The Save Madison South group—which has been fighting a proposed big box development on NE 82nd and Siskiyou—used VisionPDX as ammo against the developer. The neighborhood opposition and SmartCentres sat down on Monday to discuss the site, after the developer pulled their original big box plans and headed back to the drawing board. (Current zoning on the site allows for 60,000 square feet of development, but SmartCentres’ original proposal called for rezoning so they could build 240,000 of commercial space. cough**Wal-Mart**cough)

According to an update today from Save Madison South, the neighborhood reps made their case, that Portland has no interest in “a big slab of asphalt” surrounding big box stores—pointing out that VisionPDX’s statements of the obvious back them up.

Neighborhood representatives quickly responded to the contrary, communicating their common values along with those of the city, as captured from Mayor Tom Potter’s visionPDX research. Those values included a development that fits the character of the neighborhood community; green/sustainable buildings; less auto-centric development; inclusion of smaller local businesses; a component that is representative of neighborhood diversity (economic and ethnic); the highest possible mix of uses; a high contribution of family wage jobs on the site; coordination with existing perimeter zoning; and the activation of NE 82nd Avenue as a place for pedestrians with wider sidewalks, public interaction space, and store fronts facing the thoroughfare.

Residents made it clear that in order to continue talks with the developer, a new plan must be presented that would include those values to some degree. “Should SmartCentres be involved with the land at 82nd and Siskiyou, we need to see a plan that is radically different than the original application,” said Frank Walsh, Co-Chair of Save Madison South. “And if this is not something that is a possibility from SmartCentres’ perspective, then we respectfully ask them to walk away from this development and pursue other, more appropriate locations.”