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The Oregon City City Commission is proposing a new property tax for the 90 commercial properties in the downtown core.

The property tax is being proposed at 1 percent of a property’s assessed value with a cap of $3,000. The $194,000 to $240,000 that the tax would raise would help fund the nonprofit organization, Main Street Oregon City.

Main Street Oregon City was founded out of the national Main Street Program, a National Trust for Historic Preservation-driven program aimed at revitalizing historic downtown cores. In exchange for marketing and consulting services, a community-driven nonprofit organization has to be founded and funded to run the program.

The city of Oregon City has already committed to allotting $50,000 a year to the program for three years. But the city commission believes that businesses should have a financial interest in the program as well.

In order for the tax to pass, at least 64 percent of the affected property owners would have to vote for it. The city commission will discuss the tax and the boundaries it would affect at an Oct. 10 meeting.

There are currently 63 communities in Oregon that have a Main Street Program. The city of Portland kicked off the inaugural year of its program this year, designating three districts around town as Main Street areas.