Calling all Baysiders! Now is the time to have our voices heard! In response to demands for public involvement before selling the Midtown Properties in Bayside, The City of Portland announced a comprehensive process for soliciting community input. Click here to access the City of Portland website for more information and to take the community survey

Community members are invited to share their ideas for how these sites should be used at upcoming public meetings and through an online survey. A summary of community feedback will be presented to the Council’s Housing & Economic Development Committee in May. Based on this input and subsequent Council guidance, marketing materials may be developed for further Committee review.

The Bayside Neighborhood Association has been working on this for decades, and was instrumental in producing the landmark New Vision for Bayside in January of 2000 as part of the city’s comprehensive plan. Still relevant today, it’s the centerpiece of the city’s supporting documents on Midtown. At the heart of the plan, as illustrated below, is a sequence of urban-density buildings lining the then-unrealized Bayside Trail, anchored by a central “public open space.” We respectfully request that the city honors that commitment to the public good by reserving a 125′ x 125′ piece of the property (about 1/10th of the total area) for a much needed public recreation area.

Today, we’re asking Baysiders and allies to affirm and amplify the board’s multiple entreaties to the council. Below are copies of the BNA’s official statements. Please feel free to refer to them when filling out the survey and/or writing to your city councillors. We also want to hear your ideas so please reach out to board@baysideportland.org and let us know what you think.

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