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The Portland City Council threw its support behind a proposed encroachment into public right-of-way to accommodate a 4,000-seat expansion of Providence Park. The council voted 5-0 to follow the city engineer’s recommendation of approval.

The project team’s plan to use a cabling system that would extend 14 feet over Southwest 18th Avenue right-of-way last month received the Portland Design Commission’s OK. That decision was forwarded to the city engineer, who prepared a recommendation to go before the City Council.

The engineer’s recommendation touted the benefit of a $50 million to $55 million voluntary improvement to the city-owned facility. It also stated that additional exits to the stadium and large sidewalks weighed in favor of the encroachment.

Some commissioners expressed concern that a covered arcade would become a haven for homeless individuals and could create new liabilities for the city. Portland Timbers officials said they expect the team to take responsibility for the area surrounding the stadium; currently, it maintains sidewalks there.

That wasn’t good enough for Robert Butler, a neighbor who spoke against the project.

鈥淲e are going to have a slum there,鈥� he told commissioners. 鈥淲hat a sorry deal.鈥�

That didn’t sway commissioners, who then approved the project to move ahead.

The plan is for the project to be completed in two phases during the next two off-seasons. The first phase would begin in October and finish in March 2018. The second phase would stretch from October 2018 and wrap up by March 2019.