In previous posts I’ve hinted at my dismay with the appraisal process. Well, I thought I’d take a moment and spell out a few details, hopefully so others will go into the process with their eyes wide open.
First, I’ll preface this post with my belief that there are plenty of ethical, professionals in the field [...]
Some developments in the land-use process. The short version: one neighbor (several houses removed) decided to do his best to torpedo things with the city. He approached my neighbor to the south and got her riled up enough to write a letter objecting to the building. As a result, I had to downscale the [...]
The city officially declared my application complete on May 22, 2007.
What this means: According to the letter, the city has 28 days to publish their decision. The letter gives neighbors 21 days (June 15th) to provide written comments on the project. The city must make a ruling by June 19th. UPDATE: due to [...]
I’ve been assigned to work with Suzanne Savin from the Portland Bureau of Development Services. Her job is to review my adjustment application and rule on the larger ADU. Needless to say, her role is pivotal in the development.
After discussing my project with contractor Eli Spevak, Patrick is recommending against the concrete second floor. He and Eli both think it would be difficult and expensive. As a result, the floor joists will be thicker, thus changing the height of the ceilings. In addition, Patrick looked into the code further and there is some [...]
Here’s Communitecture’s first round of “polished” floor plans, based on our two-hour meeting and review of rough design ideas (see previous post).
Patrick presented two second-story options; Raina and I quickly decided on this option. Images (below) open GIF files. Scalable PDFs are below (text links)
First Floor (PDF)
Second Floor
Patrick will use these plans, as well [...]
Patrick from Communitecture presented two design concepts this afternoon. Concept 1, the “open plan” ran the stairs up the side to provide more space in the central living area. Option 2 ran the stairs up the middle, forming a sort of “divider” space between the living and sleeping areas. It also facilitated the placement of [...]
UPDATE 1/16/08: Homes 123 is a casualty of the Sub-Prime mortgage debacle and has long since gone under. I’ll keep the post as a memento.
Spoke with Chuck Banta of Homes123 today. Good News! It looks like I may be able to wrap my design expenses into the loan. Here’s how it would work:
I [...]
Marguerite Feuersanger called this morning. She presented my preliminary design plan to the Thursday morning planning group. Here’s the feedback:
Building design didn’t present any big red flags. We can present the split-roof design, though there is no guarantee we won’t get a planner that requires a standard gable-roof design. She suggests that we apply [...]
Met with city planner Marguerite Feuersanger today to discuss my Land Use Review Application. At the suggestion from my designer, I took a preliminary proposal down to BDS to discuss the viability of my application. Here’s a copy of the proposal (PDF):
Preliminary Land Use Review Proposal