In July 2018, Portland instituted a milestone—the first municipal ordinance mandating requirements for contractors applying for a permit to remove a residential structure that contained four or fewer living units. Additionally, the Bureau of Development Services (BDS), which has jurisdiction over the issuance of demolition permits, was instructed to monitor the new program and report back to City Council in 18 months with respect to compliance and effectiveness. In preparation for the status report, BDS reconvened its Development Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) Demolition Subcommittee to provide assessments and recommendations. Members of the subcommittee included BDS office staff, on-site inspectors, infill development contractors, interested DRAC members, and representatives from a variety of neighborhood groups, including United Neighborhoods for Reform (UNR), a citywide preservationist organization with BWNA roots. Meetings were open to the public and well attended.
Candid presentations by the BDS inspector group exposed ongoing difficulties, especially the problem of inspectors not being able to be on site during the majority of demolitions since the launching of the program—a serious weakness impacting collection of sound data regarding protection of public health. While pre-demolition inspections, post-demolition inspections, and closeout reports are key to checking for acceptability of plans and contractor understanding of required responsibilities, the subcommittee went further, supporting proposals that would greatly increase on-site visibility by BDS inspectors, accomplished by a combination of tighter communications and time-certain scheduling and/or employment of real-time video skyping between contractors and off-site inspectors during mechanical demolitions. Subcommittee recommendations were scheduled to be presented to the full DRAC in December, followed shortly thereafter by DRAC recommendations to BDS, then City Council hearings in January.
Public oversight of the evolving program will include members of United Neighborhoods for Reform, which played a key part in getting Oregon State SB871 passed, paving the way for Portland’s “responsible demolition” ordinance. While disappointed in the BDS status report regarding verification of compliance, UNR was encouraged by subcommittee discussions and suggestions with respect to improving the level of verification in an effort to minimize public health risks during residential demolitions. In a related item, City Council approved a measure that requires deconstruction (disassembling by hand for recycling and reuse) during removal of residential-zoned structures built before 1940 (extended from “before 1917”), with the ultimate goal of requiring deconstruction for all residential demolitions—a top UNR priority.