Dear fellow Community Members,

We want to start by thanking each and every one of you who attended the neighborhood coalition meeting on Thursday. We were all blown away by the turnout, and we can't express enough how grateful we are for your involvement.

We are excited to let you know that a website is currently being created and will be up and running soon (thank you, Angela Baker). If you want to stay up-to-date on the work going on behind the scenes to make our voices in East Portland heard, please email oldKmartopportunity@gmail.com to be added to the list.

We are happy to report that the Parkrose School District Board has officially requested a 120-day moratorium on warehouses in the area. Other neighborhood associations are also planning to do the same. This is a great step toward our goal, but we must keep up the momentum.

To make our concerns known to the Portland City Council, we encourage you to contact the following officials and share your thoughts with them:

• Ted Wheeler, the 53rd Mayor of Portland: 503-823-4120
  Remind him that he is responsible for setting the agenda for the city council and working with other city officials to develop policies and initiatives that benefit all Portlanders. Emphasize how the proposed development will negatively impact our community, including adverse health effects, excessive truck traffic, disturbing noise levels, and potential property value decline. Point out that this development is inconsistent with Portland's commitment to equity and sustainability. Request that he work directly with Rene Gonzalez. Carmen Rubio, Mingus Mapps, and Dan Ryan to consider an Overlay Zone for our community. 
• Rene Gonzales, the Portland City Commissioner of Public Safety: 503-823-4151
  Let him know that while distribution centers provide vital services, poorly planned projects can cause harm to neighborhoods and the environment through adverse health effects due to diesel exhaust, excessive truck traffic on neighborhood streets, disturbing levels of noise, and property value decline. - This link from CEDS may help you draft your argument: https://ceds.org/warehouses/
• Carmen Rubio, who oversees the Community and Economic Development service area (which includes Portland Housing Bureau, Bureau of Development Services, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and Prosper Portland): 503-823-3008
  Let her know that this distribution center will directly affect more than 15,000 residents of Portland living within a 1-mile radius of the old K-Mart site. The proposed development doesn't line up with Portland's commitment to sustainability. It even goes against Prosper Portland's recent efforts to create a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District along 122nd Ave. in Parkrose. Encourage her to schedule a listening session with residents.
• Mingus Mapps, the Commissioner in charge of the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Water Bureau, and the Bureau of Environmental Services: 503-823-4682
  Let him know that adding 100s of diesel trucks commuting daily through Historic Parkrose on Sandy Blvd., right by Parkrose High on 121st, along already congested 122nd, and down residential streets of 143rd and also Fremont, is both poor transportation planning and adverse for the environment for air quality reasons and the risk of diesel particulate matter infiltrating groundwater as this location is in the Columbia South Shore Well Field Wellhead Protection Area, Oregon's second largest water source. Please ask him to uphold his promise to Parkrose School District to look into traffic patterns in the area. 
• Dan Ryan, who oversees the Office of Community and Civic Life, Office of Equity and Human Rights, Portland Parks & Recreation, and the Portland Children's Levy: 503-823-3589
  Let him know this development will directly harm civic life for students of Parkrose School District and those who reside in our neighborhoods. Explain that this area is already underserved, and this development is inconsistent with Portland's commitment to equity within the city. Remind him that when created in 2002, the Portland Children's Levy's goals were to: prepare children for school, support their success in and out of the classroom, and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in their well-being and school success. 

What is the purpose of all of this? Portland City Council members have the discretion to authorize an Impact Overlay Zone. Overlay zones consist of regulations that address specific subjects in particular areas of the City. Learn more about those here: https://www.portland.gov/bds/zoning-land-use/zoning-code-overview/overlay-zones

Although it's okay to be angry and frustrated, it's important to maintain a respectful tone. Remember that most people who contact the city council come from a disgruntled place. We encourage you to engage our politicians in a more calm and collected way, aiming to work with them to make better decisions for our community, which might even make them look good in future election cycles or when looking to advance their political careers. As the saying goes, you get more bees with honey. 

We believe that by working together, we can make a difference in our community. Please continue sharing this petition with others and consider taking action with the abovementioned steps.

Thank you for caring about our community!

- Breylan and (unofficially named) The Protect Parkrose Campaign