Proposal to expand Portland’s downtown service district draws mixed reactions

Portland city officials are considering a controversial plan to significantly expand a contract for cleaning and security services downtown.

The proposal, which City Council heard public testimony about on Thursday, would expand the geographic boundaries of Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, a nonprofit that provides security and sidewalk cleaning to businesses. The plan would also extend the program’s current contract with the city to 2030.

Clean & Safe is run by the city’s largest business organization, the Portland Metro Chamber. The nonprofit contracts with the city to manage downtown Portland’s “enhanced service district,” an area where property owners — both residential and commercial — in a 213-block radius must pay fees that are collected by the city’s revenue department. That money then goes to Clean & Safe to pay for security teams, trash pickup, graffiti removal and other special services for those in the district.

“We serve as a partner, being eyes and ears for the city, everything from simple livability issues like potholes, all the way up to severe organized criminal activity that impacts our businesses,” said Mark Wells, executive director of Clean & Safe, at the council hearing.

Clean & Safe now wants to extend their contract by five additional years, with the possibility to renew for five more. The new contract assures Clean & Safe will receive nearly $58 million in fees from property owners in the first five years.

The updated contract also proposes a 10-year extension of the existence of a service district in downtown Portland, and expands the district’s boundaries. It would increase its zone to more than 270 blocks, expanding the downtown district’s western border to I-405 and stretching just north of the Fremont Bridge.

City Council members solely listened to testimony Thursday, and did not express their support or opposition to the proposal. They will vote on the decision in two weeks.

Many property owners who currently pay into the program celebrated Clean & Safe at the late afternoon hearing, attributing the revitalization of downtown Portland on the heels of the pandemic to the security and cleaning patrols. Penny Serrurier, a lawyer at Stoel Rives, said she was used to clients not wanting to meet at her downtown office, out of concern for their safety.

“Now, people have been commenting about how much cleaner the downtown area looks,” she said. “And, in the human psyche, clean equals safe and that’s what we need our downtown to feel like.”

Several downtown business owners said there is a clear difference in streets that are currently included in the district and those that are not. Jason Gerlt is the general manager at Southpark Seafood, which would be included in the proposed expanded district.

“I think that by expanding what they’re already doing is just going to be bringing more vibrancy and more safety in a cleaner environment for all of downtown Portland and the city core,” Gerlt said. But others who already pay into the program raised concerns to city commissioners.

“I’m a condo owner in downtown Portland and our building pays $24,000 a year to Clean & Safe and, for this, receives next to nothing,” said resident John Pumphrey. “I’ve made numerous complaints for the past three years to the executive team at Clean & Safe, and there have been no improvements of any sort.”

Other condo owners in the Clean & Safe District pushed back on the proposal, which would raise the fee rates about 11% for property owners — a per-building fee that’s based on a complex property value assessment.

Devin Reynolds, who oversees the city’s enhanced service districts, said that the new fee reflects inflation and a reduction in several complicated additional fees

“So, basically, we are streamlining,” Reynolds said. “We’re just having to tweak things to keep Clean & Safe as close to net neutral as we can so they can keep and maintain the services that they’re currently offering.”

The downtown district is one of three enhanced service districts in Portland, joining one in the Lloyd District and another in inner Southeast neighborhoods, both run by other nonprofits. These districts have long been under scrutiny for their lax oversight. In 2020, a city audit said that Portland has failed to conduct basic oversight of these districts, especially in response to complaints from the public — regarding private security guards.

While Clean & Safe leaders have called the audit flawed, it inspired the city to hire an outside consultant to make recommendations on how to improve the service district program. According to Reynolds, the program has adopted most of those recommendations.

The audit’s findings are just one of many concerns members of the public and property owners have raised with the agreement. Others characterize the agreement as a backdoor way for city elected officials to support the Metro Chamber, the city’s powerful business lobby known to wade into political campaigns. The chamber’s political committee has contributed at least $20,000 into local campaigns related to next week’s election.

Public documents show the Clean & Safe contract pays for nearly 50% of the chamber’s executives salaries. Pumphrey, the condo owner, underscored this fact in his testimony.

“What is the true purpose of Clean & Safe? Is it to keep our sidewalks and streets cleaner and safer?” he said. “Or is it a way for taxpayers to fund the Portland Metro Chamber, and the exorbitant salaries of a handful of executives that are incapable of producing any measurable results?”

The city doesn’t directly fund Clean & Safe — its revenue department only collects fees from property owners and funnels them to Clean & Safe. But, because the city owns property within the Clean & Safe district, it contributes to the organization through the fee payment system. In recent years, it contributed more than $500,000 annually to the program.

Several members of the public urged council members to delay the vote until after the next City Council and mayor enters office in 2025. Four out of five commissioners are running for office.

“This decision is largely unpopular with downtown residents, but the lame duck council is rushing it through before the election,” said Jordan Lewis, a downtown renter. “Voters know this council doesn’t represent or even respect them. Most of you are running for mayor and building public trust starts right here.”

Portland City Council will vote on the contract expansion on Nov. 13.