Accept Downtown Portland Clean and Safe Enhanced Services District Annual Report

Funded by property managers and approved by the City, Enhanced Services Districts pay for extra services that improve quality of life in Portland neighborhoods. Downtown Portland Clean and Safe (DPCS) is one of three Enhanced Services Districts currently active in Portland and it was reauthorized by City Council on October 1, 2021. The City’s contract with DPCS contains a variety of reporting requirements including this annual report to City Council. This is the second Annual Report prepared under the new contract. The Contract specifically requires DPCS to report on the following items: Summary financial information about the district’s activities; Descriptions of programs; Descriptions of stakeholder outreach and engagement; and Subcontractor activities.

There is no direct impact on the City’s budget or finances of this report. Portland currently has three Enhanced Services Districts (ESDs): Central Eastside Together, Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, and the Lloyd ESD. All three ESDs combined encompass 1,230 acres, or nearly two square miles of Portland’s downtown core with DPCS being the oldest and most central of the three. ESDs like DPCS perform vital functions that directly and indirectly benefit the businesses, property owners – both commercial and residential – and visitors within their districts. The activities performed by DPCS benefit the City at large because they help create a safe, vibrant, and healthy commercial district that is appealing to private investment and economic development. Some of these functions include: Janitorial work that beautifies the sidewalks and alleys for residents, employees, and visitors; Private security that integrates with Portland Police resulting in a unified approach to curbing anti-social criminal activities; Holiday lighting that enhances the public realm and bring shoppers and diners to the downtown core during the holiday season; Business attraction and retention efforts aimed at filling vacant commercial spaces and supporting existing businesses; And tourism attraction that brings visitors to downtown year-round. The property owners within the DPCS district have opted to assess themselves $7.4 million (fiscal year October 2022 – September 30, 2023) annually to fund the services, augmenting the basic City services already provided, and enhancing the overall experiences in their district for residents, employees, property owners, and visitors. Furthermore, this district attracts visitors from near and far who spend tourism dollars year-round. People choose to live, work, set up shop, and/or visit this district in part because it is home to: Performance venues like the Newmark Hall, Keller Auditorium, and the Oregon Symphony; High end hoteliers like The Ritz Carlton, the Benson, Hilton, The Duniway and more; Foodie attractions like Lechon, Tercet, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Punch Bowl Social and more; Popular upscale bars like Bellpine, University Club of Portland, Abigail Hall, Proof Reader Whiskey and more; Tom McCall Waterfront Park; Art galleries and museums like the Portland Art Museum, Shaffer Fine Art Gallery, Blue Sky Gallery, Augen Gallery, Black Fish Gallery, and more; And high-end shopping at locations like Nordstom, Louis Vuitton, Ben Bridge, and more. Because this district is arguably host to some of Portland’s top attractions, lodging, and food, this ESDs’ value and impact cannot be understated.

DPCS provides cleaning, graffiti removal, safety, community health outreach, crow abatement, marketing and tourism promotion, business attraction and retention services for their district. During the contract year of October 2022 and September 2023 Downtown Clean and Safe: Collected over 58,837 bags of trash; Removed more than 24,191 graffiti tags; Removed or cleaned over 63,312 biohazards; And collected nearly 89,815 needles. Additionally, DPCS recently wrapped up a few of its annual reports, reflecting ratepayer and stakeholder sentiment, and while there are a few areas of concern, there are many reasons to be optimistic about Downtown’s trajectory and the positive impacts Downtown Clean and Safe is having on its district: Downtown Business Survey, reflecting experiences of business owners and managers operating in their district between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2023, and found that: 72% of respondents indicated they were somewhat or very much satisfied with DPCS services; 58% of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the Janitorial Program; 86% of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the Public Safety Program; And 91% of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the Holiday Lighting Program. As part of their business attraction efforts, DPCS activated 9 vacant locations with pop-up businesses, focusing on placing minority and women owned small businesses and retailers in those spaces. This program has seen success in activating vacant retail space and graduating pop-up retailers into permanent, long-term leases. Furthermore, for the first time ever, Downtown Clean and Safe offered grants to new retail businesses signing leases in the district. Grants totaling $75,000 went to four businesses and assisted them with tenant improvements and marketing efforts. There is a clear and direct correlation between the work that DPCS is doing and the positive impacts it is having on Portland’s downtown core. Through their Janitorial, Public Safety, Retail Programs, etc., DPCS continues to offer solutions that benefit the business and residential communities here in Portland, while attracting visitors to spend time and money in the district year-round. DPCS provides many valuable services to their ratepayers – services that would otherwise not be provided for the district.