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Development of the Con-way Commons site in Northwest Portland is progressing 鈥� painstakingly.

During a three-hour-long hearing on Thursday, the Portland Design Commission considered an updated master plan for the 17-acre site. Residents expressed concerns about proposed locations for open spaces and the proposed density of future projects.

Meanwhile, the Con-way team is seeking plan approval as soon as possible so that other development can proceed.

One big concern for the Northwest District Association was the location and arrangement of a proposed town square and an adjacent public park.

鈥淭he issue of really defining the square and the park, we feel, is of paramount importance 鈥� and it would be possible to do that with the addition of a third building,鈥� said Donald Genasci, a Northwest Portland resident and a member of the NWDA.

Presently, the master plan document shows the square and the park located next to each other in the site鈥檚 southeast corner. The NWDA would like to see the square moved so that it is bordered on three sides by buildings with a strong, ground-floor retail presence.

During the meeting, a Portland Parks & Recreation staffer surprised attendees by requesting that development of the neighborhood park be removed from phasing. Con-way is in negotiations with the parks bureau for creation of that space in exchange for land.

鈥淲e do agree that the park should be developed sooner than later; it鈥檚 just a matter of financing,鈥� said Kia Selley, planning, development and asset manager for the bureau.

She added that there was no guarantee that the bureau would be able to collect the necessary system development charges to commit to construction in the near future.

鈥淐ommitting to an early implementation at this time is not possible,鈥� she said.

That comment raised eyebrows. Commissioner Andrew Jansky then asked why Con-way wouldn鈥檛 just develop the park itself. The Con-way team replied that the company was not interested in doing so and that it was already dedicating 25 percent of the total site as open public space.

Representatives from the NWDA, while pleased with 90 percent of the plan, also voiced concern about how future buildings would be broken up aesthetically. Genasci compared it to the Pearl District, which has smaller buildings interspersed with larger ones.

鈥淐on-way won鈥檛 have that possibility,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have a fairly monolithic development and so we are particularly sensitive to the scale of buildings.鈥�

A large part of the meeting, however, was dedicated to addressing those types of concerns. Phil Beyl of presented in lengthy detail a series of guidelines and criteria to guide the design of future development.

One challenge the team faced was an inclination by the commission to focus on specific design details rather than broader guiding principles that will facilitate creation of those designs later.

But Beyl said he was listening to the comments intently and that his team would do its best to resolve the issues in the coming weeks.

Another issue that came up during the meeting was the proposed density of future development. The Con-way team is recommending a minimum floor area ratio of three to one, which is consistent with the Northwest District Association鈥檚 own master plan.

But Patricia Gardner, vice president of the Pearl District Association, thinks that鈥檚 too low. She wasn鈥檛 present at the meeting, but she submitted comments in writing to the commissioners.

鈥淭he more you do not develop Con-way, the more pressure you put on the entire city or the more pressure you put on the urban growth boundary to be expanded,鈥� she said during a phone conversation after the meeting.

Gardner said a three-to-one ratio isn鈥檛 much higher than a suburban FAR and that it does not justify millions of dollars in infrastructure investment that would be required for mass transit and parks. The Con-way master plan envisions a highly pedestrian-oriented community; parking would taper off as development increases.

Beyl said the purpose of the low FAR was to let market conditions drive development. A higher FAR would increase traffic and trigger significant requirements for infrastructure upgrades, which would be a barrier for any developer.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what those (improvements) might be, but it would result in probably a pretty extensive study and would delay the project and delay the opportunity to take advantage of a pretty hot market condition,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I think the collective wisdom of the group said a three-to-one FAR 鈥� which is approved in the neighborhood plan 鈥� is going to be enough. It鈥檚 all that we can handle and get this going now.鈥�

The Con-way team also pointed out that because it is dedicating 25 percent of the land as open space, the overall density ratio is closer to four or five to one.

Developer which is in talks with a grocer to occupy a vacant warehouse on the site, is awaiting a resolution. That project is expected to go before the design commission in mid-August.

Beyl said his team hopes to resolve the outstanding issues within the next two weeks and reappear before the commission by Aug. 2. But that could be a challenge.

鈥淕etting that circumstance to occur and getting the meeting to happen and getting everyone on the same page 鈥� could take some time,鈥� he said. 鈥淗opefully not.鈥�