1. Portland is moving in the right policy direction.

• A very large number of people speak about valuing the progressive nature of Portland’s policies.
• Policies that are widely praised include:
  • Growth management policies, specifically the Urban Growth Boundary;
  • Policies promoting sustainability in City Government as well as in the community (e.g. government policies in contracting, paper use, recycling, Kyoto Protocol);
  • Transportation policy, specifically the willingness to invest in public transportation;
  • Approaches to the preservation of greenspace and the creation of parks;
  • Policies concerning neighborhood voice and citizen involvement; and
  • Policies aimed at enhancing urban livability.
• Portlanders want the City to learn from these successes and apply similarly successful approaches to issues such as homelessness, healthcare and education.

2. Portland’s policies are significantly off track.

• A small minority of respondents feel that Portland’s policies are significantly off track and do not represent their views at all.
• These respondents blame Portland’s liberal policies for:
  • An anti-business attitude which is seen as harmful to the economic growth/health of the city;
  • The weakening of personal responsibility and an attitude of permissiveness toward people experiencing homelessness, “street kids,” “bums” and people with substance abuse problems; and
  • Allowing downtown to become dirty, unpleasant and unsafe.
• Some of these people feel that Portland’s leaders are only interested in listening to residents who live downtown and in the close-in parts of the city and are disinterested in engaging conservative voices in policy debates.

3. Policy changes are needed across a number of different areas.

• In general, Portlanders would like to see a bureaucracy that is both accountable and nimble enough to make policy changes when necessary.
• Respondents would also like to see government simplified whenever possible. An example of this would be to automate the permit process and remove the many layers of licensing currently required.
• It is important to note that Portlanders tend to advocate policies and practices that are not limited to one group or area of the city but rather enhance the “common good.”

Note: Some of the following policy suggestions relate to City policies, while others refer to County, State, and even Federal policies. For simplicity, suggestions are grouped alphabetically by topic area as opposed to by jurisdiction. Also note that some suggestions represent the opinion of a single individual while others represent views held by a larger number of respondents. Finally, many of these comments repeat themes addressed in greater depth in other chapters.

Community involvement:

• Increase the ability of neighborhoods to make decisions that affect their quality of life (e.g., creating additional cross-walks, building community centers, etc.).
• Give neighborhoods access to some funds that can be used to plan and implement neighborhood projects.

Development and Urban Renewal:

• Create policies that prevent residents and businesses from being displaced by urban renewal efforts.
• Create and enforce renovation guidelines to maintain the character of remodeled housing and new infill development.
• Create stricter green building guidelines.
• Create policies around infrastructure and greenspace requirements for high-density development (see Government: Public Infrastructure).

Diversity:

• Many respondents call for policies that will actively increase diversity, especially in city leadership positions.
• Many people want policies to combat gentrification, believing that this will help preserve diversity in Portland’s neighborhoods.
• A large number of respondents want to see legal marriage for same-sex couples. A minority of respondents want all gay marriages banned.

Drug Policy:

• Many people want law enforcement to more aggressively confront drug dealing, especially in public places such as downtown and on the MAX.
• A small number of respondents would like to see marijuana legalized and subject to taxes like alcohol and cigarettes.

Economic Policy:

• Shift economic policy towards supporting small, local, sustainable businesses.
• Support policies that encourage the creation of living wage jobs.
• Encourage full employment by providing incentives for businesses to hire and train “hard to hire” workers such as ex-convicts, homeless and formerly-homeless individuals, people with disabilities and those with limited skills and education.
• Align economic policy with the community’s sustainability goals (see Environment: Sustainability).
• Ensure that economic policies enhance the overall livability of the city. Do not pursue economic strategies that undermine Portland’s livability.

Environment:

• Develop and enforce policies that create a quieter city, such as reducing noise pollution from the airport, raceway and motorcycles.
• Increase the City’s role in air quality regulation.
• Continue to support the Urban Growth Boundary and find a way to fix or reverse Measure 37.
• Prohibit the sale and use of pesticides in local areas.

Immigration Policy:

• A number of people mentioned the need for immigration reform, with a majority requesting the ability to work legally in Portland and a smaller number of people calling for English-only materials and services for United States citizens only.

  Public Health:

• Many people suggest a ban on smoking in public, although a minority feels that bars should be able to create their own smoking guidelines.
• A few want the City to regulate high-fructose corn syrup and trans fat (some speak of making trans fat illegal and others speak of heavily taxing these ingredients).
• Relax alcohol policy (many people speak of OLCC being “too uptight” in its approach).
• Support local food production i.e., local gardens throughout the city, neighborhood markets, etc. (see Urban Livability: Land Use/Urban Agriculture).

  Public Safety:

• Strengthen community policing.
• Address mental health as it relates to public safety.
• Abolish racial profiling.
• Establish strict guidelines for when and how force is to be used.
• Crack down on the sex industry, including sex shops.

  Social Policy:

• Make panhandling illegal.
• Support policies that put children and families first (see Urban Livability: Family Friendly).
• Create policies to address poverty.

  Sustainability:

• Promote “villages” throughout the city with services and mixed-income housing located nearby.
• Offer incentives for green building and other sustainable industries.

Transportation policy:

• Many people would like to see a car-less downtown and/or a toll charged on vehicles entering the downtown core.
• A number of people would like to see Fareless Square expanded to include a larger portion of downtown as well as more of the Eastside.
• Many people support policies that encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation and discourage the use of single-passenger automobiles.

4. Portland should continually strive to be a national policy leader.

• Many respondents value Portland for being visionary in the past and want to see continued policy leadership moving into the future.
• There are calls for Portland to continue to push the envelope with “gutsy, unique initiatives” that provide a model for the rest of the country to follow.
• Portlanders deeply value and want to continue the practice of finding and implementing creative, new policy solutions to old problems.
• Some people fear that Portland is losing its position as a policy leader to cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and others (especially regarding sustainability). These people call on Portland’s leaders to continually look for new ways to move the city forward.
• A number of Portlanders cite past progressive policy innovations at the state-wide level (the bottle bill, public beaches) as examples of the type of policy leadership they expect from Portland in coming years.

Sample Strategies:

1. Resist the urge to let our reputation rest on our past accomplishments; constantly seek out new ways to innovate on behalf of the public.
2. “Establish a can-do culture in Portland which is independent of the stalemates in Salem.”