Multnomah County is set to invest up to $101.6 million in the planned renovation of the Moda Center. The county’s Board of Commissioners on Thursday adopted a resolution with conditions for the investment, including a deal with the city of Portland and the state of Oregon. The approximately $600 million project is intended to keep the Portland Trail Blazers playing in the arena for the long term.

The resolution’s terms will serve as guideposts for the county and the city as they negotiate a formal agreement with one another as part of final negotiations with the Trail Blazers, a Multnomah County press release states. The city delivered its own draft term sheet to the Trail Blazers last month.

“I’ve heard and agree with the desire that we enter negotiations with strong terms that ensure that this deal is a benefit for our entire community,” Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said during the six-hour board meeting on Thursday.

The county’s terms include the Blazers making a commitment to stay in Portland for at least 20 years, a funding clawback allowing the county to recoup its investment if benchmarks are not met, a project labor agreement for construction, community and neighborhood commitments such as equitable treatment of the Portland Fire in the renovated facility and development rights for parcels adjacent to the Moda Center going to Albina Vision Trust, a revenue stream for the governments contributing to the renovation, protections from cost overruns tied to the renovation or initial ongoing capital costs, and more.

The county’s proposed commitment is for renovation and some initial ongoing capital expenditures. As amended, it removes any county contribution of Business Income Tax (BIT) revenues received from the recent sale of the Trail Blazers. Instead, the county will explore other alternatives such as Motor Vehicle Rental Tax revenue or possibly even increasing the tax rate.

“I appreciate this (option rather than) using the BIT,” Commissioner Meghan Moyer said.

The funding source has been the biggest issue for the commission, Pederson said, adding that she’d like to see more specifics in that regard.

Moyer and Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards expressed concern about the investment amount.

“I hope at the end of the day we end up at a low number,” Brim-Edwards said, adding that the resolution lists the investment as “up to” $101.6 million.

Moyer, who said the resolution was improved, ultimately voted no.

“I’m not going to be supportive of this package because it’s too much and I don’t want the county subsidizing a building we don’t own when we can’t afford to maintain the buildings we do own,” she said.

After the resolution passed, the county’s chief financial officer was directed to bring to the board funding proposals that prioritize using the Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, including the county’s 2.5 percent surcharge, and other tourism tax revenues.

The resolution also has three conditions. These include an updated economic analysis of market conditions, tax revenue projections and long-term costs and benefits; a complete workforce audit of direct and contracted employees for the Trail Blazers and Rip City Management; and a detailed renovation and maintenance plan covering scope, timeline, budget and risk management.

Negotiations between the county, the city and the state of Oregon for an intergovernmental agreement are expected to take place through October. The Multnomah County board is set to vote on the final agreement and related tax code amendments in December.

The Portland City Council will vote on its operator lease term sheet on Wednesday.

The county has hired a professional negotiator to act on its behalf and provide the board with regular updates and reports during the negotiation process.

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Two appeals of the Portland Design Commission‘s approval of a master plan for redevelopment of Lloyd Center were initially denied by the Portland City Council on Wednesday; the final vote is scheduled for later this month.

The appeals argued for preserving the Lloyd Center indoor ice rink and the entire mall. The two appellants include the Save Lloyd Ice Coalition and Jennifer Gilmore-Robinson for the ice rink and the Save Lloyd campaign/Matthew Henderson for the mall.

The Design Commission approved the master plan in March. The land use review included a voluntary Central City Master Plan for future redevelopment of the 27.1-acre site, which includes the mall.

The city council heard testimony during two hearings in June and received written testimony. Many of the comments expressed support for preserving the ice rink and mall.

“If the ice rink cannot be preserved in Urban Renaissance Group‘s master plan, it’s important that the city of Portland commit to a permanent, year-round replacement ice skating rink that is affordable and accessible to all residents,” the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association stated in its written testimony.

“I support thoughtful redevelopment of the Lloyd Center site, but redevelopment should not come at the expense of an irreplaceable community resource,” Portland resident Stacey Moy stated in written testimony. “If developers wish to move forward with their plans, they should be required to include a binding commitment to preserve, replace, or relocate the year-round ice rink within the development area before approvals are granted.”

If the appeals were granted, there would be no Central City Master Plan criteria required for the site. That would include open space, which currently amounts to about 6 acres, according to Urban Renaissance Group. The team would also still be able to proceed with demolition because it is a separate decision process, a city staff report states. The mall is scheduled to close on Aug. 8.

“I have listened closely to the hours of public testimony and felt the deep love this community holds for the Lloyd Center, especially the iconic ice rink that has anchored generations of family memories, first dates, and community gatherings,” Councilor Loretta Smith said. “Please know that my vote to approve the Central City Master Plan is not to dismantle that rich history, nor is it a validation of losing something that we all love. It is instead a difficult but necessary step toward securing a viable future to Northeast Portland.”

Smith also said that the council cannot vote to require an ice rink be included in redevelopment of the site.

The council voted no on the appeals, with a formal final vote slated for July 29.

The city council’s decision could be appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. An appeal would need to be submitted to LUBA within 21 days after the city council’s decision, according to the city.

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A cluster of 50 new townhomes will offer affordable homeownership opportunities for 190 people who have been displaced or are at risk of displacement in the University Park neighborhood of North Portland.

Portland City Council on Wednesday authorized a land transfer of a three-acre property to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region for construction of the True North project. The Portland Housing Bureau issued a Notice of Funding Availability and subsequently chose True North in 2022. The total project cost estimate is $29.1 million, according to the bureau’s website.

Previously known as Carey Boulevard, the property is adjacent to 6631 N. Syracuse St. The site was formerly the home of the Belmont Goats and then a Safe Rest Village until last year.

OnPoint Community Credit Union will offer affordable 30-year fixed-rate loans and Proud Ground will provide permanent affordability and lower purchase prices through the Community Land Trust model.

Councilor Mitch Green said the project is an example of the impact of land banking.

“The result of that is we were able to build a number of … family-sized units at a cost that pencils out for these families,” he said.

MWA Architects designed the project for Habitat for Humanity, which is serving as both the developer and general contractor.

True North will include 20 two-bedroom units, 19 three-bedroom units, and 11 four-bedroom units.

Homes will be regulated to maintain affordability for 60 years. At initial sales, 25 units will be for households earning up to 60 percent of median family income (MFI) and the other 25 for those earning up to 80 percent of MFI. After initial sales, all 50 units will be for people earning up to 80 percent of MFI.

All units will be subject to the city’s North/Northeast Preference Policy, in which preference is given to applicants who are current or former residents of North or Northeast Portland or who have been displaced or are at risk of displacement from the area.

“Right now, with Portland being in a housing crisis, we need more pathways,” Councilor Candace Avalos said, “not just into housing but into stable affordable homeownership for Oregon families.”

Five common areas will be developed with playgrounds, community gardens, picnic or gathering areas, as well as three access points to the Peninsula Crossing Trail. The homes will also have energy efficiency features and be Earth Advantage Net-Zero Energy Ready certified.

The Portland Housing Bureau plans to close on financing with partners on May 28, said Kara Hamilton, housing portfolio finance coordinator for the bureau. Habitat for Humanity plans to begin site development shortly thereafter.

Construction is scheduled to start in June and finish in 2029. Home sales will begin in 2028.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday evening voted to approve an ordinance that will allocate $55.9 million to the Portland Housing Bureau‘s budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Unbudgeted bureau funds total more than $106 million.

Appropriations will be made to three Portland Housing Bureau funds: $40.4 million to the Housing Investment Fund, $4.8 million to the Tax Increment Fund, and $10.7 million to the Inclusionary Housing Fund. Separately, $4 million will go to the city’s general fund.

“Each of these tranches, we would develop programs for that,” said Donnie Oliveira, deputy city administrator for community and economic development. “In some cases, we would develop best practices.”

Options also include issuing a request for proposals from organizations to help allocate the funds, looking to see if the city has the capacity to disperse these dollars directly, or potentially partnering with Multnomah County.

“Each one of these would require us to contemplate the best way to get the dollars out as fast as possible, and as efficiently as possible,” Oliveira said.

Councilor Loretta Smith suggested the funds be dispersed directly from the city, rather than via programs. Creating programs would slow the process and the funds may not go out until September, she said.

The funds will not be allocated until July 1 at the earliest, according to Oliveira.

Unspent housing funds total around $137 million, Smith said. However, $106 million was the original amount identified, Chief Financial Officer Jonas Biery said.

“An additional amount of around $24 million was reflected in the city administrator’s memo a month or so ago, which were funds that were unbudgeted to be spent in this year, different from the original $106 million, which was sort of unbudgeted in future expenditures,” Biery said.

Some of the unbudgeted funds have already been allocated to the Housing Investment Fund, Biery said.

A proposed amendment by Smith to allocate $2.5 million for homeownership development opportunities to Self Enhancement Inc. and Williams & Russell failed.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday approved three amendments to a proposed ordinance that would add nearly $56 million to the Portland Housing Bureau‘s budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The proposal’s aims are to address the homelessness crisis and low-income tenants facing eviction.

The Portland Housing and Permitting Committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt the proposed ordinance and send it to the council. A final vote will take place on April 15.

Appropriations would be made to the following Portland Housing Bureau funds: $40.4 million to the Housing Investment Fund, $4.8 million to the Tax Increment Fund, and $10.7 million to the Inclusionary Housing Fund. Separately, $4 million would go to the city’s general fund.

A November 2022 internal review process had identified $20.7 million in unspent funds within the Portland Housing Bureau’s Residential Rental Registration Program. These funds are used to provide landlords and tenants with services, support, technical assistance, and public information about rental housing units in Portland.

Earlier this year, city staff identified an unbudgeted balance of $35.2 million in specified sub-funds within the Housing Investment Fund. Over the past few months, the City Council has discussed how to use the funds to address homelessness.

“There is no single solution to our housing crisis,” Councilor Candace Avalos (chair of the Housing and Permitting Committee) said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.

One amendment includes $9 million for rent assistance, $1.9 million for eviction defense services, $8.8 million in affordable, non-market housing portfolio stabilization debt buy-downs that enable targeted rent reductions, $200,000 in expanded funding to provide support for landlords implementing tenant protections, $800,000 to offer down payment assistance to tenants in a position to purchase a home, and $8.6 million in the general fund.

Another amendment funds the Broadway Corridor‘s Parcel 6, with $4.8 million from the TIF River District and $800,000 from the Portland Housing Bureau.

A third amendment allocates $3.5 million in gap financing for Hacienda CDC‘s Monarcha project (previously named Minnesota Places II). Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney said the project site currently holds a shell building; however, with additional funding to complete the work, the development would provide 57 affordable family-size units. The amendment also includes allocating $18.3 million for the creation of a fund dedicated to loans for long-term housing construction, affordable housing preservation, and acquisition of properties for social housing and permanent public ownership.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday voted to postpone voting on allocation of approximately $20.7 million in unspent Rental Services Office funds.

The money would be appropriated within the Portland Housing Bureau across the 2025-2026, 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years. The resolution would urge the mayor to make allocations to create or expand prevention programs that would be administered by the Rental Services Office. These include several rent assistance programs, eviction prevention services, emergency housing vouchers, landlord/tenant education for tenant protections, affordable housing stabilization, and down payment assistance.

Wednesday’s meeting was the third to discuss the unspent funds. Councilors were divided: some wanted more information before voting, while others believed they had sufficient information.

“We were given a memo, and it told us the exact uses of the dollars,” Councilor Loretta Smith said. “I don’t know what more they can actually brief me on.”

Several councilors expressed uneasiness about voting after changes in the amount of available funds. While they began discussing $20.7 million, that amount has since grown to $120 million, Councilor Candace Avalos noted. Smith suggested allocating the $20.7 million now and then discussing the additional funds later.

“It’s not an easy decision to say that we need to step back, but we cannot keep being in a situation where we get new information and we haven’t had time to discuss it as a body,” Councilor Angelita Morillo said.

Councilors voted 8-4 to postpone the vote on the resolution; Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, Eric Zimmerman and Smith voted no.

The council also postponed a vote on two ordinances that would adopt a supplemental budget for the Portland Housing Bureau. The ordinance would amend the appropriation schedule for the 2025-26 fiscal year and make one-time funds available to the bureau for housing, homelessness intervention, and real estate activity.

The vote to postpone the passed by an 8-4 margin, with councilors Olivia Clark, Smith, Pirtle-Guiney and Zimmerman voting no. The vote to postpone the also passed by an 8-4 margin, with Dan Ryan, Smith, Pirtle-Guiney and Zimmerman voting no.

Because the council postponed the vote, no testimony was given during Wednesday’s meeting; however, opportunity to speak will be presented during a future council meeting ahead of the vote. More than two dozen people were signed up to testify on Wednesday, Pirtle-Guiney said.

A work session set for March 5 calls for discussion of options for using the money as well as confirmation that the amendments as currently written in the draft resolution would pass city code, Councilor Jamie Dunphy said. The council has previously discussed potentially using the funds for rental assistance, rent buy-downs, legal assistance or gap funding for affordable housing, he said. Or money could be returned to the general fund to help cover a looming budget gap of at least $67 million, he added.

The vote could take place at the next council meeting after the work session, Dunphy said. According to the schedule, that is March 11.

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The city of Portland is continuing to find unallocated money within the Housing Bureau, and the latest discovery brings the total to more than $106 million.

Currently, the Portland City Council is considering how to handle the discovery last summer of a $20.7 million surplus within the Housing Bureau. On Wednesday, the council voted 8-4 for the city administrator to release public records tied to the surplus by Feb. 20 and schedule an oversight hearing for no later than March 6.

But the passage of follows the council being informed Feb. 1 of an additional surplus of $24.9 million unbudgeted in sub-funds within the Housing Investment Fund. Then on Friday, the city administrator announced another discovery of $62.1 million unbudgeted in four other PHB funds.

The $20.7 million is from the Portland Housing Bureau‘s Rental Services Office. Money accrued over the past several years as fees were paid by landlords as part of the city’s Residential Rental Registration program. The PHB discovered the money in August 2025 and then notified the council in November.

The City Council is considering what to do with the funds, but initial targets included several rent assistance programs, eviction prevention services, emergency housing vouchers, landlord/tenant education for tenant protections, affordable housing stabilization, and down payment assistance.

On Feb. 18, the City Council will vote on a full resolution addressing the $20.7 million. Previously, on Jan. 28, the council voted 8-4 to approve an amendment that removed emergency housing vouchers from consideration. Instead, $5.6 million would be appropriated for the Broadway Corridor affordable housing project, $1 million for the Williams & Russell project, and $1.5 million for Self Enhancement Inc.‘s Northeast 13th Avenue affordable homeownership project.

The most recent discovered surpluses – the $24.9 million and the $62.1 million – are not being addressed in .

Several councilors on Wednesday voiced support for the city administrator and Mayor Keith Wilson to hire an outside investigator. Council President Jamie Dunphy said the best option is to hire an outside investigator, but it would be expensive and the investigation would require one or two months to accomplish.

“I think this is entirely backward looking,” Councilor Steve Novick said. “What I want to know is what steps the administration is taking to ensure that we know, and they know, what money is available in various pots.”

Councilor Loretta Smith said the oversight hearing needs to focus on the full unaccounted funding ($106 million) and not just the $20.7 million. Councilor Mitch Green noted that the resolution would not prevent the council from discussing the full amount.

PHB interim director Michael Buonocore said the bureau’s finance team, which submits financial details to the city’s budget office annually, has eight or nine people. Smith said they should provide testimony during the hearing.

Following an initial oversight hearing some time before March 6, others could follow.

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Portland design commissioners on Thursday grappled with how to respond to a push by the City Council to reform the design review process.

City councilors in December unanimously approved requiring preparation of a report on design review, including options for a temporary suspension of its requirements. The report will also study design review’s economic impacts, process and use of design overlay zones and historic districts.

Portland Permitting & Development and Planning and Sustainability will prepare the report for City Administrator Raymond Lee. It is due on April 9.

In 2025, the city issued only 22 new construction permits for multifamily projects amid city and state officials pushing for more housing. But design commissioners said design review should not be blamed for the slowdown in multifamily construction.

“My concern is just that if not taken with full context, certain numbers and charts can reveal different things to different people,” said Commissioner Sarah Vaz, who asked whether impacts such as rising construction costs and inclusionary housing requirements would be considered.

A senior city staffer noted that the review is part of a wider City Council effort to remove barriers to development and to encourage development.

“There’s wide recognition that there’s many factors, and I don’t think anyone is saying that design review is why we are in the situation we find ourselves in now,” Chief City Planner Patricia Diefenderfer said.

Design review gives residents a chance to be heard, Design Commission Chairwoman Chandra Robinson said.

“Design review is a time when the public is able to come provide testimony,” Robinson said. “It’s the time when they’re able to get their voices on the record, and I think it’s an important part of the process that they’re able to share their thoughts on proposals in their neighborhood.”

Commissioners said members of the public are often unclear about the limitations of their power.

Design review “cannot change the heights, the (floor area ratio requirements), the zoning, the required parking or not parking, what a property owner can do with his property,” Commissioner Zari Santner said. “We cannot dictate those.”

Robinson agreed, saying residents often urge the Design Commission to require parking or a grocery store as part of a larger development — something the commission cannot do.

Santner said design review represents a “social pact” with city residents: Essentially, a promise that if residents allow taller, denser development, zoning and design review will ensure that it “improves the quality of life for people in neighborhoods where the development is happening.”

Commissioners did point out some potential improvements. Application requirements could be better aligned with project phasing, Vaz said. Applications can often require too much detail, too early in the process, when architects haven’t worked out items such as lighting, she said.

Members of the public who testified Thursday said they want to be able to weigh in early in a project’s review process, before the developer has fully shaped the development.

City staffers assigned to the forthcoming report will hold a similar meeting on Monday with the Historic Landmarks Commission. After the council receives the report in April, the group could weigh possible code changes.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution to study the city’s design review process, including possible reforms and a moratorium.

The resolution struck a compromise between the status quo and some critics who urged the council to suspend design review immediately.

“The time of stopping your neighbor’s housing development from going forward because you don’t like the color of the glass that they’re using — I think that should be over,” said Eric Zimmerman, a District 4 councilor and co-sponsor of the resolution alongside Angelita Morillo.

City Administrator Raymond C. Lee III now has 120 days to prepare a report with recommendations for the City Council.

Lee was confirmed by the City Council on Wednesday to serve as the city’s first administrator, the city government’s top nonelected position. He most recently served as city manager of Greeley, Colorado.

Zimmerman said it’s important to distinguish between design review and zoning, as he sought to quell fears of tall buildings in residential neighborhoods. He added that reform of design review will be more successful after engaging with city staff and other stakeholders.

“I think we get to win this message better if we do it in this collaborative, staff-supported way,” he said.

Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney thanked Zimmerman and Morillo for not seeking to immediately dismantle design review.

“I want us to be able to have a comprehensive discussion about design review that moves beyond a binary choice between the status quo and abolishing the system completely, and what you’ve brought us today gives us that opportunity,” Pirtle-Guiney said.

Others, however, urged the council to move faster. Councilor Jamie Dunphy said he “would have brought a resolution forward and just suspended it, personally.”

“I personally want to live in a city that is filled with interesting, vibrant buildings that are not dated by the time they are open,” he said.

Robert Pile, principal at Oakleaf reDevelopment in Portland, urged the council to consider a design review moratorium.

“This is a key opportunity to help expedite entitlements and lower production costs — two things we need to stimulate more housing supply,” he said.

The design review study, which will be due in April, is intended to complement other measures that seek to spur development, including a three-year system development charge waiver that was approved in July.

The push comes amid state and local goals to build more housing.

“We really do have to change the way that we build in Portland, and this is our opportunity to get that information so that we can make those tough choices,” Morillo said.

Councilor Dan Ryan encouraged the study to shine a light on the Historic Landmarks Commission, which he said practices a “de facto override of zoning review processes.”

Councilor Sameer Kanal said the study should consider a design review exemption for conversions of offices to housing units.

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Two Portland city councilors are pushing a resolution to reform the city’s design review process and perhaps provide a temporary exemption for housing proposals.

The effort represents a serious challenge to design review, which is overseen by Portland Permitting & Development. Developers have long blamed the process for delaying construction and adding costs, but supporters say it improves the design of proposed buildings that go through review and allows the public to weigh in on what’s built in the city.

Councilors Angelita Morillo and Eric Zimmerman are sponsoring the resolution, which will be discussed during Wednesday’s meeting. It directs the city administrator to deliver a report to the council within 120 days. The report would:

• include an overview of the types of design review, along with design overlay zones, design districts and historic districts to which design guidelines apply, and
• offer an economic impact analysis of design review on commercial and residential development timelines during the past five years, and projections for the next five years.

The city administrator would then provide options for a temporary exemption from design review and propose potential changes to the city code that underpins the design review process.

Design review “gets talked a lot about as a barrier, but what is the barrier gets a little fuzzy,” Zimmerman said Monday.

The report will “allow us to cut to the chase,” he added. “I would like to hear from the staff – what do they think are the most attackable problems?”

The design review study dovetails with other efforts to facilitate development in Portland. In July, the City Council approved a three-year waiver on system development charges for housing projects.

It’s still an “open question” whether a moratorium on design review would affect commercial projects as well as housing proposals, Zimmerman said.

He expressed concern that design review could deter unique proposals.

Local developers “know what gets through design review,” he said. “That worries me a little bit, because I want to see someone push the envelope a bit as far as awesomeness or uniqueness or density.”

Permitting & Development is open to discussing design review reform, according to agency spokesman Ken Ray.

“We look forward to working with the City Council on ways to bring more flexibility into design review to ensure the process supports thoughtful growth and investment in Portland’s buildings that meets the needs of the people who live, work and do business in them,” Ray stated in an email on Monday.

Design review has come under fire in other cities, including Seattle, where the process has become a roadblock to development.

“We can all agree that nice-looking buildings are a good thing and probably make it more popular to build stuff, but we can’t agree on what nice looking means,” said Michael Andersen, who studies cities for the nonprofit Sightline Institute. “It’s not something you can achieve from regulation.”

Portland’s design review process isn’t as dysfunctional as Seattle’s was before the Seattle City Council suspended design review requirements in September, Andersen said.

“F�ǰ��ٳܲԲ��ٱ����, Portland Design Commission hasn’t been utterly ridiculous,” he said. “But anytime you introduce discretion, you introduce risk.”

Bruce Studer, president of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, said there’s an appetite to streamline design review in Portland.

“I think people would want a little bit smarter way to go through design review,” he said. “I don’t think just being able to block things by stalling it out is something we want to have. You want developers to be able to build things that are smart, sustainable and create lasting growth.”

The Design Commission is composed of seven members who serve staggered four-year terms for up to eight years. Members hail from architecture, development, landscape architecture, arts and related fields, along with a member representing the public at large.

Zimmerman and Morillo’s resolution passed the council’s Climate, Resilience and Land Use Committee on Nov. 13 by a 4-0 vote.

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