The final proposal included expansion of DPCS’s existing 213-block district to 273 blocks, a rate structure overhaul that would cap residential rates, and a new 10-year district reauthorization. Clean & Safe 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.
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.
“Our partnership with the city and our vendor staff are the keys to our district’s success. We wholeheartedly believe that every business district and neighborhood across the city should have the same opportunity to establish their own partnership with the city to create vibrant and prosperous neighborhoods,” said Mark Wells, executive director of Downtown Portland Clean & Safe.
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.
The Portland City Council voted 4-0 to approve Downtown Portland Clean & Safe’s district expansion proposal on November 13.
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