A trail to nowhere, for now.(Photo © J. Maus)

The BTA reports great news in the ongoing saga of SK Northwest and their battle against building a key piece of trail across their property on the Willamette Riverfront just south of OMSI.
The BTA’s Michelle Poyourow writes on their blog that the Oregon Court of Appeals has […]

[Updated: 11/3, 10:05pm]
As reported by Emily Gardner of the BTA on Friday, SK Northwest has filed an appeal with the Oregon Court of Appeals.
It seems SK Northwest, who wants to develop a riverfront parcel for their personal watercraft business, can’t accept a recent Land Use Board of Appeals opinion that the city’s demand for […]

After it seemed like the final nail had been put in the coffin on SK Northwest’s development proposal, they have announced yet another appeal.
A quick look back at my coverage shows that this would be their fifth appeal since June 2006.

Red shows lot in question.(Graphic via Google Earth)

According to comments on my recent post by […]

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) reports a victory over SK Northwest after SK’s development application appeal was denied Friday by the City of Portland Hearings Office.
At issue was whether or not SK Northwest has to include a bike/ped trail along their proposed riverfront development.
According to the BTA, SK’s most recent appeal was shot down because […]

SK Northwest — one of Oregon’s largest dealers of personal watercraft and ATV’s — refuses to give up on their plans to develop property on the Willamette (without granting riverfront trail access) just south of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).

Proposed development area.Click to enlarge graphic

The company has already faced a string […]

“A trail corridor must be provided to address transportation impacts.”-Bureau of Development Services.

The Portland Bureau of Development Services has issued another denial for SK Northwest. It’s been one year since I first broke the story of the company’s plans to develop a facility along the Willamette River, just south of OMSI.

SK Northwest — a […]

Proposed development area.Click to enlarge graphic

SK Northwest, a Portland-based retailer of jet-skis and personal watercraft, has submitted another proposal to develop a key parcel of Willamette riverfront land.
The proposal was submitted to the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) on March 1st and once again, it does not include plans for a trail.
You might […]

[Scan of appeal decision mailed out Saturday]Editor’s note: Lines drawn by my daughter ;-)

The City of Portland Hearings Office* has denied the land use appeal of Shawn Karambelas. Karambelas is the business owner who wanted to develop a parcel of land just south of OMSI without including plans for public trail access on […]

[Looking south at currentend of Esplanade path.]

Yesterday was the public hearing on the SK Northwest development case. Unfortunately I wasn’t there but here’s a report from what I’ve heard and read so far.
According to Evan Manvel of the BTA there were about 45 people there which is “significantly more than these hearings usually […]

Dang. This is way late but the public hearing for SK Northwest is today at 1:30 at the Bureau of Development Services (1900 SW 4th Ave, 3rd floor).
To refresh your memory, SK Northwest is the company that is in escrow on a property just south of OMSI on the riverfront. They want to […]

I just love it that when someone opposes a recreational path in Portland it’s considered front page news.
This morning the Oregonian splashed the SK Northwest story on their front page.
This coverage will add fuel what is becoming a growing fire. Let’s just hope we can figure this mess out. Regardless of […]

The SK Northwest case is getting messier by the week. There has just been a second appeal (links to PDF) filed against the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) decision to not allow their permit. SK Northwest is seeking to build their business on a key section of the Springwater Corridor Trail and not […]

[Download appeal]

[UPDATE: Download appeal JPEG, 94K.]
SK Northwest, the company that wants to develop a parcel on the Willamette River and not allow public trail access through their property, has appealed the recent denial of their development permit.
According to Kate Green of the City of Portland Bureau of Development Services, a public hearing has […]

The City of Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS) has denied the development application of Shawn Karambelas and his company, SK Northwest (PDF of the official decision).
SK’s application to build on the Willamette River became a big deal because they didn’t want to allow a trail to be built across their property, in spite of […]

[See this comment for an update.]
Yesterday I received a phone call from Shawn Karambelas, owner of SK Northwest (I had left a message for him last week). This is the company currently in escrow on a lot just south of OMSI on the Willamette River, smack dab in the middle of a potential trail […]

[For reference, here are the previous posts on this issue:
Springwater development may nix trail improvement
Springwater development update]
This morning I spoke with Wayne Kingsley, the owner on record of the land being purchased by SK Northwest. Wayne is a well-known local businessman and president of American Waterways, Inc. owner and operator of the Portland Spirit […]

[The lot in question. Click to enlarge.]

SK Northwest’s plans to develop on the Willamette River, and their opposition to an existing trail easement (see this comment) a potential trail that would connect a popular portion of the Springwater Corridor Trail, has been met with serious concern from the community. Last week’s post has generated […]