Decision: Stormwater Outfall at Whitaker Slough

City approves 20-inch diameter pipe for stormwater

Site: 7030 NE 46th Ave, 7107 NE 47th Ave, 4646 NE Buffalo St
Applicant: Matt Kelly, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Decision Rendered: Jan 8, 2025

Portland Permitting & Development completed a land use review process and approved a new city-built stormwater facility on the dead-end block of NE 46th Ave north of Columbia Blvd. Cully Association of Neighbors did not not receive the original notification for this land use review process and did not comment on the decision.

The decision covers work planned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The new stormwater outfall requires construction on 3 properties and in the street right of way for NE 46th Ave.

Part of the stormwater work falls within an Environmental Conservation (c) overlay zone, which triggered the land use review process. In that type of zone, stormwater outfall pipes are normally limited to six-inch diameter. The city proposes to install a 20-inch diameter pipe, and this change from the standard pipe size requires a land use review.

The proposal is part of a larger project that includes right-of-way improvements to NE 46th Ave and the construction of a new section of NE Bryant Street between NE 46th Avenue and NE 47th Avenue. As part of this work, the city will remove one native tree, a six-inch diameter bigleaf maple, and one listed nuisance species tree, a twelve-inch white poplar.

Site plan for stormwater outfall construction on NE 46th Ave

Design cross-section for stormwater outfall construction on NE 46th Ave