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WHEREAS, the LID Administrator has reviewed the petitions attached in Exhibit A and as evaluated in Exhibit B, and has determined them to be valid; and

WHEREAS, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (“PBOT”) is the Responsible Bureau for the proposed improvement and recommends initiation of local improvement district formation proceedings for the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. LID due to receiving majority petition support from owners of properties shown on the map in Exhibit C; and

WHEREAS, the Council approved Resolution No. 37545 on July 21, 2021 adopted the Columbia – Lombard Mobility Corridor Plan, which included a recommendation for a new traffic signal at the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. intersection, and the City Traffic Engineer confirmed approval on August 20, 2024; and

WHEREAS, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (“PBOT”) is the Responsible Bureau for the proposed improvement and also recommends initiation of local improvement district formation proceedings due to seven (7) crashes between July 21, 2018 and February 13, 2024 at the existing location of the Oregon Humane Society driveway on NE Columbia Blvd. as self-reported by Oregon Humane Society as shown in Exhibit D; and

WHEREAS, the driveway consolidation and relocation of existing driveways in close proximity of the current alignment of the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. as shown as a draft concept in Exhibit E will improve traffic safety, complementing the safety benefits of the new traffic signal to be installed at the realigned intersection, with final driveway alignments to be determined during LID design; and

WHEREAS, Portland Water Bureau ratepayers will benefit from savings of not having to replace current 2-inch galvanized water mains with ductile iron water mains in three (3) streets as shown in Exhibit F, and continuing to maintain the new water mains in perpetuity; and

WHEREAS, PBOT has collaborated with TriMet in scoping and proposing a new traffic signal at the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. intersection to support safe pedestrian crossings for a new bus line #49 when it begins operating on North and NE Columbia Blvd. between St. Johns and Parkrose, which will improve transit access to living wage jobs and destinations in the Columbia Corridor as shown in Exhibit G; and

WHEREAS, Raimore Construction is a disadvantaged enterprise business (DBE), minority business enterprise (MBE) and emerging small business (ESB) construction firm as certified by the State of Oregon; and

WHEREAS, Raimore Construction has grown since its founding in 2004, and per Case File #2023-033727-000-00-EA seeks to construct a three-story building up to 12,000 square feet as its new company headquarters at 1050 NE Columbia Blvd. for the use of its workforce, with 80% of all Raimore staff are minority, including all supervisory and management personnel, which requires a street vacation; and

WHEREAS, all properties (including but not limited to Raimore Construction) within the proposed LID boundary south of NE Columbia Blvd and west of NE 11th Avenue will benefit from the vacation of NE Baldwin Street and NE Russet Street if subsequently approved by the Planning Commission and by City Council after formation of the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. LID through the elimination of right-of-way dedication and frontage improvement requirements, and the transfer of area from the public right-of-way to private properties, providing more control over these areas; and

WHEREAS, the Fire Marshal indicated her support on December 13, 2023 for aiding fire suppression capability with the installation of a new fire hydrant to be installed at the current intersection of NE 11th Avenue & Russet Street, and had no objections to the future street vacations of NE 10th Avenue, NE Baldwin Street west of NE 11th Avenue, and NE Russet Street west of NE 11th Avenue; and

WHEREAS, the portion of the proposed project south of NE Columbia Blvd. is in the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association boundary with a combined equity matrix score of seven (7) on a scale of two (2) to ten (10) with a higher score being representative of the most vulnerable populations; and

WHEREAS, the portion of the proposed project north of NE Columbia Blvd. is in the Sunderland Neighborhood Association boundary with a combined equity matrix score of nine (9) on a scale of two (2) to ten (10) with a higher score being representative of the most vulnerable populations.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the general character and scope of the improvement is to construct a new traffic signal at the NE 11th & Columbia intersection; build curb and sidewalk and plant street trees along 1050 NE Columbia Blvd. and 1040 NE Baldwin Street, and relocate the driveway serving 1067 NE Columbia Blvd.; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council directs the Local Improvement District Administrator declares the intent of the City to initiate local improvement district formation proceedings to construct sidewalk, Oregon Humane Society driveway relocation and mast arm traffic signal improvements, and relocate public utilities south of NE Columbia Blvd. to enable the elimination of frontage improvement requirements for NE 10th Ave, NE Baldwin St and NE Russet St; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Local Improvement District Administrator’s estimate of the total cost of the project is $5,182,667 based on the Engineer’s Estimate approved by the City Engineer on April 23, 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Local Improvement District Administrator’s level of confidence in the cost estimate for this project as of the filing date of this resolution is “Low” per Exhibit A of Resolution No. 36430 adopted by City Council on July 26, 2006 given that project specifications are preliminary; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the assessment methodology of the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. Local Improvement District shall be on a zoned square footage basis with the LID providing funding of $4,726,846 as shown in Exhibit B unless this assessment methodology is modified by City Council at the Local Improvement District Formation Hearing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that PWB will provide funding of $455,821 including both direct funding to PBOT and in-kind funding to enable abandonment of water mains in the NE 10th Avenue, NE Baldwin Street and NE Russet Street rights-of-way; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the local improvement district shall be known as the NE 11th Avenue & Columbia Blvd. Local Improvement District and for purposes of the Local Improvement District Formation Hearing as set forth in Section 17.08.070 of City Code, the boundary shall be as shown in the map in Exhibit C; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council intends to construct the project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council directs the Local Improvement District Administrator to initiate local improvement district formation proceedings as set forth in Section 17.08.070 of City Code and to schedule a Local Improvement District Formation Hearing on November 6, 2024 beginning at 9:30 AM or on the earliest practicable date thereafter.