HNA Appeals Ida B. Wells Land Use Decision
[October 30, 2026]
Editor's note: In addition to serving as editor of the Hillsdale News, I was a member of the HNA committee that prepared the appeal and testified at the October 15 City Council hearing. --Valeurie
The Hillsdale Neighborhood Association (HNA) has appealed the land use decision for construction of the new Ida B. Wells High School campus. In a hearing on October 15, Portland City Council heard testimony from both HNA and Portland Public Schools (PPS).
Following testimony, councilors voted to tentatively deny the appeal and accept a new condition proposed by PPS during the hearing. A final vote is scheduled for November 5, but a reversal of the tentative decision appears unlikely.
In its appeal, HNA emphasized support for the Wells modernization project but asked Council to add three conditions to the approval for the project:
1. Allow bicycles to ride in the “Rieke driveway,” which separates the Rieke and Wells campuses.
PPS has agreed to grant an easement allowing pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the pathway on the east side of the driveway. HNA maintains that the pathway is too narrow to safely accommodate pedestrians—including elementary-age children and people walking dogs on leashes—as well as the growing number of bicyclists, e-bike and e-scooter riders, many traveling at high speeds.
PPS disputes the claim that the path is too narrow and has declined to modify the easement. HNA’s appeal asks for a modification of the easement to allow bikes to use the roadway. (Note that bollards planned roughly in the middle of the Rieke driveway will put an end to vehicular through-traffic.)
2. Maintain safe pedestrian access at the SW Burlingame Ave. entrance to the Wells campus.
For several months, HNA requested a short segment of sidewalk and/or a new crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety at the SW Burlingame Ave. entrance. This route is designated as a Safe Route to School and is used by elementary as well as high school students.
PPS rejected those requests, arguing that the improvements were not legally required by code. Plans submitted to the City show landscaping proposed over the existing dirt path, which currently provides some measure of safety for pedestrians. HNA's appeal asks for a safe route that does not force pedestrians to walk in the street along an uphill, blind corner.
HNA representatives described both requested safety improvements as “commonsense” fixes to the project.
3. Maintain public access to outdoor spaces on the Wells campus, including athletic facilities and the courtyard.
HNA testimony stressed that campus grounds have been open to the public for more than 70 years and constitute important neighborhood “social infrastructure.” Given the hilly terrain and lack of sidewalks in Southwest Portland, access to school grounds is particularly important to the community.
Under PPS’s plans, fencing and time-lock gates will make much of the grounds and athletic facilities off-limits to the public, including the practice field and courtyard. This is very different from conditions at Grant High School, where the campus is largely unfenced and accessible to the public, including two student courtyards.
The images above show the campus before and after completion of the modernization project. After construction, everything inside the black line will be fenced with access controlled by time lock gates.
Other testimony focused on PPS’s lack of transparency regarding the fencing and gates plan, pointing to prominent public notice signage around the campus depicting the new campus without showing any fences. Written testimony in support of the HNA was provided by more than 45 people, including State Rep. Dacia Grayber and PPS School Board Member Virginia LaForte.
PPS’s response claimed no legal basis for Council to impose a condition requiring public access. Staff and students testified about vandalism, property damage and unauthorized use that interfere with students’ use of athletic facilities. Jeremy Shetler, a longtime Wells teacher and baseball coach, described years of cleaning up after careless dog owners, as well as the cost of repairing vandalism and replacing stolen equipment. Others raised safety concerns or commented that the campus is, first and foremost, a school and not a public park.
The fencing plans have brought to the surface different philosophies about the role a school plays in its community. HNA believes the campus should remain a neighborhood resource, and argues that public access and student safety are not mutually exclusive. With taxpayers investing nearly half a billion dollars in the new school, HNA believes the community should continue to benefit from that investment. PPS, meanwhile, says restricting public access is necessary to protect students and school property.
In its testimony, PPS offered a new condition that would “allow public access to the track facility and tennis courts on the Ida B. Wells campus, and the softball field and multi-use field on the Rieke campus outside of school hours from 6:00am to 8:00am and from 5:00pm to 9:00pm on weekdays and from 6:00am to 9:00pm on weekends and other days when school is not in session.” PPS would reserve the right to “prohibit public access in the event of vandalism.”
The new condition does not address all of the access concerns raised in HNA's appeal. In rebuttal testimony, HNA requested earlier morning access, beginning at 5:00am, and longer evening hours, particularly during the summer months. The condition would also leave several outdoor facilities unavailable for public use, including the Wells practice field, baseball field, and courtyard.
If Council denies the HNA appeal and approves PPS's proposed condition, the safety issues at the Rieke driveway and SW Burlingame would remain unaddressed.
—Valeurie Friedman
Get more upates on the Wells modernization project here.
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