Transcript
Automatically generated transcript. It may contain errors and includes testimony in languages other than English that is not individually marked up for assistive technology.
Jamie Dunphy
Good morning.
I'm now calling to order this meeting of the Portland City Council.
It is Wednesday, June 24th.
Rebecca, can you please call the roll?
Rebecca Dobert
Good morning.
There, thank you.
Canal.
Jamie Dunphy
Good morning.
Sameer Kanal
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Pirtle-Guiney.
Elana Pirtle-Guiney
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Ryan.
Dan Ryan
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Koyama Lane.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Murillo.
Angelita Morillo
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Novick.
Steve Novick
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Clark.
Green.
Mitch Green
Here.
Rebecca Dobert
Zimmerman.
Avalos.
Benjamin Nielsen
Present online.
Rebecca Dobert
Smith.
Dunphy.
Jamie Dunphy
Here.
And will the attorney please read the rules of decorum for the chamber?
Rebecca Dobert
Good morning.
Good morning.
Welcome to the Portland City Council.
To testify before council in person or virtually, you must sign up in advance on the council agenda at www.portland.gov/council/agenda.
Information on engaging with the council can be found on the council clerk's webpage.
Individuals may testify for 3 minutes unless the presiding officer states otherwise.
Your microphone will be muted when your time is over.
The presiding officer preserves order.
Disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others' testimony or council deliberations will not be allowed.
If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given.
Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting.
Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass.
Additionally, council may take a short recess and reconvene virtually.
Your testimony should address the matter being considered.
When testifying, state your name for the record.
Your address is not necessary.
If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent.
Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the council clerk calls your name.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
Colleagues, our first item is the agenda approval.
Are there any requests to amend the agenda, to reorder items, or reschedule an item for future meeting date?
Looking around, seeing nobody excited.
So do I have unanimous consent to approve the agenda?
I have unanimous consent.
The agenda is approved.
Rebecca, can we please move to public communications?
Rebecca Dobert
Item 2, public communications.
First up, we have, uh, Christopher Olson, followed by Lisa Stein, Mark Porras, Welcome folks.
Jamie Dunphy
If you are here, come on down.
If you're online—.
Rebecca Dobert
Mark is online.
Mark, if you want to go ahead while we, uh, see if any of the other folks are in the room, you can go ahead.
Yep.
Uh, can you hear me?
Jamie Dunphy
Yeah, go right ahead, Mark.
Fantastic.
Good morning, Council.
My name is Mark Porras.
I use he/him pronouns and I'm with the group Portland Cop Watch.
Uh, 4 months ago you passed Resolution 37738 Introduced by Councilors Smith and Clark, directing the DCA of Public Safety to provide a report by June 1st on the timeline and cost of adding 400 new armed officers.
The number 400 appears out of thin air and matches the Portland Police Association's cynical proposed ballot measure to steal money intended for climate resilience and justice for more armed officers.
The resolution seems to reference an average number of sworn officers per 1,000 residents from a 2019 FBI publication.
The FBI themselves caution about drawing comparisons based on their data and say it should not be interpreted as a recommendation of officer staffing levels.
I have a question.
The per capita benchmark is even more useless, as there are many agencies that overlap with PPB, and all sworn officers in the state of Oregon have arrest powers anywhere in the state.
It's also useless to compare current PPB staffing to that of 10 years ago.
Portland Street Response, CHAD, and the Ceasefire Program have all come into existence in the past 5 years, and they all reduce any perceived need for armed officers.
Councilor Novick's requested call allocation study was presented to the Community and Public Safety Committee on June 2nd and found that Thousands of armed officer hours each year spent on welfare checks could instead be handled by PSR.
It's disheartening that PSR is not running 24/7 yet, and it's dangerous for Portlanders in mental health crisis who are often still met by cops with guns in response to welfare checks.
Damon Lamar Johnson's death at the hands of 3 sworn officers almost exactly a year ago must not be in vain.
Since PSR was not available, Project Respond certainly should have been requested by the officers.
No matter how you spin it, 400 new officers will add at least $12 million to the FPDR levy.
Thank you.
Which covers all PERS contributions for cops and firefighters.
Thank you very much to Councilor Kanal for getting on the record FPDR's taxing rate of $3.19 per, uh, $1,000 assessed value this year, which is approaching that of the general fund levy.
Please commission a study of alternative funding sources for police and fire pensions before they bankrupt the city.
32 Cops retired last month, taking advantage of the 27-pay-period loophole.
Officer Jimmy Price, who was on his 4th leave of absence, chose to retire while under investigation for domestic violence.
Thank you.
He pled guilty in Clackamas County Court and will be sentenced next week.
I hope the former officer's family is safe and the police bureau will learn from this.
However, Directive 330 says the bureau has no jurisdiction once an employee retires, so they will likely drop the investigation.
It's maddening.
PPB's only chance of becoming a learning institution is to get the new oversight system up and running.
It sounds like there may be some new misguided efforts to defy the charter and steal from the OCPA's budget.
The CBPA has a 2-hour executive session tomorrow to discuss options for a director of the office.
Thank you.
Once the director is hired, they will begin hiring investigators and support staff, and they're going to need every dollar if we ever want a shot at police accountability.
As long as we have police, it's not possible to have public safety for all without police accountability.
And finally, I submitted a public records request for that report 5 days ago.
I received it at 8:18 this morning, got on my bike, and I haven't had a chance to read it yet.
So I look forward to that, and I hope you do too.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for being here.
Rebecca Dobert
And welcome, Lisa.
You can go ahead at the testimony table.
Jamie Dunphy
I'm actually here for the Lloyd Center issue.
Am I in the right docket spot?
Uh, no, this is the public communications spot, which you're welcome to use to—.
Rebecca Dobert
No, I'm happy to wait.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And let's make sure you are signed up for the— for that item with the council clerk, please.
Rebecca Dobert
Yeah, are you Lisa Stein?
Yeah.
Okay, we'll get you signed up in the— for the right item.
Christopher Olson.
Next then we have Phuc, me, Tony Greiner.
Jamie Dunphy
That's me.
Rebecca Dobert
Go ahead.
Jamie Dunphy
Welcome.
Rebecca Dobert
Good morning.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
My name is Tony Greiner.
I live in District Number 2.
On January 6th, 2021, a mob disdainful of rule of law attacked the United States Capitol in an attempt to overthrow our republic, and they almost succeeded.
4 Years later, that mob was issued a pardon, a decision that legally at least recasts that violence as legitimate protest.
In October of 2020, another mob, also disdainful of the rule of law, attacked the memory of Abraham Lincoln.
They did so by toppling our statue of that most honored president and then pouring paint upon it to finish the degradation.
For over 5 years, the city's government has tolerated that vandalism by delaying the repair and restoration of the statue.
But now, finally, we're close.
Thank you.
To restoring it to its proper place.
But there are people in city government who, perhaps unintentionally, are planning to legitimize the desecration by advancing a plan to belittle the memory of the man who freed millions from slavery and preserved the Republic.
If they have their way, they will do so by literally taking Lincoln off his pedestal and placing him on ground level, debasing him both figuratively and literally.
I second that.
At ground level, we will not be able to look up to him, and he'll be the target of every crackpot and troublemaker who equates destruction with fun.
2 Weeks ago, an official from the Office of Arts and Culture met with members of the Historic Landmarks Commission to discuss this plan.
When members expressed concern that placing the statue at ground level would allow for future vandalism, the response they received was, quote, there are always people who express themselves with paint.
That's right.
That is not what I want from my city government, and I hope you agree.
This is my request to you: order the statue to be returned to its original location.
Show your support for rule of law, reject the actions of a mob, and assert that in Portland, Abraham Lincoln remains worthy of public honor and respect.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Christopher Olson or Phuc, me.
That concludes public comment.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay, thank you, colleagues.
Next item on our agenda, item 3, is the presidential update.
We're going to hear from City Administrator Lee on the status of any ongoing responses to federal interventions in the city.
City Administrator.
Thank you, Council President.
Uh, there's no new updates from my previous update of last week.
Benjamin Nielsen
Uh, we're steady monitoring the situation, and we will update council as we get new information.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much, sir.
Councilor Kanal.
I just have a point of information.
It's not about this agenda item, it's about the previous one.
There is an alternate.
Did they get called?
Rebecca Dobert
Apologies, I just got a message that, yeah, there is an alternate online.
Um, apologies, that was, uh, I missed.
Jamie Dunphy
Good catch, Councilor.
Rebecca Dobert
So, Aubrey Russell.
Jamie Dunphy
Um, hi, can you hear me?
Rebecca Dobert
We can.
You can go ahead.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you.
My name is Aubrey Russell.
The decision to remove Lincoln from his pedestal was made in July of 2025 by the City Arts Program, Office of Arts and Culture, and WRAC.
The idea to place Lincoln on the ground, as they spoke about it, was not revealed to the public.
It was a secret.
The secrecy was revealed recently only by— only because of a public records request.
The public will only gradually become aware.
Yet Darian Jones of Arts and Culture explains in the city's justification that there has been public engagement.
He points to the South Park Blocks Master Plan.
Yet that plan from many years ago notes that there were only 9 public comments relating to statues.
Thank you.
Also, Darian lists the Lewis and Clark Monuments document, yet there were just 9 authors and 4 readers and no public involvement.
There is an impressive-looking list to justify this decision, but the list is thin on substance and serves more to mislead than to inform.
The entire justification also serves to distract, to distract from the fact that none of the public engagement cited as justification for removing Lincoln from his pedestal Even related to this plan.
How could it have been?
Remember that the plan was a secret.
This cannot be public engagement because the public was ignorant.
Portland's public involvement principles say that the public should be given sufficient advance notice of decisions to— so that they can participate in a meaningful way, and that the public should understand the decision-making process in advance, and that city staff should be accountable for these principles.
Councilor Smith.
Instead of honoring the idea of public involvement, Mr. Jones and Arts and Culture and RACC chose the route of secrecy.
In July of 2025, Darian Jones's supervisor, Charity Montez, asked Darian about public engagement relating to Lincoln and asked about notifying the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission.
No effort was made to do either since last July.
The Landmarks Commission asked Darian to brief them ASAP on Lincoln 9 days ago.
Darrin again stressed the public engagement activities of a few years ago, which reached almost no one and which did not relate to removing Lincoln from his pedestal.
Darrin did not relate that the city's website had said for a long time that, quote, Lincoln will return to his original location in the South Park blocks, or that the city's website had been quietly changed to say that Lincoln would be, quote, reinstalled, end quote.
This is very subtle and enough to avoid attention.
Also to avoid public awareness.
The city's publicly avowed plan to, quote, return Lincoln to its original location and provide interpretation should be how the city now proceeds.
Lincoln is one of the most highly ranked, rank 1, of our publicly owned historic resources and is protected under city code as, quote, a significant resource, end quote.
Thank you for your attention.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
And that now concludes public testimony.
Apologies to Aubrey and City Administrator Lee.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
Uh, we're gonna move to item 4, our consent agenda.
Uh, has any— have any items been removed from the consent agenda?
Okay.
Are there any objections to this, colleagues?
No.
Becca, can we please call the roll on item 4, consent agenda?
Rebecca Dobert
Kanal.
Sameer Kanal
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Pirtle-Guiney.
Elana Pirtle-Guiney
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Ryan.
Dan Ryan
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Koyama Lane.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Murillo.
Angelita Morillo
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Novick.
Steve Novick
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Green.
Mitch Green
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Avalos.
Candace Avalos
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Smith.
Loretta Smith
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Dunphy.
Jamie Dunphy
Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Consent agenda is adopted with 10 aye and 2 absent.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you.
Can we please call item number 5?
Rebecca Dobert
Item 5, consider appeals of the Design Commission's approval of a voluntary Central City Master Plan review and adjustment review for the Lloyd Center Central City Master Plan, LU-25-091308, CCMSAD, document number 2026-217.
Jamie Dunphy
I just want to confirm, this, uh, is listed as a time certain.
Was it listed at 9:50 or 9:45?
Rebecca Dobert
9:45.
Jamie Dunphy
Great, look at that, we're on time.
Let's do this thing.
So, uh, colleagues, first the city attorney is going to make some announcements about today's hearing.
So I will look to Lauren.
I can read through my script first too if you'd like.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you.
Uh, okay, this is an evidentiary hearing.
This means you may submit new evidence to council in support of your arguments.
For an evidentiary hearing, we'll begin with the staff report by Portland Permitting and Development Bureau staff for approximately 10 minutes.
Following the staff report, City Council will hear from interested persons in the following order.
Appellant 1 will go first and will have 10 minutes to present their case.
Appellant 2 will then have 10 minutes.
Following the appellants, Persons who support the appeal will go next.
The council president will announce the time allowed for that.
The principal opponent, the applicant, will have 30 minutes to address council and rebut the appellant's presentations.
If the— after the principal opponent, the council will hear from persons who oppose the appeal.
Again, council president will announce the time allotted for each testifier.
Okay.
And finally, the appellants will have 5 minutes each to rebut the presentation of the opponents of the appeal.
Council may then close the hearing, deliberate, and take a vote on the appeal.
If the vote is tentative, the council will set a future date for the adoption of findings and final vote on the appeal.
I'd like to announce several guidelines for those who will be addressing City Council today.
Submit— for submitting evidence into the record, any letters or documents you wish to be part— you wish to have become part of the record should be given to the council clerk after you testify.
Similarly, the original or copy of any slides, Photographs, drawings, maps, videos, or other items you show the council during your testimony, including PowerPoint presentations, should be given to the council clerk to make sure they become part of the record.
Testimony must be addressed— directed to the approval criteria.
Any testimony, arguments, or evidence you present must be directed toward the applicable approval criteria for this land use review or other criteria in the city's comprehensive plan or zoning code that you believe apply to this decision.
PP&D staff will identify the applicable approval criteria as a part of their staff report to council.
Thank you.
Issues must be raised with specificity.
You must raise an issue clearly enough to give the council and the parties an opportunity to respond.
If you do not, you will be precluded from appealing to the Lane Use Board of Appeals based on that issue.
Applicants must identify any constitutional challenges to conditions of approval.
If the applicant fails to raise constitutional or other issues relating to the proposed conditions of approval without— with enough specificity to allow the council to respond, the applicant will be precluded from bringing an action for damages in circuit court.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you.
Thank you, Lauren.
So colleagues, there are about 90 people, uh, signed up to testify for the appellant and 50 people signed up to testify for the applicant.
Uh, we've already given notice that oral testimony is going to be limited to 90 seconds.
That means that it will take just over 3 hours from now to get to the beginning of the applicant's presentation and another 2 hours from that point until council deliberations begin.
Uh, so we have 2 options at this point, council.
First, we can proceed as planned, most likely recess this meeting after hearing all of the appellant testimony.
We would then most likely continue testimony tomorrow and return for council deliberations on July 8th.
The driver's resource center item would probably have to be carried over as well.
Our second option is that we could limit testimony to the first 50 people signed up for each side and ask those who signed up in excess of that to submit written testimony.
In that world, we could stretch to hear all testimony today and do tomorrow's agenda as post, and we will still return on July 8th for deliberations.
So I'm only open to limiting testimony if there's unanimous consent on this body.
So I'd like to sort of look around and see, would we rather proceed forward with as many people signed up and adjourn at the end of the appellant's testimony and proceed tomorrow, or limit it to 50 people apiece?
Anybody have— I think we should do 50 people apiece.
Any other council members have particular opinions?
Councilor Kanal?
Yeah, I don't think we should limit, um, especially given that the numbers who signed up are not proportional.
It doesn't make sense to me to limit only— that's limiting one side.
I don't think that would make it a fair process.
Thank you, Councilor Kanal.
Councilor Pirtle-Guiney?
Rebecca Dobert
I had a clarifying question, but I think it's moot if, uh, Councilor Kanal objects.
Okay.
Jamie Dunphy
Councilor Koyama Lane?
Rebecca Dobert
I would like to see unanimous consent for the folks I mean, one thing you can also do is when someone's speaking and it's representing what you're saying, something powerful you can do is standing up to show that you also agree.
So that's how I would only feel comfortable if folks who are here and took time off work and got childcare are all down with that.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay, absolutely.
Thank you.
Councilor Avalos.
I think we should proceed as Councilor Kanal suggests and hear all the testimony.
Benjamin Nielsen
Councilor Smith.
Rebecca Dobert
Yes.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay, uh, since there's not limit— there's not unanimous consent to limit testimony, the hearing is going to proceed with all testimony to be heard.
Uh, we anticipate recessing at the end of testimony by supporters of the appellant.
Um, additionally, I will be taking a— I will be giving us a 10-minute recess at 11 o'clock to use the restroom.
Um, before we begin with testimony and the presentations, do any members of council wish to declare a conflict of interest?
Oh, before we get to that, Councilor Murillo.
Rebecca Dobert
Sorry, I just had a clarification.
Um, so are we gonna proceed past the 12:30 mark for testimony, or are we stopping it and then hearing more later?
Jamie Dunphy
We'll stop and then hear more later.
Angelita Morillo
Okay, thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Either 12:30 or when we get to the end of the appellate testimony.
Thank you.
Okay, back to my, uh, script.
Do any members of council wish to declare a conflict of interest?
Seeing none, do any members of the council have ex parte contacts to declare or information gathered outside of the hearing to disclose?
I'd like to start by noting that on this— Yeah, you—.
Okay.
Oh, did I screw something up?
Rebecca Dobert
No, no, no, she just raised her hand.
Jamie Dunphy
Oh, Councilor—.
Rebecca Dobert
I was messaging the attorney when I need to say what I need to say.
Jamie Dunphy
Understood.
Councilor Koyama Lane, please.
Rebecca Dobert
Okay, um, first, welcome back, Attorney Lauren King.
I missed you.
I'm glad you're here.
Um, I want to say that I know and respect that land use requires that we make fair and impartial decisions.
I take, uh, my quasi-judicial role very seriously.
Many know that I am pretty obsessed with the Lloyd Center.
I see it as— I see it as a place where we can learn a lot of lessons from it, um, and see how small businesses can really thrive and be supported when the rent is cheaper.
I, I think we should be looking at it and thinking like, how can we be doing small business incubators downtown?
Like, maybe we, we buy a place.
How can we be replicating what's happened there?
These little cool businesses that have opened up in Lloyd Center really are what make Portland Portland.
Before I knew this was going to be a land use issue, I was already broadcasting my I think we have a point of order.
Benjamin Nielsen
I'm experiencing you giving your point of view on the actual decision.
Was it the—.
Rebecca Dobert
I have the floor and I'm about to declare a conflict of interest.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay, just— I hope you get to that.
Rebecca Dobert
Thanks.
So I would— I was talking to all my colleagues.
I was talking to a lot of community members.
The Save Lloyd people reached out to me because they saw me posting a lot of posts that I'm just pretty obsessed with that place and have a lot of personal connections.
The owners of Stupid Burger went to Fabian and they came and met with my class and talked to them about being small business owners and gave them each a burger.
My kid opted for his only present last year to be a lightsaber from that cool lightsaber store.
So especially when I walked in, a lot of my friends and neighbors are here, including—.
Jamie Dunphy
Mayor?
Rebecca Dobert
2 Kids, Sam and Eli.
Yay for youth engagement.
And my heart is broken about the idea of losing Lloyd Center.
I talked to Attorney Lauren King.
She's helped walk me through this process, and I am concerned about making an impartial decision myself.
So for that reason, I'm going to recuse myself and not participate in today's hearing.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay.
Thank you, Councilor Koyama Lane.
Colleagues, do any members have— of the council have any ex parte contacts to disclose?
Oh, there's a bunch of folks in the queue.
Good.
I want to start by just noting that on December 17th, 2025, I met with Matthew Henderson of Save Lloyd and discussed the pending closure of Lloyd and their group's effort to keep the community together.
On December 2nd, I have a communication from Mr. Henderson to schedule that meeting.
I am prepared to make a decision today based on the evidence on the record and the testimony that will be presented.
To the queue, Councilor Green.
Yeah, thank you.
Um, my office I think has received a large volume of emails that goes to sort of a folder that I don't necessarily see.
I just wanted to acknowledge that.
Um, I think I was at a 350 PDX candidate event and a couple people came up and asked me about this land use decision, and I said, look, I'm in ex parte communication, but I wanted to disclose that.
And then on Monday, I received a call from a political rep with SEIU asking me to support the hearing officer's decision.
So those are my, those are my contacts that I can disclose, and I'm prepared to make my decision based upon the evidence in the record.
Thanks.
Thank you, Councilor Green.
Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you, Council President.
My office responded to roughly 25 emails in support of the Lloyd Ice Rink prior to to April 2nd when we learned that this would be appealed to us.
I did not read each and every one.
However, up until the Design Commission's decision was appealed, my staff summarized their general sentiment to me and sent a form response on my behalf saying that I agreed the loss of the rink would be significant for our city and that I did not know why the developer had decided to eliminate the possibility of a rink in preservation, but that I was meeting directly with the developer to learn more.
My office responded to roughly 3 emails in support of retaining the Lloyd Center prior to April 2nd.
Again, I did not read each and every one.
However, up until the Design Commission's decision was appealed, my staff summarized their general sentiment and sent a response on my behalf.
My office responded to roughly 3 emails in support of the Lloyd Center— in support, I'm sorry, of removing the Lloyd Center prior to April 2nd.
And again, while I did not read each and every one, my staff summarized them for me and sent a response on my behalf.
My office received a letter from Jerry and Tally Leonard, a well-known couple in the Portland skating community, sharing their support for the Lloyd Ice Rink, which my staff summarized for me and sent a similar response on my behalf.
After the commission's decision was approved on April 2nd, my staff stopped summarizing emails we received to me and responded themselves, informing Portlanders about the constraints of ex parte contact.
I will also note that on Wednesday, March 3rd, I took a meeting with the Save Lloyd Ice Coalition here at City Hall at their request.
A member of my staff was also in the room, and we discussed ways to reach a compromise with Urban Renaissance Group and if and how the city could help get the parties in communication together.
On Tuesday, Thank you.
On March 17th, I met with URG Managing Director Tom Kilbane along with 2 other members of his team at City Hall at my office's request.
A member of my staff along with a member of Councilor Kanal and Councilor Ryan's staff were also in the room.
Tom gave us a brief update on the status of the application and answered questions we had about timeline and about the ice rink.
On May 17th, I met with Matt Henderson from Save Lloyd Campaign, also in City Hall, at Matt's request.
A member of my staff was present, and Matt told me that collectively the Save Lloyd Ice Co— they and the Save Lloyd Ice Coalition had about 10,000 signatures and 100,000 substantive comments from community for their petition.
He shared his ideas for partial preservation of Lloyd Center, and we discussed how to make future activation of spaces available elsewhere in Portland.
I'm sorry, there's just a few more.
On Thursday, March 19th, 2 members of my team met with Tom Kilbane at a coffee shop across from City Hall at Tom's request, and he provided my staff with an update on the application, which had been officially approved by the Design Commission that day, and shared his concerns about the potential for an appeal.
My staff emphasized our office interest in helping to convene parties to find paths forward collectively.
On Monday, March 30th, my staff took a call from William Ross, a field representative for Representative Maxine Dexter's office, who were also meeting with many interested groups regarding the Lloyd Ice Rink.
My staff passed along the information we had learned in our aforementioned meetings and offered to be helpful in any capacity possible in the work that they were doing.
Additionally, I've had many casual conversations that I don't believe are ex parte communication on the needs, opportunities, and future of the neighborhood with neighborhood residents and other Portlanders.
And I should note, because I believe it is one of the questions we are asked, that I do frequent the area and have seen the site and been to and through and in the site numerous times.
I am prepared today to make a decision— or July 8th, it sounds like— to make a decision based on evidence in the record and the testimony presented over the next few days.
Thank you, Council President.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.
Councilor Novick.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Similar to Councilor Green, I've seen a large volume of emails, subject headings flash across my screen related to this topic.
I have not read them in order to restrict myself to hearing the, the record and the testimony today, and that is what I'll base my decision on.
Thank you, Councilor Novick.
Councilor Morillo.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you, Council President.
Yeah, similar feedback from me.
We've received hundreds of emails at my office, and my staff has summarized what those emails said to me.
Some of them were to save the Lloyd, some of them were to not save the Lloyd.
So there was some conflict there in the community about this decision, although overwhelmingly, I think vast majority of the emails were to save the Lloyd District.
I have been there in person and seen it numerous times and walked through there.
I will also say I had folks come to various constituent coffees and events that I've had in the district to come and tell me about it and to tell me specifically about preserving the ice rink.
That was a top priority that was given to me.
But after we were told that this would become a land use issue and that we couldn't engage in ex parte communications, I stopped, you know, I let people know that that was a boundary that we had to make sure that we were impartial in this decision-making.
Thank you, Councilor Murillo.
Jamie Dunphy
Councilor Smith.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you, Council President.
I just want to put on for the record, I don't know if it's a conflict of interest of sorts, but I have received several emails and telephone calls in regards to this issue.
My staff have met with people.
I haven't met with anyone personally on this, but I just wanted to put that on the record.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you, Councilor Smith.
Rebecca Dobert
Councilor Ryan.
Benjamin Nielsen
Yes, um, I've been in communication with Tom Kilbane, Urban Renaissance Group, and that dates back to when I was on the last council.
Jamie Dunphy
Um, this, uh, has been in motion for many, many years.
Um, I've received numerous random opinions about the issue.
I think it's, um, pretty much proximity-based.
Benjamin Nielsen
I work out at Lloyd Athletic Club.
My cleaners is in the area.
Jamie Dunphy
I'm, I'm around that part of town all the time.
And so I've heard very passionate opinions about this, and I just wanted to make sure that that was said to me.
Dan Ryan
I also—.
Jamie Dunphy
It was said out loud.
I also have done the mall walking thing on Sunday a couple times, so, which was quite fun.
Benjamin Nielsen
But I'm really prepared to make a decision based on the evidence in the record.
Jamie Dunphy
Thanks.
Thank you, Councilor Ryan.
Councilor Avalos.
Rebecca Dobert
Hey, um, yeah, my office also received communication regarding the Lloyd Center.
I have not read them and I've directed my staff not to forward those communications to me.
My staff responded letting them know that because this is a land use decision, the councilor would not be able to engage on the matter, and so I did not.
That is my disclosure.
Benjamin Nielsen
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much, Councilor.
And Councilor Kanal.
Thank you, Council President.
Um, I have ex parte contacts to disclose.
I don't know if they— how many of these meet the legal definition, but abundance of caution, so I'll disclose them.
On December 19th, 2025, I held a town hall at Afro Village in Lloyd Center.
I met with several people involved in various sides of this who participated in, and in a couple cases discussed the issue.
On March 16th, I spoke at the Sullivan's Gulch Neighborhood Association meeting following Tom Kilbane from Urban Renaissance Group and had a short interaction with him after that, um, at the location of that neighborhood association, uh, meeting.
On March 17th, as noted by Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, there was a meeting with D2 Council staff at City Hall, which my team attended.
On March 17th as well, I had a casual conversation at a loud and crowded St. Patrick's Day celebration when I ran into Tom Kilbane.
At that time, we both acknowledged we couldn't talk about this issue.
I've had what feels like hundreds of emails flash across my screen, but I've not read them.
My staff has not summarized them for me other than to say these emails existed and they go into a folder that I don't look at.
I've also seen but not engaged with what feels like hundreds, but it's probably a high number of dozens of social media posts.
I've received several communications from the businesses affected as well, and I've engaged with them, as has my office, about relocation possibilities and business support, while noting that because this is a quasi-judicial matter, I can't talk about whether or not that would happen, but saying here is the opportunities the city can provide to assist with business.
I also received a call, but I missed it, from SEIU earlier this week regarding it and directed that to my staff for follow-up.
Thank you.
And have not received any updates on if it happened, if that call occurred with them, or what the nature of it was.
I am prepared to make a decision today based on the evidence in the record and the testimony we're about to receive.
Thanks.
Thank you, Councilor Kanal.
Colleagues, have any— thank you.
Some colleagues have already answered this question, but— oh, go ahead, Councilor Kanal.
I forgot we also have to talk about site visits.
Benjamin Nielsen
Is that— I was just going to ask.
Jamie Dunphy
All right, yeah.
The next part of this is, have any members of the council made Any visits to the site involved in this matter?
A couple of councilors have already said that.
Um, I have not personally visited the site in— or been to the Lloyd Center in more than a year.
Uh, but I will note that when I was 16, I worked at the Jamba Juice at the Lloyd Center.
Councilor, uh, Smith, is that Legacy or is he—.
No.
Okay, Councilor Smith.
Councilor Kanal.
Yeah, I mean, I, I've— I can't remember the date, but I've been there once, uh, since the, um, since the appeal was filed.
And I've been to Wood Center like, I don't know, several hundreds of times probably in my life, uh, since I grew up here.
So yeah, that Express Store is probably a lot of— a lot of— bought a lot of stuff there over the years.
Thanks.
Thank you, Councilor Kanal.
Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.
Rebecca Dobert
Who among us has not shopped at that Express Yes.
Do you need details of why and when, or do you just need to know that the answer is yes?
Jamie Dunphy
You can say yes, and we can ask further questions if we'd like.
Rebecca Dobert
Great.
I'm going to say yes, and if we need to get into every single time, I will try to do that.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay, thank you.
Colleagues, any further disclosures or, or questions for your colleagues?
No.
Just to clarify, Mr. President, is it any site visits in the past few months or any time you visited the Lloyd Center ever?
You know, I think it's related to this appeal specifically, to this decision.
So yeah.
But obviously most of us have been to the Lloyd Center a dozen times or more.
Okay, we are now ready to move forward towards testimony.
I will be calling for testimony in the following order.
First, we'll receive the staff report, which I understand is a bit over 10 minutes, with brief remarks from a design commissioner to follow.
Then the presentation for the appellant, which is 10 minutes.
Then the second appellant, which is another 10 minutes.
Then supporters of the appellant, 90 seconds each.
Then the presentation of the applicant, 30 minutes.
Then supporters of the applicant, 90 seconds each.
And finally, rebuttal by the appellant together for 5 minutes total.
Total.
As I mentioned earlier, we'll be taking a brief break at 11 o'clock to give everybody a quick bio break.
And we are only here until 12:30, so we will probably— we will certainly not be able to get through all testimony.
So plan for additional testimony tomorrow and council deliberations on July 8th.
With that, I'm gonna turn it over to staff for a presentation.
No, it is not.
Rebecca Dobert
Councilor?
Jamie Dunphy
Yes.
Rebecca Dobert
Can I—.
Jamie Dunphy
Absolutely.
Rebecca Dobert
Ask you just briefly to go back to, as far as all of the ex parte communications and the site visits that council disclosed, to just make an announcement for the room and those online that if any party objects and wants to respond to those, that opportunity has been made clearly.
Absolutely.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Okay.
Yes.
Rebecca Dobert
I see no objections.
Jamie Dunphy
Anybody objecting?
No.
I see no hands online.
I see no one in the room.
Thank you all very much.
Thank you, Lauren, for your patience with us.
And I see your microphone is on at the table, so take it away.
Benjamin Nielsen
Thank you, President Dunphy.
Good morning, councilors.
My name is Benjamin Nielsen.
I'm a city planner with Portland Permitting and Development.
I facilitated the Central City Master Plan review for Lloyd Center with the Design Commission, and I apologize, this will run slightly longer than 10 minutes.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'll provide some background about the Central City Master Plan review process, a brief look at the context of the site, and a high-level overview of the proposal and the project's history before moving on to the findings of the Design Commission.
A Central City Master Plan is intended to result in the following urban design outcomes: a development that has strong orientation towards transit and multimodal transportation alternatives and towards a network of open spaces, a safe and vibrant public realm supported by active ground floor uses, open spaces, and an internal circulation system that connects to public streets and other modes of transportation.
A development site that has adequate urban services such as a street network, water, stormwater, sewers, etc., and building bulk, height, orientation, and programming that protects public views and preserves light and air within the public realm.
Aye.
And is oriented to active and passive public gathering spaces, including public open spaces and transit stations.
The zoning code requires central city master plans to include a number of components, such as a proposed urban design and development framework that provides clear visual information about the proposal, a narrative that describes the project and identifies how the central city master plan is consistent with the Thank you.
Specific information about the proposed range and density of land uses and the proposed phasing of development must also be included.
Information about the amount of floor area to be transferred and retained at each site must be included as well.
The adequacy of infrastructure must be addressed.
The public— the master plan must identify and link the development of each phase of the project to the provision of services necessary to meet the infrastructure needs of the proposed development.
Of the development associated with that phase.
The master plan does not include specific proposals for new buildings.
Sorry.
Um, an improved Central City Master Plan review allows additional flexibility in the following situations.
Floor area may be transferred among sites within the master plan boundary without having to meet the prioritization requirements in the zoning code The minimum floor area ratio standard in the zoning code may be met for the master plan area as a whole rather than on a site-by-site basis.
Bonus height limits in the zoning code may be achieved without having to provide the bonuses or transfers that are otherwise required.
Master plans afford opportunities for phasing and development of the transportation network and underground infrastructure in ways that may vary from standard requirements in the zoning code in Title 17.
And master plans afford opportunities for development of an open— a network of open spaces for public use around which new development can occur.
Central City Master Plans provide benefits to the city.
At least 20% of the master plan area must be developed as open space.
This is a code requirement.
There are no open space requirements with development outside of a master plan in the Central City.
Thank you.
The Design Commission's decision in this case included conditions of approval to ensure that the proposed open spaces in the Lloyd Center master plan will be open to use by the public.
Central city master plans also facilitate the planning and development of transportation and underground service infrastructure in ways that are difficult to accomplish through other processes.
And this new infrastructure will be paid for by the developer.
Thank you.
Central City Master Plans are required for redevelopment on 6 sites in the Central City.
These sites are shown in gray on the map on your screen.
Redevelopment at the Lloyd Center site, shown in orange on the map, does not require a Central City Master Plan, but the zoning code allows for the development of a voluntary master plan at Lloyd Center since the total site area exceeds 160,000 square feet.
Thank you, Mayor.
Next, I'll provide a brief overview of the site and zoning context.
The master plan area is located in the Lloyd subdistrict of the Central City Plan District.
The site has commercial base zoning and the design overlay.
The maximum floor area ratio on most of the site is 6 to 1, with a bonus of an additional 3 to 1 possible.
Maximum height allowed with the master plan is 225 feet.
Thank you.
And the zoning code has no restrictions or discretionary review for demolitions of development on the site.
The only zoning code restrictions on demolition apply to designated historic sites, and the Lloyd Center has no historic designation.
The site consists of the current Lloyd Center Mall and the Regal Cinema site, and the master plan area anchors the east end of the Lloyd District.
Holiday Park and the MAX station lie to the south of the site.
The future Green Loop is 2 blocks to the east.
Numerous superblocks surround the site.
Those to the west and southwest have private streets and passageways that allow for movement through— more movement through the area.
Pedestrian realm around the current building is uncomfortable, to say the least.
Structured parking and inactive uses front nearly all sides of the existing mall site.
Thank you.
The Regal Cinemas portion of the master plan site has similar inactive street frontage.
Inactive uses generally surround the master plan area as well, although as you can see on the top right slide, uh, image on this slide, uh, development at Hasselow on 8th has retail space that faces the southwest corner of the master plan area.
Holiday Park also lies immediately to the south of the master plan area.
And the 12th Avenue pedestrian way to the north of the Lloyd Center will be extended through the site to connect to and help activate the park.
The master plan comprises approximately 27.1 acres and divides the site into 14 development areas and about 6.2 acres of publicly accessible open spaces, accessways, and new public rights-of-way.
Up to 6.8 million square feet of development can be accommodated within the master plan area, and redevelopment will occur in phases.
The master plan is intended to function as a flexible and inclusive design framework for the buildings, streets, open spaces, and infrastructure necessary for the redevelopment of this large site.
The master plan had 2 design advice request meetings before the Design Commission at the end of 2023.
These design advice meetings are required for Central City Master Plans and provide early opportunities for public comment in addition to receiving preliminary advice from the Design Commission.
The formal Central City Master Plan review hearing before the Design Commission was held on February 5th of this year.
The Design Commission heard testimony from 44 testifiers and considered written testimony from 86 Testifiers, in addition to reviewing the staff report and materials presented by the development team.
The commission did not begin deliberations at that hearing, and the record was held open to allow for additional testimony.
An additional 252 pieces of written public testimony were received and provided to the Design Commission, along with the applicant's proposed edits to conditions of approval and a written rebuttal.
The Design Commission reconvened with a closed record on March 5th, To consider all evidence, and after deliberations, they voted 5 to 0 to approve the staff report, staff-recommended conditions of approval, and therefore the proposed master plan.
2 Appeals were filed seeking to overturn the Design Commission's decision of approval.
Appeal number 1 was filed by the Save Lloyd Ice Coalition and Jennifer Gilmore Robinson.
The appeal argues that the Design Commission failed to give consideration to the preservation of the ice rink at Lloyd Center with regard to several Central City 2035 policies that must be considered under approval criterion H1 for the master plan, and with regard to several, several guidelines in the Central City Fundamental Design Guidelines and the Lloyd District Design Guidelines that must be considered under approval criterion H2.
Thank you.
Appeal number 2 was filed by Matthew Henderson and the Save Lloyd campaign.
The appeal says the Design Commission failed to uphold the spirit of the master plan approval criteria and cites similar Central City 2035 policies and design, design guidelines as being unmet.
The appeal also says the Design Commission failed to meaningfully respond to abundant public testimony.
The Design Commission evaluated the Central City Master Plan proposal against the approval criteria found in Zoning Code Section 33.510.255.H1 through 11, the text of which is presented on the following slides.
For Criterion H1, the Design Commission found that the overall master plan is consistent with the applicable subdistrict goals and policies of the Central City 2035 plan, with conditions related to ensuring open spaces are open to public access.
For Criterion H2, the Design Commission found that the master plan demonstrates how future development will comply with applicable guidelines from the Central City Fundamental Design Guidelines and the Lloyd District Design Guidelines, with a condition of approval related to the design of proposed open spaces.
Thank you.
Criterion H3 only applies to master plan areas that have river frontage, and Criterion H4 only applies to master plan areas that contain or are within 500 feet of industrial uses.
For Criterion H5, the Design Commission found that the master plan proposes required ground floor active uses, required building lines, and main entrances on the south frontages of development areas 10 and 11, which will help the development engage Holiday Park through its massing and active uses at the ground floor rather than creating an abrupt edge, and proposed development will not excessively shade the park.
There are no transit stations within or immediately adjacent to the master plan area.
However, with regard to criterion H6, the Design Commission found that the proposed master plan will strengthen the Northeast 11th Avenue and Northeast 13th Avenue connections through the master plan area, which will help to provide easier access for residents and pedestrians located north of the master plan area to the Lloyd Center Northeast 11th Avenue MAX station on the south side of Holiday Park.
For Criterion H7, the Design Commission found that the open spaces for the master plan area are proposed as a network of interlaced plazas and gardens, and they are proposed to be developed in conjunction with adjacent development areas as specified in the infrastructure capabilities section of the main master plan document.
The 7 major open areas are intentionally scaled to accommodate a variety of uses and events.
Since public access to the proposed open space network is critical to ensuring that the open spaces are accessible within the master plan, provide connections to surrounding neighborhoods and open spaces, and serve as functional and equitable organizing framework for future development in the master plan area, Yes.
The Design Commission found that public access easements should be placed on all proposed open spaces and passageways within the master plan area as a condition of approval.
For Criterion H8, extensive findings related to the applicant's transportation impact study were drafted by PP&D transportation review staff and PBOT engineering staff.
They evaluated street capacity, level of service, connectivity, availability of and impacts on circulation in pedestrian and bicycle networks, transit availability and impacts on transit circulation, access restrictions, neighborhood impacts, and safety, among other issues, as part of their review.
The Design Commission agreed with the proposed findings, which show that the transportation system is capable of supporting the proposed uses in addition to existing uses in the master plan area.
The Design Commission also adopted the numerous conditions which balance the applicant's desire for flexibility in development with the phasing needed for transportation and underground infrastructure to support proposed development.
For criterion H9, which deals with multimodal street connections, the Design Commission found that the street grid surrounding the master plan area is interrupted with superblock development.
The proposed streets and private accessways in the master plan tie together the public rights-of-way that, that are offset from each other to the north and south of the site.
Pedestrian and bicycle access is provided at roughly 200-foot intervals throughout the master plan area, and the Design Commission also adopted conditions of approval to ensure that all internal accessways that are not public streets will have public access easements.
For Criterion H10, which works to ensure that there will be adequate and timely infrastructure capacity for new development, PP&D Public Works staff reviewed the proposed phasing plans for development of new streets, accessways, open space, and infrastructure, and staff proposed findings and conditions regarding the phasing of their construction that were adopted by the Design Commission in their decision.
Thank you.
Most of the conditions of approval are organized into an infrastructure phasing table to ensure that all necessary infrastructure is timely delivered for the respective infrastructure zones and development areas in the master plan.
For criterion H-11, which deals with ensuring that inactive uses are consolidated within the master plan area, the Design Commission found that parking and loading access has been consolidated to have a minimal presence on public streets And no presence along proposed open spaces.
Where possible, parking and loading access is combined into one access point.
Back of house and other inactive functions can share these points of access, subject to future design and evaluation through the design review process.
The proposal also includes 2 adjustments to zoning code development standards.
Adjustment review approval criteria can be found in zoning code section Section 33.805.040A through F. Both adjustments are related to the required building line standard in the zone— in Zoning Code Chapter 33.510.
The first adjustment request provides additional flexibility for the design of future buildings at the northeast and northwest corners of the master plan area and at Development Area 9 in the center of the master plan.
In these areas, buildings may be set back from the sidewalk edge rather than abutting the sidewalk, allowing space for additional plazas, landscaping, and courtyards.
The second adjustment request resolves a technicality with the zoning code and will result in typical urban-type buildings with strong sidewalk presence, while maintaining the desired landscaped character in the zoning code along Northeast 9th Avenue and Northeast 15th and 16th Avenue frontages.
The Design Commission found that the purpose of the standards would be equally met and that the desired character of the area would still be achieved with each of these adjustments.
So wrapping up, there are 3 options before City Council today.
Council may deny both appeals and uphold the Design Commission's decision and conditions of approval with revised findings.
Deny both appeals and uphold the Design Commission's decision, but with revised conditions of approval and findings, or grant one or both of the appeals and overturn the Design Commission's decision to approve the application with revised findings.
Should the council deny the appeals, staff will introduce a request for minor technical amendments to the conditions of approval.
For the phasing of underground infrastructure.
Testimony has been submitted under numbers 71 and 92 for if you need additional details.
This concludes my presentation.
Design Commission Chair Chandra Robinson should also be available to provide brief testimony on the Design Commission's decision, if the council clerk can help facilitate that.
Thank you, and sorry for going over.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
And do we have Design Commissioner here, or are they online?
Rebecca Dobert
Uh, the commissioner is online.
We're promoting her.
Jamie Dunphy
Perfect.
Thank you.
Hello.
Rebecca Dobert
Um, I apologize that I can't be with you in person today.
I would have so loved to be there.
Thank you for making time for me to provide some brief comments after Ben's intro to the project.
My name is Chandra Robinson, and I am the chair of the Portland Design Commission.
And I'm here to testify on behalf of the Design Commission who voted to approve the Lloyd Center Master Plan.
So through review of the documents, the applicant and staff presentations, and all the public testimony we heard, we did unanimously vote to approve the master plan.
It's a voluntary master plan.
The applicant definitely could have demolished and rebuilt without going through this process, but they did it intentionally so that they could have more flexibility in the development.
And I really appreciate that they did so, so that the public has the opportunity to come and share their thoughts publicly about the development.
The design of the master plan meets the criteria set forth in the design guidelines, and it adheres to the zoning code.
Our thinking and process are all on the record and publicly available, so I'm not intending to review all that today.
I just want to talk a little bit about public testimony.
Thank you.
We approved the master plan after having heard hours of public testimony and read through hundreds of pieces of written testimony.
We spent several hours in, in just one hearing listening to public testimony, which is what you are going to do with your process as well.
And we knew the community was passionate about the Lloyd Center in its current phase, and we didn't want to rush that deliberation after having heard so much testimony.
So we sat with it until the following hearing.
And in my role as chair, I really set the tone for the meeting, and I made clear to all attendees What the Design Commission has purview over and what it does not.
So, as members of the public testified, I welcome their testimony.
I thank them for participating in this really important democratic process.
And I also reminded them that the Design Commission does not have the power to stop demolition of a property.
Our purview is evaluating the design of the master plan for its response to the design guidelines.
And I shared that even though the issues the community members brought forth were not in our power to vote on, We as a commission absolutely value their participation and their input into the process.
Land use hearings are where people come to publicly share their opinions and ask questions about development in their communities, and that is a right that's upheld on a larger scale in the Constitution.
Design commission members took time after public testimony to allow for the applicant to address issues brought up by the public, and the commission then asked additional questions as well about their work with community members and how they were assisting the current tenants.
Thank you.
Into new places.
So in the next scheduled hearing, we deliberated without any additional verbal testimony.
But as Ben said, there were hundreds of additional pieces of written testimony we reviewed prior to that.
So staff across all bureaus put in hundreds of hours evaluating the master plan for its adherence to code and work through all of the very complex details of the plan before the Design Commission ever sees it.
So there's a ton of work that goes into it, and all the design commissioners are really passionate about.
Um, looking at things that improve the public realm, and we really did see that this project met the criteria, um, set forth in the design guidelines and, um, and really was a master plan that we could clearly see would change the district and create a better public realm, which is one of our main focuses, is about how, how projects impact the public realm for people.
So I just want to share that part about the testimony with you about how important it is and how it's something that we really appreciate.
Thank you.
And you will see that as well today, that there are a lot of people who are really passionate, but we do stand by our decision to approve the master plan.
And I thank Ben and all the staff who worked on this for all their great work to get us there.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
Okay, that concludes the staff report.
I believe the next presentation is the, uh, the first appellant.
Is that correct?
Yeah.
All right, welcome up, folks.
Morning.
Morning.
And introduce yourselves for the record.
And you have, uh, I believe you actually get a little bit extra because the time ran over.
Is that right, or how's that work?
Not from staff time.
Not from the staff time.
Okay, great.
So you have 10 minutes.
Take it away.
Thank you.
Good morning.
My name is Jeff Kleinman.
I am the attorney for Save Lloyd Ice Coalition.
With me is Jenny Gilmore Robinson, who is a member of the coalition and one of the appellants.
The coalition consists of users of the ice rink, family members of users of the ice rink, And just, you know, wanna point out that this is the only publicly available and accessible link, excuse me, rink in the city for those learning to skate, for recreational users, and for aspiring professional skaters, unless they wanna play ice hockey.
My clients are not opposed to any of the housing elements of the proposed master plan.
Whenever those eventually get built up, whenever the market will support it.
They're concerned about preserving a unique community resource that already exists.
They ask that the matter be remanded to the Design Commission for this purpose, or that the appropriate condition of approval be added by the city.
Second.
The Council.
The Design Commission was directed that since the rink does not have a historic designation, there is no argument for preserving it.
In our appeal document, we listed several code criteria which are in fact directly applicable regardless and did not receive due consideration.
By the Design Commission.
I'll note that in a letter that was filed on Monday, the applicant's attorney came up with other reasons for denying the appeal.
And we've responded to that in a letter filed last night.
And we attached to it the original grounds for the appeal, which are complete.
So you could have all that in one place.
Thank you.
I will reserve further comments on the applicant's statement until rebuttal time.
I want to identify certain of the Master Plan review criteria that are directly applicable, have nothing to do with whether it's a— there's a historic resource or not.
And these include—.
I'm sorry.
Regarding community building, encourage public spaces, public art, and activities that celebrate the history of the district.
Well, this was the last vestige of the history of the district of the rest of the— if the rest of the center goes.
Foster more intense development in the Central Lloyd area and Rose Quarter while strengthening the distinct character.
Aye.
What's the purpose of this ordinance?
To enhance the character of the existing Lloyd subareas.
Rip out the rink.
Embellish an area by integrating elements in new development that build on the area's character.
Identify an area's special features or qualities by integrating them into new development.
And encourage the inclusion of features in the design of projects That give projects identity and a sense of place or significance within the district.
The rink does all that, but these criteria received short shrift from the Design Commission.
There's been quite a bit of chatter since the Design Commission met and made its decision regarding possible alternative sites for the rink.
And I just want to make a couple of points on that for you.
Number one, there would've been a lot of time to do that had my clients not been continuously sandbagged by the applicant's representatives.
Who up to the time of the Design Commission hearings, reiterated that the rink would be preserved within the project.
And it was only at design commission that those representatives walked away.
Now, since that time, my clients have been—.
Whoop.
My clients have been actually conferring with various agencies about the possibility of relocation.
And what I wanna say about that is that they've received very nice listening and they've been encouraged to talk to other agencies.
And so it's all very circular.
If there must be a relocation, it's gonna require you folks to designate an individual at City Hall with responsibility to get the darn thing done.
Thank you.
And for the benefit— folks, I'm sorry, can we please halt with the clapping?
Other ways to show, to display.
For the benefit of the users, continuity is critical, especially for the kids learning to skate.
So however that relocation process is conducted, there needs to be no interruption in the availability of a rink.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
For the record, my name is Jenny Gilmore Robinson.
I'm a District 3 resident and the mom to a 9-year-old who fell in love with skating the first time she stepped on the ice at the Lloyd Center.
I'm also representative of Save Lloyd Ice Coalition, and as council said, we're here today to urge you to preserve, replace, or relocate the ice rink so that future generations can continue to skate.
Without your intervention, Aye.
Motion passes.
In 2023, Portland will lose its only ice rink.
For more than 65 years, the Lloyd Center Ice Rink has been woven into Portland's cultural identity.
It's introduced generations of Portlanders to skating, trained Olympians, and created memories for countless families.
But its importance goes beyond nostalgia.
The rink's location in a shopping mall made skating accessible in a way that no area skating facility can match.
It's where beginners felt comfortable trying the sport for the first time, Where many went on to take classes, perform, and compete.
It's also the place where people who have historically been excluded from skating feel genuinely welcome.
This is where our LGBTQ skaters, our adaptive skaters, and our Black and brown skaters have found community where they belong.
And you're going to hear that today.
The rink is also uniquely accessible.
It's the only rink Portlanders can reasonably reach by public transit or bike.
Rinks in Washington County or Vancouver are difficult to visit for families and virtually impossible for those without a car.
Lloyd Center also offers significantly more affordable public skating lessons and training compared to other rinks.
And when that accessibility disappears, families who rely on this rink will be pushed out of the sport, and even more Portlanders will never get the opportunity to step on the ice at all.
Skating shouldn't be an activity reserved for the wealthy or a sport in which only the privileged can succeed.
That is why the community reacted so strongly when we learned the rink was excluded from the master plan, because for years the applicant publicly represented that a skating rink would remain part of the Lloyd Center vision.
As shown in my written testimony, those commitments appeared in the media, presentations, community materials.
As late as 2025— sorry, December of 2025— project materials continued to depict or reference an ice rink, and even city staff still believed that a rink was included in the I raise this not to shame anyone, but to explain why our community felt blindsided, because it was less than a week before the February 5th Design Commission hearing that most of us learned through news coverage that the rink was no longer included in the plan.
That's not meaningful engagement.
That's when our community began mobilizing to find a solution.
And so in the 4 months since then, volunteers from the skating community have reached out to public officials, agencies, developers, nonprofits, and private funders.
We've met with the applicant, explored alternative locations, and identified philanthropic partners who are willing to support a future rink.
These efforts were all community-led.
Through that work, we've learned that obstacles— the obstacle isn't a lack of community support or operational expertise or financial viability.
To be clear, we are not asking the city to fund or operate a rink.
If a location can be secured, we have the user base, the expertise, and the philanthropic partners that are needed to make a permanent ice rink successful.
But the challenge, as council has stated, is that no public entity has helped by taking the lead.
Throughout our outreach, we found widespread support for retaining a permanent ice rink.
What we haven't found yet is a public entity that will help carry this work forward towards a permanent solution.
Had the applicant informed the skating community that the rink would be excluded from the plan, this work could have begun years earlier.
Instead, volunteers have been forced to compress what should have been long-term planning into 4 exhausting months.
That falls short of the meaningful community engagement envisioned by Portland's design guidelines.
Remanding the master plan back to the Design Commission doesn't send a negative signal to investors.
It reinforces Councilmember Herbold.
This ordinance subverts Portland's longstanding expectation that major redevelopment projects will engage affected communities early and meaningfully.
Had that happened here, we would already be closer to a solution.
In closing, we respectfully ask City Council to ensure that Portland retains a permanent year-round ice rink.
Either remand this matter back to the Design Commission for effective community engagement and solution finding, or designate someone at Councilmember Wilson.
I urge City Hall to convene the necessary partners and take ownership of identifying a rink solution.
There is still time to protect something that has served Portland families for generations, but once it's gone, it will be extraordinarily difficult to bring back.
And I want my daughter and her friends and every Portlander to have the chance to keep skating in our city.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much for your presentation.
I believe we're now moving to the second appellant for an additional 10-minute presentation.
Point of order.
Rebecca Dobert
Do, do we get to ask questions?
Not yet.
Benjamin Nielsen
Okay.
Jamie Dunphy
We have our second appellant coming up.
Okey-dokey.
Oh, they're upstairs.
Perfect.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
We'll wait just a moment then.
Rebecca Dobert
Councilor Smith.
There he is.
Welcome.
Benjamin Nielsen
Hey.
Jamie Dunphy
Can I make one request before I start?
Sure.
So I was taking some notes.
Um, much of the proceedings so far feel almost choreographed to, uh, crush our spirits as 10,000 community members strong.
I'm referring specifically to Benjamin Nielsen's context overview, reading a bit like an advertisement for the developer's plan and using language that presumes the inevitability of the master plan's implementation despite 2 pending appeals still being heard.
And the postponement of the testimony from the appellants, is that what's being proposed?
Yes.
Postponed until tomorrow?
Uh, of the applicants.
We'll get through the appellants today.
Okay, because I think in, uh, I may have misheard, but, um, Councilor Dunphy, I thought you had said that, uh, we would just be hearing from the supporters of the master plan today.
Nope, we will get through the supporters of the appellants today.
Okay, um, thank you.
That's a relief.
That was actually going to be my request, is if we could have a mix All right, excuse me.
I've been in a few times recently.
My name is Matt Henderson, and I'm a lead organizer with the Save Lloyd campaign.
And as we've stated, over 10,000 concerned citizens have now signed our petition opposing the planned demolition of Lloyd Center.
Thank you.
Additionally, hundreds and hundreds of people took the time to give substantive responses to an open-ended survey about the mall, sharing moving stories from their own lives, but also highlighting how the mall was evolving and their dreams for its future.
Again and again, people describe Lloyd Center as something increasingly rare, a place where they can gather, connect, exercise, create, and participate in community life.
They describe it as one of Portland's last great third spaces, one of the few year-round accessible indoor environments where people from all walks of life can meet and engage in healthy in-person social activity.
We hope you'll accept the testimony today as evidence that shows Lloyd Center functions as civic infrastructure, a regional recreation destination.
A small business and arts ecosystem, a transit-accessible gathering place, teen hangout, and so much more.
And importantly, it's a landmark tied to Portland's memory.
And even as more and more businesses are forced out, memories are still being made at Lloyd Center every day.
We are asking Council to help us as a city to recognize this living place.
A place that was actively becoming something hopeful again, something creative and useful, and something Portland and the developers should be proud to protect and build upon.
One community member put it this way: I encourage you to think ahead to the city's long-term financial benefit of having another jewel in Portland's crown, one of a— one of a kind attraction.
Preserving the Lloyd Center's present iteration makes long-term fiscal, cultural, social, and infrastructural sense.
All you need to do is continue to invest in this place to reap incredible benefits on literally all fronts.
Up until recently, our city was widely seen as a bastion of creativity and environmental leadership.
The dream of the '90s is alive in Portland, was the famous refrain from the 2010s era Portlandia.
Keep Portland weird.
It's the very brand that Portland's modern image was built on.
It's part of our DNA.
And no place in Portland has embodied this spirit or this ethos more than Lloyd Center in recent years.
And yet the public is being asked to accept that the only way to move Portland forward is to wipe this place clean.
And this is the false choice at the heart of this developer's proposal.
We can support housing, we can support density, we can support reinvestment in Lloyd District, but we do not have to accept that those goals require the complete destruction of one of Portland's most useful, beloved, and proven public spaces.
We reject the idea that the only path to those goals is the full demolition of a place that already serves the public, already contains beautiful reusable structure and already holds the foundation to the kind of community life that this master plan would only hope to create.
Now, before I begin detailing our refutations of the approval criteria, we'll ask a simple question, which is the overarching basis of our appeal.
How can a proposal be said to advance the goals of the city's design criteria While simultaneously dismantling one of the most shining examples of those very goals and criteria.
Under Policy 2LD3, Community Building, the public record shows that Lloyd Center is already capable of excelling at the work this policy asks for.
Portland creatives, small businesses, skaters, artists, youth programs, mall walkers, Families, special needs communities, neighbors, we're all actively building one of the most vital and diverse mixed-use hubs in the city.
The master plan will dismantle it while talking about future gathering spaces, but it does not adequately address the community that is here now.
Under Policy 1LD2, Sustainability Innovation, The master plan does not meaningfully address adaptive reuse, embodied carbon, or the environmental impacts of cutting short the lifespan of a recently renovated super large structure.
Lloyd Center received a major $50 million renovation just 10 years ago, including energy efficiency and structural upgrades.
The greenest building is often the one left standing, and yet this plan presents itself as sustainable While treating demolition as the starting point.
Policy 1LD1, Employment Core, supporting new and existing retail development.
This one's a little bit personal for me as someone who's been actively leasing space at Lloyd Center for the past 3 years.
Reimagining community was the ad campaign slogan chosen by Urban Renaissance Group to help lure local businesses into the mall.
It turned out to work a little too well, but primarily due to the businesses within the mall bootstrapping their own PR, grabbing headlines, and steadily increasing foot traffic for themselves, putting big pristine smiles on people's faces, by the way.
I've witnessed it daily for all, all 3 years I've been there.
Now imagine the biting irony of the owners then bringing in community partners To help empty out the mall with taglines like, we're creating a thriving business community in Lloyd, with the subtext being anywhere in Lloyd District that isn't in this upward-trending mall.
Thousands of Portlanders have offered their vote of confidence that Lloyd Center was on track to becoming a regional attraction again.
Because it was becoming something new, When we think of places that define cities, we often think of places that were similarly threatened with demolition.
Seattle's Pike Place Market, New York's Grand Central Station were both rescued from the brink only to become enduring landmarks in those cities.
There's 2 remaining guidelines that we feel are woefully unmet.
Guideline A2, emphasizing Portland themes, and Guideline A3, This is an outright affront.
Lloyd Center has been a cornucopia of the qualities that define Portland.
The real question is whether the master plan can hope to replace 65 years of history and manage to recapture this rare form of cultural revitalization we've seen at the mall in the past few years.
Lastly, Guideline A6, reuse, rehabilitate, and restore existing structures where feasible.
This one fails most spectacularly.
Councilor Dan Ryan.
In Lloyd Eco District, of all places, with the owner's claim that Lloyd Center is incapable of being adapted.
Again, thousands of Portlanders have testified the opposite.
They have seen and described the reuse potential in detailed visions, as if their minds just can't help from coloring in all the amazing possibilities inherent to this magical structure.
Thank you.
We feel our case is straightforward and strong, that City Council should act to uphold the spirit and the letter of the criteria by which the master plan was meant to be evaluated, keeping Portland's values and existing communities closely in mind.
We ask our elected officials to listen to the public testimony and to consider the more than 10,000 Portlanders, and I'm not including the Lloyd Center ice rinks petition, which has 5,500, who called for meaningful preservation of Lloyd Center and its historic rink.
Please ask yourselves, how can we encourage the ownership to invest in this landmark?
How can we work together to make something incredible happen through this process?
Are we really going to ignore the collective enthusiasm and protective instincts of such a large cross-section of our local community.
Imagine 5 years from now if Portland were able to retain and nurture this civic asset into an expression of what our city is capable of, promoting livability and pride of place, attracting visitors, and serving as a model for other cities.
We're not asking you, Council, to answer Thank you.
We'll get to other larger questions about the potentials and possibilities at Lloyd Center in this hearing.
But for today, our immediate ask is clear.
Do not approve this master plan as is.
It's risky, destructive, and it's an insult to the history and continued significance of Lloyd Center to this community.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
We're now moving to testimony from the— actually, uh, before we begin testimony, I'm going to go ahead and give us our 10-minute break right now.
So, uh, and then when we get back, we will get into public testimony of some supporters of the appellant.
So folks, please be back here at, uh, 11:05.
They go after the Okay, we're coming back to order, folks.
Uh, as we are coming back, I'd like to note that Vice President Clark has joined us, and I'm going to, uh, at the very beginning here, as we did with everybody else, ask President— Vice President Clark to declare if there are any conflicts of interest, ex parte communications, or any visits to the site.
Vice President Clark.
Benjamin Nielsen
Thank you.
Rebecca Dobert
Council President, no ex parte contacts.
I did receive about 20 emails which I didn't read.
I inadvertently read one from a former colleague, but there are no conflicts of interest, no site visits.
Jamie Dunphy
Perfect.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Welcome back.
We're now going to move towards public testimony from the appellants.
Rebecca, just to make sure that everyone in the room has an opportunity Oh yeah, if there's anybody in the room, on the dais, or in the audience who wants to object about what Councilor Clark just said?
Seeing none.
Okay, objection noted for the record.
Thank you.
Okay, Rebecca, do you wanna start us on public testimony?
Rebecca Dobert
Quick, before we call the first name, for those signed up to testify today, reminder that each testifier has 90 seconds.
I'm gonna call you up in groups of 5.
For those in person, you're gonna see a timer displayed in the monitor in front of the table where you're testifying.
You will have a chime to let you know when you have 30 seconds left.
And then a second chime to let you know when your time is up.
I have a question.
After the second chime, do you stop recording and stop record?
No, everything is recorded.
Okay, our first 5 testifiers are Matt Kelly, Stephanie Winningham, Jerry Leonard, Anna Horowitz, and Una Sawyer.
Jamie Dunphy
Come on up, folks.
Make sure to introduce yourselves for the record, and you'll have 90 seconds apiece.
And whoever sits down first gets to go first if they want.
Rebecca Dobert
And please state your name for the record when you begin.
Jamie Dunphy
Good morning, Council President Dunphy and Portland City Council.
My name is Matt Kelly.
I am a volunteer organizer alongside the Save Lloyd campaign.
I support more housing and thoughtful change that meets Portland's responsibilities.
During this climate crisis and demonstrates real sustainability innovation.
The master plan fails to describe how it will meet the city's goal of innovation in waste reduction.
It also fails to explain how the applicant will account for its demolition-first premise in light of Portland's waste reduction goals.
Benjamin Nielsen
When crews demolished the Nordstrom building, they sent waste to Coffin Butte landfill 75 miles away.
Jamie Dunphy
There is significant public opposition to the proposed expansion of that landfill.
Our region is quite literally running out of room for more waste.
The master plan asserts that, quote, none of the existing buildings are planned to remain because they're aging, single-use, and auto-oriented structures.
Benjamin Nielsen
These conditions are not proof that adaptation is impossible.
Jamie Dunphy
They are These are design and policy challenges, and all of them can be addressed through adaptive reuse strategies, just like the airport, I might add.
Benjamin Nielsen
The authors of the master plan employ passive voice to make demolition sound like a condition of the buildings rather than a choice that they have made.
Jamie Dunphy
That framing places far too much burden on the Lloyd Center itself and far too little responsibility on the technical Policy, financial, and civic tools at our disposal.
Benjamin Nielsen
This is not a choice between the past and the future.
Let's make Lloyd Center a place that the city is proud to have adapted, not a place it regrets having erased.
Please uphold the appeals.
Jamie Dunphy
Do not approve the plan without adequate findings on waste reduction, adaptive reuse, accessible ice skating, and Portland's responsibilities.
Thank you very much.
Go right ahead.
And again, folks, I, I appreciate the shows of support, but we have to, uh, please try and use less, less audible ones.
Thank you.
Please go ahead.
Rebecca Dobert
Hi, my name is Anna Horvitz.
I'm an adult skater.
The Lloyd Center ice rink has been a second home to me for years.
With affordable access to 50 hours of public skating per week, a sport I've loved for decades has become a part of my lifestyle.
Other rinks are farther away, more expensive, and have limited public skate times.
Ice skating opportunities for Portlanders will be severely limited if we lose our year-round rink.
At the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, a highly diverse population of skaters, instructors, and staff come together to skate and to play, to laugh, to learn, to grow, and to support one another.
It is quirky and welcoming in a way that is so very Portland.
To lose this community center would mean losing an historic piece of Portland's unique charm.
Being self-employed, self-supporting, and perpetually broke, I fully appreciate the importance of low-income housing.
But it's not just the roof over one's head that makes a home.
It's the neighborhood and community to which that home grants access.
I ask that the City Council please return the master plan to the Design Commission, deferring approval until there is a binding agreement that preserves, replaces, or relocates our beloved Rink.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
Hi, I'm Jerry Leonard, adult skater with my wife Tally.
In 2023, following significant community pushback and recognition of the iconic rink's importance, URG publicly committed to ensuring an ice rink remains a central feature in new plans, stating, and I quote, it's a non-negotiable element for the property's future.
The new rink will likely be smaller and oval-shaped But the goal is to maintain its role as a community hub visible from all levels of the reimagined development with potential for affordable housing and other amenities surrounding it.
Later, URG indicated it may be necessary to relocate the rink from its current location.
The public outcry for the rink to remain in the redevelopment is still present.
There is definitely a request that URG honor its own words of Thank you, Mayor Wilson.
I would like to thank the City of Portland for its commitment to retaining a permanent ice rink.
Historically, it has always provided great public relations, fostered community, and has promoted Lloyd Center.
It's provided so much more than a place to skate.
It has provided an atmosphere of goodwill and well-being, a place to escape the distractions in life while at the same time enjoying great physical exercise.
It is essential that the City Council listen to their local constituents as well as what Urban Renaissance Group previously committed to.
It is our hope that there will be a Lloyd Center Ice Arena for future generations to come.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Sound be drawn up upstairs?
Can it be louder up here?
It's really hard.
We'll see what we can do.
Point of information, can we ask whoever has that bird chirp thing to shut it up, please?
Okay, thanks.
Go ahead.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you.
My name is Lydia Finch, U.S. figure skating gold medalist, coach, and academy director.
Unlike many sports, figure skating is year-round, not seasonal.
Other rinks in the area such as Vancouver, Beaverton, and Sherwood facilities have turned away outside coaches, significantly increased costs, and have new policies that make it nearly impossible for many of our families to transition.
As the only Black figure skating coach in Portland, I have worked Thank you.
Councilmember Smith.
Thank you, Mayor.
I have worked tirelessly to make this sport more welcoming, accessible for children that have never seen themselves represented on the ice.
I have watched young Black skaters walk into the rink, see someone who looks like them coaching, and believe that they belong in this sport too.
Losing Lloyd Center doesn't just eliminate a rink, it removes one of the few places where diversity in figure skating has been intentionally fostered in our city.
The impact of this closure extends far beyond the ice.
Many coaches will lose their careers and already have.
Employees will lose their jobs.
Young athletes may be forced to quit the sport entirely and already have.
Families will have to drive outside Portland hours just to find a rink, if that they can afford the travel and higher rink fees.
A vibrant, diverse skating community that has taken decades to build will disappear overnight.
We often talk about investing into youth, creating healthy communities, and preserving spaces that bring people together, and Lloyd Center already does that.
Once it is gone, we cannot build another community like this overnight.
I urge you to consider alternatives that preserve this historic rink while allowing Lloyd Center to evolve and thrive.
Progress should not come by sacrificing one of Portland's most beloved and diverse spaces.
Thank you.
You can go ahead online, Una.
For the record, my name is Una Sawyer.
One afternoon in 2022, a new friend and I took a trip to Lloyd Center Ice Rink.
What was supposed to be a one-time activity quickly became much more.
A man taught us a proper 2-foot spin, recruited us into skate school, and from there our investment in the community spiraled.
If Lloyd Center Ice Rink cannot be preserved or built or replaced, our beloved community will be ruptured.
Our rink at Lloyd Center is no ordinary sheet of ice.
It's a place where people can start skating no matter who they are or how good they are.
When I started skating at age 13, it was one of the few places I felt a sense of belonging.
There I learned to push past perfectionism and try something I knew I wouldn't be great at right away.
Advanced skaters lifted me up rather than viewing me as competition.
Some of us with money and cars will be able to endure drives to further rinks, but I know that won't work for everyone.
For the friend I've grown closer to ever since that night we came to the Lloyd, the closure of the rink might be the end of her skating journey.
I've also made friendships with people who inspire me to live freely and dream riskfully.
These friendships are ones I cannot afford to lose.
Lloyd Center is our home, a home of inclusivity, diversity, accessibility, and acceptance.
The rink is a valuable asset to our city because it unites all sorts of people from Thank you very much.
Next, next up we have Alice Robinson, Eleanor Price, Ada Price, Jesse Rapoport, and Helen Gundlach.
Jamie Dunphy
Come on up, folks.
Make sure to introduce yourself, and whoever sat down first can go.
You want to go first?
Rebecca Dobert
Hi, my name is Alice Robinson.
I am the daughter of Jennifer Gilmore Robinson, my— and I'm 9 years old.
I've skated at Lloyd Center Ice Rink since I was 5.
Lloyd has always stood out to me because it was always more inviting and was home to the most welcoming community.
It's also the only rink that lets anyone skate there.
The rink is— the rink is like a second home to me.
A single chance of losing the rink is devastating to me and all my skating friends.
So as members of the City Council in a position that serves this In a position that serves the city's people, I ask you that you either send back the plans that determines Lloyd's future or help us relocate our community.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Thank you very much.
Hi, my name is Eleanor Price, and I have skated at Lloyd Center for 10 years.
Thank you.
If Lloyd weren't there, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to become the skater and community member that I am today.
12 Years ago at Lloyd Center, I was inspired to start my figure skating journey.
It was shortly before the mall closed for remodeling, and my mom had taken me with her to go shopping at the Macy's.
When we finished our shopping, I begged her to walk back via the skybridge so that I could look down at the ice rink below.
As I walked across, I looked down over the railing and saw a skater doing a spin.
It was a very simple spin, legs crossed, arms above her head, and she was wearing a red dress.
With a skirt that twirled around her as she spun.
I was immediately enthralled.
I turned to my mom and said, I want to do that!
And 2 years later, I was enrolled in my first learn-to-skate lessons at Lloyd.
Now, 10 years since I first stepped foot on the ice, I get to be the skater who inspires kids watching me skate.
I have long surpassed my original goal of a simple scratchman, today pursuing competitive jumps and spins and pushing my physical limits.
Now that I am growing into a coach and mentor figure at Lloyd, I'm heartbroken that I will not This community is just so supportive and wonderful, and I wouldn't have wanted to nor have been able to come as far as I have with skating if it weren't for them.
I beseech the City Council to send the proposed master plan back to the Design Commission and make approval contingent upon a binding agreement to preserve, replace, or relocate the year-round ice rink.
Thank you, and please help us save our community.
Thank you.
Any further discussion?
Thank you very much.
I am Ada Price, and I started skating 10 years ago at Lloyd Center.
Now I'm a highly competitive and dedicated figure skater, and one of the reasons I started skating was of how central Lloyd is in the Portland area.
I and many others here started skating because of how close we were and this— and how easy it was for us to get there.
This is why I want you to help us save skating in Portland.
So everyone has an equal opportunity to be a skater.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I think I'm last.
Benjamin Nielsen
Go ahead.
Jamie Dunphy
Whoever wants to go.
Rebecca Dobert
Oh, okay.
My name is Helen Gundlach.
I'm 75 years old and took up ice skating after a 35-year absence.
The lessons at Lloyd Center Ice Rink are affordable and the coaches phenomenal.
This rink is a marvel of intergenerational inclusiveness.
From toddlers to seniors.
It would be a tremendous loss to the community if the ice rink was gone.
Architecturally, it is a unique structure, an icon that has touched millions of lives.
Its contribution to the livability and vitality of the city is immeasurable.
It is the crown jewel of the mall, which should not be demolished because it no longer radiates the same sparkle as 65 years ago.
Like Grandma's diamond engagement ring, it has value, even if its setting is tarnished and old-fashioned.
Would we toss a family heirloom into the dustbin?
Of course not.
We would reimagine it in a new setting.
I urge City Council to reject URG's master plan.
Its only commitment is to demolition, not development.
Imagine 27 acres of empty space within the city limits.
Councilor Loretta Smith.
Attracting homeless camps and vagrancies.
I challenge you to create a new vision that showcases the ice rink in a repurposed Lloyd Center Mall.
Thank you very much.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
Hello, Council.
My name is Jesse Rapoport.
Today I want to talk to you about the waste of demolishing a building such as this one.
We're going to focus on the glass beneath the handrails.
So to get one pane of glass to Lloyd Center, firstly, excavators, bulldozers, freight trains, barges, semi-trucks, and more are used to mine and transport just the main ingredient, silica sand.
And then similar processes occur for the other ingredients like soda ash and limestone.
Once all of this is transported cross-country into one place, it's mixed and heated to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit and laid out into large sheets.
Then they're broken up into panes such as this one.
Then the edges are ground and then polished.
And after a lot of oil-burning transportation, eventually they make it into Lloyd Center Mall.
And then this repeats 20 times on the left, 20 times on the right, and then another 40 times behind that, and another 40 times behind that, and then do that again for the next floor up, and then do that again for the other half of the mall.
It comes out to a lot of money and a lot of resources.
Now, imagine bulldozers smashing all of these functioning panes of glass and sending the smithereens to a landfill, just throwing in the trash all of that hard work and environmental sacrifice.
In your heart of hearts, do you really believe that this qualifies as environmental adaptation, water conservation, waste reduction?
If not, then by definition, it does not satisfy the 6LD1 subpolicy requirement for this master plan.
And don't even get me started on the part of the mall that's not hand-railed glass.
Thank you.
Rebecca Dobert
Next we have Amer Ainam, Alec Schmidt, Georgia Kruegel, Sarah Price, Sequoia Meyer.
Jamie Dunphy
Welcome, folks.
Come on up, introduce yourselves for the record, and whoever's sitting down first gets to go first.
Rebecca Dobert
Should I go?
Jamie Dunphy
Please.
Rebecca Dobert
Okay, thank you.
Council, my name is Emer Inam.
My wife and our 2 kids skate at Lloyd Center.
Eli dreams of becoming an Olympian.
Sam is his biggest supporter.
What this community is pouring its heart out for is what makes Portland special.
This is a land use decision with real civic consequences.
The demolition is real.
The community loss is real.
The promised benefits are speculative.
The public was told the ice rink would remain.
The public trust was earned on promises eliminated 3 days before the Design Commission hearing.
Public trust deserves better.
This is not opposition to development.
It is stewardship.
A demand for development worthy of the community it reshapes.
Approvals must be earned, not assumed.
Today the charter asks you to make that judgment for yourselves.
Councilmember Smith, I would ask you to conclude.
The council has the authority here.
This is not a done deal.
Council, Portland remembers leaders with the courage to protect what made this city livable while demanding progress.
Tom McCall did this.
Vera Katz did that.
You have the opportunity today to create your own legacy in this city, not to stop change, but to demand a better version of it.
Make the world come to Portland to see what responsible community-driven development looks like.
Granting the appeal brings the community, the applicant, and the city back to the table for a plan that is investable and worthy of Portland.
Please grant the appeal.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Hello, my name is Alex Schmidt, and I have been the figure skating director of Southern Oregon Ice in Medford and the Winterhawks Ice at Beaverton Bringing both skate school programs to record numbers, former coach for Special Olympics Washington, and I'm now co-director of Pacific Ice Academy at Lloyd Center.
I've dedicated my life to supporting all kinds of skaters from beginner to international.
Ice skating is alive and thriving.
I read through every written testimony to understand those that support Lloyd Center and those that support the design commission.
This conversation is important, but the common theme is trust.
The Portland City Council is elected and appointed to serve the community.
Those in support of the appellant have heartfelt testimonies, whether citing policies or Portland values, including the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association and a former member of the Portland Landmarks Commission, while those in support of the applicant have submitted a generic form testimony with the overwhelming majority coming from real estate brokers, developers, architecture firms, et cetera.
Lloyd Center has seen what happens when an overly ambitious developer comes in and gets free rein to spruce up the place.
We end up with a tacky marble staircase and an appeal hearing because the money has run out.
Trust is broken.
URG promised a rink in their project, and this isn't the last promise they'll break.
Sprinker Recreation Center in Tacoma was on the brink of closure in 2011 before the community rallied to get the Parks Department to save it.
Today it's thriving.
I'm asking the council to step in to work with the Save Lloyd Ice group to ensure preservation of Portland ice skating.
Portlanders on both sides of the aisle would love to see this rink exist.
Listen to us, help us, and please attend the Please attend our gala this Friday, 5:00 PM.
Thank you.
Rebecca Dobert
Hello, my name is Sarah Price.
I guess I want to tell you just how we fell into the Lloyd Center.
So 10 years ago, I was looking for lessons for my children, and we settled on figure skating because it was affordable, the most affordable lessons I could find.
And it was really convenient.
We could get there before school and after school without, you know, traffic.
It's hard in Portland.
But once we got there, we discovered not just lessons that we enjoyed, but these shows.
Lloyd Center does 2 shows a year.
And the visual here is the costumes.
The girls get a really great costume.
Any skater can be in the show.
They learn a routine and then they perform in front of the whole mall crowd.
My kids loved it.
It was so much fun.
So we kept taking lessons.
Thank you.
And they kept getting better and they kept doing more shows.
And today I have the parent of 2 really pretty darn decent skaters, and we still choose to skate at Lloyd.
It is still the same reasons.
It's pretty darn affordable.
We can fit it in our budget, and it's really convenient.
The girls can get there before school.
They can get there after school to train.
It's an amazing community.
My girls' friends are there.
My girls' coaches are there.
Thank you.
My name is Georgia Kruegel.
I'm 12 years old, and I've been skating at the Lloyd Center for more than half of my life.
I have a strong connection to this mall and to all the gifts inside.
And by gifts, I'm talking about more than the ice rink.
There's a sense of home and community here.
My testimony today is not just for me.
It's for the hundreds of skaters who take lessons at Lloyd Center every week.
Nothing is more meaningful to me than this rink and the community we have here.
Young skaters learning how to swizzle, adult skater friends who support me with every jump and spin, and my wonderful coaches who have been there for me since day one.
For my family, this is also the only affordable local place for me to pursue Thank you.
I'm Councilor Mitch Green.
I'm a 5th grade student from the Lower East Side.
I'm here today to speak out against the proposed master plan for the Lloyd Center.
I grew up in the Lower East Side, and I've been coming to the Lloyd Center since I was 5 years old.
I've been skating here since I was 3 years old, and I'm here to pursue my love of ice skating.
Every chance I get to be at Lloyd Center feels like a gift, a gift that every Portlander should get to experience.
I look at the proposed master plan and it is unimaginative.
There's already a green space and a huge vacant lot across the street from the Lloyd Center that you can invest in.
There are business spaces for lease in every neighborhood.
There's not another ice rink where we can go.
The developers say that They say that they surveyed the community.
However, nobody ever asked our skating community for feedback.
I believe that kids and youth should have a voice in the decision.
We will be impacted by your vote for years to come.
We were promised an indoor rink, but where is that rink now?
Please retain, replace, or relocate our beloved ice rink.
Thank you for your time.
Hi, I'm Sequoia.
And I'm a skater at Lloyd.
It is such a special place because it is so welcoming and like no other.
For example, I've only been skating for 2 years and I already have a whole team of skaters that are my friends.
And I know for a fact we would all be devastated to lose each other.
This is why I'm asking you, City Council representatives, to retain or relocate At the Lloyd Ice Rink.
There are so many different types of skaters at Lloyd, from new beginners all the way to national skaters, 2-year-olds all the way to 80-year-olds, and we all represent Lloyd together.
It's not the walls or even the ice itself that make Lloyd matter.
It's the people around that make Lloyd Ice Rink matter.
There have been so many help Full moments where having such a marvelous team has been so helpful and fun.
For example, before I compete, my teammates help me calm me down.
And today we found out the ice rink wasn't in the plans like we had been promised.
We supported each other in our tears.
Now we are doing our best to make the most out of the time we have left.
Thank you.
And I ask you, please, please don't take our community away.
Make the construction company include a new rink in their plans.
Thank you.
Matt Price, Nick Fox, Shani Bender, Anna Johnson, Parker Welcome, folks.
Jamie Dunphy
Come on up and take it away.
Thank you.
My name is Matt Price, and I'm not much of a skater, but I am a big fan of the Lloyd Rink.
I've discovered that the Lloyd Rink is a common thread for Portlanders.
Everyone who's had to listen to me talk about the situation with the rink has had a story to tell about their time there, whether it's the holiday tradition or a way to beat summer heat.
Almost all of us have spent some time at the ice there, and there's nothing that replaces that if it closes.
I do spend a lot of time at the rink because my children are skaters, and they got that chance to learn to skate, to perform, to compete, because there is a year-round rink close to home where that could happen.
Thank you.
I'm amazed by the tricks that they perform balanced on a knife edge on this slippery surface, but I'm even more impressed by how hard they work mastering those tricks and how, what, how they've learned to pick themselves up and keep going every time they fall down.
I'm most impressed by the way that they support and are supported by The people around them.
The group of skaters, coaches, and workers there welcomes and encourages everyone who wants to skate.
My children have skating friends of all ages, all different backgrounds, and all skill levels who cheer each other on unreservedly.
The children and their friends, they deserve the chance to keep learning and doing what they love.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
My name is Shaney Bender and I live in the Cully neighborhood.
My family has lived in Portland for decades, staying for the quality of life the city offers, and the Lloyd Center ice rink is a big part of that.
The rink is our third space, a place to share joy, connect with others, and find community.
Families and skaters and to recharge.
It's buzzing with activity, vibrant and accessible to Portlanders of all stripes.
Within this community, my teenager has made a group of friends they call their skating siblings.
On February 2nd, after years of public statements that a new rink would be part of the redevelopment, URG broke that commitment.
Since then, our community has organized, launched a nonprofit, and is preparing a capital campaign.
We are confident we will be able to raise the funds to build a new facility.
Yet URG and KKR are unwilling to share even a small corner of their 29-acre project, a project with no other interested tenants, in order for this community to continue thriving.
Now the city has a choice.
Do we Do we want to be a city where people stay, or a stopover city of shiny plans and vacant lots?
I urge the City Council, send this back to the Design Commission and direct the developers to work with the city and community to find a mutually beneficial solution that preserves, replaces, or relocates our rink.
Good morning, councilors, Council President.
My name is Anna Johnson, and I live in District 1 in the Centennial neighborhood.
Place shapes us for better or worse, and I know this council is invested in making Portland the kind of place that draws people in.
We've had a rough few years, but those of us who are here know this place is worth fighting for.
However, it's a lot to revitalize the whole city at once.
You have to start with pieces, and one of those pieces for me is the Lloyd Center ice rink.
I never thought I'd be fighting for a skating rink amid all the things that are amiss in our society and have been for centuries.
But also, maybe this little rink represents all the other things.
It's the fight for inclusivity, for affordability, for community, and for our joy all wrapped in one.
And I do believe it supports the goals you have for the city and our community.
Even before I became obsessed with figure skating over the last year, The rink at Lloyd Center meant something to me.
I've skated there throughout the years as I and the rink and the mall around it changed over time.
From my first time on ice as a grade schooler in 2000 to one of my first dates with my now husband, this rink has been part of the backdrop of Portland and my life.
Learning to really skate as an adult has reminded me how exhilarating it is to prove to yourself that you can do hard things.
Thank you.
And I'm just one of countless people who have lived and loved and fallen and gotten up again on Lloyd Ice in the last 65 years.
While it is inevitable for cities to change over time, we do make choices about what is precious and should be preserved.
And I'm proud to be a lifelong Oregonian adding my voice and calling for council to send the master plan back to the Design Commission and make approval contingent upon a binding agreement that preserves, replaces, or relocates the ice rink.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
My name is Parker Doty, and I'm a 12-year-old Portland resident and a student of Lloyd Ice Rink.
The rink at Lloyd is a place where everyone can go, whatever your race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity— it doesn't matter.
No matter your age, experience, physical or mental ability, you can skate.
If the rink at Lloyd is not preserved, rebuilt, or relocated, A place of joy, exercise, fun, and community will be destroyed.
Even though there are other rinks outside our city, our rink at Lloyd is in the heart of Portland, on public— and on public transit.
So if you bring a good attitude and love, you can rent a pair of skates for the day and go home.
The rink at Lloyd is more than a building.
It is community and a second home.
To let the ice rink be erased from our physical plane is to take a part of our rose and bridge-covered Portland away from us.
So please, City Council, preserve, rebuild, or relocate the Lloyd Center ice rink.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
Benjamin Nielsen
Brad.
Good morning.
Jamie Dunphy
My name is Nick Fox.
I'm here to testify against the approval of the redevelopment plan.
Lloyd Center is a unique community and business hub full of potential that should not be wastefully demolished, but should live on in the spirit of adaptive reuse.
Benjamin Nielsen
The redevelopment plan goes against multiple City Council design guidelines, which include promoting sustainability, encouraging green practices, reuse of existing buildings, fostering community building and public spaces, supporting local businesses and employment, emphasizing Portland themes, building on local character and the identity of a place.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
The mall is an existing indoor climate-controlled space where communities and businesses have thrived.
It continues—.
Its continued existence and evolution satisfies the mentioned guidelines, while demolish— demolition actively defies them.
The failure to reuse the building and its destruction's climate impact and waste would be glaring examples of that defiance.
Furthermore, a plan which will demolish a historically cherished and recently renovated space, uh, leaving another large dirt lot in our city for an undeterminate amount of time, uh, is irresponsible and wasteful.
For instance, the lot across the street from Lloyd Center, which has been empty for a decade.
I ask that you reevaluate the redevelopment plan and ask, uh, if it really follows the city's own guidelines and values.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Chelsea Meyer, Justin Doty, Kathleen Rice, Emily Higgins, Melanie Throckmorton.
Jamie Dunphy
Welcome, folks.
Introduce yourself for the records, and whoever's sitting down first gets to go first.
Rebecca Dobert
Um, City Council members, thank you for the chance to speak.
My name is Chelsea Meyer.
I'm from the Kelly neighborhood.
Speak up.
And I'm here as a concerned parent.
Like many children today, my skater struggles with anxiety that can make everyday activities like going to school difficult.
Since she began skating 2 years ago, her self-confidence and ability to face challenges has improved dramatically.
She often says, Mama, when I get on the ice, my mind just goes blank.
And I can be.
This is a rare and special thing, and the Lloyd Center ice rink does that for many children.
Over 500 skaters a week skate at Lloyd Center.
A week.
500 Skaters a week.
This is a big deal, you guys.
That is why we are asking you, City Council, to send URG's plans back to the Design Commission and demand that the Lloyd Center ice rink be retained, replaced, or relocated.
Child anxiety is increasing.
We all know this.
And regular physical activity like ice skating reduces anxiety while improving mood, concentration, and social connection— benefits that matter for young people navigating the world stress that we have today.
Removing this rink without guaranteeing an equivalent local replacement would strip hundreds of skaters a week with this much-needed space for connection.
I'm asking you all, where are we gonna go?
Councilor Smith.
If you remove this, if you don't step in, where are we going to go?
Please step in.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you very much.
My name is Justin Doty.
I'm a Portland citizen living in 97214.
For many families, the rink has been one of the few affordable year-round places for kids to be active and connected.
For years, we were told the rink would remain, but now we find ourselves fighting for yet another civic institution.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mayor Wilson.
This is a historic moment in Portland's history.
Benjamin Nielsen
We are witnessing a beloved institution being ripped from the city.
Jamie Dunphy
The loss of this community hub would be devastating, not just to those of us in the skating community, but to the population of Portland at large, and no temporary seasonal pop-up could ever restore that.
Some will point to the hockey rinks in Beaverton or Sherwood or Vancouver and come to the conclusion that any sheet of ice will satisfy what is unfairly painted as a niche by those with little interest in the culture of our city.
Thousands of Portlanders take to the ice rink at Lloyd every year.
Hundreds Thank you.
Hundreds of students are learning to skate each week just 2.5 miles from where we're sitting, just off the MAX.
The rink at Lloyd hosts a cadre of uniquely skilled coaches who face displacement.
The Winterhawk Center, 7 miles down the highway in Beaverton, will not absorb thousands of Portlanders.
The Sherwood Rink, another 10 miles from there, isn't going to carve time into their hockey league schedules.
16 Miles away in another state, in Mountain View, will not serve us.
Benjamin Nielsen
When they turn off the lights on August 8th, Portland loses another defining feature of our city.
Jamie Dunphy
The city turns its back on its stated goals and guidelines and abandons the community that already exists for developmental hope casting, but most assuredly years of a vacant hole in the ground.
I urge the City Council to send the proposed master plan back to the Design Commission and require a binding agreement to preserve, replace, or relocate the year-round ice rink as a condition of its approval.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
My name is Emily Higgins.
I'm a resident of District 3.
The skating community is here today because of 2 failures by the developers.
First, a failure of honesty.
For 4 years, the developers consistently, enthusiastically, and unequivocally promised an ice rink in the redevelopment.
The truth did not emerge until just 3 Days before the Design Commission hearing.
I ask, is misleading the public over and over again an acceptable part of the process in Portland?
Second, a failure of creative thinking.
If the applicant had truly wanted to solve the ice rink issue, they certainly have the experience and connections to do it.
A good faith partnership formed earlier could have had us skating on new ice by the time Lloyd closes.
But this is still a solvable problem.
Our newly formed nonprofit is already working hard, putting the community first, and building partnerships capable of funding a replacement facility.
We just need a place.
Members of the City Council, I ask you to find a way to retain, replace, or relocate our beloved ice rink.
If not at Lloyd, Please help us find a new home.
My name is Melanie Throckmorton.
The best path forward for the Moda Center is a parallel investment in the Lloyd Center.
The Moda Center can be high-tech and posh.
Lloyd Center can be funky and free.
Synergy will create an awesome cultural and entertainment district.
With Save Lloyd, I found myself on a magical adventure.
I met amazing people who represent the spirit of Portland.
They work for free with no backers.
They are inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible.
They are activists saving a world on fire, creatives sharing their work, historians weaving the threads of history, houseless activists treasuring a third space, disabled and neurodiverse people with fresh perspectives, marginalized folks creating a refuge in Portland.
We created writings, graphics, songs, web pages, posts, analysis, documentation, and outreach.
Everything Lloyd touched came to life.
I had a third place to go and people to go there with.
Lloyd Center reignited my Metro pride and inspired hope for the future.
Lloyd Center gave me a reason to go to Portland and volunteer, shop, dine, and to spend.
City Council, please use your power to be Metro heroes.
Thank you.
Reject the master plan.
Mandate adaptive reuse of the Lloyd Center core.
Promote economic development and sustain the habitat of your funky people.
They have a little of that old light that made Portland a beacon to the world.
Thank you, Lloyd Center owners and operators, for the space you held for me.
Thank you for giving me a reason to invest in Portland.
I will never forget my Lloyd Center adventure.
Thank you very much.
Hello, my name is Kathleen, or Libby, Rice, and I'm here today in support of the appeals to save Lloyd Center.
Rather than approving a master plan that wastefully demolishes the entire mall, I would urge that the appeals be granted in order for— to give time for careful consideration of an alternative route to build housing while also preserving a meaningful portion of the mall, including the ice rink.
Thank you.
Design Policy 2.LD-3 requires the master plan to encourage public spaces, public art, and activities that celebrate the history of the district and that help build a community.
Demolishing Lloyd Center would not only destroy a historic building, it would displace the already vibrant community that has come to call the mall their home.
Groups like the viral all-inclusive mall walking group Food Court 5000, whose members include marginalized folks with mobility challenges and developmental disabilities, is just one example of what magic can happen when accessible indoor climate-controlled safe space is available to people in search of public activities that foster human connection.
Total demolition would rob us all of an invaluable space that could be so vibrant Thank you very much.
Julie, Julie Weber, Tara Kruegel, Elias Inam, Samuel Inam, Sienna Church.
So I can get the mic?
Yeah.
Yes, thank you.
I need help getting to the mic.
Um, my name is Eli Anam, and these are the reasons I love Lloyd Ice Rink.
It is the first rink I ever skated at.
I don't want my coach to move away.
I like skating with my friends.
I want to keep competing there.
I don't want to skate at colder rinks.
I like watching the really good skaters, having a lesson with the best coaches.
These are the reasons I love Lloyd Ice Rink, and I want everybody to have the same opportunities.
Help preserve Thank you very much.
My name is Sam Anam.
I am 11 years old.
I have been skating for 5 years.
The best thing about living in a city is that there are opportunities to visit new places, learn things, and have fun.
When I'm a teenager, I look forward to being able to take the bus and do things like skating with my friends.
If activities and culture get pushed to the suburbs, there will be nothing to do here.
Portland will become boring, and it will be difficult for my generation and our families to want to stay here.
This master plan is boring.
The city needs to put the community first.
My ask is for the City Council to please help preserve, replace, or relocate our special rink.
Thank you very much.
Jamie Dunphy
Tough act to follow.
Thank you, Council.
Rebecca Dobert
My name is Tara Kruegel.
I am a parent of ice skaters, a mall walker 5000, and a gold status rewards customer at the Lloyd Center Hot Topic.
I've spent— and I need it to stay there.
I've spent hundreds of hours of my life chaperoning my kids at the ice rink and watching the life cycle of the Lloyd Center, and I believe it would be a mistake to completely demolish this unique local hub of commerce, recreation, and community.
I'm here in solidarity with both appellants who have made great cases with the technical and legal arguments for why the ice rink and a portion of the current Lloyd structure should remain, while also supporting the goal of developing the housing in the area.
I have a hard time believing the narrative put in the media by private equity that we can't have both.
After many years of being assured that the ice rink would be part of any future plans on the site, the rug was pulled out from under us this past winter when the master plan was dropped on Lloyd Center users.
Councilmember Denying us any chance for input on the design.
Jamie Dunphy
I believe this lack of community outreach is one good reason to reopen the process.
Rebecca Dobert
A big topic in our country right now is affordability, and I want to say as a parent that Lloyd Center ice skating lessons are one of the most affordable activities my kids can do in Portland.
Enrolling them in reasonably priced weekly lessons gives them unlimited access to all public skating at the Lloyd Rink.
This is many hours a day of year-round climate-controlled exercise and recreation that is centrally located.
And accessible by transit, an amenity for families the city should want to retain rather than pushing more and more of us out to the suburbs to find these opportunities.
Jamie Dunphy
I ask you to please support these appeals so that we can get this design right.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Julie Weber or Sienna Church?
Keith Adamson?
Julie Strawitz?
Nicholas Prim, Wendy May, Amanda Bowman Mejia.
Jamie Dunphy
Good morning, Council President and councilors.
My name is Keith Adamson, uh, Vice Chair of the Solomons Gulch Neighborhood Association, and this testimony is offered on behalf of said organization.
Um, we support the appeals.
We ask council to sustain them and send the plan back for further review.
Lloyd Center is more than an aging mall.
It is a civic Aye.
Rebecca Dobert
Opposed?
Nay.
Motion carries.
Thank you.
Next item on the agenda is Council Bill 2023-1.
This is a proposed ordinance to establish a new zoning district for the downtown historic space, a home for small business, and part of the city's identity.
Jamie Dunphy
The approved framework appears to assume wholesale demolition without showing meaningful reuse was fully explored as called for by Guideline A-6.
This poor consideration of reuse also abuses the notion of sustainability, 1.LD-2.
While the applicant touts the benefits of future green development, it gives too little weight to the environmental costs of demolition in direct opposition to the city's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability acknowledgment of the need to address embodied carbon to meet our climate goals.
The removal of such a valuable community space with no serious prospect for its replacement calls into question how this master plan can possibly adhere to the criteria around community building 2.LD-3.
We support reinvestment housing, open space, and a stronger Lloyd District, but council should not approve a demolition-first plan.
And to be clear, the demolition is implicitly required by this plan, even if not filed, without clear assurance that the public benefits will be built and that the site will not sit vacant for years as nearby parcels already have.
Please uphold the appeals and require a revised plan that seriously evaluates reuse protects community-serving uses, and provides a credible and accountable path to real public benefit.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Hi, my name is Julie Strawitz.
I'm a skater and costumer for the Lloyd Center ice shows.
I moved to inner southeast Portland from Vermont 15 years ago.
I'm an avid skater and was thrilled to find a wonderful community of diverse people who use the Lloyd Center ice rink.
I became, became involved in taking classes, performing in shows, and also costuming.
I have never experienced the unique community that the Lloyd Center Rink offers at any of the other rinks I've skated at, and I've skated at a lot of rinks.
I have seen very young children as well as older adults and everyone in between enjoy the facility, skating together in the many classes that are offered as well as performing in the fantastic shows that entertain the wider Portland community.
I will be turning 70 in August, and I will sorely miss this wonderful, safe place to pursue the sport that I love.
I've seen a lot of changes in Portland over the last 15 years.
So many businesses, retail establishments, and individuals have left the city.
The only ice rink in Portland Metro leaving forever would be yet another blow to this formerly vibrant and very special place.
The year-round ice rink is too important a community asset to leave its future uncertain.
I ask that the City Council remand the master plan to the Design Commission and require an agreement to preserve, replace, or relocate the rink.
Thank you very much.
My name is Wendy May.
As a 69-year-old figure skater, I'm getting close to ending my time on the ice, so I will deal just fine with the closure of the I'm here mainly because the vibrant voices of the Lloyd skating community were never included in discussions when creating the master plan, an odd omission when the developer described years of input from neighbors and community groups.
Thank you, City Council, for allowing the skaters the opportunity today to at least feel like we are contributing to deliberative processes that affect the lives of Portland residents.
My ask today is for the City Council to remand the master plan back to the Design Commission to address the elimination of the iconic Lloyd rink.
If the council decides it cannot do this, I ask it to empower a public-private partnership along the lines of what is happening with the Portland Tennis Center.
The Lloyd Skaters have already formed a nonprofit which has the creation of a city year-round rink as its primary mission, and it has already begun fundraising.
Certainly there are city organizations that could assist this project so that Portland does not end up being the only Very much.
Um, my name is Amanda Bowman Mejia, and I am here to testify in support of the appeal of the Lloyd Center master plan.
As a mother and a school social worker, I'm concerned about the lack of third spaces for youth in Portland.
Lloyd Center demonstrates what is Aye.
This plan is only possible when rent is affordable and accessible for small businesses as well as youth-led and community-led organizations.
While the plan looks appealing, there is no promise of any developers actually going through with it.
I support a phased redevelopment as I am also very concerned about the heat island effect that will accompany a full demolition.
As temperatures continue to rise, it seems like a bad idea to tear down all the buildings at once and leave a A concrete parking lot.
Look across the street to the empty theater parking lot that is fenced off.
Having empty and unpromising spaces like this do not make the city look inviting or thriving.
There are numerous already empty buildings in this area as well that could be better targets for redevelopment.
I encourage city councilors to appeal the Lloyd Center master plan.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Hello, I am Nicholas Prim, uh, an advisor to the Save Lloyd campaign and the author of a real alternative plan called the Lloyd Commons Proposal.
As you have heard today, um, and we'll continue here, we all want the same thing.
We want housing development, we want the site revitalized, we want an eco-Lloyd district that actually works for the port— for Portland's next chapter.
What we do not want is for a 1 million square foot building that has served this city both The mall has served Portland both civically and economically for over 60 years and was recently remodeled for $50 million to be chucked into our local landfills in exchange for what is currently planned, a Central Park, a planned park that will initially sit at the center of a 27-acre demolition site for an undetermined number of years.
The current core structure, or the mall, and its surrounding site is capable of providing the housing, the open space, and the affordable housing opportunities The master plan promises, and most of this is already built—a three-story civic-style building ready to evolve past a mall into the Portland community landmark it has always been.
We all we are asking is that this council channel the creative and community resilience that clearly courses through the city and this room today, and find a way to make the master plan work for everyone.
Let's practice what we preach.
Let's ensure the findings reflect.
Sustainable, adaptive, and climate-honest urban planning, and that, that is core to this city's stated values and to its own code.
Remanding under adequate findings is how this council does that.
Demolish the wall of parking, save the civic core, and build the new block around it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Olive Eldridge, Brenda Arwen Rose Niedert, Liz Hardy, Roman Ruddick, Kellen Embry.
Jamie Dunphy
Welcome folks, come on down, uh, introduce yourselves and take it away.
Hello, I am Oliver Eldridge.
What the Lloyd Center has become in recent years represents the heart of Portland's identity.
It represents our answers to a question property developers have asked, like, what's our Pike's Place?
And it does so not by trying to recreate Pike's, sinking millions into a financially tumultuous project stuck in development limbo, but instead by allowing itself to be shaped by the people who visit it.
Instead of becoming a mall that favors large business, Lloyd becomes a community hub that puts local business and city residents first.
The master plan does not serve our working class.
The master plan does not exist The master plan exists to appease those who have active disdain towards our city.
An outdoor shopping center and more beige condos are not going to appease those people.
They never will.
The master plan in principle is antisocial.
It does not address climate crisis.
It does not address the volume of humanity, community, and art that comes from the Lloyd Center.
The master plan does not trust us with our own city.
The master plan keeps Portland timid.
We do not have the park blocks when we are timid.
The people here represent more than a property portfolio.
The people here understand that we can reuse our resources to create something special, something for us and by us.
The people here know the environmental impact the summer months have on our city.
We love this city.
We believe in this city.
When you go to bed at night, do you think of Zoom calls and ivory towers, or do you think of people?
Rebecca Dobert
Councilors, thank you for the opportunity to comment today.
My name is Liz Hardy.
I am a resident of District 3 and an adult member of the Lloyd skating community.
After having been away from skating since my childhood, Lloyd has allowed me to redevelop my skills in an inclusive and supportive environment.
But I'd like to focus today on the fact that this isn't really about saving a building or even really just about skating.
It's about making a choice as a community about what we want our future to look like.
The new Lloyd renderings we've all seen in local media are just ideas about what these redeveloped plots could look like.
The reality is that the developers have 10 years to begin redevelopment.
And while the master plan approval gives the property owner a leg up in courting investors, it doesn't guarantee that they'll materialize in sufficient numbers to make starting construction financially feasible.
This means that rather than being used for and by the community, there's a non-zero chance the land sits vacant for a decade, a big empty lot surrounded by chain link.
Then the developers sell it at a loss and take a write-off.
This would run directly counter to Policy 1LD-3 on tourism, retail, and entertainment.
This is a centrally Centrally located transit-accessible property with limitless potential as a community resource and draw to our great city.
And it would be a shame to let it sit, decay, and ultimately benefit no one.
I would encourage the council to ask the property owners what they have lined up in terms of investment.
We don't know what the answer to that question is, but I bet it's informative.
In conclusion, if our community has been meaningfully— if our community had been meaningfully engaged during the master plan process, We would not be here today.
But because we are, we ask for the council's help to preserve, replace, or relocate our rink.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
My name is Brenda Niedert, and I am a licensed mental health professional in the state of Oregon.
I have a private practice, and I'm here to speak about just how community spaces, and specifically the Lloyd Center ICE community, supports one another.
And 500 people a week, as someone else mentioned, that's a lot of people.
I've spoken with people who've come with anxiety, with other trauma, with substance use disorders, and I know we all care about those things in our community.
And personally speaking, I started skating about 4 years ago.
I had an only child who was critically ill at the moment, and I found great community support there, and I've continued to skate there almost every day since.
I think this is a very important community.
It's— we cannot find anything like this.
I've been to several different community places, and both young and old, everyone supports each other.
So I have like parent figures at Lloyd Center, and I've got young adults that I can show my love to when my son's far away.
So I ask the City Council to, to consider making a plan to preserve, replace, or re— relocate the Lloyd Ice Rink.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Hello, my name is Roman Ruddick.
I ask the council consider that while privately owned, Lloyd Center provides vital public service, and that this master plan site is designated as the anchor of a TIF district, positioning it for future public investment.
The applicant represents Lloyd Center as aging, single-use, auto-oriented, and disconnected from a neighborhood, but that is far from reality.
In a district dominated by corporate offices and ticketed venues with no library or community center, Councilor Smith.
Lloyd Center holds hundreds of accessible community events year-round, providing a climate-controlled, pedestrian-oriented public realm even during extreme weather.
The applicant's claim of reusing existing structures as impractical is unsubstantiated.
The renovations in the '90s were worth nearly $600 million today, followed by another $50 million investment less than a decade ago.
Councilmember Herbold.
Including major structural and energy efficiency upgrades.
Today, not a single housing project is proposed, but Lloyd Center has a long history of adaptive reuse, supporting medical offices, schools, government institutions, recreation, entertainment, and more.
Vacancy is not evidence that a building is obsolete, and demolition is not a prerequisite to progress.
I'm not asking that you require current owners to continue operating a mall.
Councilmember Smith.
I am simply asking that you do not approve a framework that lacks a clear path forward or evidence supporting the claims used to satisfy approval criteria.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Hello, and thank you for your time.
My name is Kellen Embry.
I'm a District 1 resident and for the last 2 years a Lloyd Center skater.
I want to be clear, I don't oppose housing, I don't oppose redevelopment, And I have a deep respect for the processes that this city has put in place to make development efforts clear and consistent, and would like to see Portland keep pace with other cities that work quickly to enhance the livability of their residents.
But when those processes leave no opportunity for real, meaningful engagement with the communities they serve, we're in trouble.
For years, skaters, employees, and coaches were repeatedly told that year-round skating would remain a central attraction in the area, By the time that the public learned that year-round ice skating was no longer part of that proposal, the opportunity for true collaboration had already passed.
When a project is intended to shape the future of a neighborhood and improve quality of life, the affected communities deserve a meaningful voice in determining what amenities and gathering spaces are worth preserving.
In this case, that conversation came too late.
We are asking for accountability, transparency, and for the community to have a seat at the table when decisions affect them.
Thank you.
Thousands of Portlanders.
Development and community assets are not mutually exclusive.
I urge you to send the plan back and make approval contingent upon a binding agreement to preserve, replace, or relocate the year-round rink.
Thank you.
Thank you all very much.
Ruth Aquino, Michelle Forbes, Cleo Levine, Zach Newman, Welcome, folks.
Hello, council members.
I'm Ruth Aquino.
I began skating at Lloyd Center when I was 5 years old.
I started coaching at Lloyd Center in the early '90s, and I'm still there.
Lloyd Center is a special third space of art and culture The rink is its crowning glory.
We have a large active adult skating community and aspiring young competitive figure skaters.
We provide a home for the Sherwood Figure Skating Club and recreational skaters that come just for the fun of it all.
We have a special needs skater that came to Lloyd Center when he was 12 years old.
He is now 25 years old.
He learned to skate.
His caregivers bring him to the rink Every day he skates for several hours.
He reacts to the music.
He speaks to people real and imagined.
Where will he go?
What will he do?
Lloyd Center provides physical, mental, and emotional needs every day by ice skating.
Dear council members, Multnomah County is offering less and less to its citizens.
You successfully put your heads together to save the duck and geese of Oregon.
I implore you to use that same energy to save the flocks of skaters at Lloyd Center.
Please don't ban ice skating from Lloyd Center, from Multnomah County, from Portland.
I want better for my students, my community, and myself.
Please demand a new full-size permanent rink in the master plan for the Lloyd redevelopment.
Thank you.
The, the design commission made a mistake, but there's time to turn it around and get it right.
Don't let the demise of the Lloyd Center—.
Thank you very much.
Michelle Forbes, Portland resident.
Lloyd Rink has been the center of so much positivity in our lives.
We found it when we needed a place for a winter birthday.
A party in the park in January is not a thing.
And since then, it's become our town square.
Every Portlander has fond memories of visiting Lloyd Rink, but it's not just frivolous nostalgia.
It holds a place in people's hearts because it's more than a physical building.
The rink is a truly inspiring place.
It's a resource for discovery, connection, and growth.
Thank you.
The best humanity can hope for.
We have to protect our resources and not allow them to be designed away.
If the codes can be flexible for a developer, why not for public need?
The rink is one of the strongest embodiments of so many of the city's own stated values and goals.
It's a distinctive urban place and a credit to Portland's character, which we all know has been crumbling.
It's what Portland truly needs for a real renaissance.
And miracle, we actually have it.
It's just about to be disappeared through a bunch of paperwork.
I really can't believe we're choosing to throw away this essential and beloved piece of Portland.
Is the White Stag sign next?
If we sacrifice Lloyd Rink today, it will be remembered as a sad day for the city.
I urge this City Council to make the Lloyd Plan approval contingent My name is James Mears.
Jamie Dunphy
I've been skating at Lloyd Center for almost 20 years.
I began skating there with my young son when he wanted to learn, so we both I skate now for exercise and to connect with my friends there.
The ice rink is a beautiful space, sunlit by overhead skylights.
Around the rink, there are usually people relaxing or eating lunch.
On the ice, I see children working on their figure skating lessons, and I see their instructors who teach them with dedication and with love for their sport.
I see adults who have skated for many years performing moves I see my friends Jerry and Tally, who have skated together for almost 60 years and who perform their dances at Lloyd Center 4 days a week.
I've seen them dance dozens of times, and every time there is someone videoing them with their phone.
It's not an exaggeration to say that those videos have been shared all over the world hundreds of times.
Thank you.
I see Jerry and Tally and all of the Lloyd Center ice skaters as emissaries of joy from Portland to the world.
I believe that what happens at Lloyd Center ice rink is part of the heart and soul of Portland.
It would be a great sacrifice to see it torn apart without at least some plan to replace it and to try to save the unique community that thrives there.
Thank you all very much for your time.
Rebecca Dobert
Thanks very much.
Cleo, go ahead online.
Hi, my name is Cleo Levine and I'm going into 6th grade at Fabian School in Northeast Portland.
I've been really into ice skating recently, but the closest rink besides Lloyd Center is an hour away with traffic.
That makes it harder for me, my family, and other people in our community to skate.
I understand that Keeping the rink at Lloyd Center might not be an option anymore, but I think I'm speaking for myself and a lot of other people when I say that even though the Lloyd Center development is supposed to attract new people to Portland, we should focus on kids in the community who also love to skate, such as myself.
The Lloyd Center ice rink has created a real community.
If the rink cannot stay where it is, I hope the city will help build a new sheet of ice somewhere nearby so that Portland does not lose its ice skating community.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you very much.
Go ahead, Zach.
Jamie Dunphy
Hello, um, my name is Zach Newman and I am a resident of District 3.
It saddens me to see no commitment to the history of this site almost anywhere within this application.
I'm asking City Council to require the preservation of historic amenities in the site like the ice skating rink.
The applicant says ad nauseam that the Lloyd Center is not a historic resource.
However, they failed to mention the several attempts at recognizing the space as such.
In a 2011 report, Modern Historical Resources in the Central City, Peter Meyer Architects, commissioned by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, identified the Lloyd Center as a Rank 2 significant historical resource, quote, a property that retains a high level of integrity and played a crucial role in the community's overall development and is individually eligible for historic landmark status.
Unfortunately, no meaningful action was taken after this inventory, but that does not mean it does not exist.
This report is still available in the city's archives.
Furthermore, in 1995, the Friends of the Lloyd Center Ice Rink petitioned the Landmarks Commission to give this rink historic landmark status, but once again, this effort was fruitless.
It does not mean the attempt did not occur.
The fact of the matter is that there have been several attempts at giving this ice rink and building historic status, and once a historic resource is lost, it is lost forever.
Please, City Council, respect the history and the culture of our city and require that historical homage be paid in this redevelopment plan.
Thank you.
Rebecca Dobert
Sienna Church has joined online.
You can go ahead, Sienna.
We can't hear you, Sienna.
You need to unmute.
There we go.
Hello, my name is Sienna Church and I live in St. Johns District 2, and I am one of the many adult skaters at the Lloyd Center ice rink.
I'm here to encourage city—.
Jamie Dunphy
Hey, Sienna, we're having a hard time hearing.
If you're able to get a little closer to the microphone.
Rebecca Dobert
Yep, how's that?
Jamie Dunphy
A little better.
Rebecca Dobert
My name is Sienna Church.
I live in St. Johns District 2, and I'm one of the many adult skaters at the Boys and Girls Club.
I'm here to encourage City Council to appeal the current design plan and maintain our original plan to preserve the skate park.
Sienna, we can't hear you.
Uh, no.
Do you have 2 microphones?
I just have one.
Um, you're very, very faint.
Uh, the members of the council can't hear you.
Let me try leaning back and seeing if that works.
We're still having trouble.
Council President, is it— the transcript is picking up her test Does it meet the, the needs to take this individual's testimony for us to read the transcript?
Jamie Dunphy
If that is as much as we can get from Sienna, let's, let's barrel through.
Yeah.
Rebecca Dobert
So, Sienna, you can continue.
The captions are getting your speech.
Okay.
My name is Sienna Church and I live in St. Johns District 2, and I am one of the many adult foster parents in Portland.
Skaters at the Lloyd Center ice rink.
I am here to encourage City Council to appeal for the current sign plan and maintain their original promise to preserve our historic ice rink.
I began skating at Lloyd nearly 2 years ago, and I have since found an irreplaceable community through my fellow skaters, coaches, and staff of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
As a community, we have the chance to preserve and invest in what makes our city unique.
This is more than simply an ice rink.
It is acting in ways that honor the values we claim to hold dear.
Today you've heard folks speak on the personal values of the rink, environmental impacts, local backing and attraction, and many more.
I urge you to hear the voices of our beautiful city and retain, replace, or relocate the Old Oyster Ice Rink.
Thank you.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you, Siena.
Rebecca Dobert
Tom Sollett.
Edith Gillis, Stephanie Yarnovich, Chris Yarnovich.
You can go ahead at the table.
Jamie Dunphy
All right, for the record, my name is Tom Sullitt, a future Portland City Councilor for District 3.
Speaking to you from the future because this moment is too important and you cannot go back in time to show up when it matters.
Portland needs investment and growth.
The question is, who are we willing to invest in to achieve both?
It's time to send the message that we are willing to bet big on the Portlanders who embody the spirit of this city.
Beautiful renderings and ambitious plans may show us what a place could become, but they cannot recreate the character that makes Portland Portland.
When others wrote Lloyd Center off, Portlanders refused to walk away.
They are still here, still investing and still fighting for its future.
The business owners, the neighbors, and advocates rallying to save it, and the community fighting to preserve the only truly accessible historic ice rink for families, kids, and athletes.
Thank you.
They are proof that Portlanders are our greatest asset and our most important investors.
We do not have to choose between demolishing what makes Lloyd Center special and the positive things being promised.
There is always another path forward.
We should pursue Metro's adaptive reuse mall concept that they have been exploring together, preserving what works today while allowing new housing and development on the surrounding land.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Edith is joining us online.
You can go ahead, Edith.
Edith Gillis, District 3.
Can you hear me?
Jamie Dunphy
We can.
Rebecca Dobert
Um, prohibit demolition of Lloyd Center Mall buildings, parking structure, and ice rink.
Require ownership of that to maintain it safe and inclusive to all abilities gender and cultural opportunities.
Expand on the use of the space so that the upper and south-facing parking spaces are community gardens and put in permanent lifelong no-income, low-income housing in the Regal parking lot with a parks on the south-facing highway side and have a forest, food forest, on the east side of the mall.
Make sure that you expand it to democratic community-led use that is mitigating climate, that has rooftop solar, and that has more education.
Do not demolish it because because the asbestos, fiberglass fibers, toxic dust and fumes will be harmful to the local community and the environment and the workers and cost too much.
And there's no guarantee that there will be anything else we need in that time, and we cannot afford the wait and delay.
We cannot trust this private equity firm because there is no time in history anywhere of them taking care of the environment, and they have not kept their word or taken care of the environment in their demolition so far.
Charles Manzano, Noah LeCompte, Jennifer Meyer, Autumn Bell, Phil Sano.
Jamie Dunphy
And unfortunately, this will be our last panel of testimony today.
Uh, we will be We'll be continuing this hearing tomorrow, but folks who are at the table, please take it away.
Rebecca Dobert
Hi, my name is Charlie Manzano.
I would like to draw attention to the framing of this plan as being shaped by, quote, community feedback.
The applicant, Tom Kilbane of Urban Renaissance Group, serves as chair of the Lloyd Enhanced Service District Board.
The ESD funds the Lloyd Community Association, Lloyd Eco District, and Go Lloyd.
All of which have represented the, quote, community organizations' ongoing outreach and support for the plan.
This does not sound like diversified, genuine community input.
This plan has also been repeatedly mischaracterized to the media and by supporters.
The most common example is the claim that it will create thousands of housing units, despite the fact that no housing project is being proposed.
And while the applicant may argue that demolition is not being approved today, Urban Renaissance Group has repeatedly stated that this plan requires complete demolition of the existing mall.
What council is being asked to approve is demolition without any specific redevelopment, buildings, or uses.
Supporters claim these appeals are delaying progress, but appeals are part of the public process.
Nothing is currently being delayed because no redevelopment project has been proposed.
Finally, Urban Renaissance Group spent years limiting and terminating leases at Lloyd Center, Then announced a closure timeline that drove customers and tenants away.
Now they point to the resulting vacancy and self-imposed financial losses as evidence that the building should be demolished.
Vacancy and bad business plans are not evidence that a building is obsolete.
Council should not approve this master plan until the applicant provides substantial evidence supporting the—.
Jamie Dunphy
All right, thank you very much.
Um, hello, my name is Noah Lewer-Lecomte.
I live in the Alberta neighborhood.
I want to say thank you for having us.
I have cherished memories of the Lloyd Center Mall and have been coming here since I was young.
As someone on the autism spectrum, Lloyd Center is one of the few safe spaces where I and other differently abled people can independently make friends, hang out, and join community clubs.
Demolishing this inclusive hub will be a devastating loss to our differently abled peers and community.
Tearing down the mall will also trigger a dangerous domino effect.
Leaving a giant dirt lot for years will likely invite illegal camps, drugs, and crime.
This will make neighborhoods and visitors feel unsafe, decrease tourism, causing nearby local shops and restaurants to lose business and potentially close as well.
Ultimately, this will lower Lloyd— Lloyd's District residential and commercial property values and harms Portland's overall economy.
Rebecca Dobert
I'm giving him my 90 seconds so he can finish.
Jamie Dunphy
Finally, we cannot lose the ice rink.
Thank you.
It is not just recreation, it's a school and a future career for skaters and artists.
Demolishing it is no different than tearing down the only law school within driving distance of an inspiring attorney of crashing their dreams.
The rink also in— also is an activity that protects— activity that presents inclusion.
Practices inclusion.
Practices inclusion.
Did you know wheelchairs are allowed on the ice and direct support workers can skate with their differently abled clients for free.
One last important note.
Most of you probably know about Olympic skater Tonya Harding's connection to the Lloyd Center, but most of you probably don't know that Louis Armstrong actually performed at Lloyd Center Mall.
The mall should be recognized and protected as an historical landmark.
The current owners have forced out willing tenants and turned away hundreds of applicants who, who want to fill empty spaces.
Please save Lloyd Center Mall and protect what has become a safe, inclusive, citywide community center for all.
Thanks to you for listening, and I even wrote a book about it that has to do with saving the Lloyd Center Mall.
Thank you, and you guys have a wonderful day.
Thank you very much.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you.
Hello, my name is Autumn Bell.
Um, with growing climate instability, it is more important than ever that both in our communities and in our local government we fight to keep spaces alive that can offer respite from these extreme temperatures.
More than that, newer generations are experiencing a higher rate of loneliness, with over 70% of Gen Z reporting they feel lonely on a daily or consistent basis due to a lack of third spaces created by the economic instability of the pandemic and both our local and federal governments deciding to support corporations over people.
In the last few years, we have watched the Lloyd Center grow into a much-needed hub Thank you.
The Lloyd Center is a cultural hub for people with a countless number of local businesses and events occurring on a weekly basis.
The current plan for the Lloyd Center building does not offer any alternatives to this much-needed free indoor space, replacing them with exclusive outdoor spaces where people are compressed into the primary method of the movement of capital, all the while harming the community, businesses, and environment directly around the Lloyd District during the disruptive multi-year construction process.
Our city is not built by corporations.
It is built by the people within them.
And it is built by the people in Lloyd Center, both past, present, and future.
No matter who you are in our community, everyone needs a free place to sit down, have water, and use the restroom in peace.
Everyone needs the Lloyd Center.
Thank you for your time.
Jamie Dunphy
Good morning, councilors.
My name is Phil Sano.
I live in Northeast.
I was born in Oregon City.
I visited Lloyd before it was enclosed, and I'd very much like to save Lloyd, and I think you're in a position to do it.
For 6 years, my partner and I had a store inside the Lloyd Center called Animal Plant Mineral, and it was a delight to be able to serve the people of Portland in a profound way.
One of the things that I'll remember forever was that during an actual smoke storm, some kids came through on roller skates, and their mom was like, well, you could Go to this fashion show thing that's happening here tomorrow, or we could be outside for— during a fun run for several hours in the middle of a smoke storm.
And the kids, oh, we can be inside?
And it was a great privilege to be able to offer this fun way of taking something that was very painful, of not being able to breathe comfortably outside.
And I sat through this process.
I heard Tom Kilbane— we heard Tom Kilbane say that he sat in Santa's lap when he was a child and that his kids sat in Santa's lap and that with his support, his grandkids would sit in Santa's lap.
I'd like to believe him, but then sometimes words conflict with actions.
And we are told— we've been told in this process, I think largely what we need to hear to move the process forward.
We weren't really invested in, with the exception of this very notepad, which I got from The people at Urban Renaissance, which I'm delighted to still be able to use.
Meanwhile, Governor Kotek has declared a state of emergency because, of course, this summer is going to be the hottest ever.
And you get to decide if Portland can keep 3 stories of filtered air, which Santa would very much like to have, as many others, or if we're going to invest in out-of-state.
And where that money goes is back out of state.
But we could make this space available to us.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, folks.
I had said this was the last panel, but we're going to accommodate one more person who is listed as the 91st on the list.
But we're going to hear one, one more person, and then we are taking a recess for the day.
Thank you so much, everybody.
You're very welcome.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you, Noah.
Roy Burge.
Roy, you can approach the testimony table.
Jamie Dunphy
Thanks, Roy.
I appreciate you get— letting me get in here today.
I'm Roy Burge.
I'm almost 85 years old.
Rebecca Dobert
Most people think I'm in mid-70s.
Jamie Dunphy
Anyway, hey, Judy and I are in the Portland Rose Society, okay?
For years we've been there.
And we have our road shows at the Lloyd Center.
Okay, now let's get to the iron of this.
I've got enough experience to tell you that it's not going to be very hard to leave the ice rink as it stands, roof and all.
Okay, take your 2 wings down, do whatever you want, apartments or whatever.
But you can save the ice rink as it stands, roof and all.
And I know it.
And if nobody knows how to do it, I'll show them how to do it.
Okay?
So that's where I'm coming from.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you.
If you got any other questions, get a hold of me.
Jamie Dunphy
I've got the information where I'm at.
Thank you very much.
So colleagues, with that, this hearing will be recessed.
Great.
So this hearing will be recessed and continued on June 25th, 2026 at 2:00 PM, and the testimony sign-up will be closed.
This means that council will hear more oral testimony tomorrow, and the record will remain open until the conclusion of that.
Or a future meeting for receipt of additional written testimony.
I would like to remind council and the public that there is another land use item, Recap 11, scheduled for a time certain at or after 2:00 PM tomorrow.
We'll take Recap 11 following the conclusion of presentations and testimony on the Lloyd Center-related appeal currently before us, most likely between 3:30 and 4:00 PM tomorrow.
There is also— there are also 3 second readings scheduled for tomorrow that must be voted on in order to meet other requirements.
Requirements of law.
An emergency ordinance correcting an error in the sewer and stormwater rate ordinance, and 2 ordinances related to the dissolution of the Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission and its inheritance by the city.
I am interested in discussing if we could suspend the rules to get those mandatory items taken care of very quickly at the top of tomorrow's meeting to be efficient with our staff's time.
Quick show of faces.
Anybody have concerns?
Okay.
Rebecca Dobert
Can we— should we Can we suspend the rules now to reorder the agenda so that it's done?
Jamie Dunphy
Nope.
No, we'll just take care of it tomorrow.
We'll take care of it tomorrow morning, um, and— or tomorrow afternoon, rather.
Uh, City Attorney, do we have anything else to discuss before we set a date, a time and date certain, and recess?
Rebecca Dobert
Um, so I will just reiterate what you heard, kind of, or what you said quickly and simply.
This item will continue till tomorrow at 2 o'clock, time certain.
Those who have already signed up to testify will— the clerk will continue to call in that order.
The written record remains open, so folks can continue to testify, submit testimony as they could previously online through the council clerk's website, as noticed.
However, the sign-up is closed as of now.
No additional parties can sign up.
So if you are signed up and you have not testified yet, You will get to testify tomorrow.
We will also hear from the applicant and finish the remainder of the proceeding.
Council will then decide whether or not to close the written record tomorrow.
What the council president also noticed is there are now 2 items scheduled for a time certain at 2 o'clock tomorrow.
Obviously, council can't hear 2 things at once.
I believe the intent is to take up this item first, so if folks are also interested in the second item, it may be delayed.
We don't know that yet.
Jamie Dunphy
Thank you.
Perfect.
Thank you, Lauren.
Uh, this hearing is in recess, to be continued tomorrow, June 25th, 2026, at 2:00 PM.
See you then.
Rebecca Dobert
Thank you.