Pre-Application Process, Irvington Land Use Committee
Irvington Land Use Committee Historic Resource Review Pre-Application Process
by Dean Gisvold
The Irvington Land Use Committee works with property owners and architects/design professionals to help Irvington projects through the Historic Resource Review process. Here are suggestions for using the pre-app process.
- Please review the information on the Irvington Community Association website that explains the role and workings of the LUC, if you haven't done so already. That may answer a number of your questions. Go to http://www.irvingtonpdx.com/land-use-committee/
- The "pre-app" discussion is informal, but please keep in mind that any advice rendered by the Committee is strictly advisory. The City's Bureau of Development Services makes the decisions about what is reviewable and what type of review is appropriate.
- Most folks who present to the Land Use Committee have handouts with illustrations of their ideas. For preliminary ideas, very basic 8-1/2 X 11" printouts of sketches should be fine. If your sketches can be made into a PDF, please email them to Dean Gisvold, the Committee chair, who will share the document(s) with the LUC members who will have a chance to review them prior to the meeting.
- If a prior email to Dean is not possible, please bring to the meeting a copy of your material for Dean, a copy for yourself during the discussion and 5 copies to pass around. There are typically more than 5 members present, but we've gotten pretty good at sharing copies to avoid unnecessary printing. It is also helpful to have a few copies of inkjet printed photos of the "as is" condition of the property, especially in the areas planned for alteration.
- Many of the committee members have been reviewing projects for more than 5 years, and some members have professional expertise in architecture and architectural history.
- The way the meeting works is that when your time comes on the agenda, you'll be invited to sit at the chair's table to present your ideas. That's when you can hand out copies of your materials. If you feel your comments might be better understood with a larger copy on a piece of poster board that you can hold up and talk about, that is up to you, but not required for projects in a very preliminary stage. For major projects that are well into the design phase, larger copies that we can collectively talk about can be very helpful. The LUC members present (and any concerned neighbors who are attending for whatever reason), will have questions and comments. Dean will moderate the discussion. At the end, Dean will summarize what has been heard and discuss next steps.
- The meetings are held in a lower-level chapel at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Enter from Hancock Street at the canopy. All scheduled presenters will receive a formal email notice of the meeting which will include information on parking, the pass-code required to enter the building and the details of the location and meeting room. Meetings are scheduled from 7pm to 9pm; we must vacate the building by 9pm. Since we are not charged by the church, we strictly adhere to this time limit.