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A new nonprofit is pushing back against plans to expand the Portland Japanese Garden further into Washington Park, claiming a lack of public involvement.

Portland architect Hilary Mackenzie last week submitted a notice of intent to appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals on behalf of the Alliance for Portland Public Lands, a nonprofit that she started. The appeal claims city of Portland conditional use approval for the garden expansion violated state requirements for public feedback because park property is involved.

鈥淭hese are public resources, and if you jigger with it there needs to be public discussion,鈥� Mackenzie said. 鈥淚f there was more public notice, more people would have had a chance to comment.鈥�

The Japanese Garden Society of Oregon, a private nonprofit, operates the 5.5-acre garden on 9.1 acres leased from the city. An expansion to accommodate a growing number of garden visitors would increase that acreage to 12.5. Plans filed with the city call for construction of 11,340 square feet of new buildings, including a ticketing pavilion, administrative offices, a garden house and a caf茅.

Mackenzie, who lives near the Portland Japanese Garden, claims that garden officials were vague about the plans and misrepresented the sizes of the new buildings. She also believes that more people than neighbors should have received notice about the project and the chance to offer feedback because Washington Park attracts visitors from throughout the city and region.

鈥淭he number one thing is taking 3.5 acres of public land and handing it over to a private entity,鈥� Mackenzie said.

Architects Tokyo-based Kengo Kuma and Associates and Portland-based THA Architecture, along with Portland-based landscape architects Sadafumi Uchiyama and Walker Macy, are in the early stages of project design, making it hard to share details, Portland Japanese Garden spokeswoman Lisa Christy said.

An important part of that process has been public involvement, she said. The design team and garden officials are consulting with neighbors and representatives of various city bureaus, such as Portland Parks & Recreation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation, on the most appropriate way to expand the garden, Christy said.

鈥淲e’re doing all we can to be a good neighbor, but also protect the park as is,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s all so preliminary because we’re still talking and working with the right people to make sure it’s done as thoroughly and considerately as possible.鈥�

Kathleen Stokes of the Portland Bureau of Development Services oversaw the application for conditional use approval, which was granted in July. She said she did not know enough about the LUBA appeal to comment on it.

One of the issues with the city’s approval that irked Mackenzie and members of the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association is that the expansion would block access to a popular footpath that connects to Washington Park’s popular Wildwood Trail. The path often is used by pedestrians traveling between Arlington Heights, the park and downtown Portland, Mackenzie said.

鈥淧eople can actually commute on this trail,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s a direct pedestrian link. It’s about as straight a line you can get.鈥�

The Portland Japanese Garden is planning for a connector path replacement, but it won’t be as convenient, Mackenzie said.

鈥淚t’s a half-mile out of the way and it’s very steep,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen you’re walking, a half-mile matters and it’s not a straight shot anymore.鈥�

In August, Mackenzie and the neighborhood association separately appealed city approval of the project to the Portland City Council. The neighborhood association later dropped its appeal before the council hearing in late August after garden officials agreed to address other neighborhood concerns with the project.

After city councilors denied Mackenzie’s appeal and last month officially granted approval for the project, she announced her intent to bring the matter before LUBA.

Susan Siegel, board president of the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association, said the group has not taken an official stance on Mackenzie’s LUBA appeal and at this point is satisfied with a commitment from garden officials to address a number of concerns besides the path closure. These include construction of a 6-foot-wide sidewalk around the garden, installation of a bus pullout, consultations with neighbors on the design of a fence along an access road, and stipulations involving construction hours and a staging area on park tennis courts.

鈥淚t’s a good faith agreement and the concessions we felt were significant,鈥� Siegel said.

As for the path, 鈥渨e agreed to disagree on that point,鈥� she said.

Mackenzie said she and other neighborhood residents didn’t realize the extent of the project or its impact on the connector path until this past spring when they saw plans that garden officials submitted to the city.

鈥淚 got a copy of the application and I thought, whoa ho, I have something to say about this,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat’s how it started and the neighborhood has been playing catch-up ever since.鈥�

City approval of the path-blocking plan demonstrates a disconnect with addressing the concerns and interests of the community in a project involving public land, Mackenzie said.

鈥淚t’s symptomatic of a larger issue,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his would have all come up if they had a real public process.鈥�

Siegel agreed that residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the Portland Japanese Garden aren’t the only ones who should have a say in the expansion project that affects Washington Park.

鈥淎s an individual, I think they did not give proper public notice,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his park isn’t just a neighborhood issue. We are hopeful there is access for everybody.鈥�

Concerns about the garden expansion inspired Mackenzie to found the Alliance for Portland Public Lands. She believes the project is among recent instances where Oregon’s emphasis on community involvement in public land use decisions has been overlooked.

鈥淭hat’s the core of our land use planning,鈥� Mackenzie said. 鈥淭his is how I formed the Portland Alliance for Public Lands, because that’s gotten eroded.鈥�

Portland Japanese Garden expansion

Location: 611 S.W. Kingston Ave.

Owner: Portland Japanese Garden Society of Oregon

Architects: Kengo Kuma and Associates and THA Architecture

Landscape architects: Sadafumi Uchiyama and Walker Macy

Engineers: PAE, KPFF Consulting Engineers and Geotechnical Resources Inc.

General contractor: Hoffman Construction