Ida B Wells High School Rebuild Land Use Appeal

At a glance

Based on uploaded (human-made) captions.

What: document 2026-347, an appeal by the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association of the hearings officer's approval of the conditional use review to rebuild Ida B Wells High School (case LU 26-026160 CU AD), a Portland Public Schools campus that shares a site with an elementary school and a public pool.
Where it stands: on October 15, 2026 the council voted 12-0 to tentatively deny the appeal, uphold the hearings officer's decision and conditions, and add a new public-access condition offered by the school district. Staff return with revised findings for adoption and a final vote on November 5, 2026 at 2:30 p.m.
Divide: neighbors want protected bike and pedestrian routes and after-hours access to the grounds; the district and school staff and student leaders want a gated, secure, reservation-managed campus.

Request 1: a bike easement on the central campus driveway as well as the adjacent pathway (the hearings officer let the district designate either one for bikes).
Request 2: a safe off-road pedestrian route on Burlingame Avenue at the northeast corner, either by keeping and widening the existing path entrance or building a short sidewalk.
Request 3: public access to open areas and recreation facilities when the school is not using them.

The new building has the same capacity as the old one, so there is no added trip impact to support more transportation requirements; the transportation plan and major public trail rules do not apply to a conditional use review on this site.
Requiring neighbor recreation access would set a new precedent; none of the eight other public high school rebuilds since 2015 carried such a condition.
Four easements are already required; the district also keeps the farmers market site, rebuilds the public pool building and runs a civic use of buildings reservation program.
Fences and gates are allowed outright and are a district safety requirement.

Public access to the track, tennis courts, softball field and multi-use field from 6 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends and non-school days, with gates unlocked in those hours.
Subject to school uses and uses scheduled through the civic use of buildings program; the district may close the campus for vandalism, an emergency or a safety incident for the length of the incident and may exclude individuals who break its rules.
The appellant asked for a 5 a.m. start, afternoon opening nearer the end of the school day, summer access to 10 p.m. or sunset, and inclusion of the courtyard and practice field. The motion adopted the district's wording; several councilors urged the district to extend the hours if the first summer goes well.

Vice President Clark asked the district to define the level of vandalism that would close the gates (the district's attorney said the vandalism record is already in the evidentiary record).
Councilors found no legal basis in this proceeding to require the driveway easement or the Burlingame improvement; Councilors Clark and Zimmerman hoped the district would improve the pathway and the corner voluntarily.

https://www.portland.gov/council/agenda/2026/10/14 (the October 15 session was a recessed continuation of this meeting)
Video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=pmudIS0u2Xk (uploaded human captions)

About 172 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-15 - Council	172

2026-10-15 - Council - Evidentiary hearing: staff report by Andy Galicia and Tammy King; appeal presented by Valerie Friedman for the neighborhood association; Christy White for the district offered the new access condition; supporters and opponents testified; Councilor Zimmerman moved and Councilor Smith seconded tentative denial with the added condition, passed 12-0; final vote set for November 5.
2026-11-05 - Council - Hillsdale Neighborhood Association appeal scheduled for 2:30 PM.
2026-11-05 - Council - final vote was scheduled for 2:30 PM; the outcome was not read (Council adjourned at 2:33 PM).