UPDATED 4/5/11
The Central Northeast Neighbors (CNN) hosted a roundtable on Monday, March 28 to discuss neighborhood economic development and how to foster it within CNN’s 20 neighborhoods.
Over a dozen people attended the meeting, including Kate Deane, the neighborhood economic development manager for the Portland Development Commission (PDC).
The first portion of the roundtable was devoted to Deane and her presentation of the Neighborhood Economic Development Action Plan, a five-year plan developed by the PDC to promote small businesses and create economic vitality and development at the neighborhood level.
Deane accepted comments on the action plan through Wednesday, March 30. Revisions will be made, and the PDC Board of Commissioners is expected to consider the action plan for approval on April 13. Portland’s City Council will then hear the action plan and vote to adopt it on May 4.
The plan represents a significant shift away from how the PDC has handled economic development in the past, Deane said. The role that PDC previously played involved a “top down” approach that focused on developing business in the central areas of the city, neglecting parts of Portland outside of urban renewal areas (URAs).
“We haven’t been very strong on being community driven in the past,” Deane said.
But the action plan represents “very much a bottom up approach” focusing on economic development, job and business creation, and economic vitality in a way that mirrors a neighborhood’s character and whatever unique assets a neighborhood possesses to support particular types of small businesses.
The PDC is making this shift for many reasons. The Portland Plan and the city's five-year Economic Development Strategy both support increasing equity throughout Portland, promoting healthy, vibrant neighborhoods, and focusing on small business development rather than trying to attract large businesses from outside Portland.
Additionally, the PDC was reorganized two years ago when the Bureau of Housing and Community Development became the Portland Housing Bureau and its community economic development staff moved to the PDC.
The action plan’s strategy for growing small business and jobs within neighborhoods is divided into three parts: developing businesses, supporting local business districts, and revitalizing and developing commercial real estate.
Keane emphasized to the group convened at CNN that for the action plan to succeed, collaboration between businesses, neighborhoods, community leaders and the PDC will have to increase.
“There is not enough PDC to go around to do the work ourselves,” Keane said, adding that neighborhoods and business districts will have to tap into foundation and private money to help provide grants to fund particular needs and services in their areas.
After the presentation, people attending the roundtable asked numerous questions about the plan and business development as it pertained to their neighborhoods. Attendees worried that gentrification in their neighborhoods may result from increased business and economic vitality. Keane observed that gentrification is less likely if businesses mirror the neighborhood’s character and specific needs.
One issue raised was zoning. Deb Field, who owns a business in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood, remarked that zoning in many parts of the city is not consistent, and any area not zoned as commercial presents a major roadblock to potential business owners.
Debbie Bishoff, north and northeast Portland’s planner at the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, responded that “we haven’t done correct zoning in 30 years,” and said she has raised the issue to the Bureau, which has begun to address the issue.
Another concern discussed at the meeting was the collaboration between neighborhood and business associations.
Roger Granger, a Cully resident, observed that many neighborhood associations will have to overcome a steep learning curve in order to successfully capitalize on the plan. Many neighborhood associations, including Cully’s, do not have formal roles on their boards for economic development, as they do for land use or public safety. “That makes it hard to bring people forward,” he said.
Keane responded that collaboration between neighborhoods and business associations is directly addressed in the action plan. She also said that CNN is well-positioned to develop that collaboration.
“This district coalition is unique in that it is actively seeking to have dialog and collaboration between neighborhood associations and business associations,” Keane said. “In my experience, this does not get so facilitated in other parts of the city.”
UPDATE 4/5/11: "Small biz incubator, credit union are dream goals of new North/Northeast Portland econ development for neighborhoods committee"
by Larry Bingham, The Oregonian
