |
YEAS | NAYS | |
FRANCESCONI | X | |
POSITION 4 VACANT | ----- | ----- |
SALTZMAN | X | |
STEN | X | |
KATZ | X |