If only all Mondays were this inspirational

Sign of the times: Modest well-sited homes look vulnerable.

Last night the United Neighborhoods for Reform (UNR) demolition/development resolution gathered more endorsements, from multiple quadrants of the city: Arlington Heights, Beaumont-Wilshire, Multnomah, and Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood associations.

At a time when discontent with city government and leadership among Portlanders is at an all-time high (in the past 20 years anyway), according to a recent item in Willamette Week, neighborhoods signal the need for change, adding their votes in favor of fewer demolitions and more beneficial development.

At the Powellhurst-Gilbert meeting, one neighbor who works for Lovett Deconstruction talked about taking apart and recycling structures that otherwise would have gone to the landfill. According to Restore Oregon, 2 percent of demolished homes is salvaged now. If a house must come down, and it contains quality materials, deconstruction is the right thing to do. The UNR demolition/development resolution suggests ways to incentivize it.

No one thought to build to all the maximums—until now.

Meanwhile the Bureau of Development Services seeks to hire more personnel. With entrenched views and allegiances, the bureau could use the new blood, and a more cooperative community-building stance. As Portland grows under the watch and stewardship of its many investors (homeowners and renters, too), we're all "business partners."