There were banged gavels this morning at city council, and Mayor Sam Adams even threatened to have one Pearl District mother removed from the audience over a dispute about a new loo in Jamison Square.

Pearl District neighbors Sandy Ammerman and Sheila McMahon told council that the Pearl District Neighborhood Association has ignored a 220-signature petition asking for a reconsideration of the planned siting of the loo—in the Zipcar spot on the Southwest corner of the square.

"There are more than 220 businesses and residents asking to be heard," said Ammerman. "Let me ask you this—would you want your bedroom within 40 feet of an all-night bathroom, with its potential for noise, crime, and door slamming all night long?" Read all about it after the jump.

The loos, designed and commissioned by City Commissioner Randy Leonard, are part of a plan by the city to locate more public restrooms around the city. There is already one successful loo in Old Town, at SW 5th and Glisan—but that's Old Town. The Pearl is different.

"Portland is a small city," said Ammerman. "One size does not fit all regarding the loo. This is our neighborhood, this is a big deal."

"Safety is a big concern," said McMahon. "Vehicles would have their views blocked by the loo, and the siting in the Zipcar space would be a major safety hazard for the elderly, blind, and wheelchair bound."

"Jamison Square is a residential neighborhood surrounded by apartment buildings. Children reside in these apartments. The loo interior is lit from the inside—visitors to the loo could be made to feel uncomfortable by being overlooked.”

McMahon said there are already restrooms at REI, Powells, and Safeway, and that the loo at SW 5th and Glisan is within a 20-minute walk, so it fits Portland's plan for "the 20-minute walkable neighborhood."

Both McMahon and Ammerman asked council to hold a public hearing for Pearl District neighbors and businesses before siting the loo. But Leonard responded by turning the discussion back to the neighborhood association—"it is up to you and the neighborhood to decide where to put the loo," he said. "Not whether you want one. And that's an important distinction."

"A couple of summers ago I spent the morning with neighbors, walking through the Pearl talking about facilities for children including a day-care," said Leonard. "And it included a tour of Jamison square where it was pointed out by moms that people using the park in the summer are in need of restrooms, and that business adjacent wouldn't let them use their loos."

"Having said that, I've been disappointed, quite frankly, with a lot of the emails that associate public restrooms with homelessness and crime," Leonard continued. "I'm a strong supporter of public restrooms."

McMahon said she appreciated Leonard's perspective, and thanked him for his time. But then, City Commissioner Nick Fish stepped in, and stirred things up again.

"I want to just amplify something," he said. "I don't want there to be a misconception that the toilet issue has one champion on city council. The toilet issue is a cornerstone of the SAFE [Street Access For Everyone] process. The city has made a commitment to substantially increase public restrooms, because there is substantial unmet demand."

Fish said he agreed that the process for siting the restrooms could be fine-tuned, but he also upped the ante on the discussion.

"I do want to say to you that how we go about this discussion will ultimately, in part, define our city in the next year," he said. "I will tell you that when the question of toilets comes up, the arguments you have made are made everywhere we decide to put a toilet. Recently, the city was required to find a place for a winter warming center where people could go so that they literally would not die on the street. We found a place, and it will not surprise you to hear that all the condo and business owners signed a petition saying that this was an inappropriate location."

Fish was referring to objections raised by developer Mark Edlen, among others, about siting a warming center near the newly-completed Indigo Apartment building, just across the street from the Pearl District. He subsequently elected to open the center across the river, instead.

"We also have a hunger problem, and it will not come as a surprise to you that when homeless feeds moved, we heard from a number of condo and business owners about the new locations," Fish Continued.

One audience member seated with McMahon and Ammerman began sighing and rolling her eyes.

"Ma'am, please don't sigh," said Fish, to her. "This may be frustrating to you. But the eye rolling and your sighing does not serve your cause."

The eye-roller was Anjali Rathore, a Pearl District mother with a five-year-old child. "Excuse me," she said, interrupting Fish. Mayor Adams banged his gavel. Rathore continued interrupting. Adams kept banging his gavel.

"Ma'am, you're out of order," said Mayor Adams. She continued to interrupt.

"He shouldn't comment on what I am doing," Rathore said.

Adams banged the gavel again, and a security guard moved over to attempt to remove Rathore. She quieted down.

Fish brought his oratory to a conclusion, and the Pearl District neighbors filed out. Rathore was furious.

"First of all, they're misrepresenting," she said. "When [Leonard] said the mothers were with him on their tour of the neighborhood, there was one mother, and a woman from the neighborhood association."

Rathore, who said she was "not terribly proud of [her] outburst," added that Fish was "going on and on and on with his patronizing attempts to educate us." "I spoke up because he spoke up about what I was doing. Not all of us are rich, so don't try to make it about that. I can't roll my eyes and sigh when they are going on and on and on with their explanation? I can't even roll my eyes?"

"We were shut out of the process," said Rathore.

Afterward, Leonard came out and spoke to the neighbors, who plan to attend the next Pearl District Neighborhood Association meeting to voice their concerns again. He really turned on the charm.

"We've just said, we'll try to place it in consultation with the neighborhood," he said. "But it's about the way you make your case. When you're unreasonable, they give them a reason to discount you. It all depends on how you ask."

"If only the neighborhood association listened to us as you have," said one neighbor.

We'll keep you updated.