South West Hills Residential League

Proposed Development Off Fairmount Boulevard

Mar 14, 2000

Developer proposes 900 units and a development on fifty-three acre Terwilliger property

Brian McCarl, local developer, had a pre-application conference with the City of Portland on September 29, 1999, to explore his proposal to develop the fifty-three acre Orkney/Lakeman property. McCarl has an option to buy the property.

The pre-application proposal indicates plans to develop 600-919 units total in two areas of the property. The first is for 10-19 home lots along
Fairmount Boulevard.

The second includes a zoning change on approximately six acres near the center of the property from the current R7 and R10 zoning (minimum 7,000 and 10,000 square foot lots per unit, respectively) to RH which allows high
density apartments and condominiums. The proposal would require a planned unit development (PUD) which would consolidate development on the property.

The current proposal, if approved, would allow development of 600-900 units in the center of the property. This part of the development would be
accessed off Twelfth Avenue near Gaines Street. The extension of Twelfth would be about two blocks long including a large bridge over a ravine.
Altogether, this is by far the largest proposed development the area has ever seen.

The property lies adjacent to the East side of Fairmount Boulevard just South of Marquam Hill Road. It is bounded on the South and East by
undeveloped OHSU property. It is one of the largest privately owned, undeveloped properties in the city.

The property is mostly steep forested hillside. It is almost all environmentally zoned, either EC (the less restricted Environmental Conservation) or EP (the more restrictive Environmental Protection). The soil is unstable and prone to sliding. There are also no sewer or utilities connected to the area. Based on City statistics, this proposal, if allowed, would generate increased local traffic from 4,000 to 9,000 trips per day.

The initial reaction of the City Bureaus was that this proposal was highly problematic and would require extensive study, including engineering, to
assess its feasibility. Major Bureau concerns were raised by Environmental Services, Transportation, Buildings, Fire, Water and Planning.

If you are interested in finding out more about this issue please call Doug Weir at 274-9720.