 Meet the Team
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Jeanne Lawson, JLA Public Involvement, facilitates a PAC meeting
JLA Public Involvement was contracted to assist the City in a robust public involvement process that included 10 meetings of a Public Advisory Committee (PAC), three public open houses, one design workshop, and an online survey.
The JLA Public Involvement team facilitated numerous PAC meetings in which citizens voiced a range of opinions but shared a set of core values. These values provided a strong foundation for decision making, said Jeanne Lawson, JLA company founder. Everyone serving on the PAC, said Jeanne, agreed that protecting habitat, providing access for recreation, and balancing the needs and wants of different types of park users were important principles. She also complimented the skills and responsiveness of the project's technical team, which provided drawings and plans that responded to the PAC's preferences for park improvements and facilities.
Teresa Elliott, reservoir project manager and principal engineer, said JLA was the right team for the job. "They did an outstanding job of bringing a very diverse group of people - some with conflicting interests - to agreement on what the park center area would look like and to generally agree on a trail plan," said
JLA has been in business since 1988. In fact, Jeanne facilitated the first public involvement process for the Powell Butte Master Planning in the 1990s.
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Managing stormwater on Powell Butte
The return of the rainy season reminds us that Johnson Creek, which runs through southeast Portland, has a history of flooding. That is one of the reasons that stormwater management is a top priority and a critical component of the Powell Butte 2 Reservoir project. The stormwater management methods employed on the butte are designed and built to accommodate rainfall amounts that could result from a 100-year rain event - the amount of precipitation that could be equaled or exceeded every 100 years, on average. Photo above: One of two temporary stormwater holding ponds collect and detain rainfall before the water is slowly discharged to Johnson Creek.
Photo below: Erosion control on Powell Butte.
 Even before Phase 1 (excavation of the reservoir site) of the project began, temporary stormwater-management and erosion-control methods were installed on the site. Two stormwater holding ponds were constructed to collect and detain runoff, and once the rain stops, slowly discharge water at a controlled rate through pipes and drainage ditches to Johnson Creek. Once Phase 2 gets underway (construction of the reservoir and park buildings), the temporary stormwater management methods will be expanded to cover the new work areas. Also, toward the end of Phase 2, the onsite management of stormwater will transfer from temporary facilities to permanent onsite facilities.
All runoff from new impervious surfaces - like paved parking lots - also will be collected and then will pass through bioswales (large basins of natural plants and grasses), discharged to a new natural detention pond, and then into new infiltration facilities located on the Butte's north side.
John Houle, supervising engineer, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services design section, says, "I feel that the successful past performance of the installed stormwater-management and erosion-control facilities is testimony to the Portland Water Bureau's ongoing commitment to effectively manage site runoff from the Butte to minimize its affect on Johnson Creek and any tributary areas." |
Land-Use Hearing on Master Plan
Development at Powell Butte is governed by a 2003 Master Plan that approved development on the site, including construction of a new underground water reservoir, water system components and park improvements.
 On November 15, 2010, the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) held a Land Use hearing on the Portland Water Bureau's application for approval of a Conditional Use Master Plan Amendment and Environmental Review for Phase 2 of the Powell Butte Reservoir 2 project.
If approved, this amendment would update the 2003 Powell Butte Conditional Use Master Plan and approve further construction of the water system, the park facilities and trail improvements in the area addressed by the Master Plan.
At the November 15 hearing, BDS staff recommended approval of the application, with some conditions. Portland Water Bureau staff and a specialized consultant on the project provided an overview of the Master Plan and its benefit to Portland citizens and the city's long-term water supply needs.
Three citizens - representing the Audubon Society, East Portland Land Use and Transportation Committee, and the Friends of Powell Butte Nature Park - provided testimony related to trail use, stormwater management, neighborhood impacts, and a request for a few more picnic tables.
The public record remained open until November 23. On December 20, the City Land Use Hearings Officer issued a favorable decision to the Portland Water Bureau. The public had 14 days to protest the decision. If a protest was filed, then the case will be presented to the City Council in January, at which time Council will make a final decision. If there are no protests, the decision will become final on January 4, 2011.
You can download the Land-Use Staff Report and Recommendations to the Hearings Officer on the PWB website at http://www.portlandonline.com/water/index.cfm?c=53622. |
Partner Focus
Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association
The Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association is one of a number of Portland neighborhood associations that were active on the Project Advisory Committee (PAC). Citizen input has helped shaped the location and style of the new buildings on the Powell Butte, trail alignments, and other aspects of park improvements.Pleasant Valley encompasses several buttes - all part of the ancient Boring Lava Domes formation. In the mid-1800's, several pioneer families crossed the plains and settled in this area, acquiring land, establishing homesteads, farms and sawmills along present-day Johnson Creek, its tributaries and Foster Road. The Springwater Corridor occupies the original Portland Traction inter-urban rail bed, which once carried passengers and freight from the Willamette River to east Multnomah County.The Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association meets on the third Wednesday of odd numbered months at 7 p.m. at the Pleasant Valley Grange Hall, 17115 SE Foster Road. Learn more on the association's website. |
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