BTA Celebrates Victory in Springwater Trail Battle
Posted by: EvanJul 16 2007, 10:11 am
Bicycle Transportation Alliance Celebrates Victory in Effort to Connect Springwater Trail, Eastbank Esplanade
(Portland, OR) The Bicycle Transportation Alliance celebrated a legal victory in its fight to connect the Springwater Trail and Eastbank Esplanade.
The BTA brought legal and transportation experts together with neighborhood activists and cyclists to oppose the proposed development of a piece of property near OMSI without the installation of a trail required by Portland code. The City of Portland also argued against the proposal. Friday a local Hearings Officer ruled against the development proposal by SK Northwest because it failed to include the required greenway trail and included plans to build within the greenway setback.
“We’re thrilled that the Hearings Officer found the trail to meet a critical community need, and to be a reasonable requirement of developers,†said Evan Manvel, the BTA’s Executive Director, “The missing trail segment has been a major safety concern for a long time. It’s an ugly stain on the bike map of Portland, right between the vastly popular Eastbank Esplanade and our celebrated Springwater Trail.â€
The missing trail connection crosses four properties, one of which recently won a permit to develop a boathouse while including a wide trail for bicyclists and walkers. In contrast, the SK Northwest proposal fought the trail requirement. Portland Spirit, the property’s current owner, reportedly made opposing the trail a requirement of deeding the property to SK Northwest, and is involved in the legal fight.
“Opposing biking and walking facilities like trails on the Willamette River goes against the Portland spirit that I know and love,†said Manvel. “It’s disappointing developers are willing to force kids who bike through the area to interact with large trucks and torn-up streets instead of building a cheap trail that would cover only 6% of the property.â€
The four blocks without the trail force trail users to go into the heavily-used industrial area. That area is known for trucks parked across the bike lanes, gravel, and trucks with poor sightlines conflicting with bicyclists and walkers. One cyclist, Mark Jenkins, narrowly escaped being crushed in May of 2005 by jumping off his bike as a truck rolled over it.
The decision is likely to be appealed. SK Northwest is a dealer of personal watercraft (JetSkis), ATVs, and Segways. It is a significantly different decision than an earlier decision on a similar application.
Past BTA Blog coverage of SK Northwest.
The BTA is a statewide nonprofit organization working to create safe, healthy communities by opening minds and roads to cycling. It has more than 4500 members and 17 years of experience in promoting cycling.
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I refer you to "City of Tigard v A-Boy" plumbing for a relevant court decision on forcing property owners to build something in exchange for permission to build.
If anyone's interested in that decision (commonly called "Dolan"), look it up.
The Hearings Officer decision in this case refers to Dolan (and Nollan, another famous case), and uses the tests involved to find that this regulation is a reasonable decision — that is, that the bike/walking path is indeed a public need and the requirement is roughly proportional to the impact of the development. Slog through the decision and you'll find it.
So, because the City of Portland believes the so-called "missing segment" is a "blight" on the city, the landowner gets to foot the bll. It's not like there has been any public outcry against goverment forcing its own will on property owners…oh, wait, what was that Measure 37 thing about? hmmm…
Indeed, the City of Portland, 500K + residents as represented by their duly elected officials, has some rights on this matter. Without government, there are no property rights at all.
The great irony is that Portland Spirit (some "spirit") docks along the Willamette Greenway in downtown Portland, but refuses to allow this essential link in the eastside Greenway Trail to be built across their property. Who issues docking permits anyway?
We have to remember that groups named "Portland Spirit" and "Portland Trailblazers" etc. are not there to represent the community, they are there to represent their own monetary interests. To look onto them as proud artifacts of a vibrant city culture is, at best, foolhardy patriotism. If someone is a threat to them and their money (i.e., "pesky" bicyclists getting in the way of their good, wholesome jetskis and other buzzy vehicles), they will go out of their legal way to snuff them out and then have the media put a smile on it, as no one wants to lose their advertising revenue for reporting the truth.
Great! Good that you are watching out for protecting these important links in the bike system. I've been on the Eastside Esplanade and the The Springwater Corridor; both great biking routes.
There does need to be some work done on signing the connection between the two.
Measure 37 wouldn't apply in this case anyway, because the requirements were in place and well known BEFORE SK's purchase of the property.