ORDINANCE NO. 181781

*Authorize a temporary Day Laborer Center site improvement for VOZ Workers Rights Education Project (Ordinance; waive Title 33 and Stormwater Management Manual requirements)

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1.  The Council finds:

1.  Portland City Council unanimously voted on Wednesday March 5, 2008, to support the creation of a day laborer hiring site by awarding a grant to VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project. VOZ, a non-profit organization with ten years of experience in working with day laborers, will manage the temporary site at 240 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

2.  The VOZ operation will provide significant social benefits to the citizens of Portland, and faces unique circumstances and constraints with regard to obtaining the physical and financial resources necessary to establish a site in the downtown area. VOZ will operate a day labor hire site by establishing a hiring process that is equitable to job seekers and employers, perform safety trainings, assist in the recovery of wages, and provide day laborers with information and referrals to social service providers.

3.  Many community organizations representing businesses, neighborhood associations, labor unions, religious institutions, human rights organizations, law enforcement and crime prevention experts support the proposal and VOZ’s capacity to manage the operations at the site.

4.  In October 2006, Council unanimously approved funding for a hiring site through the Street Access for Everyone (SAFE) initiative. In October 2007, after six months of meetings with community stakeholders, a formal request for proposals (RFP) was issued for the management and operation of the proposed site.

5.  Currently, there are over 65 similar day labor hire sites operating in cities all over the country.

6.  The proposed site, located at 240 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, is owned by the Portland Development Commission (PDC), and is currently occupied by a fenced, paved surface parking lot, with no buildings or structures. The PDC has agreed to a five-year lease of the site to VOZ for the Day Laborer Hiring Site, from April 6, 2008 through March 30, 2013.

7.  The initial development of the VOZ Day Laborer Center includes an office trailer of approximately 350 square feet, portable temporary restrooms, and a covered worker shelter structure of approximately 600 square feet. The balance of the site will remain as a surface parking and vehicle circulation area, with a new driveway and curb cut into the site from NE Everett Street, with traffic entering from Everett and exiting via the existing curb cut onto NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

8.  The site has a base zoning of Central Employment (EX), with the “d” or Design overlay zone. The site is also within the boundaries of the Central Eastside Subdistrict of the Central City plan district.

9.  Planning and zoning development standards that apply to the site include those of the EX base zone, the Central City plan district, and those relating to parking and landscaping (PCC Chapters 33.140, 33.510, 33.266, and 33.248).

10.  Title 33, the Planning and Zoning Code, classifies the proposed activity as a Community Service Use without a short-term housing or mass shelter component, with accessory surface parking and structures, all of which are allowed uses in this zone (PCC 33.920.030, 33.920.420, 33.140.100). The initial, temporary VOZ Day Laborer Center is also well below maximum limitations regarding height, floor area ratio, and building coverage (PCC 33.510.205, 33.510.200, 33.140.220).

11.  The VOZ Day Laborer Center seeks to utilize temporary structures on the site for the initial period of operation, for a period not to exceed five years. These temporary structures and site improvements will not preclude future redevelopment of the site for a permanent use.

12.  VOZ intends to work toward the development of a permanent Day Laborer Center either at this site or elsewhere in the Central City within the next several years.

13.  The site proposed for the use is currently underdeveloped and is located at the northernmost edge of the Central Eastside area, immediately abutting Interstate 84 and within several blocks of the locations where existing day labor activity can be found.

14.  Certain provisions of the City’s Planning and Zoning Code present difficulties for the initial, temporary development of the VOZ Day Laborer Center as proposed. These include the following:

a.  Central City Plan District regulations require that 75% of the street-facing buildings on the site be placed at or within 12’-0” of the street lot line abutting NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, and that all building walls be at least 15’-0” tall (PCC 33.510.215);

b.  Central City Plan District regulations require that the first 9’-0” in height of all street-facing facades include at least 50% of the building length, and 25% of the building face in clear windows, allowing direct views into the structure (PCC 33.510.220);

c.  Pedestrian Standards of the EX zone require an on-site hard-surfaced pedestrian system, connecting the buildings to all adjacent streets with a 6’-0”-wide walkway material separated from and distinct in surface material from adjacent vehicle areas (PCC 33.140.240);

d.  Because NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard is a transit street, standards of the EX zone require that buildings on the site include an entry door facing or within 45 degrees of, as well as no greater than 25’-0” away from, the NE MLK, Jr. Blvd. street lot line (PCC 33.140.242);

e.  While there is no minimum or maximum automobile parking required for a Community Service use at the site, two long-term and two-short-term, on-site bike parking spaces are required for this use (PCC 33.266.210, 33.266.220); and

f.  Because the proposed development on the site occurs within the Central City Plan District, a Design Review are required (PCC 33.420.041.B). Because the valuation of the project is expected to be well below $1,742,350, this review would be processed as a Type II application (PCC 33.825.025.A.2.c). A Type II Design Review typically requires a minimum of two- to three-months of time, excluding any potential appeal procedures.

15.  Regulations of the City’s Stormwater Management Manual (SMM) require on-site management of all stormwater associated with rainwater runoff from the new structures on the site. The maximum time period allowed for a waiver of SMM stormwater-related regulations is three years, shorter than the maximum five-year period contemplated for the VOZ Day Laborer Center initial, temporary improvements.

16.  Because of the unique circumstances of the proposed initial, temporary use of this PDC-owned site for the VOZ Day Laborer Center, and the extraordinary social benefits associated with the rapid establishment of this use, it would be in the public interest to waive the application of certain City regulations under these special circumstances, for a period not to exceed the 5-year lease of the property. This will allow the efficient use of financial resources for the initial, temporary development of the Day Laborer Center, while also preserving the long-term development capacity of the site. Given these unique circumstances, this City Council action is not a precedent for any future action.

NOW THEREFORE, the Council directs:

a.  Subject to section f of this Ordinance, PCC Sections 33.510.215 and 33.510.220 are waived to allow the development of initial, temporary structures at the VOZ Day Laborer Center site at 240 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard without complying with Central City Plan District Required Building Line and Ground Floor Window standards.

b.  Subject to section f of this Ordinance, Sections 33.140.240 and 33.140.242 are waived to allow the development of initial, temporary structures and site improvements at the VOZ Day Laborer Center site at 240 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard without the required pedestrian system and street-facing entry door as required by the EX base zone.

c.  Subject to section f of this Ordinance, Sections 33.266.210 and 33.266.220 are waived to allow the development of initial, temporary structures at the VOZ Day Laborer Center site at 240 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard without the required short- and long-term bicycle parking.

d.  Subject to section f of this Ordinance, Section 33.420.041.B is waived to allow the development of initial, temporary structures and site improvements at the VOZ Day Laborer Center site at 240 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard without the required Design Review.

e.  Subject to section f of this Ordinance, regulations of the City’s Stormwater Management Manual are temporarily waived for the initial, temporary structures and site improvements at the VOZ Day Laborer Center site at 240 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

f.  The code and Stormwater Management Manual regulation waivers authorized by sections a through e of this ordinance apply to the initial, temporary development of an office trailer, portable restrooms, weather protection structure, and reconfigured surface parking and circulation area for a period not to exceed 5 years and these waivers shall terminate no later than March 30, 2013. Permanent development of a Day Laborer Center site at the property prior to or after this five-year time period must meet all applicable Planning and Zoning Code development standards, design review requirements, and Stormwater Management Manual regulations.

Section 2.  The Council declares that an emergency exists because of the unique community benefits and temporary nature of the VOZ Day Laborer Center site in Portland; therefore this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its date of passage.

Passed by Council, April 30, 2008

Commissioner Randy Leonard          Gary Blackmer

Paul L. Scarlett, BDS Director          Auditor of the City of Portland

April 30, 2008            By /s/ Emily Matasar

               Deputy

BACKING SHEET INFORMATION

AGENDA NO. 549-2008

ORDINANCE/RESOLUTION/COUNCIL DOCUMENT NO. 181781