Chris Waldmann, Author at Sunnyside Neighborhood Association

News from the President

Hi Sunnyside! After what I hope was a beautiful summer for you and your families, it’s time to say hello to a new school year, a soon-to-be realized new form of city government, and a new term with the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association! It’s going to be a busy year and the SNA is here to help you make sense of the changes and fight for an even better Portland.

On to the news….

• With construction beginning on the Belmont Library, a new temporary service location is opening at 3557 SE Hawthorne Blvd. This location will offer limited services including book hold pick-up, 24/7 returns and free wireless printing. The library project is targeted for completion in the spring of 2026. Until then, don’t forget that you canplace holds, download e -books using the free Libby app, and visit any of the other Multnomah County library branches for additional services and events.

• The Belmont Street Fair is coming up on Saturday, September 14th from
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Come on out and support all of the local vendors and enjoy the firstfe stival of fall with your friends andneighbors. While there, please
stop by the SNA booth and say hi! We’ll be out there with our shiny new, yellow (Sunnyside!) pop-up tent.

• Interested in learning more about the District 3 City Council Candidates
and their plans to tackle homelessness? Portland Community College will be
hosting a District 3 Candidate Forum and Summit on Homelessness on Thursday, September 26th from 6-8:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVP by Monday, September 23rd HERE.

• Last, but not least, the SNA is CHANGING OUR MEETING DATES!
We will now meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month in the Fireside Room at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main) at 7 p.m. This month we have two main topics on the agenda. First, we will have a representative from the Government Transition office to help everyone learn how to vote in the new city election system. It’s going to be a big change from the ballots we are used to using! Second, we will have guests to discuss the new pedestrian plaza that is being planned on 37th between Madison and Hawthorne.

That’s it for now. We hope to see you Wednesday at the next SNA meeting!

SNA Board Meeting – Wednesday, August 14th @ 7:15 PM

The SNA board will be holding a short meeting to ratify decisions that were discussed during our recent board retreat. All SNA board meetings are open to the public to observe.

On the agenda:
1. Appointment of officers
2. Appointment of board liaisons
3. Creation of a new committee for fundraising and special events

This meeting will be online only.
Wednesday, August 14 · 7:15 – 8:15pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/coh-ybsx-hnm

News from the President

Hi everyone! Hope your summer is going great!

Just a few things as we prepare for the return of regular Sunnyside Neighborhood Association (SNA) meetings in September:

• The SNA, through its Land Use Committee, is working with a Sunnyside
architect and the owner of the empty lot at 4511 SE Hawthorne Blvd. to
activate the space until it is developed. This is an exciting opportunity to bring new life to the neighborhood on a blank canvas. The architect recently worked with our neighbors to the north in Vancouver, WA to create the Heights Bike Garden, a space for kids and adults to learn how to bike safely in a fun and creative environment! The project at 4511 is still in its early, idea-forming stages. If you are interested in helpingout with this effort, please contact the committee at [email protected].

• With the Belmont Library set to close this fall for a major upgrade, the library will no longer be able to display the quilt created by Sunnysiders in 1988. Do you have a space or an idea for a new home for the quilt? Please reach out to [email protected].

• The Belmont Street Fair (on Sunday, September 8th) needs our help and the SNA is stepping up! If you are interested in volunteering to help at the fair, please email us and we will put together a group. I volunteered last year and it was super fun assisting vendors and non-profits find their spots and get set up.

• We will see you at a bunch of events in the coming weeks, including:

Hawthorne Street Fair, Sunday, August 25th
Sewallcrest Movie Night with A Million Miles Away, Friday, August 30th
Belmont Street Fair, Sunday, September 8th

There is a change coming to the SNA meeting schedule. To better accommodate some board members’ schedules we are moving from our usual 2nd Thursday of the month to the 2nd WEDNESDAY of the month. Meetings are in person at SE Uplift and online via Zoom. We will continue having General meetings every other month and monthly Board meetings. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, September 11th. We will learn about how Portland’s new election system will work and how to fill out a ballot. Hope to see a lot of you there!

News from the President

Hi Sunnyside! The SNA held its annual meeting in May to review what we worked on this year and to elect new Board members for 2024-25.

This past year saw a lot of action on pressing issues for the neighborhood and the city. We had a number of meetings focusing on environmental issues and voted to sign on to many letters regarding efforts to fight diesel emissions and the dangers of the CEI fuel storage facility on the banks of the Willamette. We learned about the upcoming rebuild of the Belmont Library. We also learned about a proposal to allow for increased density within the neighborhood. We continued to serve the less fortunate members of the community through the ongoing Sunnyside Shower Project and our annual Winter Gear Drive. We focused on public safety through re-engagement with our local police precincts and renewed advocacy for improved traffic safety on Cesar Chavez, following the tragic death of librarian Jeannie Diaz last summer. We had a couple of small victories on SE César Chávez, with PBOT installing a new diverter to prevent left hand turns at SE Taylor and changes to the pedestrian cross signals at Taylor and Main to allow increased time for pedestrians to cross. These were small improvements that will hopefully lead to bigger changes as the city embarks on a new initiative to improve safety on our high-crash corridors.

The main business of the annual meeting was our Board elections. I’m excited to welcome three new Board members to the team. Thank you Crystal, Tim and Dresden for stepping up to serve your community! There are so many ways to help the SNA and Sunnyside, whether on the Board, volunteering at an event, or participating in our committees and General meetings. Come on out and join us however you can!

We will be back in September for our next General meeting, but the Board will continue to work through the summer, including keeping our eyes on the revisions to the city’s Housing Production Master Plan, which is set to be released for public comment soon. In the fall, we look forward to the first elections under the new charter. It’s going to be a big change for everyone and the SNA will be here to help educate everyone not only on the issues, but also on how the process will work.

Until then, we will see you around the neighborhood. Have a great summer!