"The Living Earth - An Introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture" with Beth Weiting
"The Living Earth - An Introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture" with Beth Weiting
Saturday March 1st 1:00-3:00 pm
All proceeds benefit TLC Farm
Sliding scale suggested donation $10-$20
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Beth Weiting is a former Vice President of the Biodynamic Association
and has over 25 years of experience as a biodynamic gardener. In this
workshop, Beth will draw on this to talk about practical aspects of
biodynamics for our backyards such as the use of sprays, preparation and
planting with the moon cycles.
***CLASS SPACE IS LIMITED***
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRIED:
to register, please email:
workshops@tryonfarm.org
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cycles of the earth
Navigate gallery: (thumbnails represent previous and following two images, if present, surrounding current image)
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Making Soft Cheese: a Workshop - Saturday March 15th - 10am-12:30pm
Soft Cheese making with Sue Romas - #3
Ages 10 and up.
March 15th, 2008
10am-12:30pm
Cheese making is an ancient and simple way to preserve fresh milk. We'll make two kinds of fresh, soft and delicious Farmer Cheese from scratch, taste a variety of homemade cheeses, and in the end you'll get some cultures to make your own. Why buy expensive imported chevre when you can make it yourself from local milk?
Taught by Sue Romas, farm resident and homemaking expert. Sue's only been making cheese for a little while but she's really, really excited to share the joy of homemade cheese with everyone. Crackers for tasting and tea provided.
Registration for the cheese classes is limited to 6 folks.
Preregistration is required.
Sliding Scale donation for this class: $20.00-30.00
Family friendly: there will be childcare available during the workshop for a small fee, although no small children will be allowed in the kitchen due to space and safety concerns. please let us know in advance if you are needing childcare during classtime.
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRIED:
please email: workshops@tryonfarm.org
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Portland Tribune article on ReCode Portland sparks lively discussion
Today Jim Redden of the Portland Tribune did a solid story on the new ReCode Portland campaign, which is currently facilitated by TLC Farm. Once on the website, of course, frequent commenters with well-established anti-left perspectives jumped into the fray -- and so did some amazing allies with beautifully supportive things to say. Overall, it's a wonderful opportunity to deepen the conversation around what real sustainability, and democracy, can and should look like.
I enjoyed the chance to respond at length:
Thanks so much for your energetic and often inspiring responses to ReCode Portland, this exciting new aspect of TLC Farm's programs! Portland's strength, and our best hope as an urban community, lies in so many folk with a passionate commitment to grassroots action for positive change. Reasonable people may disagree about the best approach, of course; that lends the resilience of diversity to our work. But I'm honored to be part of both the practice, and the discussion.
noyb:
> Not all of [the laws] make any sence. Very few of them
> are really enforced.
> The only reason these people are even getting any
> attention is because they brought it upon them selves.
Indeed, that's true. As another commenter pointed out, a great many households in Portland make effective use of sustainability technologies that are formally illegal, by acting more or less underground. Why not us? Or, we could have relied on the fact that all our local officials and bureaus are looking to make changes anyway; a few wonks in a room could solve many of the problems. Why did we launch a public campaign to highlight these incongruities? Why did we invite criticism by talking at length about all of these "problems" with a reporter?
The reason is that we want to make this conversation as public, as open, and as democratic as we possible can. As a culture -- and as citizens of a city many consider a beacon of sustainability -- our best hope to unleash the innovation and creativity of the people in finding healthier and more responsible ways of living together. It's going to take all of us to not only eliminate ridiculous codes, but to transform practices and attitudes to better achieve our true values.
I'm going to engage the conversation in two sections: first, some brief clarification of the article itself; second, a more detailed answer to the few critical (but doubtless well-intended) commenters.
Thanks, everyone! See my next comment for further details.
J. Brush
TLC Farm legal coordinator
ARTICLE CORRECTIONS
Now, going public involves some risks. Jim's a great reporter, but newspapers rarely get every single detail or aspect of a story completely right. So let me first clear up a few details.
Perhaps most importantly, the headline and first sentence are probably misleading. By no means were we shocked to discover that there would be zoning and code challenges involved in this project; indeed, we have always considered this a great chance for stakeholders to collaboratively solve long-standing issues. Some of the nuances were news (graywater is encouraged in WA, CA, and AZ -- but illegal in OR?), but positively transforming regulations has been part of the plan from the beginning.
Secondly, the approx. $20,000 master planning costs, and the approx. $6000 conditional use costs, are alternatives. With a master plan you have 10 years to initiate all the uses; with a conditional use review you have only 3.
Thirdly, while we support an experimental approach, the sustainability technologies we advocate are themselves well-proven. What we need to experiment with are social, economic, and political approaches to rapidly growing the use of such technologies.
Finally, BES (not OSD) combined with Metro and the Friends of Tryon Creek State Park to purchase a conservation easement over Park-adjacent land independently appraised at $400,000. As richard/s noted, that combined with a $600,000 mortgage from ShoreBank Pacific (at 8.5% interest, amortized over 25 years), as well as a $100,000 second mortgage from Equity Trust, Inc. (5% amortized over 10 years), and then donations ($350,000 from about 1500 people) and bridge loans. (To answer richard/s's question: yes, our mortgage payments have been promptly made. See our public financial statements here: http://tryonfarm.org/share/node/14 . Second half of 2007 will be available shortly.)
Government partners were particularly pleased at the efficiency of this public/private partnership: not only do they have a permanent protective property interest in a proportion of the land, but they have the security of the terms of the 99-year lease with OSALT, which require that the entire parcel be used for sustainable research and education purposes. (No danger of selling out, L Gleason!) Government bodies got conservation of ecologically valuable land worth almost $1.5m, plus research, demonstration, and education programs, all for $300,000. That's a deal!
There are a few more inaccuracies in the article -- Brenna was on the Vision Council's engagement committee, not the steering committee; as a young campaign, ReCode Portland hasn't formalized partnerships with other groups yet; the only new structures built so far are outbuildings and temporary structures under the 200 sq ft building code threshhold; etc. -- but I'd like to turn now to specific issues brought up by commenters on-line.
RESPONSE TO COMMENTS
---
Anonymous:
> Human waste should not be used as fertilizer.
Chris:
> Uh, Kumbaya Kids? The developing world is a disease ridden shi**ole...due in large part to the lack of modern santitation systems.
...
> Do the Tryon Creek folks intend to train their poop to stay
on their property? That must be some special poop. Smart too.
...
> Why has the environmental left been fighting against septic systems if they accomplish the same goal as your composting toilet?
---
This is a hot topic! "Wake up!" answered well, but I'll take the opportunity to go into more depth. "Modern" (ie. 19th century technology) sanitation involves dumping s$#% into drinking water, then piping it into the river when it's raining, or into a big cesspool next to the river when it's not. Even after the treatment plants, many municipal systems routinely violate the pollution standards set by DEQ and the EPA. Regardless, the nutrients fertilize something, usually unhelpful algal blooms.
That's what happens in the richest country in the world. "Developing world" urban areas suffer from far more heavily overtaxed systems (or none at all), without traditional practices or effective alternatives.
Extensive research into "waste treatment" shows what works: dense layers of biotic activity, in appropriate combination. This is a textbook opportunity for real sustainability: decentralized transformation of "waste", near the source, into valuable resources.
Maintained septic systems can work adequately, but they take far more space than is necessary and run the risk of leaching into groundwater. The reason is that they direct pathogen-filled liquid into the subsoil, in which there is much less biological activity. The best solutions maximize the opportunity for topsoil microorganisms, fungi, and plants to feed on and outcompete pathogens, and/or create so much heat that they can't survive. This can be done in two main ways:
1) Intensive wet bioremediation systems. Living Machines, rock and reed beds, mycofiltration systems, and other approaches increase the complexity and density of biotic activity interacting with water-borne wastes, while preventing leaching into the environment. They are very space-efficient, and work best at a neighborhood or institutional level where there is adequate consistency and attention to the system. We intend to create a demonstration model of such a system on the land, and streamline the permitting process.
2) Composting systems. A wide variety of technologies (as big or small as necessary) allow for a combination of nitrogen-rich "humanure" and carbon-rich mulch to be biologically processed safely, isolated from potential disease vectors, often involving temperatures high enough to rapidly kill pathogens. Once it has been completely processed (far more completely than "modern" municipal systems), it can be used on orchards or landscaping plants (to be super-safe, once again) in place of chemical fertilizers. Several states have operations that have been running successfully for years, even decades.
All approaches have been extensively tested, and our goal is to contiunue to verify the safety of all of these technologies exhaustively and finetune parameters for specific local situations.
By paying more attention to setting up an efficient system, and then small but regular doses of maintenance, we can create decentralized, safe, healthy closed-loop cycles rather than massive and obsolete billion-dollar industrial stopgap measures. Yes, in fact, we can "train" our poop to stay on our property by efficiently bioremediating it, and turning it into trees.
---
first things first:
> I think it is sad that the time, energy and dollars that could go to code fixes which would really benefit the community as a whole, or improve schools, or fix potholes will go to benefit this neo-hippy pot farm
Payin' my own way...:
> You see, cyn, those nasty folks sitting in their fancy homes after driving their big cars home....paid for all of it themselves.
> Note the difference from what your leftist, subsidized, grasping, lazy kumbaya-singin' bums at Tryon Creek want?
Old fart in Dayton, OR:
> More like a hippie commune, I thought we'd outgrown such childish ideological dreaming.
---
Well, the essential point of ReCode Portland is to benefit the community as a whole, by working with all interested stakeholders in creating regulations that accommodate and support the grassroots sustainability goals that the vast majority of Portlanders want. And TLC Farm provides low-cost and subsidized education to public school kids, and systematically supports alternative transportation modes (bikes, buses, carpools) that reduce traffic and potholes (which is also a key aspect of ReCode Portland).
It's a bit ridiculous to call a volunteer-run organization that has accomplished truly miraculous things by bringing together thousands upon thousands of active supporters and dozens upon dozens of organizations, "lazy". And for heaven's sake, we're open to the public 6 days a week and anyone can see we're not a "pot farm".
But are we "subsidized"? That's a more complicated question. As a non-profit, TLC Farm is in a sense subsidized because donations are tax-deductible. In addition, we receive grants from both government and non-government entities to perform work in the public interest. But compared to the enormous corporate welfare in this country, the tax loopholes for the wealthy, even the budgets of more establishment organizations, we are laughably un-subsidized by public funds.
Moreover, the residential community on the land (called Cedar Moon), is a completely separate legal entity that receives none of the funds directed to TLC Farm, and which pays 2/3 of the mortgage on the land. That's right: all of the residents of Cedar Moon pay market rates to live here, and then volunteer extensively for the non-profit.
And then we have to talk about the true "subsidies": the real, hard costs of pollution and wasted resources and climate change that are fueled by a disastrously short-sighted gluttony of fossil fuels, with the tab picked up by the government or (more often) future generations. We are much better weaned from those subsidies than most.
Hippy commune? Well, some of our volunteers have dreads, and others are factory-working bikers, and others are Lake Oswego grandmas, and others are soccer moms. This is a place where a wide cross-section of Portlanders feel comfortable and interact. And while Cedar Moon residents don't share incomes (the strict definition of commune), there is a lot of sharing of resources and consensus decision-making -- we like to call that "community".
Chris:
> It is amazing how quickly the leftists who want to control everyone else....want to excuse themselves because their hopes and dreams are so much more lofty and poetic.
Ah yes, the political question.
Now, TLC Farm includes leftists, and liberals, and libertarians, and centrists, and folk who are sick and tired of politics and just want to do the work of creating a better world. I'm not going to speak for TLC Farm, but for myself.
I don't want the government to control everyone else, and I don't want exceptions. I want democracy: better and better social systems for freeing up human freedom and creativity, while protecting against abuse and oppression.
On that front, I think we're in trouble. Government is largely in the hands of big corporations and monied elites, we all know that. Spending is focused on militarism and repression, missiles and prisons. Foolish and irresponsible practices (enormous houses and cars that leave folk lonely, industrial farming, clearcuts) are heavily incentivized in an economic system that rewards short-term greed at the expense of long-term wisdom -- and then pays off the banks and investors with the people's money when the chickens come home to roost.
It's up to us, as regular people working together, to create alternatives to this poor pretense to "democracy". Real democracy doesn't mean that anyone can do whatever they want without consequences, but it also shouldn't mean that your only involvement in choosing our future is a ballotbox every few years. Planning should be brought as close as is effectively possible to the impacted people, to responsible grassroots community networks making collaborative decisions and taking direct actions. Government is best when it facilitates us, not dominates us.
For me, that's what ReCode Portland is all about.
Thanks everyone. I look forward to further discussion (though I rarely get much time to read and respond like this)!
Blessings,
.brush
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ReCode Portland: organizing
Thu, 01/03/2008 - 3:58pm — brushGreetings, ReCoders!
Exciting things are on the move, though we've been a bit delayed getting the word out because of the holidays. Thanks for all the interest and input so far – it seems that this is ready to take on a life of its own!
This forum post is mostly the same as the email we just sent out to ReCode folks. To add to the discussion about how best to organize, new ideas, etc., just respond to this post! Once you're a participant or editor, you can create new topics too.
We had a great organizing meeting on December 13 at Laughing Horse Books. To read the detailed minutes, visit the ReCode blog at: http://tryonfarm.org/share/node/556
The next organizing meeting will be on Thursday, January 17 at 7 pm again at Laughing Horse Books (10 NE 12th). Hope to see you there!
Updates since the last meeting:
ReCode in the media: Our first media piece is happening sooner that anticipated. This past Sunday, TLC Farm got a call from Jim Redden asking “what's new?” and we couldn't resist telling him all about ReCode. Look for an article in Friday's Portland Tribune. Also, there is an article about ReCode in the most recent Communities magazine. Both articles focus on TLC Farm's involvement in ReCode, but we're very excited to be broadening the campaign beyond the work and vision of the farm.
Code Research: Amy Tyson wrote a comprehensive 35-page paper about ReCode, which discusses the history of building codes and zoning and details the specific regulatory issues TLC Farm is approaching in ReCode Portland. A great resource! (link to the website: http://tryonfarm.org/share/node/555)
On that front, we're hoping to use TLC Farm's collaborative web site as a tool to coordinate the great research that folk are doing. See http://tryonfarm.org/share/node/557 for further details on how to add to the site, and what our anticipated structure is. Please log in, and email us to be given editorial permissions!
Establishment of working groups:
To move the campaign forward, the folks at the meeting came up with the following five working groups. Each working group is autonomous and focused on its piece of the project, and all groups will come together once a month general meeting, to share resources and ideas and discuss strategy. Point people for the working groups act as catalysts to set meeting times and keep the group focused. If you're interested in getting involved with one (or more) of the working groups, please contact the point people. Some groups still need point people to help them move forward. Might that be you?
1.Code research and development. Point people: Cameron & Julee
Research what code and zoning is existing, and what we want to see. Figure out the process for creating new codes/ easier permitting for sustainable practices.
Folk (already) interested: Cameron, Julee, Matt, Amy, Tim, Jeff
2.Networking group. Point person: Brush
Keep in broader context, bring people in, cross-pollinate, contact allies. Get stakeholders on opposite sides, facilitate roundtables, understand the heart of issue. Networkers talk to people with concerns, not just ready-made allies. Also nationally, to bolster effort.
Folk interested: Brush, Magy, Jenny, Tim
3.Practices and goals. Point people (maybe?): Levin & Magy
What would these code changes look like on the ground? What is the world we want to see built? Work with code folks.
Folk interested: Levin, Magy, Julee, Amanda
4.Public education. Point person: ?
Public education through film, web, print media, etc. Create public awareness of the issues and garner support for regulatory change. Also, make easily accessible info about what the current codes are and how to navigate new ones.
Folk interested: Brenna, Amanda, Matt, Jeff
5.Government Relationships Point Person: Brenna
For both city and state.
Government is not keeping up with the desires/demands of the people. What concerns do they have, what are the hold-ups? Why were codes made in first place, and how can we address those concerns in a more sustainable fashion now?
Folk interested: Brenna, Jeremy
Fundraising: Not yet an established working group; could become so if people are interested. We don't want to wait for funding to get moving on the campaign, but will keep our eyes open for potential sources of funding for a paid organizer. We can write grants through TLC Farm. . .
Take care, and see you soon!
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Strawbale construction
Original draft
- Benefit: Very high insulation; local, renewable materials with low embedded energy
- Code needs: Non-load bearing has code already in Arizona, California at least: both seismic and not. See dcat.net.
- Local examples: Strawbale structure at Pedro Ferbel’s in Sellwood is first permitted in Portland.
Revise point 2:
Code needs: Improve existing code to eliminate requirement for vapor-barrier; include additional, fully tested structural engineering approaches; educate inspectors, etc.
Based on comments from Jeff Richardson:
Straw bale codes do exist in the state of Oregon. In fact a Eugene Architect was involved in the whole thing. What you want is Appendix M of the Oregon 2005 Residential Specialty Code.
The international code is accepted and modified or not by the individual states. It is in the Oregon version of the code and in use. There are numerous examples of fully permitted structures both post and beam infill and load bearing all over Southern Oregon. As of yet post and beam infill seems the most prevalent in the state. Largely due to a
desire for more complicated structures by many and a need for educating the building departments.
That said... the code is somewhat out of date. It needs to address shear value of the plasters for one thing. It also needs to have the requirement for a vapor impermeable barrier to be removed - as this runs counter to the desire for breathability in a strawbale wall. There are also new strucutral studies that have gone through full independant testing that are available outlining new methods of construction. This new method has numerous examples in Southern Oregon. I helped the local structural engineer compile the information from that testing and it is in heavy use in the area now.
New tested structural technique for StrawBale can be found here. They did all the testing to prove shear values on a strawbale wall using this technique. The Ecological Building Network (Who I highly recommend you might want to work with) Hired Tipping Mar structural engineers to develope and have tested the system - look here http://www.tippingmar.com/ and click on Research. You'll find both the shearwall testing with the new method outlined as well as research for a strawbale arch. Nothing wrong withthe strawbale structural method outlined in the codebook.... they just need to include the new method as well.
You can also find a lot of good technical info on everything from fly ash concrete to strawbales from the Ecological Building Network at http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/
There aren't any real barriers to building with Straw Bale these days.... you just have to educate the building department sometimes. It is much easier if you can get a structural engineer to back you up. I knkow a good one in Southern Oregon who already has it down.
ReCode Portland: Notes on particular codes, technologies, and laws
ReCode Portland is a project bringing together a wide variety of stakeholders, activists, researchers, builders, planners, and citizens of all kinds in designing and implementing a better regulatory environment. To do that, we need to share our research into what's currently out there, and what needs to be done.
ReCode has now launched a separate website: http://recode.ws
to gather technical information and share news of the campaign. Please visit that site for more detailed information.
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ReCode Portland Meeting Minutes: Dec 13, 2007
Thu, 01/03/2008 - 12:56pm — brenna
Thursday, December 13 from 7-9 pm
Laughing Horse Books (12 NE 10th).
minutes by Levin Nock, Lnock@comcast.net
At meeting, distributed hardcopy of ReCode wishlist draft; primary authors: brush and Joshua Klyber.
Action Items
>> We Could submit abstract by Jan 15 to carfree cities conference, in Portland this June. Anybody interested?
Brush will start a blog [forum]. Signup on TLC website. To create new topics, signup then email to Brush, he will give permission, then we all can write comments.
Levin will type up minutes. Brush or Brenna will distribute to email addresses on sign-up sheet.
Next meeting of entire group, third Thursday in January, 17 at 7 pm at Laughing Horse Books.
Before then, each working group meet at least once, the first 2 weeks in January.
Around the room, who's here
Brenna Bell
likes working with media, hone general knowledge into legal wonky stuff, then lobby. Is attorney & volunteer with TLC (Tryon Life Community) farm.
Brush,
volunteer with TLC Farm, grassroots activist experience, Likes permaculture. Each outcome builds on others, greater perspective, change in social relations. TLC Farm, learned law, wants to use for broader work.
Jeremy O'Leary
from PPG (Portland Permaculture Guild) CNRG, and portland Peak Oil wanted to be here, CNRG meeting overlaps (came late).
Levin Nock
Green building consultant, promote interconnected network of greenways, engineer. Ecobuilding Guild member, did Sustainable Building Advisor program, board member Center for Sustainable Today.
Magy Oriah Nock,
realtor, grad student in Organizational Systems Design and Renewal.
Likes to bring together diverse stakeholders, align vision with actions to achieve extraordinary results.
Create diverse and dynamic dialogue, not polarized, meet in middle, nobody lose, expand perceptions.
Matt Philips,
active concerned citizen, disillusioned engineer, personal environmentalist. How do systems support sustainability? VBC core group. Becoming self reliant, learning natural building. Cohousing, focus on community, not all need to work for money. How to change what's in the way of better system?
Cameron Mclain
Going school oit (Oregon Inst Tech) renewable energy. Works for energy trust (ET), home energy advisor. ET often promotes the least environmentally friendly option. Greywater, water use codes in state are awful.
Julee,
lawyer, school with Brenna. Three years disenchanted with legal system. Env'l lawyers don't have much clout. Peak oil, climate change, need to act now. Back in school for Leadership Ecology Culture and Learning at PSU. Aim in four years, retrofit large house into household several families. Earthen floors, demonstration project, for peak oil and climate change, can see 'what can I do?' Graywater, design inhouse frig cooled from earth, Retrofit normal frig. Want their house to be prototype, must be legal, to show everybody. Dance the line, push it far without being illegal.
Tim O'Neil,
degree in urban adminstration. Now americorp volunteer for SE Uplift, starting neighborhoorhood sustainability project. Has four neighborhoods now, each neighborhood nas different project.
See if he can sell this (ReCode) to the neighborhoods he's working with. Working on Carfree Cities conference coming this summer Portland.
Amy Tyson
Intern at zgf architects, getting architectural degree. Background in construction, contractor in north carolina, been researching zoning and building codes. There's hope, change is happening. Going to hawaii next week, will write a paper, research for TLC. What is present legal status of sustainable methodologies?
Amanda Rodes
Bought house, doing small things for a year. Now, where are my solar panels? Have a few rain barrels, fill in a few hours. Want to shift house totally next year. There are so many existing houses, must retrofit.
Been working on vision pdx past two years. Is a city planner, just moved over from Vision PDX, is a planner updating our comprehensive plan. Dream come true. Read peak oil, community groups, meet with groups like ReCode, find out what they want. Happy to be a link to planning bureau.
Jeff Holiman,
bioligist and volunteer learning garden, beaumont middle school, water garden now was impervious.
Loves fresh water, use to fullest potential. Also sust living, appropriate energy, natural building etc. ;
Other Groups to network with
You can't build a living building (USGBC Living Building Challenge) in portland because of greywater regulations, but pockets of people looking at. We don't need to create new, just tap into groups already moving.
Existing network. PPG Portland Permaculture Guild
NWEI NorthWest Earth Institute, has a new project center for earth leadership
Dick Roy (cofounder) is a lawyer, "lawyers for a sust future", aim is to write sustainable code.
Goal one.
A primary goal stated in statewide landuse planning is "public engagement". Usually lipservice, not serious. A nonprofit in Eugene (http://goal1.org) wants to make that meaningful, not brush it off.
Need to partner with HomeBuilders assoc, Plumbers assoc.
E.g. Plumbers don't want waterless urinals in City Hall. Less maintenance, fewer jobs for plumbers. Need to learn domestic hot solar water, look beyond.
Usgbc in ecotrust.
Greenbuilding association, josh is working on.
NW ecobuilding guild is not very active portland, but some here.
How change economic infrastructure: make portland epicenter of new green industry.
Sustainable Industries Journal based in portland, is Biz centered, not workers.
'jobs with justice' has a climate change working group.,
Has links to unions,
We want to create roundtable builders, activists, unions all talk, how work.
Ella baker fitzgerald, van jones, green jobs, in Oakland CA.
Enterprise Communities, affordable housing, promoting green building.
Earthadvantage (mainly new construction, not renovate).
Commercial greenbuilding industry in portland is very strong, good visibility with LEED, big dollars. City bds (Bureau Development Services), hired Debbie Kleek to look at variations to code, what's needed to support greenbuilding. But she's only looked at new development. Low cost residential, refurbish, not as sexy and mainstream. Maybe Debbie will look more at refurbish, someone at ReCode meeting mentioned refurbish to her.
Maybe greenbuilding is not the right word. "Do-It-Yourself Sustainability"? "Dark Green"? "Deep Green"?
Earthadvantage (EA) started doing remodels. But more dollars in new construction, their remodel program is inactive. EA trains ET advisors, but focuses on new construction.
Magy: pitching green/sustainable and profitable sometimes faux pas. How promote sustainability without banishing money. Need abundance. Existing neighborhoods already have connectedness, large trees, etc. Many EA new developments have very few trees.
Green living fairs. Learn about lite bulbs, etc.
Van Jones talks about Green people who are rich and Green people who are poor.
Want everybody on the boat. Interspecies, and all financial levels.
We need to Rock the boat, but don't lose anybody.
Group planning carfree cities in june. Discussion, provide solutions. Put pressure on decision makers.
Greenroofs seattle. Now industry is huge warehouses, want more residential.
The Portland Plan. Comprehensive Plan
Amanda: comp plan and working groups
Periodic review, entering now.
Many doc's are completely out of date. Just finished vision project. Will update the comp plan extensively. Ideas pursued for ten years are not in there yet, needs major overhaul. Nothing yet about watersheds, sustainability, etc.
Easy to plug in on interests. What OSD (Portland Office of Sustainable Development) is doing on global warming, will have central place to plug in.
Osd and planning bureau, internally, have given their vision of peak oil, etc. What are major issues, big ideas, new ways to do things in the city. Have six working groups, plus central city. Goal is done by march 2010.
March, done quick public process for the process, to do the work, next two years.
Issues, now have four.
Global warming
What's a good neighborhood? Topography, responsive to local conditions. Where are we being inconsistent with what we want to see? E.g., planning with nature, with watersheds.
Theres a problem with maintaining infrastructure. Parks, roads, maintenance deferred is a big problem.
Still hiring staff
Hiring public engagement manager, will design a plan to update the Comp Plan.
Will Review engagement plan and work plan by march, is ambitious. Might be april or may.
>> There will be a big summit, april 11, bring in national folks. Afternoon, focus on challenges. They've rented the convention center already. City council will discuss in March.
How to decide what the issues are? City employees will decide? Need somethng to talk about, specific topic?
Food policy council is working with sustainability working group.
Community health folks have 8 page doc.
Amanda will suggest to housing group, consider this. She'll submit the present Recode list.
Technical groups will meet again in January.
Steve dodder, is heading the whole Comp Plan revision. They want community groups to dog the process, tell them when missing something, they are very open to that.
Allison goal, tell us what's coming up.
Will send ecovillage zone, multiple use zoning ideas.
After updating the Comp Plan, then will update the zoning code language. That's a few years out. We might want to work on Ecovillage Zoning before then.
Community: cohousing, or neighborhoods. E.g., how empower people to take responsibility for their neighborhood. Will free up city resources, for more maintenance.
Big reorientation. Overall perspecitve, the only way for portland and society to engage the problem, is to unleash the innovative potential of the entire population.
Shift the fundamental idea.
Old: govt is a few elected/hired people, they do it.
New: Govt's job is to facilitate the work of citizens groups, help groups coordinate their work.
We don't need one set of zones. We need locally based, innovative solutions, assessment infrastructure to see what's working or not, and shift things around.
Big shift for a planning body.
We have greenbuilding technical resources. Also innovative organizing people, but collaboration not centrallized. How recode portland can catalyze these resources:
Shortterm: get rid of obstacles to grassroots sust tech.
Longterm: how can code incentivize creative approaches, info sharing, put this at the core.
Without costing the innovator extra time and money. Do an experiment, see how it works. The gov't should support experiments, facilitate them, make it easier to try something new (instead of more difficult/costly/illegal). When experiment is finished, publish the results for public educ. Whether it worked or not.
We will need to choose issues, what is state and city and county, each issue. For instance, Greywater, pilot project, is at state level. Portland building code comes from state or national level. Comp plan might not address bldg code.
Portland Bureau of Environmental Services can do water inside house.
Water outside is State deq (Dept Env'l Quality)
A Professor at lane communitiy college, one of main trainers of plumbers, said 'greywater systems in residential homes, over my dead body' why, what reasons? We need to find out.
Opponents = future allies, who don't know it yet.
At present, Neighborhood system is a small group of people, focus on my interest, my property value. Negative stigma for sustainability, hippies trash the property values. Reach out to these groups, how this works, will not harm you, it is for us. Neighborhood system can be a good tool.
Some code, maybe translate, expand, examples, sell our code, or educate others. To promote change, we must be really clear. Regulatory people would freak out if they read the ReCode wishlist draft. Their mind will read these notes differently than we meant. Opponents. Think about leverage. They can have a different opinion, but if we find one point to see their perspective, is dynamic. Need to find words with consistent, positive meaning for different groups.
Working groups
Focus on areas or functions. This is a campaign. Part of movement building.
1.Code research and development.
What Existing, and what we want. AZ has good greywater code, a few states have cob code already. Building and zoning. How do we permit the stuff we want?
2.Networking group.
Keep in broader context, bring people in, cross-pollinate, contact allies.
get stakeholders on opposite sides, facilitate roundtables, understand the heart of issue. Networkers talk to people with concerns, not just ready-made allies. Also nationally, to bolster effort.
3.Practices and goals
Natural builders, how implement. Work with code folks. What do we actually want to get?
4.Public education
Imagine Greywater guerrilla movie, balaclavas. There are plenty graywater systems here, illegal, not publicized. Make it absurd, that this is illegal. Media work. Sustainable life section in tribune.
5.Lobby
City and State.
How can gov't better serve people? What concerns do gov'ts have, why they doing this? Why were codes made in first place, and how can we address those concerns in a more sustainable fashion now?
Discussion about working groups
Training: Seven years to install PV. Full electrical license, then three years apprentice. Response to systems in the 80s, poorly designed and installed.
Each working group is autonomous, come together once a month general meeting, empowered of particular thing.
Must research codes, before talk to people about. Research on codes, Amy doing now, done very soon.
Fundraising: maybe add another group, if people interested. Don't want to wait for funding. Go forward, and could write grants, e.g. Community action grant, from vision process. Wanted equitable, sust, community.
Virtual group, until someone steps into it. Maybe have a paid organizer, to keep things moving.
Who wants to participate in which ReCode working group:
Brush: networking
Levin: practices and goals
Magy: networking: diverse stakeholders and visioning
Matt: wants understand code, public educ
Cameron: code research and devel
Julie: research, what will look like, and public educ.
Tim: code research, address concerns of different bureaus. Also networking.
Amy: done/doing research
Amanda: public educ, video. Practices and goals. Als govt liaison. Practical visioning.
Jeff: how tailor code to oregon and portland, and educ, spread the good word.
Brenna + Jeremy: lobby
29 people from PPG, how move forward?
Brush will start a blog on TLC website. To share doc's, can post on TLC website, or maybe a google group.
Possible next tasks
revise and expand the Recode List
Pull info out, how references are done. Format. Already a Living machine in oregon, at clatsop community college. Could do field trip, how did they get it?
Will do Blackwater system at port of portland HQ. Not permited yet.
Liaison with traditional envionmentalists.
Willamette riverkeepers sees Pollution permits.
We had a huge cso event, even with the big pipe, two weeks ago.
Ole Ericson flaunts the law. Humanure composting. No code says 'you can't compost your shit'. But you can't have a flush toilet that dumps on the ground. And you must have a flush toilet. He uses his as a planter. If he created a public nuisance, could be illegal. But he doesn't, it doesn't smell, his neighbors don't even know. Public health expert name?
Now: ReCode is a campaign, part of the TLC (Tryone Life Community) nonprofit. If write grant proposals, can go thru tlc.
Need a point person for each group:
Who take roles to shepherd process? Send email, be contact person for people. Brenna and Brush will coach people.
Code research and visionary practices and goals.
Cameron and Julie: code research.
Visionary practice: Magy and Levin will consider.
Public educ or networking or lobbying, prefer someone else besides Brenna or Brush.
Next: each subgroup meet, and whole group.
Big meeting, third thursday in january, 17. Note, conflicts with CNRG is third and fourth thursday.
Code research: Recode at tryonfarm.org
Laura dvorak paper, humanure trip thru seven chakras Resources.
Other Events coming soon.
At Gray to green event, sam adams said he loved the idea, he will sit down with us, to see which concerns are city level. We can get state level issues into city pkg given to state. Followup meeting, maybe this Tuesday Brenna and Jeremy, Lisa Libby in Sam Adams' office three pm tuesday. Been talking graywater, will broaden. Setting stage. They submit to the state in march.
Brush, eco-zoning. Goal: build allies, who can use it? What concerns, how are good codes used by nefarious entities to undermine best interests. How do faster track than 2010?
Lowhanging fruit: graywater, and eco-zone? Article in tribune this week, kenton neighborhood, urban graywater. Sera architects. Living buildings. Without greywater system, can't do a living bldg.
Courtyard housing competition, family friendly. Peoples choice award. Open house this weekend.
Conditional use, four unrelated people in one unit, must pay ~$5k for a conditional use study. In portland law. Not usually enforced, but can be.
Keep awareness open: we will need a much faster, dynamic, all hands on deck approach to transforming our relation to built space. Transform the dynamic, over the next decade. Whole game will change in the next few years.
Laughing Horse books, all-volunteer staff, gave space for free. They need customers.
TLC farm, holiday open house on sunday First public composting toilets in Portland.
- brenna's blog
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ReCode Portland: TLC Farm Case Study
The Case of TLC Farm: Affecting Change in Zoning and Building Codes
by Amy Tyson
Amy's paper provides a detailed exploration of the history of building and zoning codes, with specific discussions regarding TLC Farm's proposed changes to city and state coding to allow for more sustainable building practices.
Feedback and participation welcome! Please send bug reports to web@tryonfarm.org
