New infill rule riles up neighbors

Groups say city demolition notification should be mandatory, not voluntary

Portlanders are organizing to fight a city proposal to encourage developers to voluntarily notify neighbors when a house is going to be demolished for an infill project.

Members of neighborhood association boards and neighborhood coalition offices say such notifications should always be mandatory for health and safety reasons. As an

example, they point to the recent demolition of an older Eastmoreland-area house that contained asbestos next to an elementary school that was started without state-required precautions.

DEQ rules require that all asbestos-containing materials be removed from structures before demolition and renovation work, says Kimberly Koehler, a member of the Land Use Committee of the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association.

Neighbors had not been notified of the demolition, but contacted the state Department of Environmental Quality after it started. The remodeling company, Classic Image Homes, says it did not know there was asbestos in the house across the street from Duniway Elementary School until being contacted by DEQ.

A subsequent inspection confirmed the presence of asbestos, which was then removed by workers in hazardous material suits, as required by DEQ rules. A DEQ investigation into the incident is underway.

The proposal to encourage voluntarily notification is being considered by the Development Review Advisory Committee, a 17-member appointed board that advises the citys Bureau of Development Services. A subcommittee of the group is drafting a proposal, which involves offering pre-printed door hangers to developers to be distributed to homes within 150 feet of houses scheduled to be demolished. The developers would not be required to distribute the fliers, however.

The proposal could be presented to the full advisory committee on June 19. Opponents are preparing to testify against it at the meeting. They include members of the boards of the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association and Southeast Uplift coalition office, who will offer alternative proposals. One would require inspections for hazardous materials including asbestos and lead paint before any house could be demolished. They also support mandatory neighbor notifications of all demolitions.

Infill issues take center stage

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New infill rule riles up neighbors