Tag Archives: Brian Borrello

>Civic Food Mart Liquor License – Update

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>Previous posts on this subject…
http://blog.piedmontneighborhood.com/2008/02/civic-food-mart-liquor-license.html
http://blog.piedmontneighborhood.com/2008/02/civic-food-mart-liquor-license-update.html

Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) responded to Brian Borrello’s previous email with the following…

I have been speaking with the OLCC about this location. They request that you send a letter of opposition directly to them. In order to get it on the agenda for the Commission Hearing in April (March is a phone meeting and therefore unavailable for our purposes), we must show significant public opposition in the absence of other statistical evidence that the restrictions need to stay in place.

Brian Borrello requested from ONI…

Could you provide us with the restrictions for Civic Mart currently in place and
those they wish rescinded.The proximity to Peninsula Park, Community Ctr,
and playground warrant our close attention here.

Response…

There are currently 4 restrictions on this location.
1) 9:30 closing time
2) no glass containers
3) no fortified wines/Malt beverages more than 6% alcohol by volume
4) no sale of malt beverages larger than 24 Ounces

The owner is willing to abide by the restrictions on his hours of operation as he intends to close at 9pm, anyway. According to the OLCC investigator, he will not commit to voluntarily continuing the other three restrictions.

Mark Warrington from Portland Parks and Recreation has expressed his opposition. The Crime Prevention Coordinator, Mary Tompkins, has committed to writing a letter of opposition stating the positive impacts of the current restrictions. I will be contacting Amy Masier at the Community Center for her thoughts on the matter, as well.

PIEDMONT RESIDENTS!
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS POST IF THIS ISSUE IS OF CONCERN TO YOU!

>Civic Food Mart Liquor License – Update

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>Piedmont Neighborhood Association Land Use Co-Chair Brian Borrello has responded to Thresea Marchetti of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI)…

You state: “I have received a liquor license application for a change in ownership at an existing Market in the Piedmont neighborhood area. Civic Food Mart located at729 N Rosa Parks Way has applied to maintain the Off Premises sales license which allows the sale of beer/wine/cider to go in sealed containers.”

There seems to be a difference between “maintaining” existing restrictions and “lifting” them as recommended by the OLCC state employee.

Could you please clarify this distinction?

What are the limitations currently in place, and what are being proposed?

The owners of this establishment have tried every few years to have the restrictions lifted, and we have consistently had numerous people testify against, and the restrictions subsequently have been ruled to remain in place. These restrictions are not onerous- the limitation of fortified wines and liquors’ sales/ no extended hours of operation/etc were advocated for, and we even made concessions so as not to adversely affect their business. The impact of alcohol related disturbances and crime in proximity (within 150ft) to a children’s playground, community center, swimming pool, and public parkshould not be overlooked so a business owner can maximize his profits. I think the message is and has been clear to OLCC, and to the owners, of the citizenry’s position,so why is this even being considered yet again by this state regulatory agency?

Piedmont NA will offer fierce opposition to lifting these restrictions.

Please advise as to when the OLCC hearing will be held, so we can notify all concerned community members and prepare testimony.

Thanks
Brian Borrello
Land Use Co-chair
Piedmont NA

>Civic Food Mart Liquor License

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>The PNA received the following from The Office Of Neighborhood Involvement.

I have received a liquor license application for a change in ownership at an existing Market in the Piedmont neighborhood area. Civic Food Mart located at729 N Rosa Parks Way has applied to maintain the Off Premises sales license which allows the sale of beer/wine/cider to go in sealed containers.

The listed hours of operation are: Sunday thru Saturday 7am to 9pm. The application contact is: Seoung Hoon Baek

If you are aware of any existing problems or concerns at this location, please let me know by 2-23-08. Changes in ownership are typically routine paperwork; however, if there is a good neighbor agreement in place or identified problems at the location it can provide an opportunity for problem solving. If you have concerns regarding this license, please list the concerns in writing and remember they must be related to crime, alcohol, alcohol related behavior or drugs. Traffic, Parking and Trash are not considered during the licensing process at OLCC.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Theresa Marchetti
Office of Neighborhood Involvement
1221 SW 4th Ave
Portland, OR 97204
503-823-4064


PNA board member Brian Borrello responded to Thresa Marchetti with the following…

We would like to see all current restrictions remain in effect with the new owners.Piedmont NA strongly advocated for existing restrictions to remain in place at the OLCCappeals hearing 2 years ago. We even negotiated some concessions with that ownerthat might have been onerous to his sales. The close proximity of liquor sales to a children’s playground and community center,as well as past alcohol-related crime and disturbances in the area were, and should be currently noted.

The ONI is receiving comments until 2008-02-28. You may contact the ONI yourself or feel free to email the PNA your comments. Email to SECRETARY (AT) PiedmontNeighborhood (DOT) com

While it is the Board’s prerogative and responsibility to establish the official position of the association, each member has an individual right to participate in the process and to make their voice heard to regulators.

>Bryant Bridge Design Update

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>Hi All
Thanks for your interest and participation with the Bryant Bridge project.
We’re currently finishing our master plan,
which will include a comprehensive hit list of art and design features.

Objective is both to use our $50K ODOT grant this spring, and to go after more funding streams for
different aspects of the project over time.

We met last week with the project engineers to refine the possibilities of what is “do-able,”
to what extent we can remove/cut soundwalls, attachments to walls and bridge, bridge/approach modifications,how the contracting might take place, and what can be done
free/inexpensively by ODOT and PDOT (signage, chainlink, bollard removal, lighting repair, etc…) So we now have a clearer view of what the designs can be and how implemented.

The next step is further refining your ideas so that they can be presented to the public.
Specific treatments for master plan- (ie, reflective/mirror feature at blind turns, bridge-related graphics, contoured concrete with better turn radius, framed portals in soundwalls, bioswale/greenspace, cul-de-sac/streetpainting, motion activated solar lighting on bridge, greenwall, mural, etc.)
The big box of ideas will be contain smaller boxes, of which the ODOT bridge enhancement grant is one.
Some visuals have already been generated from our design session(s) since our meeting.
We need more, and by more hands. If you have modest drawing/rendering capabilities would like to either work with me or on your own to create a visual representation of a/the concept(s) that emerged at your table, or that you’d like to otherwise add, please contact me. I’ll provide you with copies of the bridge plan, photos, and tracing paper so that you can draw or do an overlay.
(We’ll work these into the “after” scenarios of the “before and after” of the plan)

We recently rec’vd a grant for “communications” related to the bridge project from the
Office of Neighborhood Involvement. We’ll be displaying the bridge visuals at local businessses and on the web http://www.piedmontneighborhood.com/ which will have a special Bryant Bridge section.
The community will offer their comments, and we’ll move towards consensus as to what we implement.
BTW: It looks like the bridge might rec’v “bike boulevard” designation via the Safe and Sound Streets
initiative, so some PDOT/City of Portland funding may ensue there. We plan for applying for a RACC grant for neighborhood/community “public art,” METRO for the bioswale demonstation project, and a host of foundation grant ops. We hope to “launch” with visuals/mock-ups/prototypes for the Sunday Parkways event on June 22.
We’ll keep you abreast of developments!

Onward…
Brian Borrello