On October 31, the Portland Metro Chamber testified to support the district expansion proposal put before city council by fellow affiliate, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe (DPCS).
The final proposal included expansion of their existing 213-block district to 273 blocks, a rate structure overhaul that would cap residential rates, and a new 10-year district reauthorization. The Chamber acknowledged that the rate structure changes in the proposal were not taken lightly, given the ongoing revitalization of the Central City and current economic environmental impacts to property owners and businesses.
“It should be no secret that the commercial real estate industry is not doing well in our city. The rate changes and expansion will undoubtedly put strain on the financial capacity of some of these owners and properties,” said Andrew Hoan, president & CEO of the Portland Metro Chamber. “The Chamber is committed to working with DPCS, the city’s ESD coordinator and revenue bureau staff to provide resources and relief that mitigates burdens in the initial years of implementation.”
The Portland City Council voted 4-0 to approve Downtown Portland Clean & Safe’s district expansion proposal on November 13.
About district expansion
Clean & Safe began to explore district expansion after multiple schools and businesses outside the boundary requested to be part of the district. After those initial requests and given the lack of codified expansion language in city code, Clean & Safe began a community engagement process which included identifying boundaries, gauging support from property owners and the community, and ensuring potential revenues allow for equal provision of services to expansion areas.
By establishing this new process based on international best practices, Clean & Safe hopes that this will benefit Portland’s neighborhood business districts and make it easier to create more ESDs across the city.
About Downtown Portland Clean & Safe
Founded in 1988, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe is an Enhanced Service District (ESD) and provides enhanced services to the people, places and businesses within a designated area of downtown Portland. DPCS is one of three ESDs in Portland, where property owners fund enhanced services such as trash cleanup, graffiti removal, business development and placemaking.
In addition to providing cleaning and safety services, last year Clean & Safe accelerated its economic development and placemaking efforts by holding more than a hundred events at Director Park, placing nine pop-up shops within vacant storefronts, and disbursing $75,000 in grants to businesses entering new leases downtown.
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