Portland Area
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Municipalities Hillsboro OR, Wilsonville OR, Vancouver WA, Gresham OR, Portland OR
United States
From: 15 Feb 2023 - To - 17 Feb 2023
Description: Best practices trip to five municipalities in the Portland Metro Area.
Cities and counties around Portland have gained population and jobs; Portland and Multnomah County have lost population in reaction to issues such as the (relatively high) tax burden and chaotic environment.
Attendee List
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Hillsboro OR, Beaverton OR
- Hillsboro—Washington Co.’s county seat and its most populous city—has been growing rapidly (1970,15,365 population to ~106.6+K in 2021, US Census estimate).
- Population growth in Beaverton, which is relatively more built-out within its city boundaries, has slowed but remains positive.
- Cradle-to-career workforce development: Hillsboro has a cradle-to-career strategy of encouraging its residents to obtain sufficient education/training to fill the jobs being created in both the city’s trades and in its high-tech industries
Panel
History of development Development Director Daniel Dias
Wilsonville OR, Tualatin OR, Sherwood OR
- All three cities in the southwest of the greater Portland metro region have been gaining population.
- Broadly speaking, Wilsonville and Tualatin have more jobs than residents; Sherwood has more residents than jobs.
Welcome from Wilsonville Mayor Julie Fitzgerald
Southwest Metro Employment Lands, Current and forthcomming from Economic Development practitioners from Sherwood, Tualatin, Wilsonville Location Decision-making & the Impacts of Policy
Vancouver WA
- Although the city and surrounding county have been gaining population and jobs from companies that choose to locate there for a variety of reasons, indicators suggest that the growth in Vancouver’s population is a combination of factors including new residents choosing to live in Vancouver and surrounding areas and Portland residents coming north to take advantage of (a perceived) relatively lower tax burden and greater availability of affordable housing.
Welcom to Vancouver - Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle
Panels on Economic Development, Interstate Bridge Replacement, Housing and Homelessness
Gresham OR
- Population has increased as Portland residents, priced or gentrified out of the city, have moved to lower-cost housing in Gresham.
- The movement of a relatively-lower-income demographic from Portland to Gresham, accompanied by siting of affordable housing in Gresham has raised demands for urban services without providing increased or sufficient funds to cover their cost.
Welcome – Mayor Travis Stovall
Presentations from Eric Schmidt & Shannon Stadey on Gresham Strategic Plan & Goals, Gresham Housing & Houselessness, Gresham Centers
PANEL DISCUSSION Why You should WANT to do business in Gresham
Portland OR
- Has lost population (U.S. Census est. population in 2020 was 652,503 and 641,162 in 2021, a decrease of 1.7%), especially among higher-income earners.
- Multnomah County also lost population (U.S. Census est. population in 2020 was 815,428 and 803,377 in 2021, a decrease of 1.5%). By contrast, Washington, Clackamas and Clark counties all gained population between 2020-2021 in the range of 0.3%-1.6% (the largest increase being in Clark County)
- Indicators suggest that population loss from Portland and Multnomah County is due to such factors as relatively high taxes, and concern about chaotic social picture (e.g., growing and highly visible homelessness; decline in quality of life conditions; riots/demonstrations in 2021, etc.).
- In 2021, Portland began an effort to better coordinate and unify financial management of the city’s four public safety systems (Portland Police Bureau, Portland Fire & Rescue, the Bureau of Emergency Communications, and the Bureau of Emergency Management).
- Portland’s response includes:
- The transition to a mayor-and-city-manager form of government, adopted by the city’s voters in November 2022, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.
- Modular housing might help reduce costs of increasing the number of housing units available in Portland..
- Prosper Portland’s draft Inclusive Economic Development Strategy features growth industry clusters and placed-based recommendations. (The draft Strategy is going to the City Council in April for approval. Prosper Portland’s Shea Flaherty Betin asked for feedback on the Strategy before April.)
Presentation from the Mayor of Portland
Summary of Mayor Ted Wheeler's comments
Presentation from ECONorthwest
Presentations from Metro
