May RIP rest in peace. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but now moot.
After years of controversy over residential demolitions, single-family zoning, high-density housing, low-income affordability, and neighborhood character, Portland City Council finalized in June the fate of the Residential Infill Project (RIP) with a decision that was essentially preordained: in compliance with a 2019 law passed by the Oregon legislature, single-family zoning in larger cities statewide has been eliminated in favor of high-density development, what some call “plexes.”
BWNA’s activism vis-à-vis RIP can be traced to summer 2014, when the BWNA board passed a resolution aimed at curbing residential demolitions of viable homes to build million-dollar “McMansions,” houses towering above the rest.
Complementing BWNA in its preservationist efforts was upstart United Neighborhoods for Reform (UNR), a grassroots organization spearheaded by a cadre of BWNA board members, whose “Stop the Demo” agenda was eventually endorsed by over half of Portland’s 95 neighborhood associations.
Strength in numbers gained UNR leverage at city hall, especially with Mayor Charlie Hales. He was supportive of UNR’s call for viable home preservation, beefed-up demolition regulations, size limits for newly built homes, and the creation of a citywide Residential Infill Project taskforce charged with assessing infill options and generating recommendations.
Mayor Hales persuaded his fellow council members to approve funding for a RIP taskforce, then assembled a diverse committee which included Barb Strunk, BWNA board member and UNR steering committee chair. It was, however, the pro-development/high-density housing contingent that prevailed, rejecting most of the reforms championed by the mayor and UNR.
While residential demolition site safeguard procedures have been significantly enhanced through preservationist activism and the building of detached structures (ADUs) by homeowners is allowed under the amended RIP policy, demolitions have continued, relatively unabated, and are likely to increase. And as those single-family houses bite the dust, the dwindling stock of homes affordable to entry-level buyers, often young couples starting families, dwindles further.
A San Francisco native, Al Ellis and his wife have been B-W residents since 1990. He’s a current and longtime BWNA board member, past president, and served as editor of this newsletter for 12 years. He taught Russian and social studies in Portland schools for over 30 years and served as president of the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association.