PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Just after he assigned the bureaus, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler tasked city commissioners to create 90-day action plans. With one month until the end of those 90 days on May 3, KOIN 6 News wants to know where commissioners stand in meeting those goals.
The newest to the Council may be making the most visible splash. Commissioner Rene Gonzalez was designated bureaus related to public safety. Gonzalez’s first goal relates to homelessness and said his office will analyze policies to “reflect a move from dispersed, unsanctioned camping to temporary alternative shelter sites…”
The large outdoor shelter sites have not been created yet, though Gonzalez did instruct Portland Street Response to no longer hand out tents to people who were homeless, citing the safety risk from tent fires in the city.
Gonzalez’s action plan is also to “maintain or improve” response times both by Portland Fire & Rescue as well as the Bureau of Emergency Communication. His office shared that 911 wait times dropped from an average of 61 seconds this time last year to 35 seconds currently. The office reports the number of calls answered within 20 seconds is up to 51% from 42% last year.
Gonzalez is making budget requests for PF&R as well, one for rapid response vehicles and another for 13 firefighters to help reduce overtime.
In an attempt to increase accountability, Gonzalez wants to create a Municipal Court to handle property crimes in Portland. His office reports his team is completing a legal review for requirements of establishing that court and if there are other alternatives to explore.
“My office is hard at work on the items listed in the Mayor’s 90-day action plan for this new City Council, which touches on how we restore Portland’s public safety and livability,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
As Gonzalez has his sights set on homelessness response, Commissioner Carmen Rubio is tasked with the other end of the continuum — increasing the city’s housing supply, especially affordable housing.
The resolution that solidified action plans shows Rubio’s goals are to identify 400 sites to preserve for affordable housing, look at redundant development fees, and close the funding gap for affordable housing projects that are in the queue.
Rubio’s office didn’t have an update on those items, but did celebrate the opening of Las Adelitas, the 141 affordable units that help the city surpass the goal of 1,300 affordable units promised by the Portland Housing Bureau. The current projection is 1,859 affordable units created by the bond.
Rubio’s team also pointed to the preparations to open 3,400 affordable units in the coming years.
The Bureau of Developmental Services which Rubio oversees has conducted a housing production survey, helped create the office-to-housing conversion incentives and move the Liquor, Cannabis and Noise programs from the Office of Civic Life to BDS.
Prosper Portland also falls under her watch and it celebrated the demolition that began at the old USPS facility on the Broadway corridor to clear the way for 17 acres of mixed-use development between the Pearl District and Old Town.
Rubio’s office also said it will work with Commissioner Mingus Mapps on permitting reform, working to speed up development reviews to get commercial and residential building projects moving more quickly.
For Mapps’ part, he was moved from BDS to the Bureau of Transportation, Water, Sewer and other Bureaus in Public Works. He hopes to “maintain or improve” service levels in those bureaus.
As PBOT is concerned, the City of Portland has taken a recent initiative to clear frontage roads near Powell Boulevard. Mapps’ team reports that it’s part of his Livability goals to “improve safety, and access” to right of ways around the city.
While not able to specify if it’s a result of a policy team, Mapps’ office is hopeful for the early data around fatal traffic crashes, noting a drop from 17 fatalities at this time last year to 11 so far this year, statistics Mapps’ team note is too early to define as a trend.
Commissioner Dan Ryan created several goals around opening the Sunderland Safe Park site as well as constructing Safe Rest Villages at Peninsula Crossing and Reedway, but his office did not respond to several requests for an update today. Ryan has also created goals for regulatory and permitting reform, work done alongside other bureaus under other commissioners.
Mayor Wheeler’s team also did not provide an update, only to say they will have ‘thorough’ details when the 90 days ends on May 3.
His goals point to creating the temporary alternative site — his office announced a service provider for the first site last month. Wheeler’s office created public safety goals such as evaluating 2022’s Safer Summer PDX data to “better improve program outcomes” as well as expanding street-level outreach.
Wheeler also hopes to expand a lighting program to the entire city, complete the 90-day reset plan with the Central Eastside Industrial Council, and increase graffiti abatement in the city.