Protesters gather... Opposition will be heard

The DRC Public Hearing on The Wizer Block 
continues this Wednesday Night!

After a long night last Wednesday, the Development Review Commission were able to hear only the developers and the proponents of the Wizer Block (Block 137) mixed-use project.  The hearing was continued to this week (Wednesday, January 29, at 4:00 pm).  The hearing will be broadcast live on TVCT Channel 28.  Note in the agenda that only people who signed up at the previous meeting can speak at this week's meeting - in the order assigned.   The opposition will speak first, then neutral parties, then a rebuttal from the applicant.

Click here to see the project drawings submitted to the DRC.  Other Exhibits can be found on the Planning Department's project's website.

This development is a key step in fighting for the preservation of Lake Oswego.  The presence of Christie White in the Evergreen Group LLC (W & K Development) team is disconcerting.  As a principal in the Foothills Development group, Williams, Dame and White, the attorney could be looking at a win for the streetcar to Portland and the Foothills project.  By increasing the density in downtown, pushing the limits of the building codes, gaining the approval of the planning dept. and council, AND increasing congestion on Hwy. 43, a streetcar will be more palatable to skeptical Lake Oswegans, and the market for dense development (and urban development funds) will flourish.  Goodby downtown, and good luck Lake Grove, lower Boones Ferry and Kruse Way.

It means something specific to be labeled as a "Town Center."  The Amarican Planning
Association has developed model codes for Town Centers that dictate how they function and what they look like.  Lake Oswego has two TCs - Downtown and Lake Grove.  Making this TC a reflection of what we want will require codes that meet LO needs, not national models. Keeping downtown (and the whole city) livable is paramount.

1. PUBLIC HEARING
   LU 13-0046: A request by Evergreen Group, LLC, for approval of a Development Review Permit to construct a mixed-use project, including up to 228 residential units and 28,000 square feet of commercial use in three buildings, with the following exceptions to the Community Development Code standards:
   
   • Residential uses on the ground floor in EC zone [LOC 50.03.003.1.e.ii]
     
   • Fifth floor on a portion of each of the three buildings [LOC 50.05.004.5.d]
     
   • Reduction in the amount of storefront glazing [LOC 50.05.004.6.b.i]
     
   • Retail parking entrance on 1st Street [LOC 50.05.004.10.b]
     
   • Shared private/public parking provided on-site [LOC 50.06.002]
     The applicant is also requesting approval of two Minor Variances to the length and maximum grade of a driveway landing area per LOC 50.06.003.2; and, the removal of 25 trees to accommodate the project.
     The site is located at: 140 A Avenue, Tax Lot 08300 of Tax Map 21E 03DD. The staff coordinator is Leslie Hamilton, Senior Planner.
     This hearing was continued from the January 22 Development Review Commission meeting for receipt of oral testimony by interested parties who have signed up to speak at the January 22 public hearing, in the order assigned, starting with those who are in opposition to the application, then those neither for nor against the application and then applicant’s rebuttal. 

To call attention to the Development Review Commission hearing on the Wizer Development, the Save Our Village group mounted a demonstration protest at the site.  Using red balloons, the group showed how high a 60' building would go, and how overwhelming it would be.

From The Oregonian, January 17, 204

Protesters gather on downtown Lake Oswego street voicing opposition to Wizer block development

The protest came several days before the city's first public visitation to the project since August, when architects presented their conceptual designs to the Lake Oswego Redevelopment Agency. The Development Review Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall. Grigg and the other protesters encouraged passersby to attend and share their opinions.

Protesters gather along A Avenue in downtown Lake Oswego. The balloons represent the height of the buildings that could be constructed at the longtime home of Wizer's Oswego Foods.Justin Runquist