Sylvan Highlands Neighborhood Association

Parking in Washington Park

Press clippings, documents, links

Paid parking locations map (PDF) <--- UPDATED!

SHNA Letter regarding the Washington Park Meters (PDF)

Collected Neighborhood Letters of Support on SHNA's position regarding Washington Park Meters (PDF)

Metro Council Washington Park TMA Resolution - 2012-11-08

Portland City Council meeting transcript - 2012-11-14

Fish: "Under the proposed agreement Portland parks and rec will join with our partners to develop and improve transportation options throughout the park and we will have a new revenue source to support improvements to the park's transportation infrastructure and to fund long overdue the master plan for Washington Park. We understand that some neighbors are concerned about the prospect of changes in the park."

SHNA Comments to the Portland City Council, 2012-11-28

"SHNA supports several goals and principles in the TPMA; however, the devil is in the details and very many TPMA details are missing and/or premature."

management at Washington Park

"About the new plan for parking and transportation management at Washington Park" - Mike Abbaté, Director of Portland Parks & Recreation, on 2012-12-07

"Susan Nielsen: Family-friendly Portland? At these prices,we'll never see that baby elephant" - Editorial for The Oregonian, 2012-12-08

"From a distance, parking meters sound like a fair way to cover the expense of maintaining a huge parking lot. Up close, the new fees just made Portland less attractive to middle-class families."

"Calculated memory lapse?" - Examiner Editorial Regarding WP Meters, 2012-12

"And you don’t endure eight long negotiation sessions with neighborhood representatives concerning parking at the Oregon Zoo and forget that you haven’t told them about a coming City Council hearing. Or forget that they weren’t shown the document you claim they’ve agreed to. Not only did the director of Portland Parks & Recreation claim such a colossal communication breakdown was unintentional, representatives of the zoo also forgot to share a corresponding resolution they brought to Metro Council earlier last month."

"Washington Park may get parking meters in the fall" (The Oregonian, 2012-07-06) (PDF)

"Washington Park plan for parking meters draws questions from surrounding neighbors" (The Oregonian, 2012-11-30) (PDF)

Washington Park Alliance [the venues, etc. excluding the neighborhood associations] web site detailing park-wide paid parking

Washington Park Transportation and Parking Management Agreement: contrat presentation, contract testimony, exhibits, additional documents

Oregon Zoo

The Oregon Zoo is developing a 20-year master plan, designing six new or improved animal exhibits, a conservation education center and a new veterinary medical center, all made possible by a $125 million bond. Check more details here.

Or visit the Oregon Zoo website for more information about the master plan.

After the workshop of April 27 2011, two documents are available: a one-page summary (MS Word document), including the list of participants and the long list of issues and concerns expressed, and the Parking and Transportation Management Plan - Rick Williams (MS PowerPoint presentation).

In August 2011, Metro sent a neighbor relations proposal that outlines a working relationship over the next few months between the Washington Park Alliance and Arlington Heights and Sylvan Highlands neighborhoods, as a parking and traffic management strategy is developed. The document (MS Word) includes the proposal, a draft timeline and a catalogue of the issues expressed at the April workshop and in subsequent interviews and conversations.

* * * UPDATE Jan 14, 2013 * * * The hearing officer issued his decision in the latest Zoo land use matter (the conditional use review for the next decade). He reviewed and discussed the issues I presented, see item #2 on pages 24-29. Ultimately, SHNA’s concerns did not win and our requested condition of approval (a sidewalk along SW Knights Blvd) was denied.

A historical document: the Washington Park Master Plan of 1981.

Minutes From Our Meetings

Final Minutes from March 2013 membership meeting - download.

Final Minutes from January 2013 membership meeting - download.

Final Minutes from December 2012 membership meeting - download.

Draft Minutes, including the bylaws, from the March 2011 membership meeting - download.

Draft Minutes from the January 2011 membership meeting - download.

Final Minutes from September 2010 membership meeting - download.

Final Minutes from March 2010 Sustainability Commmittee meeting - download.

Final Minutes from February 2010 Sustainability Commmittee meeting - download.

Final Minutes from January 2010 Sustainability Commmittee meeting - download.

Final Minutes from October 2009 Sustainability Commmittee meeting - download.

Final Minutes from September 2009 Sustainability Commmittee meeting - download.

Final Minutes from August 2009 Sustainability Commmittee meeting - download.

Current Bylaws

The new ByLaws of our neighborhood association got amended and approved. Check the PDF here.

Welcome to the Sylvan-Highlands Neighborhood Association

Welcome to the Sylvan-Highlands Neighborhood Association (SHNA). Our namesake, Sylvan-Highlands, is derived from the word Sylvanus, or “Roman Deity of the Woods.” SHNA is so aptly named for its heavily-wooded surroundings, and boundaries that share Washington Park and the Hoyt Arboretum, a 232 acre public park showcasing over a thousand species of trees and shrubs.

At peak height, the Sylvan-Highland Neighborhood’s elevation tops 1100 feet. Every winter, a news crew or few will be found reporting in our neighborhood at the slightest hint of frozen precipitation. Our best-known landmarks are the communication transmission towers, hovering at heights 1000 feet above the ground. The KOIN tower and original site was the first tower erected in the 1930’s, built on land purchased from the Catholic Church. Up until 1976, a mini-apartment inside the transmission building of the KOIN tower housed an operator around the clock. Today, 5 transmission towers serve as beacons in the hills of Sylvan-Highlands and a neighboring association.

At times, Sylvan Hill and Hwy 26 are synonymously linked…with its roots forged from The Great Plank Road. By 1851, a dirt and mud road had been created to connect the rich agriculture of the Tualatin Valley to the deep water ports of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. In 1856 much of this road was completed although not fully planked. Its route commenced in Goose Hollow and wound its way up modern-day Hwy 26. It briefly meandered through the Sylvan-Highlands boundaries near the current zoo entrance, before diverting to the southwest towards today’s Canyon Road 8. Today Hwy 26 takes travelers up and over Sylvan Hill to the suburbs of the west very similarly as our early Portland pioneers.

The Sylvan-Highland Neighborhood Association has the support and assistance of Neighbors West-Northwest Coalition, that helps our neighborhood volunteers. Coalition staff provide resources to help us, acting as a liaison between citizens and public agencies. Their mission: "To promote direct participation in grassroots democracy by supporting community efforts at the neighborhood level. Our services advance the voices of our constituent Neighborhood Associations as they strive to create livable, sustainable and equitable communities.”

Please enjoy our Sylvan-Highland Neighborhood Association, respect our trees, nature, and heritage as we do.

Join Now!

SHNA is seeking neighbors who want to be involved, or simply informed, of events and issues in the area. If you're interested, you can fill out our online membership application, or download the form and email it to us or drop it off in person at our neighborhood coalition office (Neighbors West-Northwest, 2257 NW Raleigh St.).

Click here to join our SylvanHighlands electronic mailing list!