91ÊÓƵ

Attempts to halt Park Avenue West were denied Wednesday by Portland City Council after commissioners agreed unanimously that an affordable housing component could not be required for the project.

Local 49 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) had appealed a previous Portland Design Commission decision to approve the 30-story project, saying it lacked housing accessible to its workers. SEIU’s attorney, Hillsboro-based David Noren, said the city had to look at the broader policies of its master plan, which sought to include an affordable housing component in Central City projects.

“The Park Blocks should be accessible to all people and all incomes,” Noren said. “All we are asking is the council to show some vision and give folks who work downtown affordable rents.”

Steve Pfeiffer, a partner in Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie, said denying the project would impose standards on a specific project after it had been approved.

“There’s a lot of aspiration attached to this appeal saying what the council should do,” Pfeiffer said. “That doesn’t say what council is required to do.”

Commissioners agreed, saying that although affordable housing remains the city’s goal, it was not something they could impose on a project midstream.

“I’m just not persuaded that (affordable housing) falls under the legal conditions that were agreed to by the applicant,” Commissioner Nick Fish said. “While I appreciate the opportunity to have had this discussion, we are bound by the city code. I believe we have only one option in this hearing.”

The project’s developer, TMT Development, and the city still must negotiate requirements for four stories to be added to the tower. TMT will have many options to meet those requirements, such as adding eco-roofs or bicycle lockers, said Kara Fioravanti, senior planner for the city.

The city will submit its formal written opinion on the appeal by March 5, giving SEIU 21 days to appeal to the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals, Fioravanti said.