City Council, June 13th - Street Painting and The Woods

At Council on Monday they look to ratify the code for street painting and intersection murals on neighborhood streets. With it is also some administrative rule-making.

Not permitted?

Designs shall not contain words in any language, letters from any alphabet, numbers, universally recognized signs, symbols, emblems, or logos of any kind....Designs shall not create an [three-dimensional] illusion that may be misinterpreted as a safety hazard by a motorist or bicyclist.

Earlier this year Strong Towns had a note that referenced drivers swerving dangerously for 3-D optical illusion crosswalks. So that's a real thing apparently.

And a kind of 60% supermajority is potentially required:

The proposed street painting shall be denied if objections are received from more than 40 percent of the abutting and adjacent property lots.

Four finalists for design in Grant

It will be exciting to see the first painting, likely the one proposed for Cottage and Belmont, and tentatively scheduled for painting over the Fourth of July weekend, and then to iterate on the rules as seems useful. (Previously here and here.)

Abandoned concept for The Woods

The long rumored transfer of "The Woods" at Fairview is also on the agenda to be formalized. The parcel had been proposed for large lot development back in 2019 by Eric Olsen, but the application's language was weird. After the City approved it, a citizen appealed to LUBA, and LUBA agreed there were problems, so much so they reversed the decision rather than merely remanding it.

So now the solution seems to be donating the land to the City rather than trying to develop it or to keep it as privately owned park land. Interestingly, it is not Eric Olsen donating it, but a successor to the original Sustainable Fairview, SFA2. Maybe Eric Olsen never closed on it, or perhaps he sold it back. That's probably not an important detail, but it is interesting to note.

The transfer could impact timeline or funding for construction of the future segment of sidewalk along Battlecreek/Pringle Road, but the Staff Report identifies impact only to "a performance security," and not to construction itself.

This makes two large chunks of the former Fairview property now publicly owned as park or quasi-parkland.

Council will finally hold the formal Public Hearing on Our Salem. Most of the public comment now is at the level of an individual lot, supporting or opposing a new zoning designation. There has not been much new comment on the overall structure or vision. It does not seem likely there will be much change now, and Council will adopt it.

From here the biggest flaw has seemed its lack of real interest in analyzing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It makes progress, it is nowhere near enough to make hitting the 50% reduction in 2035 and 100% in 2050 at all likely. (See the most recent summary and critique here.)

Seattle Times, September 2021

Bullets for some other items of passing interest:

• The first big action of the new City Librarian, Ending fines for late items at the Library
• Ending the Covid Declaration of Emergency
• Funds from State liquor revenue and the national Opioid settlement.
• Transfer of some funds for elevator repair in the Chemeketa Parkade, and another year's renewal of the Downtown Parking Tax and Parking District budget. Right-priced parking downtown will have to wait another year (see note here).
• The City looks to acquire easements for the Lancaster Drive NE/Watson Avenue NE Pedestrian Crossing Project.
• Delay on closing the sale for the market at the corner of 12th and Fairview. (The City had purchased the property for the 12th Street widening, and after that was complete sold it as surplus.)
• A remand and reconsideration of the micro-shelter site across from the Safeway on 13th and Center. Staff Recommendation is to affirm the previous decision with some new findings.
• And a formal Public Hearing on the City budget, which seems buried among the other items. Maybe there will be more to say later. Staff Recommendation is for approval and direction to return to Council on June 27th with the resolution for adoption. There will be a slate of amendments at that time, also.
  

Addendum, Saturday

Not on Council agenda, but relevant to it, the City announced yesterday the shortlist of finalists for City Manager. They are making them available for questions Wednesday the 15th.

via City of Salem

They sure look cut from the same template, though. Hopefully as we learn more about them, they will seem less interchangeable.