Save Madison South

Think Outside The "Big Box"

We cannot move forward without your help. Volunteers are needed to join our committees, go door-to-door, assist in raising money or to donate any time or skills you might have that we need. You are important to our effort.

Write a Letter!

It is critical that the City of Portland Planning Bureau gets as much neighborhood feedback as possible to take into consideration on this proposed development. Your opinion as a resident is given considerable weight in this process as the developer is asking for a conditional use permit.  Conditional use permits have a lot more leeway in terms of neighborhood input than others, and CAN have an impact.

Some tips on writing a letter:

• Be polite

• Be specific. What is it that you are most concerned about? Traffic? Congestion? Safety? Cut-through traffic? Property values?

• Give examples of current issues you observe and relate it to your concerns about this development.

• How will this development affect you, your house, your family and your neighborhood?

• Provide contact information so you can be reached. This adds legitimacy to your correspondence rather than an unsigned letter.

• VERY IMPORTANT: Copy the Save Madison South Committee on your letter so we know what has been sent.  Please send a copy of your letter to: Save Madison South, P.O. Box 30266, Portland, OR 97294.

Send letters to:

Sylvia Cate

Bureau of Development Services

1900 SW 4th Avenue

Suite 5000

Portland, OR 97201

Contact Your Elected Officials.

The Portland City Council, of all of the elected bodies of government, would have the most direct bearing on this issue. They also need to hear from you about your concerns because there is a very high likelihood that this issue may come up to appeal before the City Council.  Please click here (1 page, 81KB) to get a list of officials that you can contact.

Join a Committee

We need your help to stop the developer from building a "Big Box" store in the Madison South neighborhood. To do that, we have formed several committees. Each committee will focus on one area of the campaign. Whatever your interest and your talent may be, everyone has something to contribute. Below is a list of our committees and what they do. To volunteer for a committee, contact us by email at  or by phone at 503-539-3954 or 503-261-8090.

Neighborhood Awareness Sub Committee
This sub committee is crucial to getting the information out to the neighborhood residents. One thing it involves is going going-door-to door, distributing flyers and speaking directly to people about this issue. The best part of this sub committee is that we are discovering that there are great neighbors in Madison South. Almost everyone we speak with is friendly and thankful for the work we are doing to keep the neighborhood livable.

Even though much local news has been made about the proposed development, there are still some residents are unaware or uninformed about it. That is why it is so important to spread the word in person. We have the information of several hundred residents so far, but our plans include adding over two thousand in the coming weeks.

Another thing the Neighborhood Awareness Sub Committee will be doing is operating a phone tree. Once the developer submits the final application, we will need to quickly contact all of our supporters. Email will help immensely. However, many of the residents we have gathered information from do not have email addresses. They are important too, and will need to be informed.

Members of the Neighborhood Awareness Sub Committee will also assist with logistics at major Save Madison South events.

Business Relations Sub Committee
It is also important to spread our message to nearby businesses, as they will also be greatly affected. Sub committee members will coordinates activities designed to get local businesses informed, as well as involving them in the campaign against the "Big Box" development. Business Relations Sub Committee members will also assist with fundraising efforts by soliciting donations from concerned businesses, and also work with local businesses and merchants to locate potential tenants in this location that would be the right fit with this neighborhood.  

Media Relations Sub Committee
Members of this sub committee are responsible for managing media activities so our group continues the coverage we’ve been receiving and will be the official media spokespeople of the Save Madison South group.

Fundraising Sub Committee

Defeating the proposed development is not free. Fundraising Sub Committee members will be responsible for soliciting and managing donations. For further information on what the fundraising is for, click here to go to the Contribute page.

Join Our Action List

We are compiling a list of neighbors, associations and businesses who want to stay informed and be notified when the time comes to be called to action. Having this information is crucial to being able to react quickly when the time comes. This information is not shared with any third party or used for any solicitation other than by Save Madison South. If you want to be on our action list, contact us to provide:

Business Name (if a business)

Name

Address

Phone Number

Email Address (important)

Also, be sure to let us know if you are willing to assist us any further. The information should be emailed to .

Contact Your Neighbors

As mentioned above, we have been going door-to-door in the Madison South Neighborhood. However, we have not been able to speak to everyone. Please do take the time to bring this issue up with them. You can down load our flyer Front (1 page, 83KB) Back (1 page, 51.9KB)  that contains the topline information.

Buy a Yard Sign

By now you have seen the "Think Outside The Big Box" yard signs all around your neighborhood showing residents’ support for preserving the livability of Madison South and Roseway… and now you can get one too! You can also get a "Think Outside The Big Box" T-shirt.

To find out how click here.

E-Mail:
Phone: 503-539-3954 or 503-261-8090
Mail:  Save Madison South           P.O. Box 30266           Portland, OR 97294