Clackamas County (Milwaukie, Oregon City, Lake O, Happy Valley, etc.)

[Grantenfuego]

Originally Posted by NJD

Rural conservatives and liberal urbanites can both agree that a smaller UGB is good for growth management for different and similar reasons... would anyone oppose this plan?

Damascus considers partial withdrawal from urban growth boundary
Published: Friday, July 13, 2012 By Emily Fuggetta, The Oregonian

DAMASCUS — Nearly a decade after Metro brought then-unincorporated Damascus into its urban growth boundary, residents may vote this December on whether they want all of the city to remain therein.

In light of new a recent Metro population forecast that predicts the city's 2035 population at about 30,000 — about 8,000 fewer than previously estimated — the Damascus City Council has begun to consider asking to remove a large eastern portion of the city from the boundary.

(more)

Makes sense to me. Keep the UGB as small as possible. Especially, when it's not needed and clearly there is plenty of develop-able space within the boundary.

[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by NJD

Rural conservatives and liberal urbanites can both agree that a smaller UGB is good for growth management for different and similar reasons... would anyone oppose this plan?

Damascus considers partial withdrawal from urban growth boundary
Published: Friday, July 13, 2012 By Emily Fuggetta, The Oregonian

DAMASCUS — Nearly a decade after Metro brought then-unincorporated Damascus into its urban growth boundary, residents may vote this December on whether they want all of the city to remain therein.

In light of new a recent Metro population forecast that predicts the city's 2035 population at about 30,000 — about 8,000 fewer than previously estimated — the Damascus City Council has begun to consider asking to remove a large eastern portion of the city from the boundary.

(more)

Good riddens! Lesson to region.. don't allow UGB expansion without an established city in control. Small town politics is a serious waste of time and obviously inefficient - Damascus has been stuck in a holding pattern for years due to politics and it seems like nothing can happen without a public vote. Talk about slow, inefficient government... Hillsboro is far from ideal, but they at least know what to do with land they bring into the UGB and waste no time in doing it.

[philopdx]

See, here in the city of Damascus, we wanna build up dem walmarts and parking lots, just like Vancouver! We don need no stinking hippies tellin' us how to build us a fine, fine city with backyards and McDonalds for all our white citizens.

The way I see it it fellow Damascusites, it's high time we sprawl out with the @#$% out.

[zilfondel]

You know, since the 'burbs real estate tanked in the recession, and will likely never be coming back... I doubt Damascus will be built out int he next 50 years. Real estate values and demand has done a complete 180 over the past 10-20 years.

[tworivers]

Holy moly. This story just keeps getting better and better.

'Do you want a piece of me'? Tensions rise between Clackamas County commissioners

...

Depending on who's telling the story about a June 11 planning meeting, Savas told Ludlow to grow up either before or after Ludlow yelled, "Do you want a piece of me?" A handful of county employees attended the meeting, but it was not recorded.

Ludlow said the dispute began when Savas talked condescendingly to him during the June 11 meeting. Ludlow and Smith have taken issue with Savas's tone of voice or comments in public meetings before, and have raised their voices in response or visually cued their frustration with rolled eyes or loud sighs.

Ludlow, who is listed in public records as 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds, said he responded as in his days of competitive wrestling. "Whenever I got on my back, I came back very hard," Ludlow said the day after. "I felt to some extent I was being pinned and I didn't like it. It's just my nature."

...

[downtownpdx]

Wow. That is hilarious. Hard to believe such thoughtful, well-mannered people can't see the benefits of mass transit or replacing dangerously rickety bridges. I wanna see Obama come at Boehner like that one day, and then harken back to his wrestling days for an explanation.

[bvpcvm]

California developer to purchase historic site of Blue Heron Paper mill in Oregon City

A California development company has signed a purchase agreement for the historic Blue Heron mill site at the base of Willamette Falls, an industrial property deeply rooted in Oregon history. Eclipse Development Group of Irvine, Calif., known for mid-level retail projects, is the first buyer to make an offer since the bankrupt paper mill closed for good in early 2011, putting 175 employees out of work.Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but details will be outlined in paperwork filed today with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland, said bankruptcy trustee Peter McKittrick.

Generally speaking, Eclipse plans a mix of office, retail and residential uses for the 23-acre site, President Doug Gray said.

[mcbaby]

New plans for Willamette Falls

http://m.bizjournals.com/portland/bl...lue-heron.html

[MarkDaMan]

Closing of Wizer's Oswego Foods, a Lake Oswego institution, makes way for shops and high-end apartments
By Victoria Edwards, The Oregonian
on August 02, 2013 at 12:45 PM, updated August 02, 2013 at 2:21 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/lake-osweg..._river_default

...

Wizer announced this week he's closing the store at First Street and A Avenue and expects to have empty shelves in about a month as inventory is liquidated.

It was an emotional and tough decision, said Wizer, 75, who has worked in the store since he was a boy.

But it's not completely unexpected. He signed an agreement last year with a Portland development firm to sell most of the property, which Clackamas County says has an assessed value of $3.02 million, so it could be developed into high-end apartments and shops.

W&K Development is the third such company Wizer has worked with to get the property -- prime downtown real estate -- developed. Most recently, in 2008, developer Trammell Crow Residential presented the city with plans for a hotel, retail space and apartments, but the project fell through after the recession hit.

...

W&K is looking to partner with the city's redevelopment agency, which is governed by city councilors and charged with managing money from the downtown urban renewal district that could go toward the redevelopment. Patrick Kessi of W&K said the firm is asking for a nearly $6 million contribution from the city, mostly in the form of waiving fees related to the development.

In May, W&K presented plans to the council featuring shops, high-end apartments, a public walkway, private courtyard and underground private and public parking. Kessi estimated the development could bring $680,000 in annual property tax revenue to the city and 30 to 40 permanent jobs from the stores.

The preliminary plans called for the buildings to be a maximum of 60 feet with five levels. Developers would have to work with the city to make that happen, because the building code restricts buildings in the area to four levels.

...

[pdxstreetcar]

Laughable NIMBYism at work in LO over a 4-5 story building redeveloping a rundown shopping center. The "village feel" yes, that comes from density and of course whining about traffic and parking (everyone else is the problem but not me and my car contributing to traffic and parking). And by protesters they mean the 5 old rich white geezers in the photo.

Protesters line downtown Lake Oswego street voicing opposition to Wizer block development
http://www.oregonlive.com/lake-osweg...town_lake.html

[maccoinnich]

Kind of funny to see Republicans protesting the free market and right of people to develop private property.

[zilfondel]

The renderings look pretty decent:





From Oregonlive.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/lake-osweg...esign_pla.html


Design intent:

One running along A Avenue will be modeled after rustic Oregon lodges constructed between 1915 and 1940, the architects said. It will have large stone chimneys, steep wooden roofs and dark brick walls.

Another will implement arts and crafts style elements, like red brick walls and prominent chimneys. It will also have a rooftop observation deck overlooking Millennium Plaza Park.

The third complex, inspired by the English Tudor style, will be made from a mix of bricks and stucco.

[zilfondel]

More info at Portland Tribune:

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news...in-downtown-lo

-project design by ZGF
-NIMBY's complain that the project does not have enough parking - depsite this:

Plans are still being worked out, Kessi said, but each apartment would likely have an average 1.5 parking spaces — which is more than city code requires.

These aren't NIMBY's, they are BANANAs - Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything!

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Kind of funny to see Republicans protesting the free market and right of people to develop private property.

Yeah, that is some irony. I don't see the issue with this project, it looks very Lake O and it looks like it would be something that the Lake O residents would be swooning over and bragging about never needing to go to downtown Portland because their town is so much better.

I will say, I do like that the Portland metro does seem to corral these nutjob BANANAS into manageable areas.

[pdxstreetcar]

I'm pretty certain a decent amount of the height is from pitched roofs and gables, I'm sure they could cut those out to save 10-15 feet if that's what they really want but I think most would prefer a little more height to get a non-flat roof line.

Anyone notice in the photo one of the protesters in a fur coat?... no joke.

Inner SE Portland has their share of BANANAs though

When the administrator gets a chance, maybe they can convert this thread into 'Lake Oswego' title like all the rest of suburb threads, that was my intention when I posted this thread.

[bvpcvm]

Nimbys win; Lake Oswego Development Review Commission votes down Wizer block building proposal

The developers behind a plan to build an upscale retail and housing center in downtown Lake Oswego are heading back to the drawing board after months of trying to win the city's approval.

The city's Development Review Commission unanimously voted down the proposal Wednesday night after spending hours dissecting the project. The developers proposed to build three high-end apartment buildings at the longtime site of Wizer's Oswego Foods, along A Avenue and First Street.

Article

They also saw the project as unfit for the village feel they hoped to preserve in downtown, a point on which the commissioners agreed

"village", haha

[pdxtraveler]

Looked like a nice development. The population seems determined to cut off their nose to spite their face. Down with streetcar, down with nice dense development in the downtown area. To each their own, I guess.

[maccoinnich]

Question for Lake Oswegans: why are you so anti-business?

[bvpcvm]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Question for Lake Oswegans: why are you so anti-business?

"Why do you hate America?"

[urbanlife]

Lake Oswego is such a dumb little NIMBY town, I am surprised they even have an area they can call a "downtown." Seriously, how could they see this as a bad development for their sorry excuse of a downtown? I really have some serious distaste for that little town.