Hi Sunnyside! How are you doing? As I write this, it is one of the first truly gorgeous days of spring (in March) and I find myself starting to dream of the dizzying array of colors and scents that April flowers will bring, the first fresh produce of spring at the farmer’s market, and cool evenings spent on the porch chatting with neighbors. Future me is a happier Sunnysider in April!
Onto the news…The SNA’s March meeting focused on the proposal from Portland: Neighbors Welcome that would add language to the Housing Bureau Strategic Plan (HBSP) for increased density in inner eastside neighborhoods. The HBSP guides zoning and development decisions and sets development priorities. An update is due this summer. The proposal, called Inner Eastside For All, would allow for what they call “four floors and corner stores” to be built anywhere between approximately SE 12th and SE 60th and SE Powell and NE Fremont. We had a nice turnout for the presentation and there were a lot of new faces, which I’m always happy to see! Opinions were varied. Many welcomed the effort to increase housing availability and hopefully make rent more affordable, but there were worries about how this development would actually occur. Would it be the small groups of people building community together through creating shared living spaces in small apartment buildings? Or would it be developers slowly buying up lots and leaving them vacant while they seek to put together large enough parcels to make it profitable? What would the effect be on longtime residents of our neighborhoods? How about the recent Residential Infill Project that already allows for the expansion of ADUs and small multiplexes? You can learn more about the proposal at https://portlandneighborswelcome.org/inner-eastside-for-all.
This summer we are planning on repainting the beloved Sunnyside Piazza at 33rd and Yamhill. The piazza is one of the oldest intersection art installations in Portland and it needs a refresh! We set up a Piazza Working Group to help manage and facilitate the project. If you are interested in helping out, please contact us at [email protected].
Finally, as mentioned below, our annual Board elections will be held on May 9th. I can say from personal experience how rewarding it is to be an active part of the SNA board. You get to meet new people from all over the neighborhood and hopefully make a small difference for all of Sunnyside! Please reach out if you are thinking of joining the Board and want to learn more. You can reach me directly at [email protected].
That’s it for now. At our April 11th Board meeting we will be hearing from the CEI Hub Task Force, which is building awareness around the dangers to all of Portland posed by the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, the bulk fuel storage facility between the Willamette and Hwy 30 in North Portland. See you there, in May for our annual elections, or out on the porch swing!