The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling by state regulators that orders Portland officials to better justify allowing 20-story buildings in the Chinatown-Japantown historic district.

In an opinion issued last week, Presiding Judge Darleen Ortega said she agreed with the state Land Use Board of Appeals’ August 2019 ruling that the city hadn’t properly explained how the change in building height limits for about half of the 10-block area near downtown Portland was in line with an overarching city policy that calls for development that fits in with existing historic buildings.

The city said the 200-foot height limits, which would be a reduction from existing 425-foot limits, were “compatible with the existing scale and character” of the area. But it didn’t specifically address what the scale and character were or how the new height limit was compatible, Ortega wrote.

Most buildings in the area are two to three stories high. None approaches 20 stories.

The change affected four and a half blocks in the historic district near the Lan Su Chinese Garden, including half of a surface parking lot between Fourth and Fifth avenues called Block 33. The city decided to raise the 100-foot limit on that block to 200 feet on the western half and 125 on the eastern half.

In general, each story represents about 10 feet of building height.

Ortega agreed with the rest of the land use board’s prior ruling, which included determining that the city met its community involvement requirements to change the building height limit.

The Chinatown-Japantown historic district building height limits are part of Portland’s Central City 2035 plan, which addresses zoning and transportation policies to guide development along the Willamette River through 2035. Central City refers to 10 subdistricts that stretch from the West Hills to Southeast 12th Avenue, and from the Lloyd and Pearl districts to Powell Boulevard and the South Waterfront.

The City Council approved the plan in June 2018.

Eden Dabbs, spokesperson for Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, declined comment on the Appeals Court ruling, saying the city has until Feb. 6 to petition the court to reconsider or until Feb. 27 to appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court.

She said the bureau “will have more to offer about the status of the Central City 2035 Plan in a few weeks.”

Peggy Moretti, executive director of nonprofit Restore Oregon, one of the organizations that initially challenged the city’s decisions to the state land use board, said she was pleased that the Appeals Court agreed with part of their objection. Her group is part of a coalition that includes historic preservation proponents and Japanese and Chinese cultural groups. They think 200 feet is too high for the historic area.

“We’re grateful for the progress that was made and we hope there will be a good process from the city on revisiting those height limits,” she said.

“But we also think it’s important to respect the public process that so much time, money and effort was invested in,” Moretti said. “The city spent a couple of years developing design guidelines for that district, which clearly don’t support the additional heights that were jammed through at the last minute.”

In June 2017, the city’s Planning and Sustainability Commission recommended a 125-foot building height limit for the entire 10-block area of the Chinatown-Japantown historic district. Public hearings were held between September 2017 and April 2018 on the draft plan. Moretti said her group believes the city should adopt the heights originally recommended by the commission.

The city council amended the proposed plan in April 2018 to allow a maximum building height of 160 feet for the west half of Block 33, which has been owned since 2016 by development firm Guardian Real Estate Services. The company, which planned to build apartments and retail space at the site, pushed for raising the allowable height there to 200 feet, saying further development wouldn’t be feasible there with the lower height limits.

The height limit at the time for that site was 100 feet.

The plan was amended by the city council again that May to allow buildings up to 200 feet high on Block 33 and another four blocks between Northwest Glisan and Everett streets, and Third and Fifth avenues. The height limit for those four blocks had previously been up to 425 feet.

The council was divided in approving the new height limits. Mayor Ted Wheeler, Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and then-Commissioner Dan Saltzman supported the action, saying it would help foster development in the area. Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish disagreed, saying the move would be a step toward destroying the historic district.

Other opponents cited the lack of public involvement and argued the height change could threaten the area’s historical designation. It has been on National Register of Historic Places since 1989.

The city approved the Central City 2035 plan that June, which included the 200-foot height limits.

Restore Oregon, the Oregon Nikkei Endowment, the Portland Chinatown History Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Center appealed the new height limits to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. They argued that the new limits didn’t comply with a city policy that calls for development that “fills in vacant and underutilized gaps within the established urban fabric, while preserving and complementing historic resources.” They said the city’s claim that the change was in compliance wasn’t factually supported.

The land use board ruled in August 2019 that Portland’s explanation supporting the 200-foot height limit was “inadequate,” and it ordered the city to put forth an acceptable rationale that explains how the new height limits comply with city policy. The land use board said the city wasn’t required, however, to accept public testimony for every motion or amendment made on a legislative proposal.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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