July 5th. 2014
Portland Planning Commission
1900 SW 4th Avenue
Suite 7100
Portland OR 97201
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter comes to you on behalf the Board of the King Neighborhood Association. We are writing to express our support of Mr. Wally Tesfa’s request to rezone his property at 4069 NE MLK, from high density back to commercial.
We understand that the building on that property is not only a historical 1920 commercial building, but is also serviceable and ready to be occupied by tenants. Mr. Tesfa tells us that the current zoning restricts use of the property and is a financial burden on the current owner and future owners of the property. The current zoning virtually requires him to destroy this historic 1920 commercial building and replace it with new construction.
We realize that developers of residential construction have great interest in building quickly and profitably in our neighborhood, and we are alarmed at how often small businesses and local ownership are eradicated by new construction on the MLK corridor that runs through our neighborhood. Furthermore, commercial zoning at this property is more in line with the zoning of nearby properties, which are currently zoned for light industrial and employment.
The King Neighborhood Association supports Mr. Tesfa’s application to rezone 4069 NE MLK to “commercial.” We welcome your comments and thoughts on the matter. You may contact our Chair, Margo Dobbertin, at margo.dobbertin@kingneighborhood.org.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Margo Dobbertin, KNA Chair
Irek Wielgosz, Co-Chair
Jeff Scott, Treasurer
Leigh Rappaport, Representative-at-Large
Andrew Neerman, Representative-at-Large
Diego Gioseffi, Representative-at-Large
Eilleen Kennedy, Representative-at-Large
Nick LaRue, Representative-at-Large