A Bureau of Development Services analysis says homeless rest area Right 2 Dream Too should be allowed to move onto a city lot beneath a Broadway Bridge ramp, and without a lengthy design review, because the site is a “community service” that fits under current city zoning designations for its proposed spot.
The letter (pdf) is a response to inquiries by R2DToo and, interestingly, Dike Dame, one of the prominent developers with stakes in the property, at NW Lovejoy Court and Station Way, and in parcels nearby.
The letter and an accompanying resolution (pdf) will be heard by the Portland City Council this coming Thursday, from 2-5 pm and 6-8 pm.
Update 2 PM: This approach is precisely the same one the city council took last year in approving the Portland Playhouse in the King neighborhood, after code enforcers initially said the playhouse was a retail use. BDS Director Paul Scarlett says community services can have a housing component and must be run by nonprofits.
Scarlett also says parking requirements for the lot aren’t as fixed as documents indicate and that some parking will remain on the lot. Fritz has said all along that R2DToo would occupy the portion of the lot farthest from the Union Station tracks.
Wow. As best I can tell, nearly every commercial, employment and industrial zone has the same status for community services, so this reasoning says that outdoor homeless camps are “permitted outright… without any required land use review or building permit” across the city. This will end well. Thanks Fritz.
Brave is the person who will continue to park their car in that lot.
Wait a second – doesn’t this mean the camp was an allowed use at its existing location?
Employee writes opinion that validates pre-ordained decision by employee’s boss. Nice work!
I cannot tell while reading this crap if it is just me getting older that affects my reasoning, or is it that the city I loved so dearly 25 years ago when I moved here is changing so drastically that I am becoming out-of-touch with the city it has become.
This thought is a little scary too…
This is a baby step to help out R2D2. They have worked hard to establish themselves as good neighbors, they should be welcomed and assisted. There are others who need our help and we must not let any human being be left out in the rain and cold. When I die I want to be able to say I tried, not that I was afraid. The homeless/houseless issue is very complicated and will take all of us of good will to shout down those who are just afraid.
It ain’t about being afraid.
More than anything, the majority of these people need to help themselves.
As long as there are people, there will always be homelessness.