Design Commission Hearing on Former 7 Dees Site at SE 62nd and SE Powell

An appeal hearing for the approved Design Review of the self-service storage development proposed for the former 7 Dees site at SE 62nd and Powell (LU 17-144195 DZ) has been scheduled for:

Date:February 1, 2018
Time: 1:30 p.m. (may last a couple hours)
Location: 1900 SW 4th Ave., 2nd Floor, Rm. 2500B, Portland, OR 97201 (map: https://goo.gl/maps/GadPEFtCZrJ2)
Trimet: Line 9 bus, deboard at SW Hall & 5th

This public hearing is before the Design Commission, which will consider South Tabor Neighborhood Association’s (STNA) appeal based on a specific set of approval criteria.

If you plan to give public comment at the hearing, please read the notes below from STNA Land Use Representative John Carr.

Notes on the hearing and public comment:

  • Order of proceedings: Staff presents, then STNA, then other members of the public (2 minutes each), then the applicant, then STNA rebuttal. Design Commission then asks questions, deliberates, and either makes a decision or schedules a return date.

  • The commission may decide to:
    1. Deny the appeal and uphold Staff’s decision;
    2. Deny the appeal, uphold Staff’s decision, and add conditions; or
    3. Grant the appeal, overturning Staff’s decision and thereby denying the project.

  • The full tentative Design Commission agenda with more notes and links is available here 

  • Please refer to this helpful Guide to Presenting Testimony 

  • Keep your comment on topic. Keep in mind that this is not a forum to air broad complaints. Design Commission is comprised of volunteers, dedicated to what they do and limited in what they can consider. Using your time to comment generally about how Portland is changing (e.g., homelessness, parking, crime, infill, etc.) will only work against the process. Stay specific to this case and complement each others’ testimony. Doing so will set a better tone and, ultimately, be more effective.

  • Find a single issue specific to this proposal that you are most concerned about or that you have a claim or expertise to address (e.g., you live next door, you work in commercial real estate, etc.).

  • Keep it short, and practice. You get 2 minutes, which goes by really, really fast. Stick to one point. Write out what you want to say. Practice reading it out loud — with a timer. If you have more than one point to make, recruit a family member or neighbor to come with you.

  • Connect your concern to the DESIGN of the building and to a specific approval criterion. All the relevant approval criteria are in our appeal letter linked above. Make sure to mention the criterion in your comment (you can say “33.284.050 A.” or “approval criterion A of the Self Service Storage guidelines” or just incorporate a phrase from the text into your comment).

  • IMPORTANT: Avoid redundancy: If John Carr or someone else has spoken effectively to your chosen issue, then when it’s your turn to speak, simply introduce yourself, say “I support the point [NAME] made,” then briefly add why it’s important to you, then either speak to another point or finish. Redundancy works against us in this setting.

  • Regarding tone: Showing a *little* emotion in your comment is fine, but aim for even and calm. Even if you’re there just to watch and be supportive, we are the thoughtful, engaged residents and business owners of South Tabor (and beyond). It may be tempting to let slip an eye roll, gasp, or guffaw, especially if someone says something outlandish or a decision is made that you disagree with. I hope that I don’t do this. Let’s help each other not do this.

  • Contact John Carr if giving comment: If you are thinking about giving comment at the Feb. 1 hearing, please contact John Carr (jcarrpdx@gmail.com) to get more information on providing comment. 

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