1) Annual Neighborhood Cleanup (Saturday)
2) Apply for housing preference
3) Portland Harbor Community Outreach Grants Available
4) TriMet Bike Plan
5) ADU tax heartburn reduced
6) Local youth programming (May 14)
7) Better Naito is back
8) OKNA Board Meeting (May 3)
1) Annual Neighborhood Cleanup (Saturday)
We’re still celebrating Earth Day in Overlook. Join us on Saturday for the annual neighborhood cleanup. We will meet at the PIttman HydroPark (Concord Avenue just north of Going Street) for registration and breakfast munchies tomorrow (Saturday) at 10 a.m. Then we’ll split up into teams to spiff up Going Street down to Swan Island and parts of Interstate Avenue.
The first 50 volunteers will receive a beautiful organic tomato start grown by Mulysa Melco of Resilience Design and the opportunity to get rid of any personal bulky waste too big to fit into your trash can. Please don’t bring any hazardous, construction, remodeling or demolition materials; kitchen garbage or residential yard debris; or recyclables that can be collected at curbside.
Special thanks to our partners, the Swan Island Business Association and Metro.
Neighborhood Cleanup
Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m.
Pittman HydroPark
2) Apply for housing preference
As part of the City’s initiative in North and Northeast Portland to address the community impact of involuntary displacement, the Portland Housing Bureau has unveiled a preference policy that will prioritize impacted households for the rental housing and homeownership programs it funds in the area. In May, longtime residents who have experienced or are now facing displacement will be able to apply to receive preference for new homeownership opportunities.
The Portland Housing Bureau will accept applications for preference May 2-13. The application is available online at the Housing Bureau’s website, as well as from eleven sites throughout the Portland Metro area (a full list of application sites is available here).
Anyone who wants more should contact the Housing Bureau by calling the application helpline at 503-823-4147 or via email at PHBwaitlist@portlandoregon.gov. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions are available at www.portlandoregon.gov/PHB
3) Portland Harbor Community Outreach Grants Available
The City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services seeks to provide funding to local community based organizations that engage with underrepresented communities. These community outreach grants are intended to help raise awareness on the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup and to help increase participation in the upcoming Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comment period. The 60-day comment period will start once the EPA’s Proposed Plan has been released, which we anticipate in early May 2016. More information on the grant application process can be found here. If you have any questions please contact grant manager Tonya Stephens at 503-823-4883.
Next week, TriMet will host open houses to discuss the TriMet Bike Plan, a roadmap that will help guide future investments in biking infrastructure and amenities.
Portland
Monday, May 2
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Oregon Rail Heritage Center
2250 SE Water Ave.
Join the Facebook event
NE Portland
Thursday, May 5
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Velo Cult
1969 NE 42nd Ave.
Join the Facebook event
If you can’t make it to an open house, starting May 2, you’ll be able to view the Bike Plan online and submit feedback.
Oregon Department of Revenue issued a draft rule that steers Multnomah County away from the  ‘rezoning’ interpretation. This draft rule explicitly forbids county assessors from classifying a property as ‘rezoned’ when an ADU or any other accessory structure is added. This DOR rule supersedes the interpretation that had caused detached ADUs to trigger a property reassessment — the interpretation that has caused a dramatic ADU development chilling effect in Portland in the last 6 months.
6) Local youth programming (May 14)
The Bethel Youth Drop-In Center has provided support for the youth in the North Portland area for more than 25 years. It has been a consistent resource for not only child care, but also caring for children’s needs. This program has provided children of the neighborhood with a safe space where they are encouraged to learn, practice age appropriate behaviors, and live a healthy and safe lifestyle.  Elementary school students have had the support in both an afternoon program during the school year and in an 8-hour-a-day summer camp program. Three years ago, the summer program was expanded to include middle school age children in a Youth Leadership Camp.
Student fees cover some of the costs, but support from the community and other organizations provides the majority. Bethel has yet to turn away any child for lack of funds.
The upcoming Cabaret and Cabernet event is a chance to celebrate the joy and beauty of the neighborhood and its children while raising funds for the youth programs. Virtuosa Jazz Singer Lady Kat headlines the entertainment. Call Bethel Lutheran for tickets – 503-285-4919.
Cabaret and Cabernet
Saturday, May 14, 6:30 p.m.
Bethel Lutheran Church (5658 N Denver Ave.)
Better Naito returns to Portland for a second summer. The pilot project, a partnership between Better Block PDX and the Portland Bureau of Transportation, creates a safe way for people to get to and around Portland’s summer of festivals at Waterfront Park. The project was first piloted in June 2015 during the two weeks of Rose Festival City Fair and returned for the Oregon Brewers Festival the same year.
From May 2 to July 31, during all hours of the day, one northbound traffic lane from SW Main Street to NW Davis Street will be converted to a multi-use path for two-way walking and bicycling.
From July 1 to July 4 ONLY, the lane conversion will extend from SW Clay Street to NW Davis Street to accommodate people traveling to or around the Waterfront Blues Festival at the southern end of Waterfront Park.
Data collected during the 2015 Better Naito found that during non-peak hours, motor vehicle travel times were not significantly affected. The travel time from the half mile stretch of SW Clay to SW Stark increased the most during peak travel hours 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m., with typical increases in motor vehicle travel times during peak hours between 45 seconds and one minute. The full report can be found on the Better Naito website.
8) OKNA Board Meeting (May 3)
The Overlook Neighborhood Association Board will hold its May meeting on Tuesday. View the agenda.
OKNA Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Overlook House (3839 N Melrose Drive)