A swath of woods in a corner of Southwest Portland could be cleared for 21 new single family homes — but not if neighbors have their way.
The South Burlingame Neighborhood Association has appealed a city hearings officer's decision in December to approve the 21-home Macadam Ridge development, proposed by the Riverview Abbey Mausoleum Company. Portland City Council will take up the issue at a hearing at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The proposal is for an approximately 14-acre site owned by Riverview adjacent to the address at 0319 S.W. Taylors Ferry Road and adjacent to Southwest Canby Street and Southwest Hume Street.
In its appeal of the land-use decision on Riverview's proposal, the SBNA claims that the proposal doesn't go far enough to limit environmental impact, that it doesn't preserve enough trees and that it doesn't properly account for impacts to traffic, transit and nearby neighborhoods. The appeal also notes that neighbors were not given enough time to review new evidence submitted to the record this past fall.
“Our neighborhood supports development honoring city code; this development does not meet the code requirements for building with innovation in Environmental Overlay Zoned property," said Robert Lennox, SBNA's president, in a release. "We are concerned the upland habitat is being destroyed while putting current and future neighbors at risk by developing in a known ancient landslide."
In the release, Scott Burns, a geology professor at Portland State University, said the proposed development is almost entirely within a "known ancient landslide." Plans to cut 500 mature trees on about five acres and bring in 20,000 cubic yards of fill to build upon would "significantly (increase) the risk of reactivating the slide and putting families and homes in peril," Burns said.
The hearings officer ruled in December that the proposal could move forward provided that it meet certain conditions, including that the owner re-plant with native plants, conduct a stormwater analysis, build a new bus stop or relocate an existing one, and several other modifications.
Should the council reject SBNA's appeal, neighbors could then file an appeal with the state Land Use Board of Appeals.
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.