PORTLAND, Ore. – An 1890 single-family home in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Southeast Portland was demolished before receiving an issued demolition permit from the city.
Photo credit: Google Maps
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Located at 3930 SE Salmon St., the 125-year-old house totaled 670 square feet in size and sat on a 4,286-square-foot lot.
In August 2014 the property sold from Carocci Properties III LLC to Christopher Runyard for $285,000.
About eight months later the city received an application to “reconfigure and remodel” the main floor of the house and to construct a “small addition” to the southeast corner of the structure for an enclosed porch.
Photo credit: Google Maps
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
That addition permit was issued the same day the application was received in April. The applicant was Patrick Donaldson of Communitecture while the contractor is listed as Delightful Living Project LLC, registered to Peter Davidson.
But the city subsequently issued a violation regarding the construction on the property.
Photo credit: Google Maps
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
On June 22 the Bureau of Development Services issued a violation letter to the developer due to the scope of work under the alteration permit being exceeded. Violation information from PortlandMaps indicates there was no application for a new single-family residence, which apparently should have been submitted given the type of work occurring.
There were also no demolition permits applied for by that point.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
On Aug. 26 the city received an application for demolition of the 1890 house, listing the same property owner, applicant and contractor as the defunct alteration permit. The intake states the permit would be “subject to 35-day demo delay.”
However, when the property was photographed by the Portland Chronicle on Sept. 6, just 11 days later, the demolition had already occurred. The exceeded scope violation suggests the demolition had already occurred much prior to that point, and that the permit application was an effort to retroactively permit the tear-down.
The token demolition delay for the already-razed structure expired Sept. 30.
At the same time the retroactive demolition permit was filed the property owner applied for new construction of a two-story single-family residence. That permit is under review.
A notice of violation was posted on the property when it was photographed in early September.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
This publication previously reported on an un-permitted demolition that occurred in the Piedmont neighborhood last spring.