Dear Neighbors,
I want to take a moment to express my appreciation for your support in signing the petition to fight against the proposed Prologis distribution center in East Portland. Thanks to all of you, we have surpassed 3,000 signers! Can we reach 5,000? I am confident we can with your help.
I also wanted to provide an update on our fight against this development. Unfortunately, it's disheartening to see that many of our elected officials are not paying attention to our concerns. We have been in touch with Mingus Mapps' office, but his staff has given us the runaround. Jackson Pahl, Policy Assistant, suggested we attend a town hall in April but then rescinded the invite and suggested we plan to attend the one expected in June without really explaining why, except stating that Mingus Mapps' "present schedule is booked two-plus months in advance." Jackson recommended we follow their Facebook for an announcement of the June town hall. This lack of communication and action from our elected officials is unacceptable.
It's clear that none of our politicians want to touch this issue, but as a community, we cannot let this project go forward. Prologis is a multi-billion dollar corporation, and it's absurd to expect residents of East Portland to fight against them alone. We need our elected officials to step up and support us. Silence is not an option, but it's evident that our politicians don't want to touch this with a 10-foot pole, given Prologis' position in Portland. According to their website, as of October 2021, Prologis is the largest institutional industrial property owner in Portland, owning 65 properties totaling 6.25 million square feet that serve 169 customers. The website also states they have more than 1 million square feet of warehouse space under construction, and an additional 2 million square feet are in the planning stages in Portland alone.
For those who watched KGW’s 11 pm news last night, Prologis is quoted stating they have hopes the community will support their vision of spending $39 million on a Leed Certified building and mention that this significant investment includes improvements such as 6-foot sidewalks and a 6-foot bike lane, which are required by the City of Portland, not something they're throwing into the project as a freebie to residents. Prologis says their investment will create new jobs and support the local economy. I don't buy it, and I don't think you should either. From the Prologis website: "we provide the latest technology solutions to increase the productivity and safety of your workers—from wearable devices to autonomous, mobile robots." Another area says, "With autonomous mobile robots, you can optimize the entire picking process in your logistics facility and use operational reporting and management tools for real-time workflow optimization for associates and robots."
Prologis went on in their statement to KGW to say they will "work with the city to obtain the necessary approvals." Interestingly enough, the City of Portland so far has stated its the right of the property owner to develop this distribution center due to the property’s current renewed zoning of EG2 (which allows Industrial, among other uses, such as manufacturing, wholesale sales, educational institutions, and hospitals, to name a few options). One necessary approval that PBOT went out of its way to accommodate is the developer’s request for a code exception, allowing the developer to place a 60-foot-wide driveway accessing 122nd Ave. without any discussion of crosswalks or proximity to schools. This exception being granted is an example of the City of Portland’s support of Prologis’ redevelopment of the site and failure to take into account the safety of the people who actually live here.
Just last October, there was a tragic accident at the intersection of SE 26th and Powell Blvd., involving a semi-truck turning right from SE 26th onto Powell, hitting and killing prominent Chef Sarah Pliner. Have we learned nothing from this tragedy and the many more before it?
The true cost of this project is the loss of opportunity for our community. Once this is in, the opportunity is gone. We will continue to be a pass-through area with unhealthy air, forgotten by our leaders. Let's change the narrative in East Portland; we are the working Portland, where immigrants come and are welcomed, where people start their dreams - owning their first home, starting their business, raising their children. Dreams don't start in Beaumont, Alameda, Lauelhurst, or the West Hills. They start from modest beginnings in areas like Parkrose, Argay Terrace, Russell, Parkrose Heights, and Maywood Park.
We cannot afford to let our voices be ignored, and we need everyone to get involved in this fight. If you're wondering what else you can do to help, please sign the petition and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. It's time for the State of Oregon, Multnomah County, and the City of Portland to take a stand against this proposed redevelopment.
We as a community need to ask our politicians for the following:
- We want the Portland City Council to put a six-month moratorium in place while we investigate the economic, health, and traffic impacts of businesses like these. If the city of Vancouver, Washington, can do it, it can be done in Portland, too.
- We want help finding a sustainable, profitable, and appropriate business for the location that will benefit the economy in Oregon and create good jobs. We see this as an opportunity to place a better business that will benefit the economy and create good and lasting jobs without pumping diesel pollution into low-income neighborhoods or taking the profits out of state.
- Alternatively, according to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we are facing a major housing crisis in Oregon, one of the worst in the nation. We could rezone this 13-acre parcel to create housing and small business opportunity within the urban growth boundary and find an alternative industrial area for Prologis to develop.
This fight is not just about stopping one development. It's about ensuring our community's voices are heard and our needs are met. We cannot let big corporations and developers dictate the future of our neighborhoods in East Portland.
Thank you for your continued support. Let's keep fighting together.
Best,
Breylan