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Council tentatively upholds hearings officer to rezone Willamette Heights Parks lot for housing
Summary
Portland city council tentatively upheld the hearings officer recommendation to amend the comprehensive plan and rezone a vacant Portland Parks & Recreation lot on NW 31st Avenue from open space to R5, clearing a path for sale and potential house or duplex development; final findings and adoption return Aug. 6.
City staff and the hearings officer recommended approval of a comprehensive plan map amendment and concurrent zoning map amendment to allow Portland Parks & Recreation to sell a vacant lot on Northwest 31st Avenue for housing development. "I am Andy Galizia. I'm a planner with Portland permitting and development," the planner who presented the staff report told council as he walked through maps, overlays and code criteria.
Galizia summarized the hearings officer's conclusion that applying the Residential 5,000 designation and rezoning the property from OS (Open Space) to R5 — with the existing environmental conservation overlay preserved and the constrained‑sites (Z) overlay applied — would be "equally or more supportive of the comprehensive plan as a whole," enabling a house or duplex on the parcel while keeping tree and natural‑resource protections in place. The Z overlay will limit development on the lot to a house or duplex and does not permit triplexes or fourplexes.
A neighborhood resident, Galyb Benimuth mhotepel of District 4, testified in opposition on process grounds and urged better outreach; he told council he opposed the ordinance "because it's not transparent, and that lot has already been sold in lieu of this process." Council members asked staff about the parcel's history, outreach and whether additional council approval would be required before a sale; Parks staff said the land was declared surplus by ordinance in 2021 (ordinance 190,259) and that disposition followed a prior council process.
After questioning and deliberation about outreach and the parcel's relationship to nearby Lower McLeay Park and Forest Park, Council President moved to tentatively uphold the hearings officer's recommendation and directed applicant and staff to return with revised findings. The motion passed on a 12‑aye roll call and the council set adoption and a final vote for Aug. 6 at 2:00 p.m.
Next steps: staff and the applicant will prepare revised findings for council consideration on Aug. 6; council's tentative decision now allows the bureau to proceed toward sale steps contingent on final adoption.
