Second Better Ideas Forum adds light
NW Examiner subscribers share thoughts on improving the city
The second NW Examiner Better Ideas Forum, held March 8, divided into three groups to discuss, refine and endorse a few doable ideas generated by its 10 participants, all subscribers to the newspaper. The forum was moderated by Steve Kanter, who summarized the session.
While the forums were not envisioned with a particular goal or action agenda, an interest in pursuing further action emerged. Participants of all forums will be linked by areas of interest into potential action groups.
Three main topic areas emerged from both sessions held so far, in this summary by Kanter:
Cleaner and more enticing neighborhood sidewalks and streets
Each group should link up with the similarly minded group from the other Better Ideas forum, and find community and government coalition partners where possible. Start with a pilot program in one or two relatively small areas of the neighborhood as a demonstration proof of concept. Draw people in and redevelop a sense of community pride. Use the ideas listed in the relevant above sections. Develop catchy slogan, graphics, poster, sticker for participant businesses, etc. Possibly involve a high school arts program. Publicity through local news media.
Come up with creative program to deal with dog poop.
Call for a more effective city response for human waste and dangerous, unsanitary materials like needles, etc.
Revitalize Portland’s core / more effective response to homelessness
There is already good work and information that is not well coordinated or widely known. Need a central effective searchable clearinghouse with an easy-to-use central platform.
Utilize external expertise where it is helpful and available, e.g. National League of Cities, etc.; Charlotte, N.C.; Montreal, etc.
Consider attached plan for converting some of vacant downtown office space to large three-four bedroom family residences. Combine various plans to infuse downtown with activities, artist and creative types getting cheap leases and other suggestions for restoring life to core. Livable and exciting downtown was Portland’s crown jewel, but is no more. Good activities naturally suppress bad ones. Require government workers to be in their downtown offices or be fired.
Along these lines, we need a serious census of homeless populations so they can be segmented and treated separately. Housing with services, not just housing alone or services alone: mental health for the severely mentally ill; drug and alcohol treatment for addicted; restore accountability and responsibility for those of the homeless populations who can—work/service requirements to give pride, some compensation or partial offset of housing and service costs, etc., and improved accountable paths to reintegrate into community.
Government structure and responsiveness
Prevent ties on City Council—Either clarify that the mayor always has a tie-breaking vote, or change to odd number of councilors. Change to have each councilor run for one position so an outsider can directly challenge a single unsuccessful incumbent. One way to do this, would be to stagger terms for the three council positions in each district so only one runs at a time.
Government workers must work in their downtown offices or be fired.
Now that we have a year or so of experience, we need a new Charter Reform Commission to review what works and what doesn’t, to make the necessary tweaks, or to throw the whole thing out and do a serious job of consolidating City/County/Metro into one small functional government with full authority and responsibility.
Repair/rebuild effective criminal justice and social service system. Provide adequate custodial and community based mental health services and drug and alcohol treatment. Adequately staff police, District Attorneys, Public Defenders, courts and corrections to recreate a balanced, functional system as a whole.
Ideas submitted in advance
A. Cleanups and Pothole/Street Repairs
1. Encouraging businesses, homeowners and building owners to agree to clean the outside of their stores daily—improved livability. Make it a public campaign where residents and the NW Examiner compliments compliance. Offer a boldly colored sticker they can display on their door or window.
2. Look to cities that have successfully dealt with dog poop problems and implement their methods. Change culture. For both items 1 and 2, pick one or two demonstration areas to make it work.
B. Public Education
1. Think outside the box: year-round public education, multi-use buildings, shifts
2. Look at states that have had success with education (e.g. Mississippi) and copy their playbook
C. Bring Back Businesses and Residents to the Core and Neighborhoods
1. City incentives and best methods to stimulate small business return to downtown
2. I advocate for invigorating empty storefronts with artist studio spaces that can be viewed from the street. Populates the street level experience and puts more eyes on the street. Provide free to low-cost spaces for artists and creatives who really need it. Not only on a seasonal timeframe. When the spaces are leased, the temporary users move out, or better, are given first right of refusal. Who knows how many new businesses will be created from this opportunity?
3. Hire street artists (perhaps tapping into the unused funds from the Arts Tax) to paint murals on bare walls and unused buildings all over the city. Murals defeat graffiti. I’ve heard tourists are flocking to the country of Colombia simply to see that country’s murals.
4. Repurpose empty office buildings into urban farms.
5. Repurpose empty office buildings into residential buildings (not a new idea, but the new idea here is to take buildings that won’t easily convert to small apartments and convert them into larger family apartments with 3-4 bedrooms).
6. Ease zoning rules to allow for more flexibility in building and land use.
7. If corporate-type businesses are no longer coming to downtown Portland, then bring people downtown through the arts. Remodel current arts facilities into iconic places, via design and content. You know, places where tourists want to take Insta gram photos.
8. Incentivize businesses to lower rents to bring in creative-types who can’t afford to rent space at current market rates. Montreal and other cities offer good models for the above suggestions.
9. Portland is notorious for being weird - Lean into It! Bring in the creative weirdos! Everyone else will follow.
10. Tax breaks for downtown landlords to get artists and small businesses in storefronts (my friend used these for her nonprofit).
11. Maybe use these to migrate the Lloyd tenants into downtown and recreate the current Lloyd vibe downtown.
12. Zoning changes to encourage creative residential solutions to empty downtown commercial buildings.
D. Improving Government Structure
1. Mayor gets tie-breaking vote on all tie vote deadlocked city council decisions.
2. Charter Amendment to have odd number of council members to avoid stalemates.
3. Eliminate or consolidate Multnomah County w. City and Metro. One way to get there might be to assign the task to Metro to set up a working group to figure out the elements (e.g. labor contracts, financial aspects, etc.)
4. No more Multnomah County (see Matt Zmuda’s effort)
5. Need to shake up one party state, two robust parties or create new Oregon or city party.
6. Require City workers to work in their downtown offices.
E. Housing Shortage/Problems/Crisis
1. As a person with lived experience, addicted and homeless in Portland in 2018, to now the executive director of an organization that provides a complete continuum of care for those struggling in the same situation, here is my idea: A bold idea disrupting housing and bureaucracy by aligning public/private capital and accountability with innovation.
2. Abolish zoning codes altogether. They’re an example of structural racism and prevent growth
3. Look at cities that have had success with housing (Austin, Houston?) and copy their playbook
4. Change the culture at Building and Permitting
F. A Community Garden while waiting for Godot (The planned, long postponed city park in Northwest) and Community Centers
1. The category is the idea for the Community Garden
2. Add the persons who wrote in favor of the idea in the NW Examiner, one article and several letters from others to the editor.
3. Public-private partnerships to fund community centers so that there is one within 20 minutes or less walking distance of every Portlander. Friends of Couch Park have made some progress e.g.
G. More Effective and Additional Strategies to Deal with Homelessness
1. Lower threshold for civil commitments and court-mandated rehabilitation for refractory mentally ill and drug-addicted persons
2. Involuntary commitment amendments to allow profoundly psychotic individuals to be held for treatment on recommendation of two psychiatrists.
3. Increase expectations for sheltered residents, including mandatory job training, civic improvement projects, gardening or recycling.
H. Miscellaneous
Core Fundamental Principles
Expand reach of NW Examiner Better Ideas Project
So many great ideas, especially about the charter. A large part of it is not working (for the general public anyways). It also seems very odd to me that the Peacocks are so obstinate about figuring out a tie breaker. Why would they want to sit through 3 days of arguing every January? What a horrible way to start off the new year. And next year, there will likely be different councilors (hopefully) and it’s certainly not a good way to roll out the welcome mat.
Implementing these suggested changes would do wonders for this city and we are in desperate need of good leadership, not childish squabbling and virtue signaling ordinances.