Neighbors concerned about demolitions, 'lot splitting'

People with concerns about lot splitting and demolition in Portland attended the first open forum on the subjects on Wednesday evening. It was organized by a number of neighborhood coalition officers and included a panel representing city agencies, developers and nonprofit organizations.

Signs of the demolition and infill process gone amok can be found in almost every yard on Northeast 35th Place.

Neighbors told KOIN 6 News that a home was recently demolished in the area and will soon be replaced with two 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot homes.

According to city documents, 2013 was a record year for demolitions in the Rose City. And everything indicates 2014 well see even more demolitions than last year, said Shawn Wood with the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Of the 273 homes demolished last year, about 25 percent to 30 percent involved lot splitting. The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland says theres no end in sight.

Projected growth of Portland metro area for the next 20 years is a little over 700,000, said Justin Wood with HBA.

Wood explained builders are just meeting the growth demand for homes within the Portland city limits. With the tight urban growth boundary, he claims the only option is higher density in the city.

Theres not a lot of vacant land in the city of Portland so that has to happen on infill and redevelopment, said Wood.

Currently, developers are only required to give the community notice when more than one new house is proposed, but neighbors said they now want across the board mandatory notices before all homes are demolished.

Neighbors suggestions at the forum included keeping existing setbacks in place, so if a home is 15-feet from a sidewalk, the replacement must also be 15-feet back.

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Neighbors concerned about demolitions, 'lot splitting'