PHAN Board Minutes

Meeting Date:

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

PHAN Board Minutes

6/15/10

Call to Order: 7:03pm by President Carol Williams

Present: Carol / AJ / Andi / Eric / Jim / John / Becky Absent: Stephanie

Guests:

Representatives of Owner of Property Located at 2646 / 2650 NE 102^nd

An Phan / Duc Phan

Neighbors Living Adjacent to Property Located at 2646 / 2650 NE 102^nd

Helen Wallace / Peter Natwick

Lawrence Thomson / Marlyn Thomson

Tom Estes

Interpreter

Cong Nguyen

East Portland Neighborhood Office Representatives

Richard Bixby / Eliza Lindsay

The minutes for May were approved as read.

Treasurer’s Report – John

Balance on hand is $2750.10

Prior Business

Communication Fund: Reimbursement for Purchases

The official deadline for receipts to be turned in has passed. Anyone still holding receipts should take them to Richard at EPNO as soon as possible to see if he can still turn them in for reimbursement.

New Business

Property Located at 2646 / 2650 NE 102nd

Several neighbors living near this address (see Guests noted above) have voiced concerns to the Board that the property, which is listed in public records as a 7,767 square foot single-family residential dwelling owned by Van C Phan and Duc Hoang Phan, is not being lived in but rather is being used without a conditional use permit as a church. The owners and neighbors were invited to tonight’s board meeting to discuss these concerns.

To open the discussion, Carol read a notarized letter from Jeff Levine, a neighbor who lives adjacent to the property but could not attend tonight’s meeting.

Speaking on behalf of the owners was An Phan. He stated that he and his family consider themselves to be civil, considerate, respectful and tolerant neighbors who wish to live in peace within their community. He noted that his family is quite large and that they do gather at the home, usually on Sundays, to celebrate life and enjoy time together as a family in accordance with their ethnic culture. Sometimes that includes a meal and a time of singing and reading scripture together, but Mr. Phan said they do not believe their gatherings constitute the usual definition of a church. He noted that, unlike a church, the gatherings are by invitation only and no effort is made to increase the number of people who attend. He stated that he and his family are willing to work with their neighbors to address specific concerns such as noise, appearance and maintenance of the property, etc.

PHAN Board Minutes

6/15/10

(Continued)

An adjacent neighbor suggested that, based on things like the usage of lights, vehicle traffic, and visibility of persons on the property, it does not appear that anyone actually resides at the property. Mr. Phan stated that just because no one resides at the property 24/7 does not mean it

isn’t a family home. He noted that a wealthy person may own several homes and spend only a portion of his or her time at each one, but still considers each dwelling one of his or her homes.

Regarding the issue of why two addresses, 2646 and 2650, are associated with the property, Mr. Phan noted that as General Contractor for the improvements to the property, the intent of his initial project was to merely remodel the existing property. However, sometime during the project the City changed the permit coding to “New Construction,” which resulted in the property being given a new address.

In response to his neighbors’ concerns/complaints, Mr. Phan agreed to the following:

He provided a cell phone number that can be used to call him when anyone wishes to discuss concerns about the property.

In order to avoid the appearance that the property is being used for illicit activities such as the selling of drugs, Mr. Phan’s family has submitted to city officials a list of relatives and their vehicles that are permitted on the property. They will continue to update this list as needed.

To address traffic concerns, Mr. Phan will make sure his family is informed that no vehicles associated with his property are to be parked directly on 102^nd near Knott Street. If it becomes necessary, he will petition to have “No Parking” signage placed on that part of the street. (Tom Estes suggested that the addition of a bike lane along 102^nd might eliminate the noted parking issues as well as provide much needed safety improvements for bicyclists.)

Mr. Phan assured the board and his neighbors that the property is not now, and won’t be in the future, used as a place to house refugees.

A motion-activated security light located behind the house that frequently goes off and on will be deactivated so that it doesn’t disturb adjacent neighbors.

A neighbor voiced concern about excess water runoff coming from Mr. Phan’s property due to the steep slant of the tile roof and the amount of paving that was done to create parking spaces. Mr. Phan assured the neighbors that he will review his options for addressing this issue and take corrective action as quickly as possible.

A green tarp “fence” located to the rear of the property will be replaced with a silt fence.

Several members of the Board felt that many concerns could have been avoided had BDS made the Board aware of the extent of the changes being made to the Phan’s property. Eric will compose a follow-up letter to BDS asking them to address this.

Follow-up with BDS will also be done to verify whether the tile roof used on the house is stable or whether the weight of it is a potential safety concern.

Follow-up with Parks and Recreation will be done to verify that the trees on the property are receiving adequate hydration in the areas where soil was covered over with concrete.

The topic of this property will be revisited at the next Board meeting to see what improvements have been made, whether any new issues have come up, etc.

PHAN Board Minutes

6/15/10

(Continued)

Attack/Rape on Sacramento St

According to news reports, at approximately 12:30am on June 4, 2010, a woman was brutally attacked with a knife and raped near 116^th and Sacramento. A police sketch of the attacker has been released but no one has yet been arrested.

There were no Board reports.

Adjourned: 8:58pm

Respectfully submitted by: Becky Hartsfield, PHAN Recording Secretary

Next General Meeting – Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7PM / NE 111^th and Knott

Guest Speakers:

Ride Connection

Lore Wintergreen, East Portland Action Plan

PHAN Board Minutes

Treasurer’s Report – John

Balance on hand is $2750.10

Prior Business

Communication Fund: Reimbursement for Purchases

New Business

Next General Meeting – Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7PM / NE 111th and Knott

Next Board Meeting - Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 7PM / NE 111th and Knott

Next General Meeting – Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7PM / NE 111^th and Knott