Windowbox · Portland City Council

Portland's City Council adopted a resolution 8-4 directing the administration to open planning talks with Portland State University on a new city-owned, 3,000-seat Broadway-capable theater estimated at $447 million, while committing no money and pledging to keep the Keller Auditorium in use. (03:19:44)

PSU performing arts venue and the Keller

The resolution (03:19:44) authorizes the administration to work with Portland State on a venue proposed for the university's campus and to plan the future of the aging Keller. Sue Pack told the council the measure "greenlights financial planning" and confirmed the theater "would be a city-owned asset." Sarah Schwarz, PSU Foundation president and project lead, said the university has secured state bonds and $12.5 million in philanthropy and warned donor interest could fade, but acknowledged "we would fully expect for the city to potentially fund the entire project" (02:47:39).

Much of the three-hour discussion turned on money the city does not have. Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira said nothing is budgeted beyond staff time and that the resolution was meant "to stop the swirl" of years of indecision, with a December 1 target to bring back a concept — or a report that no deal could be reached. Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) put the exposure at "$440 million with no funding source" (01:18:49) and questioned a $44 million figure PSU had floated; Schwarz said that was a 10% target to signal commitment, not a set city obligation. City Attorney Robert Taylor said the resolution commits no funding and that he "would not be worried" about defending the city if PSU sued over the $44 million (02:16:43).

Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) urged passage, calling the Keller a "seismic death trap" and arguing that closing it for renovation would suspend touring Broadway shows for up to five years and cost union jobs. Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) opposed, favoring a full restoration of the Keller and calling two new large venues a "fantasy" that staff had confirmed the market cannot support (02:37:45). Voting no were Councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), Angelita Morillo (District 3), Sameer Kanal (District 2) and Ryan; Koyama Lane cited PSU classified staff preparing to strike.

Executive authority disputes

The venue debate reopened a running fight over how far the administration can act without the council. Kanal recalled being told a May 18 tennis center vote would not commit the city to privatization, then said "I found out yesterday in the chamber that a contract has already been signed" (01:29:12). He cited $24,000 quoted to move Dunphy's desk as an example of internal rates that will rise without a new funding source. Morillo pressed Taylor on whether the resolution could let the executive bind the council; Taylor said the measure's terms limit that and that funding decisions return to the council. CFO Jonas Biery said "the administration cannot spend dollars that are not appropriated in the budget and authorized by Council" (03:12:12).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-09-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

Portland's council held an informational work session on regional behavioral health and heard a four-part proposal to press the 2027 Legislature to backfill 55 recently closed inpatient psychiatric beds, add about 50 psychiatric respite and 50 subacute beds, create a sustainable inpatient-psychiatry reimbursement rate, and remove barriers to building capacity — no vote was taken.

Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) opened the session and handed the gavel to Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2), who has shepherded the behavioral health strategy since the last agenda-development cycle (00:06:38). Pirtle-Guiney noted the city does not provide behavioral health services and "don't generally weigh in at this dais about what these systems should look like," but that the city's biggest challenges are tied to gaps in that system. Office of Government Relations Director Sam Chase framed the meeting as a foundation for coordinated state advocacy and asked whether the proposed direction matched the council's intent.

The proposal and the data behind it

Joe Hardman, Chief Medical Officer at Health Share of Oregon, walked the council through a care continuum running from prevention and outpatient care to residential, crisis, inpatient psychiatry, and the Oregon State Hospital. He said the state hospital is now "almost exclusively focused on the aid and assist patients," tracing the shift to the 2003 Mink case and later federal oversight.

Hardman presented a "high acuity behavioral health cohort" — members with stimulant use disorder, opioid use disorder, psychosis, or overdose — that he said represents 9% of Health Share's adult members but 29% of total costs (00:23:31). Linking health and housing data, he said more than half of people served through shelter, supportive housing, and street outreach have a high-acuity condition.

The model produced four linked priorities: preserve inpatient capacity and backfill the 55 inpatient psychiatric beds that closed, add about 50 psychiatric respite beds and 50 subacute beds, create a sustainable inpatient-psychiatry reimbursement rate, and remove capacity-building barriers (00:57:42). Pirtle-Guiney confirmed the 55-50-50 figures on the record. Hardman said inpatient beds cost about $1.5 to $2 million each, while subacute and respite beds run about $500,000 each (01:13:53).

Julie Ibrahim, CEO of New Narrative, described a supported-housing building at 13th and Clay with 24/7 staffing that "operates at about $50,000 per bed per year," which she called "a bargain compared to hospitalization" (00:49:00). James Schroeder, CEO of Cascadia Health, said acuity mismatch in housing produces "3.5 times more likely return to homelessness" and, in the last month alone, one murder at a Cascadia affordable-housing unit and three staff assaults (00:29:21).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-09-ws-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

The City Life Committee heard four climate presentations anchored on a $20 million Portland Clean Energy Fund grant for industrial decarbonization that launches in October, taking no votes but asking members to consider concrete proposals at a later meeting. Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) chaired; Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) and Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) joined remotely, and Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) and Vice Chair Eric Zimmerman (District 4) attended in person.

How far Portland is from its 2030 climate goal

Chief Sustainability Officer Vivian Satterfield told the committee Portland's 2023 emissions sit 26% below 1990 levels while population has grown 38% and jobs 35% (00:54:00). To meet the city's goal of a 50% cut by 2030, she said, Portland needs roughly a 5.5% reduction every year — about 320,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually — calling the next four years "the steepest climb we will face in this entire effort." Diesel emissions are up 69% since 1990, driven by freight and delivery, and residential natural gas use is up 62% (00:55:00).

Satterfield said transportation accounts for 40% of sector-based emissions and commercial buildings 24%, with electricity the single largest source and the regional grid at 33% renewable. She warned that delaying action to 2030 could add more than 15 million tons of greenhouse gases (01:06:00). The Sustainability and Climate Commission will hold eight monthly workgroup sessions starting in October to build the next climate action plan, which council is expected to adopt in 2028.

The $20 million industrial decarbonization grant

Jules Bailey, executive director of the Portland Partnership for Clean Industry, led a panel of business, labor, community, government, and university representatives describing a public-private effort modeled on a Danish program. Sonrisa Cooper of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability said the bureau won $20 million from a Portland Clean Energy Fund solicitation for a five-year Industrial Modernization Grant (01:23:00). Kate Merrill of Prosper Portland, which will administer it, said the first round launches in October with grants up to $300,000, a 25% match requirement, and workforce and green-building standards on construction over $300,000 (01:26:00). The grant is expected to leverage over $3.5 million in private investment.

Mary Pivetto, co-director of Neighbors for Clean Air, said her co-design team held more than 25 individual conversations and has worked together about 18 months without any money out the door yet, and that members remain optimistic (01:35:23). Corky Collier of the Columbia Corridor Association and Randall Friesen of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, representing over 20,000 workers, described project pipelines and labor commitments.

Councilor Morillo, who co-chaired the former Climate Committee with Councilor Steve Novick, said the committee faces a strange balance: "there are no jobs if Oregon burns down" (00:50:51). She later noted how much Clean Energy Fund money flows to private businesses and asked for a full breakdown of those dollars, saying the chair noted Clean Energy Fund staff were not in the room (02:49:05).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-08-clc-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

Portland's Public Works Committee held a discussion-only session on parks partnerships and volunteerism on Sept. 8, taking no vote but placing both agenda items on file — and used it to press Portland Parks and Recreation over a 25-year Portland Tennis Center contract signed without a council vote.

Council Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4), who presided, framed the two-hour session as a chance to hear from Parks and its community partners about "what works, what gets in the way, and what the city could do differently." Interim Parks Director Art Pierce reported that volunteer hours reached 485,391 this year, which he valued at "nearly $17 million" in community contribution and said exceeded Mayor Keith Wilson's goal of returning above pre-COVID levels (00:16:40). Pierce described more than 100 partner organizations and 40 site-based partnerships.

Tennis Center contract signed without a vote

The session turned pointed when councilors learned that operations of the Portland Tennis Center had already been transferred to the U.S. Tennis Association. Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), whose district includes the center, said the city administrator had signed a lease for the center and a license for six outdoor court sites, both with 25-year terms and automatic 5-year extensions. She said council had been promised an open process: "I've had to tell my constituents, oh, it's It's a done deal. It already happened" (02:04:49). She noted an access discount program was being replaced with one year of complimentary access, and said she was surprised City Administrator Raymond Lee was not present given prior messages about further conversation at this meeting.

Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) questioned whether the deal was within the administrator's authority: "I'm actually not convinced that it's within the city administrator's scope to sign that kind of a contract," because the charter ties that authority to consistency with the budget (02:12:56). Green said the item went to the Arts and Economy Committee on Dec. 16 as a presentation with a commitment it would return for a decision, "it never did," adding "committees don't make decisions for this whole city. City Council does, not committees" (02:19:08).

Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) read from a May 18 budget transcript in which Lee said a technical amendment funding partial-year tennis operations did not commit council to the transfer, and quoted charter Article 4, Section 2-401 that the administrator may execute contracts "consistent with the city budget" (02:29:04). Kanal said, "I'm going to be very specific when I say behind our back. That is not an— that is an intentional use of the phrase." Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) offered a different reading, interjecting "It went through committee" (02:19:05) and later saying the charter gives the mayor and administrator authority to execute contracts without council review. Pierce, two months into the job, apologized for the timing, saying he had come on as negotiations were being finalized (02:08:36).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-08-pwc-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

Portland's City Council voted 12-0 to direct the city administrator to negotiate exclusively with Albina Vision Trust as the development partner for city-owned parcels next to the Moda Center, capping negotiations at 12 months (01:55:00).

Albina development partnership adopted unanimously

Resolution 37751, sponsored by the three District 2 councilors — Sameer Kanal, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, and Dan Ryan — came out of the City Life Committee on a 5-0 vote and directs the administrator to negotiate with Albina Vision Trust for city-owned properties around the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The resolution does not transfer property or appropriate funds, and negotiations may not exceed 12 months. Pirtle-Guiney (D2) tied it to the displacement of Black Portlanders when I-5 and urban renewal cut through Lower Albina. Kanal (D2) argued the city should "stop doing the only" — ending the scarcity that pits communities of color against one another (01:44:03). Ryan (D2) said up to 10 parcels could be added.

More than 20 people testified, all in support. Wynta Johannes, executive director of Albina Vision Trust, called the resolution "nearly a decade in the making" (00:36:00). JT Flowers said the trust has brought $850 million in direct investment and described it as "the largest community-led development ... in the United States of America" (01:27:02). Metro Councilor Duncan Hwang said Metro invested $5 million in 2023 to begin acquiring land (00:49:00). Multnomah County Commissioner Shannon Singleton (District 2) said county funds are contingent on a binding city–Albina Vision Trust agreement (00:47:00). Michael Alexander, the trust's board chair since 2024, described a 94-acre vision and the completed 94-unit Albina 1 housing (00:57:53).

Kimberly Horner, executive director of the Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, supported the resolution but asked the city not to forget legacy organizations, citing her group's Pathway 1000 goal of 1,000 housing units (01:32:49). Councilor Mitch Green (D4) asked whether the commitment holds even if the Moda Center lease "gets sideways"; Kanal said it does (01:40:24).

PSU performing arts venue held over after hours of split testimony

The council heard 53 signed-up testifiers on Resolution 37752, which would accept recommendations to advance a new roughly 3,000-seat Broadway-capable venue at Portland State University while keeping the Keller Auditorium programmed. It came out of committee on a 4-1 vote. The council ran out of time and continued the item to September 9 at 9:30 a.m., reaching neither discussion nor a vote (03:50:23). Councilor Steve Novick (D3) earlier called it "the Keller-PSU knife fight" (01:43:43).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-03-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

Portland City Council voted 12-0 to adopt an emergency ordinance giving every city employee a free annual TriMet pass, and amended it 12-0 to extend the benefit to contracted janitors and security staff who work full-time for the city.

Free transit passes for city workers ahead of the I-5 closure

The council approved a one-year pilot providing a fully subsidized annual TriMet pass to all city employees, including casual and seasonal workers, as an emergency ordinance requiring nine votes. It passed 12-0 (01:46:03). Introduced by Mayor Keith Wilson, the pilot costs a flat $495,000, about $245,000 more than the city paid for transit passes last fiscal year, at roughly $61 per employee (00:53:41). Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Millicent Williams tied the timing to the Oregon Department of Transportation's closure of southbound Interstate 5 beginning September 11, which she said could extend commutes "up to 3 times" what people expect (00:42:39).

Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) pulled the item from the consent agenda to confirm employees wanted the benefit and to ask about roughly 100 to 150 subcontracted janitors and security staff who were left out (00:40:05). Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) moved an amendment directing the city administrator to extend the pass to contractors providing "sole service" to the city, saying "I don't want to get silly over $7,000" (01:28:29); the amendment passed 12-0 (01:44:40). City Administrator Raymond C. Lee said he worried about time constraints on adding contractors before the closure (01:32:08). Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) cautioned that "once we open this door to one contractor, we're going to have to open this door to all of our contractors" (01:31:04). The one speaker, Jordan Lewis of Portland Democratic Socialists of America, said the plan was not universal and cited a downtown worker paying $104 a month to park versus a $100 monthly transit pass (00:55:01).

Renaming Cesar Chavez Boulevard

The council passed to second reading an ordinance renaming Northeast and Southeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard as Campesinos Boulevard (04:36:26). Co-sponsors Smith and Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) said the change moves the honor from one man to the collective of farmworkers, citing revelations that, as Koyama Lane put it, "Cesar Chavez was a pedophile and abuser" (02:39:56). The ordinance waives five sections of city street-naming code. About 19 people testified. Invited supporters included original 2009 campaign organizers Marta Gomez and Jose Romero, former Mayor Tom Potter, and Maria Cecilia Hinojos-Presi of PCUN, who said Oregon agriculture is a $42 billion industry while the average farmworker earns less than $30,000 a year (02:34:44).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-02-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

The Community and Public Safety Committee referred a 27% Portland Fire & Rescue fee increase to the full City Council on a 4-1 vote after first stripping its emergency clause, and spent the rest of its meeting dissecting why police response times keep rising even as call volume falls.

Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) chaired the September 1 meeting remotely, explaining he had COVID. Councilors Angelita Morillo (District 3), Loretta Smith (District 1) and Sameer Kanal (District 2) attended, and Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) arrived shortly after the start.

Fire fees and code update

Fire Chief Lauren Johnson and Fire Marshal Kerry Schimmel presented two ordinances introduced by Mayor Keith Wilson. The first adopts the current Oregon Fire Code and removes year-specific references so staff need not return with a new ordinance at each state update. It went to full Council with a do-pass recommendation on a 5-0 vote (00:48:50).

The second raises fire fees, which Johnson said had not been comprehensively updated since before 2012 while personnel costs rose 43% since 2020. The 27% increase would move cost recovery from 42% toward a historic target of 55%; a 36% increase would be needed to reach 57% (00:16:00). Johnson said Portland's fees average $146 below peer cities now and would remain $53 below after the increase (00:17:00). Councilors noted the fees were approved in principle during the June budget, which relied on them to keep the Fire Bureau solvent.

Novick and Kanal both worried the fees drew no targeted outreach beyond the budget process. Kanal moved to remove the emergency clause from the fee ordinance to allow public input at full Council; that amendment passed 3-2, with Zimmerman and Smith opposed (00:47:26). The amended fee ordinance was then referred 4-1, Zimmerman opposed (00:49:55). Zimmerman objected that tripling a plan-review fee cut against the council's permit-cost reform work: "if we're serious about permit reform, permit cost reform... this is one of those areas I'm going to kind of draw a line here" (00:30:09). He also told City Administrator Raymond Lee he was "growing a little frustrated" that routine items arrived without advance briefings (00:42:48).

The exchange had lighter moments. When Zimmerman asked Kanal to repeat the amendment because "Angelita and I were being like the bad kids in the back here," Kanal replied he "was skillfully listening to both at the same time. Skill issue" (00:46:36). Novick added that with "a reasonable organized crime organization in this city... we could charge them fees for investigations" (00:47:35).

Police response times

Deputy Chief Brian Hughes, Lt. Christy Butcher and Christian Peterson of the Strategic Services Division presented for the Portland Police Bureau, at the request of Morillo and Novick. Hughes said rising response times reflect more Priority 1 calls, more officers per call for de-escalation, and staffing losses. Priority 1 calls rose 23.4% from fiscal 2017-18 to last year (01:53:19), available officers are down about 11%, and at least 90 to 100 officers are in training. Peterson said shooting-with-weapon calls nearly doubled and stabbing calls rose about 29%, each drawing more officers. Hughes noted homicides tripled in 2020-22, peaking above 90 in 2022, and are on pace for about 30 this year (01:57:49).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-01-cpsc-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

A Portland City Council committee voted 4-0 to send full Council a resolution urging the City Administrator not to sign non-disclosure agreements for data center deals, after amending it to add the Council's intent to pursue a moratorium or zoning limits on hyperscale data centers.

The Housing and Permitting Committee, chaired by Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1), took up the resolution from Councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), Mitch Green (District 4) and Avalos, who joined as a co-sponsor during the meeting. Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) was absent; Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) stepped out for part of the discussion.

Data center transparency resolution

Koyama Lane framed the measure as a first step toward broader protections, saying it "literally costs the city nothing to commit to being transparent" (01:24:00) and calling it a "high-integrity first step" toward a possible moratorium or ban. The committee first adopted an amendment adding the Council's stated intent to pursue a moratorium or zoning restrictions on hyperscale data centers, passing it 3-0 with Novick and Pirtle-Guiney absent for that vote (01:46:46).

Green explained why the resolution "urges" rather than requires: the charter reserves contract execution to the mayor, so a resolution can only signal Council's will, and compelling different behavior would require an ordinance (01:47:41). He said he does not believe the city should have NDAs "of any kind" among government officials but that the body could not compel that by resolution.

After the amendment added moratorium intent, Pirtle-Guiney declared a potential conflict of interest, saying her wife works for Microsoft, whose business includes developing data centers (01:59:21). She said she saw no conflict before the amendment but wanted to note it out of caution. The committee then referred the amended resolution to full Council with a recommendation to adopt, 4-0 with one absent (02:09:11).

What staff told the committee

Sandra Wood, a principal planner with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, said data centers are currently classified as "industrial office" uses and are largely limited to commercial mixed-use and employment zones, with an added allowance in the Central Eastside industrial subdistrict. She said Portland's small lot sizes make hyperscale facilities unlikely, and noted the 2025 Oregon POWER Act created a new electricity rate class so data centers "pay their fair share" (00:37:00).

Natalie Didion, the Portland Permitting and Development building official, said large projects go through early-assistance review but there is no report to City Council when permits come in (01:53:19). On a proposed 20-megawatt threshold, both Wood and Didion said they had not done the crosswalk to building or lot size. Koyama Lane said 20 megawatts defines large-load customers, not necessarily hyperscale, aligning with the state definition in HB 3546. Green, citing utility rate-making, said large-load tariff thresholds generally begin around 20 megawatts, and that the Moda Center is about a 10-megawatt load (02:02:17).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-09-01-hpc-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

A committee panel of health, toxicology and environmental experts urged the Portland City Council to ban chemical weapons in the city, telling the Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole that tear gas and related agents pose respiratory, reproductive and ecological harms — a presentation that drew pointed objections from two councilors over its scope. The committee took no vote on the presentation, which was placed on file.

The August 13 meeting, chaired by Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2), also referred a slate of appointments to the New Portlanders Policy Commission to the full Council and continued a discussion of how the city builds its budget. Councilors Olivia Clark (District 4) and Eric Zimmerman (District 4) were absent.

Panel on chemical weapons draws a scope fight

Four presenters described health and environmental effects of chemical agents used in Portland. Dr. Charisse Bach of 350 PDX said a study of "Tear Gas Tuesday" estimated 2 kilograms of toxins entered the Willamette River from airborne particles on June 2, 2020 (01:52:00), and that samples contained barium, copper, lead and zinc. Dr. Erica Moseson, a pulmonary and critical care physician with the Oregon Thoracic Society, said a masked study of over 6,000 soldiers was halted after it doubled the rate of bronchitis symptoms, and noted more than 1 in 10 Oregonians have asthma (01:57:00). Stacy Harper, an Oregon State University toxicology professor, cited a 2023 paper that surveyed over 1,200 tear-gas-exposed people with a uterus, of whom 83% reported at least one adverse symptom (02:00:00), and said 54.5% of surveyed menstruating Portland protesters reported a menstrual change. Chad Robison, a retired firefighter-paramedic who volunteers as a medic outside the Portland ICE facility, described canisters thrown to trap crowds: "It wasn't an attempt to disperse a crowd. It was to cause pain" (02:11:00). The panel recommended the council ban chemical weapons in Portland.

Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) questioned why the item lacked state and federal law context and any Portland Police Bureau perspective: "I really am just a little lost on what we're doing" (02:27:10). Kanal said the panel was an external-stakeholder discussion of public health and told Ryan, "I'm hearing you'd like a presentation with the users of chemical weapons in the future" (02:26:53). Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) said the police bureau should be part of the conversation but added, "I do not see you tear gassing our children in Portland." Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) said Portland Police "regularly deployed many chemical weapons" in 2020.

The exchange sharpened when Kanal said Portland Police used chemical munitions "yesterday" on the 1800 block of Northwest Overton, reading from the bureau's website. Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) raised a point of order (02:47:17), saying her understanding was that the bureau had not used tear gas since 2020 and that "you're confusing the public because you're confusing me" (02:48:07). Kanal replied, "Not sure how much clearer it could be about reading the thing" (02:49:53), and said he would follow up with more clarity. Moseson stated a fatality rate figure and an Egypt fatality count only tentatively and offered to provide written references.

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-08-13-fgc-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

Portland City Council adopted a non-binding term sheet 8-4 to begin negotiations to renovate the Moda Center and keep the Trail Blazers in Portland for at least 20 more years, after amending it to add rent from the team and raise that rent to $3.17 million a year. (04:22:42)

Trail Blazers term sheet

The resolution (item 6), introduced by Mayor Keith Wilson, passed with Councilors Steve Novick (District 3), Olivia Clark (District 4), Eric Zimmerman (District 4), Loretta Smith (District 1), Sameer Kanal (District 2), Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2), Dan Ryan (District 2) and Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) in favor, and Councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), Angelita Morillo (District 3), Mitch Green (District 4) and Candace Avalos (District 1) opposed. Council President Dunphy called it "the city's opening proposal" and said the 2 p.m. continuation session was cancelled.

Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira told the council the document was assembled without the Blazers having formally negotiated, and that the city will need renovation details from the team before returning in December. The term sheet describes a $120 million upfront city contribution and a $275 million ongoing capital contribution over 20 years, drawn against roughly $300 million-plus committed by the state. An amendment package co-sponsored by Dunphy, Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan and Kanal — built from proposals councilors raised the prior week — passed 12-0 (02:05:16) and added a rent term of $2 million a year, joint-authority approval over public dollars, city development rights and community-benefits reporting.

Novick then moved to raise the rent to $3.17 million a year, saying his goal was for the city to recover about $117 million over 20 years assuming it borrows $75 million at roughly 4.6 percent. It passed 7-5 (02:22:19). Novick also told any listening NBA owners the city's ask amounts to about $6 million a year — "less than the salary of Clint Capela of the Houston Rockets" (03:26:47) — and noted the Blazers made $361 million in 2024-25 (03:25:11).

An earlier Green amendment to peg rent escalation to Oregon's rent-stabilization cap failed on a 6-6 tie (01:59:35), with Dunphy joining Koyama Lane, Morillo, Green, Avalos and Kanal in favor. "I don't know why we would charge Rip City Management... a better rent control deal than we're giving Portland tenants," Green said, noting 53 percent of his District 4 constituents rent. Smith objected that the amendment referenced a residential statute for a commercial lease.

The dissents

Morillo said economists who study arena deals call it "the worst deal of all time" (01:24:09) and tied the spending to school lunches and cuts to the Portland Clean Energy Fund. Green cited coming TriMet service cuts and said no credible economic study supports the deal: "There's no such thing as a free lunch in public economics" (03:34:20). Avalos said the owner must make a private contribution and framed her vote as "not a vote against the Blazers" (03:47:03). Koyama Lane said she could not support it "without a firm commitment of funds from Mr. Dundon" (04:08:05).

Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2026-08-12-1

Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.