Portland design commissioners signaled Thursday they may be flexible in interpreting a 12-foot setback requirement for new development fronting the Green Loop.

Designers for the Block 216 project, along with city officials, are working to interpret new city standards for the Green Loop – a six-mile route in the Central City. The proposal from developer Walt Bowen and GBD Architects for a 35-story mixed-use building is the first along the Green Loop to undergo design review since the Central City 2035 plan was enacted.

A key question is how to enforce a guideline requiring 12-foot setbacks along 75 percent of the property line facing the Green Loop. The Block 216 tower would adjoin the Green Loop on Southwest Ninth Avenue between Washington and Alder streets.

Several commissioners said they would be open to a modification for the Block 216 project.

“I’m not going to be really a stickler on the 12-foot setback requirement; it’s going to be more about the environment you create,” Commissioner Andrew Clarke said. “I think you’re going in the right direction.”

If the Design Commission approves a modification of the setback requirement, it could open the door for developers of future projects to argue they, too, deserve an exception.

“I do believe this is precedent-setting for the city as well,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Phil Beyl, GBD’s director, said the Design Commission’s decision on the Block 216 project does not need to bind the commission in the future.

“What’s developed here does not have to be a precedent for all other block faces,” he said.

The setback would require the building to give back approximately 1,800 square feet along the ground-floor property line. That would render some projects undevelopable, Beyl said.

“From a plan development standpoint, it’s an extremely difficult condition to accommodate on our small blocks,” he said.

Beyl said if he’d been aware of the rule when it was being considered, he would have been “screaming from the rooftops.”

Bowen is proposing a food hall fronting the Green Loop. Early designs indicate large trees, benches and other outdoor seating would be installed where the Green Loop and building meet.

Commissioner Tad Savinar suggested the Design Commission should see what the landscape architect comes up with before the commission prescribes what the Green Loop frontage should look like. PLACE Studio principal Charles Brucker is leading the landscape design.

“I’d like the landscape team to go crazy on this first,” he said. “We want it to be fantastic.”

Commissioner Zari Santner suggested plants may be the way to go, recommending clematis and trellises. “It would be wonderful if you could treat these as gardens,” she said.

Commissioners said they can’t be sure the Ninth Avenue side of the building will always be a food hall. The design must meet guidelines regardless of future tenants.

“This could be a Walgreens,” Commissioner Jessica Molinar said.

The Ninth Avenue frontage was being designed with small-scale tenants in mind, Beyl said.

“We certainly can’t guarantee that it will never become a Walgreens,” he said, “but it’s highly unlikely.”

City officials are also weighing whether to remove curbside parking spaces on the east side of the block fronting the Green Loop. Several commissioners said they favored removing the parking spaces to help create a Dutch-style woonerf, or shared street.

City officials have not decided if motor vehicle traffic will continue to be allowed on that stretch of Ninth Avenue.

“In the near term, it may need to accommodate vehicles,” senior planner Mark Raggett said. “Long term, we may want to take advantage of the opportunity to remove vehicles entirely.”

The Block 216 project is scheduled to return for another design advice meeting on Sept. 13. Beyl said the Design Commission discussions were helpful.

“We’ve advanced our critical issues a long way and understand what we need to do to finish up,” he said.

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