Happy November Sunnyside! As you read this, darkness has probably already fallen with the change of clocks to standard time. I’m going to say something controversial, so I ask for a little “latitude”. Standard time is better in this part of the country! I’m an early riser and the thought of a nearly 9 a.m. sunrise gives me the S.A.D. I know that some of you agree with me, whether as a morning person, a parent of children whose school day starts at 8 or 8:30 a.m. or maybe just a lover of natural rhythms. The federal administration is pushing HARD for legislation to allow states to implement full-time daylight savings. I hope that doesn’t happen, but if it does, I hope you’ll join me in saying NO to this in these northern latitudes. Fun fact, Portland is just as far north as Montreal, Canada!
On to the (more current) news…
I hear from neighbors all the time that there isn’t enough parking close to their homes. We live in an older, denser neighborhood; many homes were built with either tiny driveways or none at all. I love living a mostly car-free life in our walkable, transit-heavy area, but I know that most of us have at least one car. Parking can be tough, especially with the influx of new neighbors into apartment buildings without garages, and with two major retail and nightlife corridors running through Sunnyside. Unfortunately, this situation is probably not going to get meaningfully better until we move away from car dependency in this city, state and country. Changes are coming that could bring a whole new round of development to the area with the Inner Eastside Zoning Project (more below). Plus, construction costs make it so expensive to build parking for new apartment buildings! So, what can we do now to mitigate the issue?
The city has a program to create Area Parking Permit Zones. The program is a community-driven approach to help neighborhood residents and businesses better deal with the influx of out-of-area drivers using parking spaces for long periods during certain parts of the day. For most of the current zones, this is during the day, however certain zones like around the Moda Center and in Goose Hollow have different or extended times to compensate for the large sports venues in those areas. In Sunnyside, with our evening thoroughfares full of bars and restaurants, rather than office workers, maybe it makes sense to have these restrictions in the evening? Usually, the restriction is 2 hour parking for people without permits. Residents and employees of area businesses can purchase annual permits to park their cars within the neighborhood as they normally would, without a time limit. (Currently permits cost $110 in most zones).
Is this program right for our neighborhood? Do we even qualify per the city rules? Is there will in the neighborhood to pay $100 per year for a permit? We are going to address those questions at our November 11th General Meeting with a presentation from PBOT staff with time for questions and comments, so please join us and learn more!
Big zoning changes may be on the way. The Inner Eastside Zoning Project, if successful, would enable much more in-neighborhood residential development with increased density, provide for a wider variety of housing types, and improve housing affordability in some of Portland’s most desirable close-in neighborhoods (like Sunnyside). The project arose from a campaign by Portland Neighbors Welcome called Inner Eastside for All that had a motto of “4 Floors and a Corner Store” to encourage smaller scale developments within residential areas rather than concentrate all new housing development along commercial corridors. We all know, and I know I love, the various courtyard-style apartment developments in Buckman and Sunnyside that were built in the 1st half of the 20th century and look at this initiative as an updated model, encouraging smaller developers to build 6-10 unit buildings that are integrated into the neighborhood fabric. I have many questions on implementation and whether the right incentives will be in place to make this a success for both new and current residents. As a first step, the city is conducting a survey to better understand Inner Eastside issues and our priorities (tinyurl.com/3a82jc83). We will have more on this in the coming months, so stay tuned and come to our Land Use & Transportation Committee meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at SE Uplift.
Happy Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you around the hood!