Many Beaumont-Wilshire residents are wondering about the new large building being built on Fremont between 45th and 47th. Answer: a four-story 50-unit apartment/retail complex called The Bridgetown. Residents also wonder if this, together with last year’s Beaumont Village Apartments one block to the west, is the wave of the future for Fremont Street—i.e., will Beaumont-Wilshire’s “main street” be recreated as a canyon of apartments similar to SE Division Street? The short answer is yes, no, and maybe. Here’s why:
Most of Fremont’s 45-foot height limit in commercial zoning came from zoning studies done in the early ’90s. That no one ever built that high until recently says more about the neighborhood’s formerly lackluster economy than about any laws in place restricting height. Enter the City’s new Comprehensive Plan revision and the related Mixed Use Zoning study. A Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) advisory committee has been meeting for the past 18 months to develop a mixed-zone proposal that would change all commercial zoning in the city to one of several “mixed-use zones” with the recommendation going to the Planning Commission for review and the City Council for approval.
The Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association is on record opposing the advisory committee’s preliminary zoning classifications, which would allow four-story “CM-2” zoning along most of commercial Fremont. The BWNA Board fears that, under this zoning scheme, Fremont would be asked to support urban densities without the provision of urban services or urban infrastructure. Of primary importance is the scarcity of good public transit. Anyone who has lived in the neighborhood more than a few years can remember when Fremont buses were frequent in number, had weekend service, and actually connected to downtown. Today’s service is spotty at best, has no weekend service, and ends at Legacy Emmanuel hospital. Moreover, Metro’s “Vision Plan” for the next 20 years provides little optimism for significant improvements along Fremont. Thus the stated CM-2 zoning criterion of “frequent service transit within 500 feet” stands out as the most obvious and compelling reason not to affix CM-2 zoning to most of Fremont.
After the initial round of public input, BPS revised its zoning proposals to allow CM-2 only within 500 feet of the frequent-service #75 north/south line. This essentially means that all commercial property east of 44th on Fremont would be given the new, more restrictive three-story CM-1 zoning, with the block containing the new Bridgetown retaining the CM-2 zoning. (To get an idea of the type of building allowed under CM-1, think of the condominiums on Fremont and 52nd, informally known as the “Jim and Patty’s Building”.)
But the story does not end there. During recent public hearings of the mixed-use zoning proposals before the Planning Commission, there was much vocal opposition expressed to the new CM-1 zoning. Most wanted it replaced with the less restrictive four-story CM-2 classification—not only on Fremont, but throughout the city. The Planning Commission is taking written public testimony until July 12. If you have an opinion, let the Planning Commission know via the mixed-use zoning/City of Portland website. Also, the City Council will be holding public hearings on mixed-use zoning in the early fall.