President’s Message
The annual Taste of Beaumont event on April 9 highlighted many of the great restaurants that populate our neighborhood and have helped make Portland a food mecca. We were fortunate once again to enjoy the music of Beaumont Middle School’s Jazz Ambassadors, conducted by band director Cynthia Plank. While listening to the students’ live music, we feasted on many wonderful menu items supplied by our local restaurants. Other neighborhood restaurants and businesses generously provided gift certificates and other door prizes. Several photographs from the evening are on page 10.
With the officers of Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association continuing in their roles, our elections for open board positions resulted in neighbor Tim Gillespie stepping up to fill one of three vacancies. With two board positions still open, please let me know if you would like to get involved. Thanks also to departing board member Katy Fackler for her years of service to BWNA.
Taste of Beaumont would not be possible without the support of our local restaurants and businesses, so I’d like to offer many thanks to the following:
Alameda Brewhouse, Beaumont Florists, Beaumont Market, Dee’s Golden Door, Eclectic Kitchen, Fire on the Mountain, Grand Central Bakery, Green Dog Pet Supply, Little Griddle, Noho’s Hawaiian Cafe, Papa Murphy’s, Peter’s Bar & Grill, Pizzicato, SouthFork, Thrive Sauce & Bowls, and Yo Choice
Next time you patronize one of these businesses, please thank them for generously supporting our neighborhood.
Most of us received a “Notice of Proposed Zoning Code and Map Changes that May Affect the Permissible Uses of Your Property and Other Properties” in the mail the week of April 9. This yellow notice describes the changes in housing uses that would be allowed if the Planning and Sustainability Commission approves the recommendations of the Residential Infill Project. The proposal would, in short, allow duplexes on all lots currently zoned as single family residential, while allowing triplexes on residential corner lots. Although the proposal would limit infill house size to better conform to existing neighborhoods, the proposal is likely to increase the pressure to demolish the remaining affordable single-family homes in our neighborhoods for replacement with more expensive multifamily housing. I encourage you to make your views on this proposal known to the city through written or public testimony to the Planning and Sustainability Commission. For added insight into the topic and specific information on when and how to testify, see Al Ellis’s article on page 8, “Demolish and Grow the Way to Go?”