Rezoning approved

A downtown Portland bookstore may soon be moving.

Portland Plan Commission voted Thursday to preliminarily rezone the former site of Integris Community Church at 601 N. Charles St. so it can potentially house a used bookstore and animal shelter.

The rezone from low density residential to highway service is contingent on the property being bought by Midwest Pet Refuge, which is looking to move its Cat Tales bookstore from its current site at 115 N. Meridian St.

“Our goal is to be good neighbors,” said Midwest Pet Refuge executive director Tara Drumm, who successfully lobbied against a proposed contingency that dogs not be housed at the facility.

John Hemmelgarn, director of Jay/Portland Building & Planning, recommended that Midwest Pet Refuge not house dogs at the site after he heard concerns from nearby residents about potential noise.

Commission members Don Gillespie, Kyle Cook, Bart Darby, Lee Newman, Ron Laux, Janet Powers and Kent McClung, absent Steve McIntosh, compromised and voted to allow the pet refuge to keep dogs overnight at the facility if they are inside the building.

“It would basically be the same as any other dogs in a neighbor’s house,” said Drumm, who added that the goal is to keep dogs there as little as possible and place them in foster homes quickly.

The church, which prior to Integris was the home of First Baptist Church of Portland, has been vacant for about 10 years. The lot, including four acres of grassland east of the former site of the church, was sold in March to G&W Properties LLC for $75,000, according to local geographic information system (GIS) records.

Any sale is expected to only include the church and parking lot but not the remaining land that stretches east to Glen Street.

Drumm said she doesn’t have a firm price for the property but that she is looking to move in as soon as possible and is hoping to raise funds through donations. She said the pet refuge currently rents the space along Meridian Street and has been looking to move into a new building for a while.

Per the commission vote, if the sale fails to happen or if Midwest Pet Refuge sells the lot or surrenders ownership of it, it will go back to being zoned as low density residential.

Drumm said the pet refuge has found homes for 225 of the 293 animals it has rescued this year. Those interested in adopting can visit its current Cat Tales location or go online to midwestpetrefuge.com.