136thnosidewalks.jpg

City officials steered higher-density development to Southeast 136th Avenue as part of a 1996 plan. But the two-lane road didn't even have a sidewalk, although officials are building connections in the wake of a child death.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

City planners want to undo some key zoning decisions from nearly 20 years ago that ushered in massive growth to east Portland.

As part of a sweeping update to the city's land-use plan, officials have proposed decreasing density on about 935 acres in east Portland — limiting the amount of potential new units built in a part of town that largely still lacks sidewalks or safe crossings.

In a city known for its smart growth, the downzoning would be the most dramatic in Portland's modern planning era. Officials say existing zoning, particularly in the central city and designated town centers, will accommodate many of the nearly 112,000 new homes, apartments and condos projected for Portland in the next 20 years.

In east Portland, downzoning is targeted to residential neighborhoods along Southeast 122nd Avenue and 136th Avenue – two corridors where city leaders steered dense multifamily construction as part of the 1996 Outer Southeast Community Plan.

Planners say the proposed changes aren't a mea culpa but they do acknowledge problems with previous efforts.

In some cases, new units were built on unpaved roads, construction sprouted along corridors without sidewalks and a flood of new residents burst the David Douglas School District to its seams.

"It's still possible to shut off the spigot and gain some breathing room," said Eric Engstrom, the principal planner for Portland who is leading the city's comprehensive plan update.

Officials aren't proposing to eliminate denser development in east Portland altogether, just limit it from creeping deeply into some neighborhoods, as current zoning allows.

Changes along 122nd are minimal, but abutting neighborhoods would maintain single-family homes instead of apartments. Virtually all of 136th, south of Powell Boulevard, would be downzoned from apartment and townhome designations to ensure single-family construction.

The 136th corridor serves as a prime example of poor planning.

Officials designated the area for apartments that could hold up to 32 units per acre. But needed improvements never followed. A project to build sidewalks along the two-lane road moved forward only after a 5-year-old girl died trying to cross the street in 2013.

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City officials hope to ease growth in areas that haven't reached a tipping point, Engstrom said. That means preserving neighborhoods with single family homes by reverting back to lower density zoning, particularly between Southeast Holgate Boulevard and Harold Street and Powell Boulevard and Holgate Street.

Proposed changes also include prohibiting development, or limiting development to very large lots, on the hills of Pleasant Valley.

Based on the revisions, the David Douglas School District would still add an estimated 12,600 new units through 2035 – essentially the same amount that sprouted to date as a result of the city's 1996 zoning plan.

But without changes, Engstrom said, the number of new units in the east Portland school district could be closer to 22,100.

Elsewhere in Portland, officials forecast 33,000 new units in the central city, stretching from Goose Hollow to Southeast 12th Avenue, from the Fremont Bridge to the South Waterfront. Another 28,000 new units would be built in town centers such as St. Johns, Hollywood and Gateway.

Portland's comprehensive update is the first citywide review of land-use planning since developing the original plan in 1980. Proposed changes will be made public by July 21, about a month later than officials originally planned. A spokeswoman blamed the delay on "technical and unforeseen challenges."

The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission is expected to hold hearings this fall. The City Council would give final approval sometime in 2015.

-- Brad Schmidt