The days of free rein for food carts in Portland may be coming to an end.

Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard today announced he has informed property owners allowing food carts on their lots that they must bring their carts up to building code or face enforcement action. The Bureau of Development Services hasn’t had the resources to enforce codes against food carts over the past couple of years. But because of an increasing number of complaints about illegal additions and overhangs associated with the food carts, he has asked resources to be reallocated to allow for more enforcement, he said.

“There are increasing concerns around improper, if not illegal additions being added to food carts,” Leonard said. “Some cities like Seattle have decided to ban these carts. We are trying to find a balance.”

A building code made specifically for food carts is also being developed by BDS, Leonard said.

The post Leonard to crack down on Portland food carts appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

After two years of money woes, the Bureau of Development Services is looking to technology for a helping hand.

The financial state of the BDS was reported to Portland City Council on Wednesday. After severe revenue losses and four rounds of layoffs, the BDS wants to borrow $5.2 million from the city to purchase and implement an electronic permitting system. But before loaning the money, the council wants to know that the BDS is doing everything to operate efficiently so the bureau can pay the city back.

“The last couple of years BDS has seen historic decreases in revenues and an unprecedented amount of layoffs,” said Commissioner Randy Leonard, who oversees the bureau. “And it’s all because our building permit numbers have been punched squarely between the eyes.”

Over the past two fiscal years the BDS saw the total number of building permits drop by 16 percent, from 10,621 to 7,410. Over the same time period, the total valuation of those permits fell by 42 percent because of the drop-off in new, large commercial projects. The decreases have led the BDS to lay off more than half of its inspectors – they numbered 76 in early 2009 and just 36 now – and dip into the remainder of its reserve funds.

Leonard added that he has yet to find a permitting system in any U.S. metropolitan area that is more archaic than the one in Portland. And until the BDS starts using an electronic permitting system, there is little chance it can be profitable, he said.

The system would allow developers and contractors to upload their plans to a database for plan review and for permits to be approved electronically. When in the field, each BDS inspector also would use an electronic device able to upload to the database automatically, saving both paper and time. But perhaps the greatest benefit of the electronic system would be digitization of the bureau’s historic records. Once implemented, anyone would be able to look up records of a property and see every permit ever approved.

While the computer system would increase efficiency, the bureau also is looking at other ways to increase profitability.

Paul Scarlett, director of the BDS, said the major reason for the decrease in revenues is that the small amount of construction work taking place is small, which doesn’t bring in as much money but still requires time. The larger projects subsidize the smaller ones, he said.

To make up for this discrepancy, the BDS raised permit fees, effective July 1, to increase revenues by 8 percent.

According to BDS Administrative Service Manager Denise Kleim, the revenue increases come from raising the cost of permits for small projects more than those for larger ones. The minimum permit fee was previously $45, and is now $70. But for the bureau to fully recover the cost of issuing a permit for a small project, the minimum fee must be $90, she said.

“We didn’t want to scare away the few people still working, so we will increase the fees gradually,” she said. The bureau hopes to increase the minimum permit fee to $90 over the next two years, she said.

Leonard added that he has met with countless businesses and developers from out of the area looking to perform projects in Portland. Long waits for permits and on-site inspections often have come up, but he has never received a complaint about permit costs in Portland, he said.

The bureau also is making sure it would be able to pay off the $5.2 million general fund-backed bond by changing the model it uses to predict future building permit numbers and valuation. The BDS presently uses a model that predicts building permits based on general economic indicators. But Jerald Johnson, principal at consulting firm Johnson Reid, said the BDS would be better off using a predictor model based on real estate factors.

“The next time a downturn takes place BDS needs to know about it before it goes off the cliff,” Johnson said. “Real estate cycles are fairly consistent, with the only unpredictable thing being how big the cycle is.

“So if BDS can use indicators like vacancy rates and asking rents, it has a better chance to prepare for a downturn.”

Commissioner Amanda Fritz ended the council hearing on the matter by saying that she was leery of the expenditure. However, she said she understood that BDS employees have been overworked, and that getting this system would help significantly.

The BDS will meet with the council again in August to finalize the funding strategy for the electronic permitting system and provide an update on the bureau’s financial state. In the meantime, the BDS will create two advisory groups to oversee the bureau’s new financial plan and implementation of the system.

The post BDS wants new electronic permitting system appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Portland City Council today unanimously voted to move forward three proposals for the redevelopment of Memorial Coliseum to the request for proposals process.

But some councilors also sympathized with concerns raised in a minority report, submitted to the council by five members of the Rose Quarter Stakeholder Advisory Committee, that asked to put the brakes on the process.

Commissioner Nick Fish said he was very concerned that one or more of the project teams could pull out of the process if they believe the process hasn’t been fair. He also expressed concern over a lack of cost analysis for the proposals and the competing priorities of the Trail Blazers.

“I support the resolution before us with significant reservations about this process and where we’re heading,” Fish said. “I’m not convinced that this won’t be a futility. I don’t remember the last time we had a minority report as to the point and provocative as this one.”

Commissioner Randy Leonard said the minority report raised legitimate questions with regard to the management of the coliseum. He also expressed interest in performing an independent financial audit of the Memorial Coliseum, but that effort has not yet been confirmed.

The three teams, which include the Memorial Athletic and Recreation Center, Veterans Memorial Arts and Athletic Center, and the Trail Blazers/Winterhawks concept will now receive a small stipend, totaling $120,000 for all three teams, to help them prepare their proposals for the city to review later this year.

The post Council moves Coliseum proposals forward appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The owner of the “Made in Oregon” sign in Old Town Portland agreed on Tuesday to donate the iconic neon sign to the city.

The donation from owner Ramsay Signs comes after a battle between the University of Oregon and Commissioner Randy Leonard. UO announced it would change the sign to read “University of Oregon” after the university took up residence in the White Stag Block last year.

The sign has been changed several times over the years to reflect different owners. The current design is a product of the Made in Oregon store.

Now, the writing on the sign will be changed to read “Portland, Oregon.” The city will foot the electricity bill for the sign using revenue from a city-owned parking lot under the Burnside Bridge. ( of the new sign light sequence.)

The Historic Landmarks Commission will review the new sign design in May. Sign alterations are slated for this summer.

The post ‘Made in Oregon’ sign goes to city of Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Portland City Council today approved agreements between the city and Peregrine Sports to renovate PGE Park and bring Major League Soccer to the venue.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz was the only no vote, saying the project was too expensive and that the money being used for PGE Park could be better spent elsewhere in the city. However, Commissioner Randy Leonard says the money would not be available for other city projects.

“You can’t argue that money for PGE Park can be used elsewhere when it wouldn’t be available if Major League Soccer wasn’t coming to Portland,” Leonard said. “This deal is an outstanding opportunity for Portland. We have guarantees to insulate us from putting the general fund at risk.”

The post Council approves PGE Park soccer deal appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland Water Bureau‘s last effort to keep its five in-town drinking water reservoirs uncovered has failed. The bureau said it received聽 from the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday denying its request.

The bureau made every effort to evade the rule, said Administrator David Shaff, even in light of earlier word from the EPA that it would probably stand. “They had indicated pretty strongly that they didn’t think there was any crack in the door, but we told them they could have been clearer in their earlier communications to us,” Shaff said.

In a November 2009 letter to the EPA, Commissioner Randy Leonard, who oversees the bureau, wrote that “considerable confusion exists” as to whether Portland could seek a variance from the rule. The Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule would forbid open reservoirs such as those at Mount Tabor and Washington Park.

A return letter, dated Dec. 16, 2009 cleared up that confusion, saying the open reservoirs are vulnerable to contamination by Cryptosporidium and Giardia. “Neither of the two types of variances available … are applicable in this circumstance,” wrote EPA Assistant Administrator Peter Silva.

Water Bureau officials already have started working to comply with the rule by taking the reservoirs off-line. To replace the storage capacity, the bureau is building new reservoirs at Powell Butte, Kelly Butte and Washington Park.

Separately, bureau officials are making their case for another variance to the same rule. Officials are taking water samples in the Bull Run watershed to show that Portland doesn’t have a problem with Cryptosporidium and shouldn’t have to build a new plant, estimated to cost $385 million, to treat for it.

The post EPA denies Portland request for open reservoirs appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

When they aren’t busy lauding the crisp, plastic-free taste of Bull Run water, it appears the Portland Water Bureau has been busy installing a at its Columbia South Shore Well Field.

When the sun is really cooking, the new system can produce up to 267,000 watts of electricity, enough to offset power for 50 Pacific Northwest homes. Even on the Winter Solstice, the shortest, darkest day of the year, the system produced 9,000 watts, which is enough to power two or three homes. The juice will also offset power usage at the well field.

Commissioner Randy Leonard will be on hand to flip the switch on the array at a celebration on January 26 from 1 to 2 p.m. at 16400 NE Airport Way, in Portland. With food, music and tours of the system on the agenda, there ain’t no party like a Water Bureau party this month in Portland.

The post Flip the switch on the slough appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

When they aren’t busy lauding the crisp, plastic-free taste of Bull Run water, it appears the Portland Water Bureau has been busy installing a at its Columbia South Shore Well Field.

When the sun is really cooking, the new system can produce up to 267,000 watts of electricity, enough to offset power for 50 Pacific Northwest homes. Even on the Winter Solstice, the shortest, darkest day of the year, the system produced 9,000 watts, which is enough to power two or three homes. The juice will also offset power usage at the well field.

Commissioner Randy Leonard will be on hand to flip the switch on the array at a celebration on January 26 from 1 to 2 p.m. at 16400 NE Airport Way, in Portland. With food, music and tours of the system on the agenda, there ain’t no party like a Water Bureau party this month in Portland.

The post Flip the switch on the slough appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The “year in review” section of Portland Mayor Sam Adams‘ Web page calls attention to the city’s own stimulus package, passed last January. At that time, City Council pledged to take projects originally scheduled to start in one to three years and “fast track” them over the next 12 months.

A link on leads to a worth of projects.

Farther down, on the same page, is the question “So, what projects were fast tracked?” and promising the full list of projects.

The problem? They’re completely different lists.

A Daily Journal of Commerce investigation last month showed that the city was making slow progress on the original project list. Many of the projects on the list, including some of the largest, were nowhere near starting.

Earlier this month, Commissioner Randy Leonard confirmed that Portland Water Bureau projects on the list had been put on hold to pay for other Water Bureau projects that weren’t on the list. Leonard oversees the Water Bureau.

Adams spokesman Roy Kaufmann responded in a statement Monday afternoon that Adams and the City Council “continue to be committed to fast-tracking a total of $500 million in local capital improvement projects by the end of 2010.” He did not address the discrepancy between the two lists.

The post Stimulus project lists conflict appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A city bureau with some of the largest projects in Portland’s local “Job Creation and Stimulus Package” won’t be building those projects anytime soon. The Portland Water Bureau, with stimulus projects totaling $130 million, has no set plans to begin construction on $120 million worth of the projects on that list.

The Water Bureau is speeding up important capital projects to get more people working than it would in a typical year, said city Commissioner Randy Leonard, who oversees the bureau. It’s just not working off the list that was announced in early 2009, when the package was unveiled.

The city’s stimulus package, separate from federal and state efforts, contained $503 million in capital projects designed to put people to work over the 12 months from January 2009 to 2010. It identified projects in five city bureaus and the Office of Emergency Management.

But that list never reflected the projects for which Leonard wanted to speed up construction spending, he said. In fact, some of the official stimulus projects actually were put on hold so other projects could move ahead faster, he said.

Leonard characterized the discussions a year ago with then-Mayor-elect Sam Adams on the stimulus package as informal in nature. “Sam said 鈥業dentify projects you can move up,’ and the first thing that came to my mind was Powell Butte.”

That $138 million project to build a 50 million-gallon underground reservoir at Powell Butte, never made the official stimulus list. To Leonard, though, the project is the heart of the Water Bureau’s stimulus efforts.

“Sam asked, 鈥榃hat can you do?’ and I said, 鈥業 can do a lot.’ And we did.”

Construction at Powell Butte started over the summer, thanks in part to efforts to speed up the project, Leonard said. To do that, however, Leonard had to put other planned projects on hold.

That included replacing the Water Bureau’s decrepit Interstate Maintenance Building. At an estimated $55 million, that project is the largest in the stimulus package, itself worth more than a tenth of the package’s announced $503 million value.

“When I made those decisions, it wasn’t without consequence,” Leonard said. “It’s bad for (bureau) morale. People are saying 鈥楬ow could this happen? We were counting on at least having a decent workplace.’

“But that project was nowhere near ready,” Leonard said, so the money shifted to Powell Butte, a project that was both more pressing and ready to begin construction. A federal Environmental Protection Agency mandate to replace the city’s open reservoirs gives that project added urgency.

The $50 million project to install automated water meters for all of Portland’s 178,000 customers won’t get started in the foreseeable future, Leonard said, nor will the $10 million watershed roads and bridges reconstruction project. Both are included in the city’s stimulus package.

Leonard said he’s not sure how those projects made the list. “If I had known some inquisitive reporter from the Daily Journal of Commerce would be sitting here asking me these questions, I would have paid closer attention to what got on that list,” he said.

Other than his discussions with Adams, their respective offices haven’t talked much about the city stimulus package. “We’re in our silos,” he said.

Council never met again to discussed changing the terms of the package, Leonard said. He said he plans to focus on Powell Butte and speed along other reservoirs at Kelly Butte and then Washington Park, neither of which made the stimulus package list.

Even if the Water Bureau’s $10 million work tied with the eastside Portland Streetcar expansion proceeds, the other bureau projects on the stimulus list, worth an estimated $120 million, won’t start in the next year. That means projects representing nearly 24 percent of the package’s total value won’t start construction in the timeframe announced at the stimulus package unveiling last January, without even counting the stalled projects in other bureaus.

In Leonard’s assessment, the Water Bureau is meeting the goals of the stimulus, if not the letter of the document. “There are planners, engineers, architects, and a number of people employed who would not be employed otherwise,” he said. “We’re spending money we otherwise would not have spent if not for the mayor’s request.”

The post Water bureau puts other projects before those on stimulus list appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.