Friday, June 3, 2011
Visit our new website and take action!
We have moved to www.walbrowns.com. See us there for the latest information as well as tools and resources to take action!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Next Walgreens Drive-Thru meeting:
Thursday June 2, from 7pm to 8:30 pm
@ TaborSpace
Come to our next neighborhood meeting on Thursday June 2, from 7pm to 8:30 pm; this is just a meeting between neighbors to discuss a common strategy for moving forward. Walgreens representatives will not assist.
What: Walgreens Drive-Thru strategy meeting
When: Thursday June 2, from 7pm to 8:30 pm
Where: TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont st. Portland, OR 97215
TaborSpace is located in the parlor of the Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church. Parking is in a lot on the west side of the church. #15 bus stops across the street, on 55th and SE Belmont.
Directions to "the parlor": Go to main church doors through the courtyard; go through the sanctuary; turn right. There are hosts and signs greeting people.
What: Walgreens Drive-Thru strategy meeting
When: Thursday June 2, from 7pm to 8:30 pm
Where: TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont st. Portland, OR 97215
TaborSpace is located in the parlor of the Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church. Parking is in a lot on the west side of the church. #15 bus stops across the street, on 55th and SE Belmont.
Directions to "the parlor": Go to main church doors through the courtyard; go through the sanctuary; turn right. There are hosts and signs greeting people.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Walgreens Drive-Thru Update
On Tuesday, May 11, a group of neighbors and community members met with Senior Real Estate Manager Brian Hunter and architect Eric Koch for the Walgreens drive-thru development. Neighbors raised concerns and made suggestions as to how to make the design more appropriate for our neighborhood and community. Of particular concern were pollution from idling cars, increased traffic in an already impacted area, pedestrian and bike safety at the Belmont Library/SE Yamhill/Walgreens intersection, pollution from lights and noise at the drive-thru, the over-sized parking lot and site improvements. Many of us were hopeful about the opportunity to collaborate with the Walgreens design/development team to create something special at this site--a project that addresses Walgreens' bottom line and customer relations while enhancing the pedestrian/bike/transit friendliness of our neighborhood. Neighbors also wanted to know why Walgreens chose this site and why they were proposing a drive-thru at all at this particular store.
Brian was able to confirm that the proposed gas station at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Belmont is off the table and will not be part of this development proposal. We also learned that Walgreens does not expect any increase in revenue from this project and that they had not looked specifically at this store's demographics for appropriateness of the project from a social or economic standpoint. Brian and Eric were not able to address any of our specific concerns directly as it was apparent that neither of them is in the position to make any decisions about their ability to stray from the current design. There were a number of instances in which Brian mentioned having to run suggestions by others in his corporation for approval.
I recently received an email from Brian stating that he has spoken to his corporation regarding our concerns and that he hopes to increase the project's budget to address some of those concerns though he did not mention specifics. He said he would get back to me by the end of the week. In the mean time we have learned that Walgreens has submitted to the City of Portland an application for an adjustment to the Planning Code. So it seems the attempt by Walgreens is to placate us while they push forward with their original design and they do not intend to work collaboratively with the community.
Since Walgreens has shown us that they intend to move forward with a design to which we are opposed, and they have told us one thing and done another, it's time to fight back. It's not just that we are opposed to the drive-thru, it's that we are opposed to the top-down corporate model that ignores the individuality of our community.
Because they need an adjustment to the Planning Code, the City of Portland will issue a public notice (expected to be published by the end of May based on standard timeline) giving concerned residents 21 days to comment directly to the city. We will post the public notice on this blog as soon as it is made available. We invite all concerned residents to reply to the notice when it comes out. This is our chance to remind the City of Portland that Sunnyside residents are deeply involved in neighborhood matters.
Additionally, it's time to start the PR, yard sign, and press campaign. More info will be posted here soon.
Additional steps on our response to this project will be further considered at the Sunnyside Land-Use meeting, June 13. Please come share your thoughts and ideas.
-- Holly Cook
Brian was able to confirm that the proposed gas station at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Belmont is off the table and will not be part of this development proposal. We also learned that Walgreens does not expect any increase in revenue from this project and that they had not looked specifically at this store's demographics for appropriateness of the project from a social or economic standpoint. Brian and Eric were not able to address any of our specific concerns directly as it was apparent that neither of them is in the position to make any decisions about their ability to stray from the current design. There were a number of instances in which Brian mentioned having to run suggestions by others in his corporation for approval.
I recently received an email from Brian stating that he has spoken to his corporation regarding our concerns and that he hopes to increase the project's budget to address some of those concerns though he did not mention specifics. He said he would get back to me by the end of the week. In the mean time we have learned that Walgreens has submitted to the City of Portland an application for an adjustment to the Planning Code. So it seems the attempt by Walgreens is to placate us while they push forward with their original design and they do not intend to work collaboratively with the community.
Since Walgreens has shown us that they intend to move forward with a design to which we are opposed, and they have told us one thing and done another, it's time to fight back. It's not just that we are opposed to the drive-thru, it's that we are opposed to the top-down corporate model that ignores the individuality of our community.
Because they need an adjustment to the Planning Code, the City of Portland will issue a public notice (expected to be published by the end of May based on standard timeline) giving concerned residents 21 days to comment directly to the city. We will post the public notice on this blog as soon as it is made available. We invite all concerned residents to reply to the notice when it comes out. This is our chance to remind the City of Portland that Sunnyside residents are deeply involved in neighborhood matters.
Additionally, it's time to start the PR, yard sign, and press campaign. More info will be posted here soon.
Additional steps on our response to this project will be further considered at the Sunnyside Land-Use meeting, June 13. Please come share your thoughts and ideas.
-- Holly Cook
Friday, April 15, 2011
Are drive-thru pharmacies and gas stations now part of our new forward-thinking urban planning vision?
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| Latest Revised Drawings showing new drive-thru design (gas station not shown here) |
We recently learned that Walgreens is considering adding a drive-thru window and gas station to its Sunnyside store (corner of Belmont and Chavez). The latest plans call for a drive-thru window in the southeast corner of the lot (corner of Yamhill St and 40th) as well as possibly a Fred Meyer gas station on the Chavez side of the lot. In order to accommodate the new drive-thru, the current building's footprint would be reduced to about 2/3 of its current size.
The latest revised drawings (shown at the top) are dated June 2010, with original drawings from February 2010 (shown to the left), so this project has long been in the works. Neighborhood residents only discovered Walgreen's and Fred Meyer's plans when surveyors began working on the Walgreen's portion two weeks ago. Long-term residents might remember previous Walgreens drive-thru applications in 1997 and 1999. Both were ultimately withdrawn or abandoned after public review and appeals.
While the earlier applications placed the drive-thru at various locations within the existing parking lot, today's plan is even more likely to cause disturbance to the abutting residential area since it calls for the drive-thru to be installed within the buffer zone (CN2b) normally there to protect the abutting residential area. In addition, it appears that this time Walgreens is seeking to avoid requirements for a land use review so as to avoid the need for public comments. The latest plan seems to be treating the drive-thru and gas station applications as 2 different projects requiring different permits, so that if the gas station were to require a land use review, the drive-thru application would not be impacted.
Of concern is not only the direct impact to abutting residential properties (increased traffic, noise from speaker operations, fumes from idling cars, danger to pedestrians using the Belmont Library), but also increased traffic to the already dangerous Belmont-Chavez intersection, as well as the future livability of Sunnyside as a whole (unless a new drive-thru pharmacy and a new gas station are now part of our new forward-thinking urban planning vision). Given Sunnyside's goal to end dependence on fossil fuels, as well as its support of local businesses with pedestrian-friendly streets, adding cars at this corner does not mesh with SNA's vision.
Although we do not object to Walgreens taking measure to increase their business, their current plan will clearly have significant negative impact on the community of which they are a part, and their purported intent to avoid any public review is definitely cause for concern.
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| Satellite view with drawing overlay. |
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