Marilyn reports that Tom Armstrong and Leslie Lum, of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability discussed mobile home parks. Tom recalled the Cully residents’ campaign to prevent the closure of Oak Leaf and said that in the last couple of years 20 parks have shut down. He noted that some cities have created overlay zoning to protect mobile home parks. Cameron Hering, Executive Director of Living Cully, reported that over 2,000 post cards were received from congregations and organizations supporting the overlay zoning for delivery to the Mayor.
Tom said that the City has begun the work necessary for review of the overlay zoning affecting the 62 mobile home parks in Portland. Once the overlay zone change is ready for public announcement, Living Cully can get to work creating
additional momentum for the community to support its passage. Right now, staff are researching and writing the change; in March, the zoning change will be published; in June there will be public hearings to hear testimonies of support versus non support for the zoning change. In April, May and June, we need to drum up support in the community. He said that so far, we’ve done a great job in presenting the proposal, but we now need to let the City’s technical support work get done and then mobilize more aggressively in the April through June
NEXT VERDE CULLY WALKING GROUP will be Wednesday, January 24th, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm walk to Cully Park and Habitat’s Simpson Street property. Marilyn advises, “We’ll pick up trash, focus on crime prevention and safety and clean the neighborhood. Cully Park will have a celebratory opening this summer when all the park work is completed. Then Habitat’s building work on Simpson Street will begin. In the interim, we need to keep these areas free of trash so that passersby know that this property is "occupied" and being taken care of. Contact Marilyn (m_mauch@comcast.net) If you would like to join the walk.
WEATHERIZATION The City’s weatherization funds are making a huge difference in the lives of the occupants of mobile home parks. Linda, one of the residents, reports that because of the new windows and door she just received, she’s no longer cold all the time and the improvements have made a dramatic decrease in her electric bill – down from $240 a month to $101. Home maintenance funds are also being considered in the short session in Salem.
CULLY HOME REPAIR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Brenna Bailey, community organizer based at St. Charles, and her team are trying to find volunteers with the interest, skills and time necessary to facilitate work as needed. Anyone interested, please contact Marilyn at (m_mauch@comcast.net) or Brenna at brenna@latnet.org