North Anchor Community Forum:
It was hands down, the best community "planning" forum I have ever been to. Congratulations to the organizers for all the work they put into this.
I was't expecting much, and I wasn't alone, but I was curious and hopeful nonetheless. Despite everything, I remain an optimist about the native intelligence of our community and its desire not to screw things up.
I arrived at the start time of 9:00 am, fully expecting this to be another "Open House" format - come any time and leave any time. Wrong.
I thought I'd see the usual array of conceptual planning ideas, lists of planning concepts (walkability, mixed use, vibrancy, yada, yada), and the hosts - "stakeholders," electeds and planning staff with name tags, manning stations. And then there would be the required "citizen input" comment card at the exit. Wrong. Except for the comment card.
In short, I was expecting another agenda-driven event that was a waste of the public's time.
I don't know what will become of the ideas and responses given and received at the forum, but it was a good start as a way to re-think how the whole community wants to see downtown redeveloped.
Follow the North Anchor Project Updates on the project webpage. Results of the January 31 Forum will be posted on the page during the week of Feb. 2.
Forum Day: The assembly of about 75 community members was randomly divided up into groups of about 4-5 and trundled off with a City Council member or one of the event host organization members (Chamber of Commerce, EVergreen and First Addition-Forest Hills Neighborhood
Associations). The task was to come up with a list of ideas of what DID WANT to be included on the two parcels. The process was repeated later with remixed groupings to list the things we DID NOT WANT to see on the properties.
When the entire group reassembled each time, the items were consolidated into broad topic areas and the attendees voted via electronic counters about how we felt about this or that item. Sme of the questions were too broad to answer well or at all, such as whether or not housing was acceptable. Attendees were reluctant to answer unless they knew if the housing was condos or apartments, how many units, how high, how many parking spaces, etc. If not done right, some felt no housing was better than any. In the end, there were some issues like this that were not well answered because there wasn't enough time to dove into specifics. This is a pity, as there are some big holes in what was otherwise a great exercise in community planning.
Some solid WANTS (or preferences) were first floor retail and/or office; enough parking to service the building uses, sustainable building practices, height restrictions, etc..
The DO NOT wants included adult stores, marijuana establishments, use of public funds or non-tax-paying uses, automobile service/repair, single-store retailer, etc.
The big surprise for me was the general support for market-driven commercial use rather than having the city strongly suggest specific retail or commercial options.
Another big surprise for me was how intoxicating was the experience of planning a part of downtown - a Sim-City form of play using Lake Oswego as the template. It was very easy - too easy, and too fun - to get caught up in one's own ideas of how the city "should" evolve.
The great thing was how many minds came up with so many great ideas, and that there were so many areas of philosophical agreement. Of course, what eventually gets built will be a reflection of whatever a developer thinks will be economically productive. And the city will most likely take a bath on the sale price of the land as it was purchased at a premium to begin with. Perhaps the city should not be in the real estate business at all - politicians should leave business to the professionals. But the city should establish its authority to dictate development be compatible with community values. It is only through exercises such as this that these values can be known. We should do this more often!
The headiness of the morning forum evaporated when the exercises were done and I had to get back to my Saturday chores. It is now up to every one of us to follow up on the project as it moves forward to see that our collective values are being heard. And to do that, we must all be involved in code development so that when a private parcel is developed, there are limits in place we can ALL
live with rather than face another Wizer Block upheaval. (I keep hoping that monster thing will be downsized.,.. )
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