City Auditor - City Recorder - Council Ordinance - 177082 North Macadam Plan PDC Sept 10 Memo

On behalf of the Portland Planning Commission, we are forwarding our recommendations on the North Macadam Plan. The Recommended North Macadam Plan builds on the vision and goals of the North Macadam District Framework Plan, which was presented to the City Council in August 1999. The Recommended North Macadam Plan provides an updated vision for the redevelopment of the North Macadam district and includes implementation strategies, as well as amendments to City policies and regulations, to achieve that vision. The Recommended North Macadam Plan includes amendments to the Portland Comprehensive Plan, the Central City Plan, Title 33, Planning and Zoning, and the Zoning Map.

As the largest underdeveloped tract of land in the Central City, the North Macadam district holds a great deal of promise as a vibrant new waterfront neighborhood, and the package of recommendations the Council has received for their consideration will help the district to realize that promise. The Plan is intended to lead to the following outcomes in the district:

• A land use pattern that includes a rich mix of urban-scale offices, housing, hotels, parks, and retail uses;

• New office development, including the expansion of OHSU into the district, that will serve as a catalyst for a larger science and technology-based economy in the Central City, and will support the development of approximately 10,000 jobs in the district;

• New residential development that will support the creation of at least 3000 housing units affordable to a range of incomes in the district;

• A multimodal transportation system, including completion of an urban street network, extension of the Portland Streetcar into the district, and construction of a greenway trail that will support the transportation needs of pedestrians and bicyclists;

• A greatly enhanced Willamette Greenway that will support habitat and recreational needs along the Willamette River;

• A network of parks and plazas that will support recreational needs of employees, residents, and visitors to the district;

• Innovative building and site development that will create pleasant streetscapes while enhancing stormwater management and other environmental qualities; and

• An urban form that is varied and visually permeable, including construction of building towers taller and thinner than would occur under today’s development standards.

The Recommended North Macadam Plan builds on many years of collaborative work by various stakeholders and past planning efforts in the district. The current process began in August 1999, when the City Council accepted the North Macadam District Framework Plan and charged the Bureau of Planning with developing amendments to City code and policy to support this urban renewal plan. In November 2000, the Bureau of Planning presented amendments to the Portland Planning Commission, and the Planning Commission asked the Bureau of Planning to revisit the underlying assumptions and visions guiding the North Macadam Planning process. This reexamination was the starting point for the Recommended North Macadam Plan.

Over the course of developing a new proposal based on the direction of the Portland Planning Commission, the Bureau of Planning sought the input of numerous stakeholder groups and worked extensively with a Core Group of technical representatives from Environmental Services, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Portland Development Commission, and the Office of Planning and Development Review. The Bureau of Planning presented a new Proposed North Macadam Plan to the Planning Commission in June 2002 and, after a series of hearings and work sessions, the Planning Commission voted to forward an amended version of the Plan to the Portland City Council.

The Recommended North Macadam Plan presents a vision and implementation tools for the district that will boldly move North Macadam forward as a new innovative district within the Central City, while striking a balance among the concerns of diverse stakeholders including property owners, environmental activists, developers, neighbors, and implementers.

The success of the North Macadam district relies on implementation activities that the Planning Commission does not have a direct role in overseeing, but that are imperative for development of the district. The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council take several additional actions to ensure implementation of the North Macadam Plan as intended:

• Street plan. The district street plan is critical for implementation of many of the Zoning Code regulations in the district, as well as district development. The Street Plan should be finalized as soon as possible, ideally in advance of the effective date of the new regulations;

• Greenway Design Coordination. A specific plan for programming the greenway as a unified system of trails, natural features, and places is critical for implementation of the North Macadam Plan. The Zoning Code regulations are intended as a fall-back for development in the greenway. The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council direct Portland Parks and Recreation and the Portland Development Commission to immediately initiate a design coordination plan for the whole of the greenway.

• Revenue generation. Recent estimates of anticipated revenue for North Macadam indicate that in the first ten years of the life of the urban renewal district, tax increment funding will only cover about half of the cost of projects needed to support district redevelopment. Because of that, it is critical that the City identifies other funds that can leverage tax revenues and private investment in the district. The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council direct the Portland Development Commission to aggressively seek funding from relevant local, state, and federal agencies, and not-for-profit entities, to support the transportation, employment, open space and environmental objectives for the district.

• Funding priorities. The following list reflects the most significant projects from a planning perspective and indicates generally when the Planning Commission recommends that these projects take place. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of projects that will or should be supported by public funding. Many of these investments will also be supported by other private and public expenditures. The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council support priority funding for the following projects through tax increment resources and other City funding:

Project	0-1 year	1-5 years	5+ years
Greenway planning (i.e. “Design Coordination Plan”)	X
Greenway implementation (construction of trail, etc.)		X	X
Parks acquisition and greenway acquisition (as needed)		X	X
Parks development (i.e. programming spaces/designing and installing improvements)			X
Initial improvements to transportation portals		X
Construction of Moody-Bond couplet	X	X
Construction of River Parkway		X	X
Harrison Street connector	X	X
Streetcar construction		X	X
Low- and mixed-income housing to serve a range of households from 0 to 120% of MFI		X	X
Public parking			X
Tram to Marquam Hill		X
Pedestrian Bridges across I-5			X

• Development agreement priorities. The Planning Commission recommends that through the process of negotiating development agreements with private property owners, PDC and their negotiation team work towards securing the following public amenities in return for public investment that supports private development. The following priorities include, expand upon, or provide additional detail to items listed in the North Macadam Plan.

⯐ Funding and provision of additional greenway area, with the goal of achieving 150 feet average setback

⯐ Participation in Local Improvement Districts to support infrastructure improvements

⯐ Participation in Business Improvement Districts to support maintenance of the greenway

⯐ Incorporation of innovative stormwater management approaches into site and building development

⯐ Provision of low- and mixed-income housing to serve a range of households from 0 to 120% of median family income

⯐ Creation of phased development plans/programs that result in the future redevelopment or reallocation of parking spaces being proposed as “supplemental” parking spaces and/or any interim surface parking being proposed as part of the initial project

⯐ Creation of development plans/programs that reduce the number of parking spaces being proposed below what would be allowed under the Zoning Code

Thank you for consideration of the recommendations of the Portland Planning Commission.