Require City Administrator to develop a plan that establishes a storefront support program

WHEREAS, local storefront businesses are vital to Portland’s economy; and WHEREAS, street facing businesses, both in local business districts and downtown are placemaking anchors that define Portland’s neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, local storefront businesses have been struggling for years in the challenging economic environment, and many have closed or relocated out of Portland since 2020; and WHEREAS, according to City Budget Office business license revenue remains below the peak of fiscal year 2022-23 resulting in a loss of $10.15 million in fiscal year 2024-25 on top of a loss of $20.21 million in fiscal year 2023-24; and WHEREAS, the health and vitality of our business districts directly correlates to the city’s overall economic health, reputation, and identity; and WHEREAS, the City of Portland has a responsibility to ensure that City services adequately meet the needs of storefront businesses; and WHEREAS, it is expected that more storefronts and other local businesses will fail without supportive actions and partnership with local government; and WHEREAS, the City’s economic development agency is Prosper Portland which operates the Office of Small Business which has purview over supporting the small and local business community; and WHEREAS, the City and Prosper Portland do not have the current ability, system, or resources to track the quantity and location of Portland’s vacant storefronts or information regarding the reasons local businesses that close or relocate from Portland, which has created a significant data gap for decision makers; and WHEREAS, vacant storefronts are vulnerable to crime and vandalism which can lead to problem hotspots across the city creating real and perceived derelict areas in the city’s neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, local businesses are targets of costly chronic crime and acts of vandalism, which, if unaddressed, will cause more businesses to close or leave Portland; and WHEREAS, the city needs to develop capacity to implement strategies that provide real and immediate assistance to our local business community as they face continued safety, security, and financial challenges. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Administrator, pursuant to Charter Section 2-406(j) shall submit a report to Council, that outlines the plan for the creation of the Storefront Support Program, that includes but is not limited to: Definition of "storefront business" and scope of the Storefront Support Program, including a plan for how support would be distributed across Portland districts; Identification of staff and financial resources needed for City bureaus and Prosper Portland to ensure that the Storefront Support Program initiatives can be successful to carry out their intended objectives and outcomes; Articulation of standardized data collection methods, including technology solutions, that would be utilized to collect, track, and report data regarding vacant storefronts and the reasons businesses close and/or leave Portland; Identification of coordinated response systems and processes to ensure crime, vandalism, and chronic nuisance issue reports made by local businesses receive a coordinated City response from report intake to issue resolution. This includes focus on developing methods for effective City enterprise-wide coordination to address business district problem hotspots and ability for predictive and proactive safety measures; Development of internal processes, practices, and customer service standards across the City bureaus and Prosper Portland to ensure coordination, clear lanes of responsibility, transparent process, and systems for communication with businesses impacted by crime, vandalism, and chronic nuisance issues; Inclusion of appropriate stakeholders and bureau-level technical expertise, to support cross-disciplinary planning, collaboration and oversight including but not limited to Emergency Management, Permitting & Development, Police, Portland Solutions, Planning, Prosper Portland, and Transportation; Inclusion of options and opportunities for funding the Storefront Support Program, if the plan identifies costs for the program; Inclusion of a proposal for monitoring, communicating, and updating City Council and other stakeholders on the status and progress of program activities; and Recommendations for how and when to convene City, Prosper Portland and community stakeholders to operationalize the plan elements; and Inclusion of a storefront representative from each Portland district to provide feedback and to ensure equitable citywide access is included in program implementation recommendations. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that: The Report on the Storefront Support Program should be submitted to the Council no later than January 31, 2026. The City Administrator and the Chief Financial Officer shall develop a proposed funding strategy for resourcing and funding the Storefront Support Program that will be brought forward to be incorporated into the FY 2026-27 budget development process.