City Council · afternoon

5:15Good evening.

5:17Good evening.

5:17Before we officially gavel in, I am turning this over to Councilor Koyama Lane for a pre-gravel celebration.

5:24Councilor Koyama Lane.

5:25Thank you, Council President.

5:26Good evening, everyone.

5:28Thank you all for being here today as we recognize Minoru Yasui Day.

5:33Thank you to Mayor Wilson for formally recognizing this day through an official proclamation affirming the importance of remembering this history and carrying forward its lessons.

5:43It's an honor to gather in this space with very special guests, people who are very important to me, to reflect on the life and legacy of Minoru Yasui, And to bravely commit to being the allies today that our families needed during World War II.

5:58And with that, I will turn things over to our guests, Lynn, June, Peggy, and Kay.

6:03Thank you.

6:05Good evening, President Dunphy and City Council members.

6:08Min was just 26 years old when he defied the military curfew imposed on people of Japanese ancestry that led to the unjust incarceration of over 120,000 men, women, in children, including my family.

6:26And he did this to test the constitutionality.

6:30And his act of defiance 84 years ago was a stand against government overreach and discrimination.

6:38He knew that no government should have unchecked power.

6:42He recognized the common struggle of marginalized people and worked tirelessly across ethnic, racial, class, and other elements of diversity, including age and disabilities.

6:55And for his lifetime of activism, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and he's the only Oregonian to receive this honor.

7:05In 2016, in an intensely bipartisan year, we worked with the Oregon Legislature and unanimously passed House Bill 4009, designating March 28th Yes.

7:19—Was the day he defied curfew— as Minoru Yasui Day in Oregon in perpetuity.

7:28The bill was signed, and we had the March for Justice with over 400 people, ages 103 down to 3 years old, that retraced Min's steps from his office in what was Portland's Japantown to police headquarters where he was arrested and jailed.

7:46And we continue to hold Min Yasui Day events every year since.

7:50So we wanted to thank you for your proclamation recognizing Min, but also calling out past and present injustices.

7:59Now, we must do our part to correct them, because in Min's words, if we believe in America, if we believe in equality and democracy, if we believe in law and justice, then each of us, when we see or believe errors are being made, have an obligation to make every effort to correct them.

8:20Thank you.

8:21Effort to correct them.

8:23Now, your proclamation calls out the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

8:28We must push Congress to repeal it with the passage of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act.

8:35So every day is a call to action, to speak out when our democracy is threatened and the rule of law broken.

8:44So what would Min do?

8:45That's the name of our event this year.

8:48As we mark the 10th anniversary of Min Yasui Day and the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, both rooted in democracy and the belief that power belongs to the people, we must unite the power of our voices and actions because what Min says, what is done to the least of the least of us can be done to all of us.

9:14So this is Min's call to action then and his call to action now.

9:18Thank you.

9:19Thank you for letting us share more about Min's legacy.

9:22Thank you, Lynn.

9:23Would you like to say your full name for the record?

9:25Sure.

9:26Lynn Fuchigami Parks.

9:29Great.

9:29Would you like to introduce yourself?

9:31My name is June Arima Schumann.

9:36During 2014 and '15, I served as project administrator for the Minoru Yasui Tribute Committee in Portland.

9:48It was formed by Holly Yasui and Peggy Nagae.

9:53The purpose was to nominate Minoru Yasui for the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

10:01The committee felt this national recognition for Min Yasui should not be delayed any further.

10:09The Portland-based Minoru Yasui Tribute Committee involved dedicated lawyers, advocates, and community leaders with active connections to local and national organizations.

10:22Minoru Yasui Tribute Committee submitted the Presidential Medal of Freedom nomination to President Obama with nearly 90 letters of support, including past and current federal cabinet officials, representatives, senators, governors, from multiple states, local advocacy organizations, and community leaders.

10:49Here are some examples of the important ways local and national organizations supported the recognition for constitutional and racial justice fought for by Minoru Yasui.

11:04First, the Oregon ACLU leader obtained a support letter from the National ACLU.

11:13He then submitted the local letter referencing the MacNaughton Award granted to Minoru Yasui in Oregon in 1983.

11:26Secondly, the legislative liaison for Oregon ACLU facilitated the approval of state legislative action to establish March 28th as Minoru Yasui Day, effective 2016.

11:48Third, the Portland Urban League learned about Minoru Yasui's role in helping to establish Denver, Colorado's Urban League in the 1950s.

12:01They were among Portland local advocacy organizations to support Minoru Yasui for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

12:10Thank you.

12:11Fourth, Portland's Coalition of Communities of Color was one of the organizations to learn about how Minoru Yasui had an active role in Denver to establish advocacy organization for Black, Latino, Native, and Asian American communities.

12:31His efforts in Denver in the 1950s were in line with Coalition of Communities of Color present day's mission and submitted their letter of support for Minoru Yasui.

12:47Lastly, I wanted to mention Hood River Middle School students who in 2015 studied what is a hero.

12:58They learned about Minoru Yasui, who graduated from Hood River High School, and said in their letter of support, Minoru Yasui is a hero.

13:07Thank you.

13:09Because he stood up for what was right.

13:12He was a hero because he dedicated his life fighting for what he believed in.

13:20Thank you for my statement.

13:23Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane, thank you very much for inviting us here.

13:28Thank you to all the councilors for being here.

13:30My name is Peggy Nagai, and I have a few words about the Minyasui case.

13:35I was his lead attorney reopening his case, World War II case in the early '80s.

13:41Sherrilyn Ifill recently described Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a democracy warrior who put his body on the line and spoke truth to power, harnessing a truth force to demand change.

13:55Likewise, Minoru Yasui, as a lawyer, patriot, and activist, was a democracy lawyer who put his body on the line when he intentionally violated the military curfew imposed upon U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry.

14:12By this act, he spoke truth to power.

14:15The incarceration of persons without due process is a clear violation of the 5th Amendment's command.

14:22Does this sound familiar?

14:25While Yasui firmly believed the government was transgressing fundamental rights, he did not know the extent to which government lawyers, both in the War Department and the Department of Justice, lied, suppressed, misrepresented, and falsified a key military report and other government assessments so that they could argue national security mandated incarceration.

14:53Does this sound familiar?

14:56The evidence of these lawyers The evidence these lawyers tampered with intentionally misled the Supreme Court about the military assessment of the West Coast and hid the general's racist views of Japanese Americans as an enemy race, calling them animals and saying that no amount of time would make a difference to prove the loyalty or their disloyalty to the US.

15:23General DeWitt said it would be like separating goats from sheep, language that characterized American citizens of Japanese descent as subhuman and alleviated any moral obligation to treat them as the U.S. citizens that they were.

15:44Why did these lawyers, against their own ethical rules, withhold exculpatory evidence from verified government sources that the incarceration was not necessary?

15:57Why is it that the Solicitor General of the United States, the 4th-ranking official in the Department of Justice representing the federal government in all U.S. Supreme Court cases and appointed by the president, refused to disclose credible reports from the Office of Naval Intelligence, the FBI, the Federal Communications Commission, all of which found no evidence of sabotage, and all of which said that it was unnecessary to imprison Japanese Americans.

16:34We reopened his case in the 1980s.

16:38I've been asking my— these questions for the last 40-some years, and it's been an exhausting process of wondering, why did this happen?

16:48Why did lawyers— because I used to practice law— how could we How could we betray our ethical obligations?

16:57And I have come to— I still don't quite understand it.

17:04Why did they betray their responsibilities to not serve the public interest, to not act with integrity, to not seek justice, and to ensure a fair process rather than pursuing a conviction at all costs?

17:19Councilwoman Loretta Smith.

17:21Why did they not uphold the law?

17:25I've come to believe that these high-ranking government lawyers and officials did not see, nor did they believe, that the United States is a multiracial, multicultural, inclusive democracy where all people are created equal.

17:41Rather, I believe they saw it as a white country where they are girded by beliefs like Manifest Destiny, With whiteness at the core of the nation's success, history, politics, and culture.

17:55That is why history is repeating itself today.

17:59That is why we have a current-day Supreme Court justice ruling that ICE agents can make arrests based on race, ethnicity, Spanish-speaking proficiency, and type of work.

18:13Called the Kavanaugh stop, it allows ICE agents to arrest people based on these agents' personal stereotypes and racism.

18:24And what would Yasui say in the final year of his life?

18:29He said, this is the United States of America, founded in liberty, dedicated to the proposition that all men— and I included— and women are created equal.

18:43As an American citizen, as a lawyer, I felt that we owed at least the obligation to tell our government they're wrong.

18:53That is a sacred duty of every citizen, because what is done to the least of us can be done to all of us.

19:02I knew we had to protest.

19:06In honor of Min Yasui, let us fight for the rule of law, fight for our democracy, democracy, fight for the soul of this nation.

19:15Thank you.

19:16Thank you.

19:22Yes.

19:23Oh, my name is Kay Endle.

19:25I was incarcerated in the Minidoka War Relocation Center, which is located 16 miles northeast of Twin Falls, Idaho.

19:35As a youth, we had a lot of fun because our parents all had jobs working in the camp as cooks, in the mess halls, fire department, police department.

19:51So it was the camp was self-sufficient, and as youngsters, all we did was play all day until school started on September 26th.

20:04That was my ninth birthday, but we didn't celebrate my birthday.

20:10For some reason, nobody knew about it, and we didn't even have a cake.

20:15And Christmas was really nice.

20:20They had toys that were donated by the churches all through the United States, and I got a gift, but I can't remember it, but it was really a nice present.

20:33And in camp, to this day, you— for me, it wasn't that bad, but for the older generation, it was really bad.

20:45And I wish some of them could come here and explain to you what happened, but most of them are either not here anymore or in, in the late '90s.

20:58So I'm right now 92, so I'm— 92.

21:02One of the younger ones that knew about camp, and we had a lot of fun.

21:11And and what we did was we went out and played.

21:15And then one of the things they had a canal, and they used to swim across the canal.

21:21And the good swimmers went and the swiped some watermelons.

21:28And then we used to look at them while they were eating watermelon.

21:32And then pretty soon they said, come on in and help yourself to the watermelon.

21:37That was really a great present for us.

21:41And that was our— my adventure in camp.

21:46And for the older generation, it was really terrible.

21:50But for us, it was really, really good.

21:54Thank you so much, all of you, for your powerful words and reflections.

22:00Thank you to everyone who joined us this evening.

22:02Let's continue to honor Minyasoui by carrying forward the conviction that at times challenging unjust laws is absolutely necessary in the pursuit of democracy and dignity for all.

22:13Sometimes I sit at my window here in City Hall and I imagine him, because he walked around downtown telling a police officer, hey, arrest me, arrest me.

22:22We know that the police officer said, run along home, sonny boy, until he went to the police station and said, you have to arrest me, I'm breaking the curfew on purpose.

22:31So as we wrap up, I encourage everyone to continue honoring Min's legacy by staying engaged, learning more.

22:38Please research Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's Neighbors Not Enemies Act, HR 630.

22:44Please attend the Min Yasui Day celebration right up the street at the Oregon Historical Society hosted by the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project.

22:52And we have proclamations, to give to you all, to gift to the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, the Minoru Yasui Project, the JACL, and one to you, Mr. Kei Endo.

23:03Thank you for sharing your story with us.

23:05Let's all remember that never again is now.

23:18Thank you all for being here.

23:20Um, there's going to be Councilors, there's a request for us to do a quick photo outside.

23:23Uh, we're gonna do that and try to be back here in, well, as quick as we can get.

23:27We got a full evening tonight.

23:29That'll be great.

28:29And welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.

28:31I'm now gaveling into order this meeting of the Portland City Council on Wednesday— the evening of Wednesday, March 18th.

28:40Keelan, can you please call the roll?

28:43Avalos?

28:44Present.

28:44Smith.

28:47Kanal?

28:48Present.

28:50Novick?

28:50Here.

28:51Ryan?

28:52Here.

28:52Koyama Lane?

28:54Zimmerman?

29:05Here.

29:06Here.

29:08And can we please read the rules of decorum?

29:11Good evening.

29:12Welcome to the Portland City Council.

29:13To testify before council in person or virtually, you must sign up in advance on the council agenda at www.portland.gov/council/agenda.

29:23Information on engaging with council can be found on the council clerk's webpage.

29:27Individuals may testify for 3 minutes unless the presiding officer states otherwise.

29:31Your microphone will be muted when your time is over.

29:33The presiding officer preserves order.

29:35Disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others' testimony or council deliberations will not be allowed.

29:44If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given.

29:47Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting.

29:49Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass.

29:53Additionally, council may take a short recess and reconvene virtually.

29:57Your testimony should address the matter being considered.

29:59When testifying, state your name for the record.

30:01Your address is not necessary.

30:03If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent.

30:07Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the council clerk calls your name.

30:10Thank you.

30:12Thank you very much.

30:13Colleagues, our first action item today is approval of the agenda.

30:18Item number 4, titled Amend Council Schedule During the '26-'27 Budget Process, has been pulled from consent in part to add an amendment and to add an emergency clause.

30:28We have many substantive policy items to hear tonight.

30:31I would like to be able to place this at the beginning of the regular agenda so that we can complete it and move on to other business rather than move it to the end, as is normally the case.

30:40Is there any objection, or may I have unanimous consent to place item 4 between items 3 and 5?

30:48I know.

30:51I would like to— usually items from consent get pulled to the end.

30:54I'd like to have it read chronologically, if that's okay.

30:58Are there any other requests to amend the agenda?

31:03Do I have unanimous consent to approve the agenda?

31:04I see that.

31:06Lots of little nods.

31:08The agenda is approved.

31:09Thank you, colleagues.

31:11Keelan, can we please call public communications?

31:15First up, we have Karen Shirey.

31:21Yep, come on up, Karen.

31:22Welcome.

31:23Please introduce yourself, share your name, your pronouns if you prefer, and you have 3 minutes.

31:28Hi, my name is Karen Chire.

31:30Um, I am a business owner in District 4.

31:33I own Stadium Suprette.

31:34I am part of Stadiumhood.

31:37You guys have seen me all in various venues here testifying.

31:42I also testify for county, and I've been testifying for state legislature.

31:47I am advocating for businesses in our area.

31:51We've had now 35 businesses close within a 4-block radius of our store by Providence Park in the last 2 years.

32:00I am dealing with ongoing crime, and the consensus of a lot of the businesses is that very thing, is crime and safety.

32:10I, I don't know what else to do other than continue arresting the people that commit these crimes.

32:16I'm up to 26 people as of the Sunday before last that I've had arrested since last April, due in part for me, like, either following the suspect until police can get to my location to arrest the people.

32:31Some people I've had to let go just because I couldn't wait any longer due to business and stuff.

32:38And And it's just, it's just an ongoing cycle of homelessness and drugs and crime.

32:46And with all the monies that we're spending on the homeless and, uh, SNAP benefits and all these things, I just don't understand why it just is continuing, you know.

32:58Right.

32:58And like, what else can we do to mitigate these things, you know?

33:03And the reason why our, our our economy is so bad is because we do have these crimes.

33:10And so when, when retail outlets have criminal activity or vandalism like I've had, you know, we're going to have to raise our prices.

33:19You know, I, I could barely afford the employees that I have working right now.

33:25And just because, you know, I have now more employment taxes, I have cost of living, you know, increases.

33:33Councilor Smith.

33:34And, um, and so I'm just— I'm pleading with you guys, like, you know, please help in some way.

33:41You know, I, I just— I feel like we're the minority.

33:44And, you know, I, I didn't necessarily choose to open this store.

33:49It wasn't my dream.

33:50It was my husband's dream.

33:52But I, I helped make it happen, and I'm continuing to make it happen for him while he works construction, just so that we can keep the store open.

34:01Mm-hmm.

34:01I mean, we literally have to have 2 incomes, right?

34:05The store and, and his income, just to keep the store afloat, you know.

34:10And, and so I, I just, I don't know what else to do other than, like I said, um, I, I feel like we need to bring back Neighborhood Watch, um, to help the police kind of be eyes on the street, you know, know these different locations.

34:24Um, if we can bring back Reserve Program maybe to give us a little bit You know, more, more boots on the ground.

34:32Uh, I don't know, I just, I, I want somebody to reach out to me and see what else we can come up with, um, to help our businesses not have to close.

34:41I don't want to close.

34:43So thank you so much for being here tonight.

34:47Next up we have Evan Lewis.

34:51Welcome.

34:54Thank you.

34:55Please introduce yourself for the record, pronouns if you prefer, and you have 3 minutes.

35:00Yes, my name is Evan Lewis, he/him.

35:04I am the executive director of Third Angle New Music.

35:07I'm a proud member of 2 local grassroots arts advocacy groups, Portland Arts and Culture for Equity and Portland Arts Leaders.

35:14And I'm here speaking on behalf of my organization and the 49 other Portland arts organizations who have signed a letter emailed to the council last Monday.

35:23This cohort of 50 organizations represents groups from across the city that encompass multiple artistic disciplines and budget sizes, from those under $75,000 to those with annual budgets over $15 million.

35:35This request is in direct response to the recent discovery of $8.5 million of unspent arts tax funds.

35:41We respectfully request a multi-year structured drawdown of a portion of these reserve funds to stabilize and preserve arts nonprofits across the city over the next several years.

35:49These funds should serve as a bridge toward a renewed era of increased public investment in Portland's vibrant arts and culture community and creative economy.

35:56Second.

35:58We ask that the city distribute during this fiscal year $1.6 million from these funds equally to all 80 general operating support organizations.

36:06This would mean a one-time fund disbursement of $20,000 to each general operating support organization with an understanding that there will be additional funding from this pool next year and that the pool of eligible organizations will be larger as a result of application requirements that are more equitable and open for all.

36:23Immediately following this distribution, we request that the city restructure the framework of eligibility for general operating support.

36:30We request that all arts organizations who apply, particularly those who have had— who have been previously denied access to general operating support funding for a myriad of reasons, many detailed in our letter, including budget size and staffing structure, these organizations be eligible within the next year to apply.

36:47Our third major request is especially timely with today's release of the city auditor's startling report on the arts tax.

36:51Thank you, Councilor Dan Ryan.

36:52The detailed report found many large concerning issues with the arts tax in terms of goals, oversight, and accountability.

36:58We request urgent action by the Portland City Council to reconsider and remedy the arts tax structure by presenting a new funding framework to put into effect within the next tax year and 2027 funding cycle.

37:10The report spells out what changes are needed and needed now, and we urge you to act on them immediately.

37:15Thank you for your time and for supporting arts in our community.

37:17Thank you.

37:18Thank you very much.

37:21Next up, we have Dr. Carmen P. Thompson.

37:27Welcome.

37:28Thank you.

37:29Introduce yourself for the record, pronouns if you prefer, and you have 3 minutes.

37:46Hello, my name is Dr. Carmen P. Thompson, and I live in District 2.

37:51I'm here to comment on the discussion of agenda item number 10 in last Wednesday's City Council meeting, in which Councilor Kanal made reference to my written testimony about pages 23 and 24 of the PCEF redline adjustments to the climate investment plan of the Portland Housing Bureau that strikes equity language from the fund in an attempt to comply with Mayor Wilson's flawed I'm sorry.

38:15I would like to move that the council adopt an executive order that going forward for the entirety of your tenure forces you to go on the record to state your commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion every time you are asked to affirm or approve changes or removal of diversity and equity inclusion language from the policies or programs of city agencies and bureaus that are seeking to comply with Mayor Wilson's ill-conceived executive order.

38:43In other words, his executive order has added an additional layer of responsibility to councilors to confirm or deny their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with each attempt by city agencies and bureaus to remove equity language in order to comply with the order.

39:01As a result, voters will have a public record for which to evaluate you and to hold you accountable on your position on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

39:10Thank you.

39:11With regard to pages 23 and 24 of the Portland Housing Bureau's redline adjustments to the climate benefit plan, Councilor Dunphy, I look forward to your promise to add to the council agenda a discussion on the new equity language to replace that which was stricken from pages 23 and 24.

39:29You promised to have this discussion in 30 to 45 days, and I and the voters of Portland will be anxiously awaiting this discussion.

39:36Thank you.

39:37Councilors, the problem with the executive order of Mayor Wilson's are numerous.

39:42As a Black woman who is part of the protected classes that this executive order seeks to target, that this executive order targets, my concern is as much about future generations of councilors who will not have the institutional knowledge that you have about the city's prior position on diversity, equity, inclusion.

40:00If left as stands, these future councilors will not have to make any commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion in housing that the Portland Housing Bureau has to abide by.

40:11Likewise, other city agencies and bureaus will also be without commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion if such language is not put back into agencies, policies, and programs, all of which may take decades to restore.

40:25The language of diversity, equity, inclusion was put in place because of decades of exclusion and is endemic of Oregon's white supremacist history.

40:33I frankly do not need a disparity study to understand institutionalized white supremacy and anti-Blackness in Portland.

40:40It is literally written in our city records, and it remains to be seen this council's role in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion policies that this executive order threatens to roll back.

40:50Thank you.

40:51Really good timing.

40:53Thank you.

40:54Thank you so much for being here.

40:56Thank you.

40:59Next up, we have Jack Dickinson.

41:07Welcome.

41:07Please introduce yourself for the record and pronouns, and you have 3 minutes.

41:13All right, my name for the record is Jack Dickinson.

41:15I'm here today to talk a little bit about the Moda Center renovations, but briefly I wanna comment on some other recent news.

41:21The City of Portland should rename Cesar Chavez Boulevard either to Dolores Huerta Boulevard or just back to 39th.

41:28We can talk about whether this is an appropriate use of scarce public money, I don't think it is unreasonable to ask our city streets not be named after serial rapists.

41:37And in the future, let's be a bit more careful about naming things after men with cult followings, because there's a bit of a pattern here.

41:44All right, so now let's talk about the plan to renovate the Moda Center.

41:48And I'm just here with a couple concerns that I have.

41:50So first, I have a concern that we're really doing this without examining our priors.

41:55There's a pervasive assumption in politics that these stadium deals are a boon for the economy, but the research broadly does not support that conclusion.

42:02Thank you.

42:03To quote a 2023 paper titled The Economics of Stadium Subsidies: A Policy Retrospective, quote, studies consistently demonstrate that sports stadiums have little to no tangible economic impact on host communities, and thus typical public subsidies tend to exceed any meager economic benefits.

42:20I think it's okay to abstract this a bit, a little bit.

42:22I mean, the basic logic behind stadium deals is kind of the same logic behind trickle-down economics, and I think that's why the logic Thank you.

42:32Now, in a press release, the mayor cited $670 million of annual economic activity, and this leads me into my second and more important concern, which is there appears to be nobody representing the interests of the public right now.

42:45The figure appears to have come from lobbyists for the Blazers, with whom Mayor Wilson has been privately meeting with for nearly a year.

42:51I would have hoped the mayor would have been wise enough to not simply regurgitate lobbyist talking points, But alas, here we are.

42:59I feel I need to remind you of a simple fact.

43:01You work for the people of Portland.

43:03You do not work for the Portland Trail Blazers.

43:05By all means, find and exploit the areas where those interests align, but don't assume they're aligned all the time.

43:11I think we need you all to be more open about this conversation because talking about these things is part of how we create the leverage.

43:19And with the new ownership getting a sweetheart deal from the state, I think they're going to be even less inclined to walk away if we ask for things like partial naming rights or pilots.

43:29And clearly there's an element of fear here.

43:31Nobody wants to be the elected official that gets blamed for losing the Blazers.

43:35I get that.

43:35And I don't want the Blazers to leave.

43:37But I also think if we're talking about political consequences, you should be fearful of being the elected official who gleefully robs PSF because you refuse to call a billionaire's bluff.

43:47Steve, I appreciate how open you have been about this particular topic.

43:50Thank you.

43:52That's all I have time for today.

43:53But since I'm probably never gonna be back here testifying about sports ever again, I just wanna say on the record that if we do end up getting an MLB team, the only acceptable name for it would be the Portland Crows.

44:04And I won't accept any other answers for that.

44:06So thank you.

44:08Thank you so much.

44:10Next up we have Bridge Crane Simka.

44:23Welcome.

44:23Good evening.

44:24Thank you all.

44:25Madam Vice President, Mr. President Dunphy, I'm Charles Simcoe Bridge Crane Johnson.

44:30It's good to be back here.

44:32I believe this is the first time I've done this thing since Mr. Novick, the originator somewhat of my name, back when Charlie Hales thought it was his duty as mayor to rush through a police contract before— in the final couple months of his term.

44:51And I know, you know, your plates seem already full, but I know that that's an ongoing process to look at how we can successfully negotiate with the Portland Police to not only bring down the not-too-bad crime numbers, but to make sure that everyone of every background in this community feels safe and sees their community represented among the Portland Police Bureau.

45:22When I was here a couple weeks ago, you were all involved in a good effort to try and get money.

45:32I think that's the correct phrasing for it, isn't it?

45:34We so often talk about things here about the money part and not the actual results part.

45:38Yeah.

45:39Trying to get money out.

45:40We were arguably quibbling and throwing shade about whether there was going to be $150,000 or $350,000 out to some organizations to help victims of the Trump administration— victims of state terrorism, actually.

45:58And fortunately, I know that that issue is crucial to all of you, but especially Thank you.

46:05Commissioner Avalos, who I'm sure will be looking at ways to get back to that money and to increase the spend so that people who are— I don't have the phrasing.

46:17I didn't keep it on my screen.

46:18I think the phrasing we had earlier was war detention centers, concentration camps.

46:26The Japanese American people did describe it as incarceration, but of course it was a A separate special system of incarceration like too many of our neighbors find.

46:39I do think one thing that sticks with me from that time is that Councilor Morillo was very adamant about facts.

46:48And I think that actually one way to actually improve public sentiment about going back into either that particular source of money or other funding to make sure that anybody arrested, caught up by ICE in their state-sponsored terrorism has representation is to talk about the numbers that are already suffering.

47:10When we had the poem downstairs about the experience and No More Tears, we had names.

47:15So, and also that's important for you to scope the problem.

47:20The crisis with homelessness is that a few people get housed and many people remain extremely underserved or not served.

47:29Thank you.

47:29So I look forward to a time soon when we will talk about how many people have been victimized by Trump's state terrorism and how we're going to make sure they get due process.

47:37Thank you.

47:38Thank you very much.

47:43That completes public communications.

47:45Excellent.

47:46Thank you everybody for being here tonight.

47:49Colleagues, our next item on this is an update from the city administrator with regard to the federal response.

47:54We're going to get— I will continue to be holding times on our agendas to hear updates about the ongoing federal response and any other emergency response matters at the beginning of council meetings.

48:04City Administrator Lee.

48:06Thank you, Council President.

48:07There's no new updates today.

48:09Staff is still working on the permanent policy that we'll be trying to bring forward to council in the summer months, but we will keep you updated as we get new updates on the schedule of the hearing as well.

48:24For the land use.

48:25So as soon as we get that update, we will make sure council is up to speed on that.

48:29Thank you very much.

48:32Keelan, can we please read item number 4?

48:37Item 2026-112, amend council schedule during FY 2026-27 budget process.

48:46Colleagues, this is an item that I filed specifically in response to our, uh, 2026-2027 budget process.

48:53Specifically, it is because we have a number of meetings that we must have and we have to change our calendar.

48:59We have to remove some of the committee structure meetings.

49:02And I specifically also had it pulled from— well, it was pulled from consent, but I also have an amendment which has been filed to fill out the rest of the legal requirements that we need in order to enable our budget calendar.

49:18It additionally adds an emergency clause to ensure that these changes are enforced by the time that we need them to be.

49:25The amendment is posted online under the item.

49:29I'm happy to answer any technical questions if I am able to.

49:36And that is about as much as I have written here in front of me.

49:42Councilor Kanal.

49:44Thanks, Council President.

49:45Just a technical question, if I may.

49:47Please.

49:48Can you speak to the The changes from the April 29th, May 6th, and May 13th.

49:55This is not about the amendments, about the underlying, the move from the morning to the afternoon session.

50:02Just wanted to understand that a little bit.

50:04Yeah, those—.

50:07I'll ask my staff to come up and help me walk through the specifics because there's a lot of moving parts.

50:12Evan, please join us.

50:13Greetings.

50:15Thank you for the question, Councilor.

50:16For the record, my name is Evan Hoffer, Policy Advisor for Council President in the 3 weeks that we have between the mayor's proposed budget document and the initial hearing and our full council budget hearings, we have a number of work sessions that are scheduled in order to hear, to move through our key— wow, words, I apologize— in order to move through program areas and bureaus in a consistent way.

50:43In order to allow consistency of that schedule, Councilor Smith.

50:46For the public, for our staff, and also that there's a regular cadence of being able to think through potential amendments following those morning hearings, we intended to schedule them all in the mornings.

50:58So it's consistent if you're going to a budget work session every morning, Tuesday through Thursday, 3 weeks in a row.

51:08Thanks.

51:08And can you speak to the choice to include an end time?

51:12Most of our other schedules have just a start time for the meetings.

51:17Absolutely.

51:18That's out of respect primarily to staff for a 5:00 PM end.

51:25We are consistently able to hold over those times and we do regularly.

51:34However, in the context of an intense period, making sure to manage our time in a way where we're not burning each other out is a value for the office.

51:45So how is that going to be interpreted is, I guess, what I'm saying.

51:48Those 2 things you just said contradict each other.

51:50So I wanna understand our—.

51:51Absolutely.

51:52I can speak to that clearly.

51:54Yes, that is a loose 5:00 PM.

51:56That is an intended and not strict 5:00 PM.

51:58Got it.

51:59Thanks.

51:59Thank you.

52:01Thank you, Councilor Kanal.

52:01Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

52:03Thank you, Council President.

52:05I understand the value for all of us of having the consistency of budget work sessions in the morning.

52:11This is also a change for Portlanders who might be coming to testify at council meetings to see a meeting from 2 to 5 PM.

52:18Our council meetings generally are in the morning or these evening sessions.

52:23Are you willing to work with council operations to make sure that there's clear posting and information going out on email channels, social media, all of the spaces that we have to communicate with Portlanders so that our constituents understand that if they are coming for a council meeting during that time, it is a different time than they are used to being here?

52:43Absolutely.

52:43Yeah, it is my intention to use every tool that I have and that is within the city broadly to try to be as transparent with the public about the number of opportunities folks can either speak specifically to the budget or the change specific here about when they expect to be able to come and address us.

53:03Yes, I will use every— I'll be working closely with Council Ops, with the clerk, and hopefully all of you as well to boost it on social media and other places.

53:13Thank you.

53:14I want to make sure that Portlanders know how they can communicate with us, not just about the budget, but through our regular courses of business as well.

53:21Absolutely.

53:22Thank you.

53:23You have my assurance to the maximum ability.

53:26So colleagues, First, I would like to move my— the Dunphy 1 amendment, which— and thank you, Councilor Ryan.

53:34Um, is there any discussion on the amendment?

53:41Okay, can we please call the roll on the amendment Dunphy 1?

53:48Aye.

53:49Absent.

53:58Aye.

53:59Aye.

54:00Aye.

54:01Aye.

54:02Aye.

54:03Aye.

54:04Aye.

54:05Aye.

54:05Aye.

54:07Aye.

54:08The amendment is approved with 11 yes votes and 1 absent.

54:17Thank you, colleagues.

54:19And can— is there any further discussion on the now amended underlying ordinance?

54:26Councilor Kanal.

54:28Thank you.

54:28Just wanted to ask if you could speak to just a little clarity.

54:33It didn't relate to the— it wasn't a technical question before, but you said 3 days in a row.

54:37So I'm seeing that we have recess sessions.

54:39Is it— we're referring to May 18th, 19th, 20th, or are you referring to in April, May, the April 29th, May 6th, and May 13th week?

54:49In terms of having the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday cadence that you mentioned, Evan?

54:54Yes.

54:55So April 28th, 29th, and 30th are 2 budget work sessions and a joint city-county work session, which based off of the schedules could not be at that same time.

55:08Then May 5th through 7th and May 12th through 14th, each of those 3-day blocks all have back-to-back work sessions.

55:24Okay, I just want to understand because I'm, I'm also seeing committee on that time, but I— okay.

55:31Um, yeah, thanks.

55:35Thank you, Councilor Kanal.

55:37And we will be doing, again, in addition to sharing this information as widely about the rescheduled Council hearings.

55:44We'll also be trying to share as much information about the budget calendar publicly so folks have a better idea.

55:49And if there are any conflicts, um, additionally, you know, for example, uh, we are trying to work with some of the committee chairs in order to try and accommodate some additional— putting back some additional time.

55:59Um, we will try to be as flexible about this, but I want to maximize the amount of time that we get to talk about this budget.

56:07And I, I appreciate that.

56:08Councilor, I just want— Council President, I just wanted to make sure I understood it exactly.

56:12And I would love an updated version of that calendar just so we can be prepared.

56:17But I know it's a lot of work that you're all doing and your team as well.

56:20Thanks.

56:20We are working as hard as we can and we will get it out as quickly as possible, but it'll be hopefully in your inbox very soon.

56:28Colleagues, seeing no one else in the queue to discuss, can we please call the roll on the now amended emergency ordinance?

56:37Aye.

56:39Miss Absent.

56:41Kanal?

56:41Aye.

56:43Aye.

56:43Aye.

56:46Aye.

56:47Aye.

56:48Aye.

56:49Aye.

56:50Aye.

56:51Aye.

57:01Aye.

57:02The ordinance as amended passes with 11 yes votes and 1 absent.

57:07Thank you, colleagues.

57:08We will get through the budget, I promise.

57:11Could we please call item number 5?

57:17Item 2026-055, amend campaign finance code to maintain enforcement of voter-approved regulations following court Order amend Code Chapter 2.10.

57:29This is the second reading of a non-emergency ordinance.

57:33Is there any further council discussion?

57:41Seeing no one else in the queue, Keelan, can we please call the roll?

57:45Avalos?

57:46Aye.

57:47Smith?

57:48Absent.

57:48Kanal?

57:49Aye.

57:50Pirtle-Guiney?

57:51Aye.

57:52Aye.

57:52Aye.

57:52Aye.

57:52Aye.

57:52Aye.

57:52Councilor Ryan?

57:53No.

57:53Councilor Koyama Lane?

57:55Aye.

57:56Morillo?

57:57Aye.

57:59Aye.

58:00Clerk?

58:01Aye.

58:01Green?

58:03Aye.

58:03Zimmerman?

58:05Aye.

58:06Aye.

58:07The ordinance passes with 10 yes votes, 1 no vote, and 1 absent.

58:12Fantastic.

58:13Can we please call item number 6?

58:18Item 2026-039, amend Chronic Nuisance Property Code to address human trafficking, gun violence, and administrative challenges.

58:27Amend Code Chapter 14B.60.

58:33Welcome Christopher Hare from Council Operations with a committee staff summary report.

58:38Yes, thank you.

58:39Good evening, Council President and councilors.

58:41For the record, Christopher Hare, Council Operations Policy Analyst, and I serve as staff to the Community and Public Safety Committee.

58:48The ordinance before you, document number 2026-039, was considered in the Community and Public Safety meeting on January 27th, February 10th, and again on February 24th, where it was referred to council with a recommendation it be passed.

59:02The ordinance amends Portland City Code Chapter 14B.60, as shown in Exhibit A, to revise definitions, procedures, and enforcement provisions related to chronic nuisance properties.

59:11The ordinance, through the proposed code changes, removes references assigning administrative responsibility to the chief of police or precinct commander and assigns those responsibilities to the city administrator or their designees throughout the chapter.

59:23The ordinance modifies the definition of a nuisance property.

59:26Under the proposed language, the property may be considered a nuisance property when 2 or more nuisance activities occur on the property or within 200 feet of it by a person associated with the property during a 90-day period.

59:37Previously, the threshold was 3 nuisance activities within a 30-day period.

59:41The ordinance adds several activities to the list of nuisance activities, including loitering to solicit prostitutes, Yes.

59:46Opposed?

59:46Aye.

59:46Motion passes.

59:46Next item on the agenda is Ordinance 2023-24, Prohibition of Unlawful Prostitution as Defined in Portland City Code Section 14A.40.040, Operation of a Massage Business in Violation of Oregon Revised Statutes 687.021, Possession of a Loaded Firearm in a Public Place as Defined in Portland City Code Section 14A.60.010, Unlawful Prostitution Procurement Activities as Defined in Portland City Code Section 14A.40.050, and Failure of Transient Lodging Operators to Maintain Required Records and Logs as Defined in Portland City Code Section 687.021.

1:00:15All those in favor?

1:00:18The ordinance removes from the list of nuisance activities unlawful operation of sound-producing or reproducing equipment and excessive noise as defined in Portland City Code Section 14A.30.010 and Portland City Code Chapters 18.04 and 18.14.

1:00:33The ordinance limits the definition of persons associated with a nuisance activity to individuals who entered, patronized, or visited the property associated with the nuisance activity.

1:00:42Second.

1:00:43The ordinance also adds a new section, Portland City Code Section 14B.60.025, that provides an exemption from chronic nuisance designation when the person in charge of the property has timely reported suspected nuisance activities to law enforcement and has engaged in good faith efforts to assist in addressing those activities.

1:01:00The section also establishes criteria for qualifying for this exemption.

1:01:04The ordinance amends procedures under Portland City Code Section 14B.60.030 by increasing the number of police reports required to initiate chronic nuisance proceedings from 1 to 2 and allowing other official documentation to be used to initiate proceedings, extending the time for a property owner to respond to a nuisance— chronic nuisance proceeding from 10 days to 14 days, requiring notices to include a list of possible abatement measures, points of contacts, and a summary of potential next steps or future actions, and reducing the time in which the person in charge of the property and the city must agree on an abatement plan from 60 days to 30 days.

1:01:39The ordinance also amends provisions in Portland City Code Section 14B.60.040, by adding implementation of abatement measures to the list of remedies a court may order, removing the specified timeframe of 6 months to 1 year for court-ordered closure and securing of a property, and instead allowing closure for a period determined appropriate by the court, increasing the minimum civil penalty from $100 to $1,000 for each day nuisance activity occurs on the property after the city has provided notice of a chronic nuisance proceeding, and removing language allowing a property's general reputation or the reputation of persons residing in or frequenting the property to be used as proof in nuisance proceedings.

1:02:16The ordinance also makes minor technical and conforming edits throughout the chapter, including updating cross-references and alphabetizing lists for clarity and ease of reference.

1:02:26The committee adopted an amendment to the ordinance prior to moving the item to full council.

1:02:30The effects of the amendment on the original ordinance are summarized in the committee staff summary posted online.

1:02:35The full impact statements on the item include financial and budgetary impacts and analysis, economic and real estate development impacts, community impacts and community 10 individuals provided verbal testimony in committee, and 34 individuals submitted written testimony prior to committee action on February 24th.

1:02:51General themes included relationship between human trafficking, prostitution activity, and incidents of violence in Portland, and connections raised between these activities and certain properties, particularly along the 82nd Avenue corridor.

1:03:03Community safety concerns, including experiences of parents and students associated with McDaniel High School encountering prostitution-related activities in the surrounding area.

1:03:10Councilmember Herbold.

1:03:11And broader impacts on neighborhood safety and community reputation.

1:03:14Impacts of nuisance properties and open sexual exploitation on surrounding neighborhoods, businesses, and commercial corridors, and a desire for efforts to improve safety for residents, students, businesses, and commuters.

1:03:24Desire of small business owners and community members for additional city tools to support and support to address nuisance activities occurring on or near the properties.

1:03:32Partnership between certain hotels that may be implicated by the code changes and community organizations providing shelter, housing assistance, and other services to community members.

1:03:40Second.

1:03:41Importance of addressing human trafficking and nuisance activity while minimizing unintended consequences for vulnerable communities, including sex workers, victims of trafficking, unhoused individuals, and immigrant communities.

1:03:52Concerns about potential displacement of vulnerable populations or sex workers moving into less visible environments that may increase vulnerability to exploitation.

1:04:00Concerns regarding profiling, increased police contact with certain communities, and expanded law enforcement authority and potential implications related to due process and surveillance.

1:04:09Concerns regarding potential impacts on business owners and property operators in areas with higher levels of nuisance activities, including properties renting rooms to unhoused individuals or property owners not directly involved in the activity.

1:04:22Reference to policies used in other cities, including Seattle's Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution and Stay Out of Drug Area approaches in discussion of potential impacts.

1:04:31Interest in additional services and resources in areas such as 82nd Avenue corridor to support individuals experiencing trafficking and reduce conditions that contribute to exploitation.

1:04:41And finally, interest in increased flexibility and timely action by the city when addressing chronic nuisance properties.

1:04:48That concludes the committee staff summary.

1:04:49Thank you.

1:04:51Thank you, Christopher.

1:04:53Councilor Novick, you are both the sponsor and the committee chair.

1:04:55I also understand there will be some amendments to be discussed, so I turn it over to you.

1:04:59Thank you very much, Mr. President, and thank you, Christopher.

1:05:01Thank you, Christopher.

1:05:03I want to begin by thanking the members of the Committee of Public— and the Committee on Public Safety Committee and everyone who's engaged with this legislation over the past few months.

1:05:11We had 2 sessions on this proposal in the Committee on Public Safety Committee and a brief sort of summary of it in an in-between session.

1:05:20We've spoken with victim advocates, survivors, motel owners, law enforcement experts, counselors, and others to refine this ordinance.

1:05:28The fundamental question this ordinance poses is, to what extent do we think property owners have an obligation to make sure that their properties aren't being used as a base for certain sorts of illegal activity, such as human trafficking or drug dealing?

1:05:46Currently, the code allows the city to initiate a process to have a property declared a chronic nuisance property If there are 3 instances of illegal activity documented by the police within 30 days.

1:06:00What we've heard from law enforcement is that is too restrictive.

1:06:05A heck of a lot of bad stuff can happen on their property and property without law enforcement documenting the existence of bad stuff happening within 30 days.

1:06:14So the heart of this legislation is to extend the timeline.

1:06:18Thank you.

1:06:19What passed out of committee was 2 instances in 90 days is sufficient to initiate the process.

1:06:27Councilor Pirtle-Guiney has suggested making that 3 in 90 days, and I'm amenable to that amendment.

1:06:35What happens when the city initiates the chronic nuisance property process is the city informs the property owner that, or the person in charge of the property, That we've seen this activity and we're asking you to take steps to, to come up with a plan to abate this activity.

1:06:54And then there's back and forth between the property owner and the city, and hopefully they come up with a plan to abate the activity.

1:07:00In unusual cases where there's not a agreed-upon plan, then as a last resort, the city can go to court to get the court to order abatement or other activities.

1:07:11That has very, very rarely happened.

1:07:17So among the things that this ordinance does in addition to that, though, are to address concerns that people had primarily about— largely not about our proposed amendments, but about the existing law.

1:07:29For one thing, Taran Patel of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association came to us and said that under current law, if a property owner calls up to report a crime on their property, that instance could be held against them as an instance leading to their being declared a nuisance property.

1:07:50So we passed an amendment to address that that says that if somebody calls up to report a crime on their own property, that's— as long as they're cooperating and taking steps to make sure that the activity is abated, that's not going to be held against them.

1:08:04Another thing that we did was we deleted from the Hmm.

1:08:12As a nod to President Dunphy's reminding us that noise ordinance has been used in nefarious ways in the city.

1:08:20We have several other amendments today in response to continuing conversations that are in one way or another sort of along the same lines, making sure that this, or that the chronic nuisance law is not abused.

1:08:34I will say that one of the reasons that we brought this ordinance forward is that we have heard that students at McDaniel High School, which is in District 3, walk through a gauntlet of sex trafficking every day.

1:08:53And so although this ordinance does not relate solely to sex trafficking or to the area around McDaniel High School, That was one of the motivating forces in our bringing this forward.

1:09:05Now, it's important to note that this ordinance does not further criminalize sex work or sex workers.

1:09:10It doesn't change the approach of the Human Trafficking Unit in their engagement with victims.

1:09:14The police do not arrest victims of sex trafficking.

1:09:18It doesn't reestablish any kind of prostitution-free zone.

1:09:21And actually, one of the amendments that I'm bringing forward today would— Christopher talked about how— I think that's a good point.

1:09:27The committee had added loitering to solicit prostitution as one of the nuisance activities.

1:09:32We're proposing to delete that because that seems like something that goes after the victims.

1:09:37So we're going to remove that and— but add some as nuisance activities, some human trafficking crimes listed in state code.

1:09:50On— we heard a presentation on human trafficking at our January 23rd meeting.

1:09:54We heard an alarming description of the problem both locally and nationally, including who is trafficked and how, how PPB and victim advocacy groups work to connect victims with resources while focusing arrests on buyers and traffickers, how resource strain requires the type of innovative approaches to reducing human trafficking that this tool represents, and again, how PPB considers this code to be a tool of last resort after outreach and requests to property owners have failed.

1:10:18I'd like to ask Deputy DA J.R. Ujrafusa, who's here, to come forward and make a very brief statement good evening, Council President, Vice President.

1:10:37My name is J.R. Ujifusa.

1:10:39I'm with the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.

1:10:41I will try to be as brief as I can and give a little history.

1:10:44As Councilor Novick mentioned, the average age of entry for victims of trafficking is between 13 and 15 years old.

1:10:53The average age of entry is 13 to 15 years old.

1:10:54That is backed up by a recent PSU study which identified over 400 local victims in our community, which they found the average age of seeking services was 15 and a half years old, which means that they were trafficked before seeking services for being a victim of trafficking.

1:11:12These are the most vulnerable victims in our community.

1:11:15There's an overrepresentation of children of color as well as individuals that are from the LGBTQ In the history of Portland, we— in 2007, the city allowed the prostitution-free zone to sunset.

1:11:33In 2008, the street-level prostitution activity, human trafficking activity skyrocketed, skyrocketed until about 2012 when we saw Craigslist and backpage.com allow for the trafficking of human beings to move online.

1:11:48Thank you.

1:11:49The online trafficking culture increased until 2018 when the FBI closed down backpage.com.

1:11:57And what we saw in our community, as well as communities throughout the nation, is that the movement from online went back to the streets, back to motels, back to cars and street corners and sidewalks in our communities.

1:12:10Most of the time, these were communities of color and underrepresented communities and vulnerable communities.

1:12:15Thank you.

1:12:16What has changed though, as Councilor Novick said, is we are trauma-informed, victim-centered.

1:12:23We have moved away from arresting and charging victims of trafficking and focusing on buyers, traffickers, and those who enable the trafficking, especially of children in our community.

1:12:36This is a tool to combat human trafficking.

1:12:39Human trafficking crimes are very dynamic.

1:12:43It is the last resort for those who refuse or have been educated, who we've worked with in other ways to reduce trafficking and are enabling it to happen.

1:12:53And I'll be available for questions after if there are any questions from the councilors.

1:12:58Thank you.

1:13:00Thank you, Chair.

1:13:05Mr. President, I see Councilor— I see that Councilor Kanal has his hand up.

1:13:08I was just wondering if he's got a question for Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira.

1:13:12No, I had a question for Christopher Hare.

1:13:13Oh, okay.

1:13:14I apologize.

1:13:16Christopher, could you come back up?

1:13:24Thank you for the, I think, longest, uh, committee staff summary we've ever had, uh, and appreciate your work on a very dynamic and large-scale conversation.

1:13:32You said the word certain, and I will— it's the second to last bullet on the second Second to last page.

1:13:39Concerns regarding profiling, increased police contact with certain communities, expanded law enforcement authority, and potential implications related to due process or surveillance.

1:13:49And I just ask if you could speak to what the word certain means.

1:13:52Which communities are we talking about?

1:13:56Yes, thank you for the question, Councilor.

1:13:59I believe that the testimony that centered around that A lot of it was specific to sex workers.

1:14:07And then also there was other testimony that was tied into that that had reference to what's going on with the federal government right now and our immigrant refugee community members.

1:14:18And so that increased surveillance and how the federal government could abuse that.

1:14:24And with that increased law enforcement, that distrust, just how that can affect those communities.

1:14:28Thank you.

1:14:29Of course.

1:14:31Thank you, Councilor Knoll, and I apologize again about that.

1:14:34Councilor Novick, did you also want to preview your amendments before public testimony?

1:14:39I did.

1:14:40Please.

1:14:41And actually, even in your office suggested that we actually try to move the amendment and vote on the amendments before we get to public testimony, but I don't know whether— what your preference is.

1:14:50I think that that is perfectly reasonable so that the public is testifying on the okay.

1:15:00So one of the amendments, Novick 3, would be, as I previewed before, to remove from the nuisance activities loitering to solicit prostitution, because we think that that is a statute that appears to be focused on victims rather than traffickers.

1:15:18And we would remove a reference to prostitution or related offenses as defined in ORS 167.007 through 167.008.

1:15:26Yes.

1:15:27But add human trafficking or related offenses as defined in other ORS provisions.

1:15:33So those will now be designated as potential nuisance activities.

1:15:38So that's, that's the Novick 3.

1:15:42Novick 4 would sort of shift back from something that our initial— it relates to the amount of time that a property owner has to come up with a plan to address the nuisance and to negotiate that with the city and to actually abate the nuisance.

1:16:05So in our— as we came out of committee, ours said that you had 30 days to respond to the initial— to come up with a plan and 60 days to abate the nuisance.

1:16:16What Novick 4 would do is say that, first of all, that It would increase the timeline for the property owner to respond to the letter from 10 days to 14 days, and then leave 60 days to negotiate an abatement plan and 90 days to abate the activity itself.

1:16:36So again, that's extend— Novick 5 would amend the list of abatement measures.

1:16:44One thing that this proposal does is historically, The police can propose any number of abatement activities to the property owner, but we didn't have sort of a menu listed in code of these are some of the kind of things you might be asked to do.

1:17:00So borrowing, I think, from Washington, D.C., we've added the list of these are the kind of things you might be asked to do.

1:17:06And that's primarily intended to give the property owner an opportunity to say, okay, let me look at these.

1:17:12Maybe we can improve lighting.

1:17:13Maybe we can— Maybe we can do a better job of controlling entrances and exits to prevent unauthorized access, et cetera, et cetera.

1:17:28We propose adding to abatement measurage possibilities a list of activities you could do to prevent or reduce illegal activity.

1:17:40Thank you.

1:17:41This is specifically, you know, to address victims of human trafficking.

1:17:48Engagement with service providers and advocacy groups.

1:17:51Work with peer-led groups, including on-property visits, to increase availability of resources.

1:17:56Post and make available information about resources for victims, including support groups, advocate information, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

1:18:03Have staff training programs to educate employees on identifying victims.

1:18:06Thank you.

1:18:07So we want to add that to the list of potential abatement activities.

1:18:11Another thing that we wanted to add to the abatement list is current code says that the court, if the court is going to impose conditions on the property owner, has to consider a variety of factors, one of which is the financial capacity of the property owner to do what the court's asking to do.

1:18:31That current code does not say that the city needs to consider the same factors in proposing abatement measures.

1:18:36So it would simply add language saying, in determining what abatement measures should be included in the agreement, the city administrator or the designee should consider the same factors required of the court.

1:18:46Finally, Novick 6 addresses another issue that actually Councilor Pirtle-Guiney identified in the existing law.

1:18:57The existing law says that initiating the process to declare a property nuisance property It doesn't say what the police reports have to say.

1:19:07And Councilor Pirtle-Guiney noted, wait a minute, what if the police report reports an unfounded allegation by a grumpy neighbor with a vendetta?

1:19:15Now, I don't think that the city has relied on such reports with such allegations in the past, but we thought that it was worth changing the language to say police reports or other official documentation.

1:19:27That's a good point.

1:19:28That a police officer has determined that probable cause exists to believe a nuisance activity has occurred, which should eliminate the unfounded allegations of a grumpy neighbor.

1:19:38So those are my proposed amendments, and I want to turn it over, if I may, to Councilor Pirtle-Guiney to, to talk about her proposed amendments, please.

1:19:50Thank you, Councilor Novick, and thank you, Council President.

1:19:53And I want to start just by thanking Thank you, Councilor Novick and others who've worked on these improvements to the Chronic Nuisance Code.

1:20:00I have 2 amendments that I will be offering today.

1:20:05The first is Pirtle-Guiney 1, which I'd like to speak to, but I may not move because the content is also captured in Novick 6, and I prefer the way that Councilor Novick has put it forward.

1:20:17But I do want to talk about a piece of that because it's a piece, Councilor, that you didn't mention about Novick 6.

1:20:21Okay.

1:20:22I understand that Councilor Novick's underlying ordinance loosens the complaint threshold in 2 ways, by changing the window for complaints and reducing the number of complaints that constitute a chronic nuisance.

1:20:39I support the movement of the timeline.

1:20:40A nuisance pattern should certainly be measured over the course of months, not the course of a single month.

1:20:47But I do worry that if we move the complaint threshold from 3 to 2, that the window for complaints will be too short.

1:20:50Councilor Novick.

1:20:51We put too low a barrier forward, which could lead to frivolous complaints that, while technically qualify under the code, don't actually establish a pattern of nuisance.

1:21:01We heard from the testimony in committee and the overview today that systems like this have been historically applied unfairly and in biased ways, particularly around race in the past.

1:21:13And I think the movement to 2 as opposed to 3 reports gets us in a situation where there is too much risk of that.

1:21:22So Pirtle-Guiney 1 moves us back to that threshold of 3.

1:21:26That's also captured in Novick 6, which includes the other language Councilor Novick went over.

1:21:31I prefer that, but if that doesn't pass, I'll move Pirtle-Guiney 1.

1:21:35And Pirtle-Guiney 3, which unfortunately what's posted online is Pirtle-Guiney 2, and after some additional conversations Today with the sponsor of the measure, we replaced Pirtle-Guiney 2 with Pirtle-Guiney 3.

1:21:48Colleagues, Pirtle-Guiney 3 is in your inboxes, but it came in too late to be posted by the clerk.

1:21:54I don't know, Keelan, if we're able to get that up for folks who are watching.

1:21:56Is that possible?

1:21:58Thank you.

1:22:00Pirtle-Guiney 3 does 2 small things.

1:22:03It clarifies that when the— it clarifies that the response clock for respondents to a concern begins after the property owner has received notice.

1:22:17It's important to me that we are providing both true due process to an individual who has a nuisance complaint against them, as well as a true opportunity for response.

1:22:29We want to make sure individuals have their full clock to respond.

1:22:33Additionally, it provides some clarification and additional language to increase the chances that we actually get that notice to the individual who owns that nuisance property so that they have their full opportunity for response, so that we are doing our due diligence to give them their due process and their opportunity.

1:22:56We add language to a paragraph that includes the words and a further paragraph in that section, we are adding language which says if the person in charge is not present at the address where service is attempted, um, but an employee of the person in charge is, service may be made on the employee with the request to provide it to the person in charge.

1:23:23In addition, if the ownership document for the property lists an alternative mailing address, the notice may be made on that address.

1:23:27Thank you.

1:23:28We are trying to ensure that we meet a person at the address of the nuisance property.

1:23:37If they are not there at any other addresses of properties that we know that they own, if we cannot find them there, that we are mailing it as well so that, again, that owner has the opportunity to respond and engage with the city before we take any actions against them.

1:23:52Thank you.

1:23:53Um, and Council President, I don't know if this is the appropriate time, but if it is, I would be interested in moving, uh, Novick 3, 4, 5, and 6 and Pirtle-Guiney 3.

1:24:06As a package?

1:24:08Councilor Novick, is that what you—.

1:24:10Yes.

1:24:11Okay, as package, 3, 4, 5, 6, and Pirtle-Guiney 3.

1:24:16Second.

1:24:17There we go, colleagues.

1:24:19There is a package of amendments before us.

1:24:23We move to technical or clarifying questions.

1:24:26First, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, are you— anything first?

1:24:31I don't think so.

1:24:31Okay, good.

1:24:32Just want to make sure.

1:24:33Great.

1:24:34We're moving into technical or clarifying questions.

1:24:35Councilor Morillo.

1:24:38Thank you.

1:24:39Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, this is a question for you on the— I was just wondering what the basis was for changing it from 2 to 3.

1:24:463, Um, or, uh, I, I feel like 2 maybe was also arbitrary in the original code, but I'm just curious if there was any reason for that.

1:24:55Thank you.

1:24:56I believe the original code was 3, and the amend— the, the ordinance that Councilor Novick brought forward lowered it to 2.

1:25:04And what I am asking is that we move it back to the 3 that was in the original code.

1:25:10Uh, 2 in my mind felt like Something happened, your neighbor didn't like it, it happens again, they complain.

1:25:19That may not be a pattern.

1:25:20You might have a cousin who comes over and causes a disruption, and you tell them to go away, and they come over again a month later.

1:25:26Mm-hmm.

1:25:28By 3, we can start to expect that you are addressing whatever that concern is more realistically.

1:25:37That is what is in the code now.

1:25:39I don't have any reason to believe that that hasn't been working in the letters that I've gotten from constituents about this.

1:25:47I haven't heard anybody say raise it above 3.

1:25:50So returning to the original was my intent there.

1:25:53Okay, that's helpful.

1:25:55I think it feels— some of this, the metrics here feel a little bit arbitrary.

1:26:01And to me, the part that feels arbitrary is the when we're talking about a police report, and I think the amendments improve what's here, but the thing that concerns me about the police report is that instead of it being a completed documented offense, it just is a required report.

1:26:22And so that could be an attempt or conspiracy, or it could just be a written report.

1:26:27That doesn't necessarily mean that they were like found guilty, but maybe I'm reading it wrong.

1:26:34I don't know if you want to speak to that, Councilor Novick.

1:26:35I'm just trying to understand it.

1:26:37Yes, the reference to a police report is in the existing law, and it does not require that there be like an actual conviction of an offense.

1:26:46So that's what's in the existing law.

1:26:50What we are saying in the proposed amendment is that it shouldn't just— we should make sure that it's not just a grumpy neighbor complaining.

1:26:58That it should be— an officer has made a determination that probable cause exists to believe that an offense has occurred.

1:27:05And then if this winds up going to court, then the rules there say that the court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that an offense actually has occurred.

1:27:15So it's sort of the way law enforcement normally works in a way.

1:27:20Okay.

1:27:21And you've worked a lot with the DA's office.

1:27:23I assume that they are saying that they're going to be taking on these additional well, initially the DA isn't involved.

1:27:36I mean, initially it's a discussion between the city and the property owner.

1:27:42There's not a heck of a lot of cases that actually go to court, but I'd like to ask JR to give his thoughts on that question.

1:27:50Good evening again.

1:27:52That is correct.

1:27:53This is not something where the DA is involved.

1:27:54The DA's office will be doing the same thing we always do, which is the human trafficking team will be investigating human trafficking.

1:28:00By doing that, if we identify that there are properties or individuals who are enabling that trafficking, then this is an option to start to work with those businesses or property owners to fix that enabling.

1:28:17But this doesn't add anything to the DA's office as far as charges or cases.

1:28:23This would be a civil case that the city would do if it went all the way to the end.

1:28:28The beginning is just a letter saying we've noticed this and we'd like your help and to, to abate this, and here are some suggestions.

1:28:39Okay, I will pause for now.

1:28:40Thank you.

1:28:42Thank you, Councilor Morillo.

1:28:43Councilor Connell.

1:28:44Thank you.

1:28:45I have a technical question first and then one other comment, and it's for Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

1:28:50Just then, this might be 2-part.

1:28:52For Pirtle-Guiney 3, what is the distinction here between the highlighted text and the fullness of the red paragraph at the bottom?

1:29:01Is the red paragraph new, or is that change Councilor Novick's, and then yours is just the yellow highlight?

1:29:07So the red paragraph—.

1:29:09I apologize, I, I was trying to differentiate between Pirtle-Guiney 2 and Pirtle-Guiney 3, which is the replacement, since I had assumed folks might have read 2 in advance and then we dropped 3 on you last minute.

1:29:21Got it.

1:29:21So the red part that is not crossed off replaces the red part that is crossed off.

1:29:27All of that is an amendment.

1:29:29The highlighted portion is just the change from 2 to 3.

1:29:35So if you previously looked at the amendment I had filed, Pirtle-Guiney 2, you would have seen the red that is not crossed off without the highlighted portion.

1:29:44Highlighted portion is now added in Pirtle-Guiney 3.

1:29:48All of that is the new text and replaces what is crossed off here.

1:29:52Thank you.

1:29:53So my question then is about, I guess, the highlighted portion here.

1:29:58Okay.

1:29:58And I want to note that when you presented this, you— when you combined the 2, you said that the intent was to ensure that the business owner would have the fullness of the time.

1:30:07And so I want to understand how that is how that happens when the clock starts when an employee gets a document, but not when the business owner or manager gets the document, and how there's any guarantee that that information is communicated.

1:30:23So Pirtle-Guiney 3 actually does 2 things.

1:30:25And if you look at the top portion of Pirtle-Guiney 3, under A3, there is a highlighted portion that says of delivery of the notice.

1:30:33So instead of demand that the person in charge respond within 14 days, To the city administrator.

1:30:39It now says within 14 days of delivery of the notice to the city administrator.

1:30:44I was concerned before that that could be 14 days of printing the notice, and then somebody holds on to it for 3 days, you don't see them, you go again, you try to find them a second time, suddenly there's 5 days left for them to respond.

1:30:59So this says 14 days of delivery of the notice.

1:31:02And then with the second portion of this amendment, Yes.

1:31:05Rather than attempting to deliver— actually, rather than delivering the notice to the address of the nuisance property, and if you'd like, you can mail it as well.

1:31:16What we are saying is you attempt to deliver it to the notice of the nuisance property or such other place which is likely to give the person in charge notice of the determination.

1:31:27So if there is another address you know for them, to attempt to deliver it in person there.

1:31:32If you cannot find them at either address, then you can leave it with an employee and mail it to any other additional addresses that you have on file.

1:31:42So there is still a hole here.

1:31:46There is still a hole that if you cannot find this person, you leave it with an employee and they don't pass it along.

1:31:54What I was trying to do here Councilor Smith.

1:31:57The reason that we were in favor in adding the second attempt at hand delivery and the requirement that it's then mailed, as opposed to just an attempt, a single attempt at hand delivery and then the option of mailing it, was to say that we need to try every way that we have to reach somebody while also recognizing that using our police time to go to a business 40 times to try to deliver this is probably not a good use of our resources and at a certain point is predictably futile.

1:32:32So this is admittedly still leaving a hole there, but my attempt at finding where that balance point might be between every reasonable attempt to close that hole and the point at which we really just are not going to okay, so that opened up—.

1:32:52Thank you for that clarity.

1:32:53That opened up one thing that we should talk about later, which is I think the way the first one's written implies the notice is being delivered to the city administrator or their designee, and I think that's not your intent from how you just explained it.

1:33:05And I just think it's kind of weird wording, and so I'd love to get some clarity on that.

1:33:09And then the other question I had is—.

1:33:11There needs to be 2 commas there to create a clause.

1:33:13Exactly.

1:33:14The other question is, what constitutes an employee?

1:33:17And the reason I ask this is very specific, that these are— many of these properties are family-run.

1:33:22And as someone who had a father who had a small business and worked there, I was an employee, but not everybody is.

1:33:30Are people's spouses who are covering the front desk, those sorts of things?

1:33:34I want to understand what constitutes an employee.

1:33:40Councilor, Council President, Councilor Novick, I think we may need to look to how that is defined elsewhere in statute.

1:33:49I don't think it's defined in this part of the statute, but I believe there is very likely some legal precedent we could turn to there.

1:33:56And frankly, Councilor, that was my suggestion.

1:33:59And what I was thinking of was like whoever's working the front desk, and you're right, Maybe it wouldn't be an employee.

1:34:08But so I'm open to some other description, maybe to a person present at the— a person working at the property.

1:34:22Yeah, I think part of the challenge here, and we'll talk about this when we get into the actual debate on it, is that these— you'd be looking at someone who is determining whether or not this is a person that constitutes a substitute.

1:34:35And that is more discretion being given, and that heightens all the concerns that we talked about in, in the committee.

1:34:42So I think it's worth exploring.

1:34:44The last thing I wanted to say is I would strenuously object to any consideration and vote on these amendments before the public has had their say.

1:34:51And in fact, due to the sheer magnitude of these amendments, would love to have some discussion after after testimony, but before we get into the amendments on whether or not we should even be doing this here or referring it back to the committee.

1:35:07So, but I, there is no practice that we have had of not hearing from the public before non-sponsor amendments and even many of the sponsor amendments.

1:35:18Thanks.

1:35:19Thank you, Councilor Knoll.

1:35:22So the package of amendments has been moved.

1:35:24I actually agree.

1:35:25I would, they are on the table.

1:35:26They're available for the public to respond to, I would like to move to testimony first before we come back for further debate and vote on the amendments.

1:35:35If that's— any further technical or clarifying questions, colleagues?

1:35:42Keelan, can we please call up any public testimony?

1:35:45We have 12 people signed up tonight.

1:35:47First up, we have Holly Brown, Kanan Patel, Robin Miller, Chelsea Passon, any of those folks are here or online, you're welcome to come on up as a, as a panel or a group, or whomever's here first gets to go first.

1:36:15Welcome.

1:36:15Please introduce yourself for the record.

1:36:18Good evening, honored members of this council.

1:36:20My name is Chelsea Passon.

1:36:22My pronouns are she/they.

1:36:24I am a survivor of almost a decade of commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

1:36:30I now serve our community at Safety Compass, a local nonprofit providing confidential advocacy and crisis response to survivors like myself.

1:36:40I have personally spoken with hundreds of survivors and lived experience experts, some of whom are actively engaging in the commercial sex industry and some who were lucky enough to retire from the industry.

1:36:54Overwhelmingly, our stories are ones of violence and oppression, not of empowerment.

1:37:01I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the privilege I have in being able to speak here today.

1:37:06I have the inherent privilege of being a light-skinned person, in having my basic needs met, and in having the choice to offer testimony in front of this council.

1:37:16As we talk about bridging the gap of a law that already exists to become a more effective tool for safety, I invite everyone in this room to consider your own privilege.

1:37:28Now I want you to consider that at this very moment as we speak, there is someone, probably many someones, stuck in a hotel room on 82nd Avenue who is unable to leave or eat or even sleep until they meet their quota for making as much money as they can through the exchange of commercial sex, commercial sex acts.

1:37:53I hope no one else in this room ever has to experience the feeling that comes from the commodification of one's body for another person's pleasure.

1:38:02However, if that is something that resonates, you are not alone, and I offer you my solidarity.

1:38:08The responsibility of managing the safety of the city falls to our leaders, and if a law that was intended to create pathways to safety is ineffective, the responsibility to make adjustments falls upon this council.

1:38:22As you consider what adjusting this law means, I beg you to consider those most marginalized and vulnerable who do not have the privilege to be in this room today.

1:38:31Councilmember I ask this council to please make the tools that interrupt an industry that profits from the commodification and harm of others actually effective and amend Code Chapter 14B-60.

1:38:45In an anti-violence movement that faces so much pushback because of a violent industry's profitability, it is the least that can be done.

1:38:53Thank you.

1:38:55Thank you so much for being here.

1:38:58Robin Miller is joining us online.

1:39:00Mr. President, I apologize.

1:39:02Representative Tran is available to testify remotely, and we normally often give electeds a privilege to testify early.

1:39:09So after the next witness, I would ask that we go to her.

1:39:13I would be happy to have Representative Tran after Robin finishes hers.

1:39:18Hi, thank you.

1:39:19Hi, my name is Robin Miller.

1:39:21I'm here tonight as a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation or prostitution, and I'm here to speak in support of Portland City Code 14B-1.

1:39:29This ordinance isn't just necessary, it is lawful, and it is long overdue.

1:39:36I'm not speaking in theory, I'm speaking from lived experience.

1:39:40I was bought and sold on 82nd Avenue in Portland.

1:39:43I was raped on 82nd.

1:39:44I was beaten.

1:39:45I lived under constant control and threat.

1:39:48I was moved up and down 82nd through motels, places where everyone knew what was happening and where no one intervened.

1:39:56Thank you.

1:39:57These motels were not just and are not just neutral spaces.

1:40:00They're hubs of exploitation, and they're places where my life was at risk.

1:40:04And I'm also an advocate, and I've been serving victims and survivors of trafficking for 12 years, countless.

1:40:10And I would say the same for them.

1:40:13So when we talk about nuisance properties, let's be honest about what that means.

1:40:17We're talking about locations where exploitation is allowed to flourish, where systems fail to interact.

1:40:22Violence, and that violence is predictable, patterned, and preventable.

1:40:27I often hear— we keep hearing this argument that it's going to— passing this ordinance will push the sex trade somewhere else, somewhere more dangerous.

1:40:34And I'm wondering, I can't figure it out, where is this somewhere else?

1:40:37Where is this more dangerous place?

1:40:40More dangerous than being trafficked in plain sight in known locations where violence is normalized and profits are protected?

1:40:46More dangerous than motels where buyers come and go all night, where women are isolated behind closed doors, and where no one is accountable?

1:40:54The reality is exploitation already happens in dangerous places.

1:40:57This ordinance does not create danger; it disrupts it—the conditions that allow it to continue to go unchecked.

1:41:04What this ordinance does is create accountability.

1:41:07It says that property owners and those connected with the spaces cannot keep ignoring repeated harm.

1:41:13Gives the city a tool to intervene when patterns of exploitation are clearly established.

1:41:18Let's be clear: nothing doing nothing is not neutral.

1:41:22Doing nothing protects the status quo, and the status quo is violence.

1:41:28One second, you guys.

1:41:30I'm shaking.

1:41:31I don't ever shake like this.

1:41:33This ordinance will not solve everything, but it's a step toward interrupting systems that have allowed people like me to be hurt and the people I serve to be hurt over and over and over again in the same locations with no consequence.

1:41:45I stood out in front, out above a hotel lobby In the '90s, after a man tried to kill me, I ran from the room without my clothes on and screamed fire fire fire fire because I knew no one would come if I screamed rape or help me.

1:42:02The owners of the motel or the managers came out and they saw me and they looked at me.

1:42:07The man left, but they did nothing.

1:42:11I serve.

1:42:12I see women and girls coming out of the same motel.

1:42:15Today when I'm on driving on that street, Portland has, has an opportunity to act, to say that repeated exploitation is not expect— not acceptable and not invisible.

1:42:27Thank you so much for your testimony.

1:42:30And Representative Tran, please go ahead.

1:42:33Uh, good evening, Council President Dunphy, Council Vice President Clark, and members of the council.

1:42:39For the record, I am State Representative I represent the students of McDaniel High School and the residents of Sumner, Parkrose, Roseway, and Madison South neighborhoods.

1:42:55I come here today to stand with human trafficking advocates from across our city who are demanding that we finally stop looking the other way.

1:43:06This past month, last month— well, this month, the Oregon Senate unanimously passed House Bill 4157 to support trafficking victims, sending it to the governor's desk.

1:43:19This state-level work is a direct response to the incredible activism of survivors who are now fighting for the freedom of others.

1:43:29During our committee hearing, a survivor shared a haunting story of being repeatedly assaulted and purchased in full view of the staff at the hotel near McDaniel High School.

1:43:41This hotel is still in business today on Northeast 82nd Avenue.

1:43:46We must be better leaders for our children, both for those being trafficked and for those who simply want to walk to school without witnessing human rights violations.

1:43:58Thank you.

1:43:59The legislation we passed in Salem gives victims a voice in court.

1:44:05The amendment before you today gives our neighborhoods and students a voice in their own backyard.

1:44:13To be clear, this nuisance code update is not a magic wand that will solve every facet of human trafficking.

1:44:22It is a surgical tool.

1:44:24It is designed to address thank you, Mayor.

1:44:26This ordinance seeks to address blatant, violent, illicit activity, crimes that often involve minors, by holding property owners accountable for what they allow to happen under their roofs and very close to their property.

1:44:43I want to directly address the concern regarding equity and potential overreach.

1:44:49This is not an attack on hotel owners.

1:44:52Nor is it intended to displace the housing insecure or target consensual sex workers.

1:45:00I recognize these questions of whether it could be used to target minority-owned businesses.

1:45:06Every law carries the potential for misuse.

1:45:10However, the mechanism to prevent overreach is not to vote down focused, vital legislation, as I believe this is this mechanism.

1:45:22Is you, the council?

1:45:24It is your staff.

1:45:26It is the mayor.

1:45:26It is the police chief.

1:45:28It is other city leaders like myself, our constituents, and those who might be speaking in opposition today.

1:45:36It is our collective responsibility to ensure this tool is never used to unfairly target the vulnerable.

1:45:45We cannot let a hypothetical risk prevent us from taking necessary steps to rescue those being trafficked in our city today.

1:45:55Thank you.

1:45:57Thank you, Representative.

1:46:00Uh, okay, checking to see if Holly Brown is here.

1:46:03Kanan Patel.

1:46:06Adam Skiles.

1:46:18Welcome.

1:46:19Myself, Cannon Patel.

1:46:22I am one of the business owners on Sandy Boulevard.

1:46:25I am a motel owner.

1:46:27So one of the biggest problems we are challenging, challenging as of now is drugs and prostitution.

1:46:35Sorry, is drugs and prostitution.

1:46:38Councilmember Herbold.

1:46:39Thank you, Mayor.

1:46:39I'm a victim of human trafficking.

1:46:39I've been reporting to police frequently about the stuff happening in the property or outside the property.

1:46:47So we really get good help from police.

1:46:51But when they are arrested, they get back out from the jail, and the cycle is on and on.

1:46:58So we, we really need help to cut off that cycle.

1:47:03So when a prostitute Or a drug dealer is arrested, they come back out of the jail and they are still back in this area.

1:47:13So the crime rate is never going down.

1:47:15The crime rate is always going up and up.

1:47:20And as a mom of 2 kids, I never let my kids to walk on the streets on Sandy Boulevard.

1:47:27I used to take my kids away from Sandy Boulevard or 82nd Avenue.

1:47:31Thank you.

1:47:32I'm even scared to walk in the parks on Sandy Boulevard.

1:47:36One of the incidents happened with me last year was I was walking along with my 6-month child on the Sandy Boulevard.

1:47:45Some of the people, the homeless people, they use like some knives and guns.

1:47:54Because I was like, what is the reason of doing that?

1:47:57And The statement they gave me was, so you called the police on one of our friends who was dealing drugs outside your property, so we are gonna shoot your child.

1:48:11So I was like yelling, I need help, I need help!

1:48:14Some of the people gathered around me and they helped me to move around, to move my house.

1:48:21So it's a big challenge.

1:48:24We are fighting as small business owners.

1:48:26We run property along with the families.

1:48:29I never let my child a lot of time to stay with me.

1:48:32I used to leave them with my in-laws because it gets harder for us to pay the bills.

1:48:40My daughter, there was a recently shooting in my property last, yes, last month.

1:48:49So the questions come here is they are not usually the people staying in our property.

1:48:54So during nighttime, they come walk in the properties and they does a lot of stuff that is inappropriate.

1:49:02We are scared to walk outside to pull the people out.

1:49:06So we, we really need some security on Sandy Boulevard, especially at nighttime.

1:49:11We are always happy to help Portland Police if they need any tips from us regarding prostitution and drug dealing.

1:49:21Thank you.

1:49:21Lot of people, like, they comes and whenever we ask them, they are like, we are helping people not in the property but outside the property.

1:49:31I used to counsel a lot of prostitutes walking on the side, and I feel proud on me that I cleared up one prostitute and I sent her to work as an Amazon.

1:49:43I paid a lot of stuff for her.

1:49:45She went to detox.

1:49:47She got a good lady, she got her kids back, and she owns an apartment on Sandy Boulevard, but she is clean.

1:49:53She got her daughter back and she's working on Amazon and 2 other jobs.

1:50:00So I feel proud of myself.

1:50:03At least I tried to change one of the lives of a prostitute, but I'm still working on that part.

1:50:08But I really need help.

1:50:10Thank you so much for being here tonight.

1:50:12Yeah, thank you for your testimony.

1:50:13Thank you.

1:50:15Next up we have Emmy Koyama, Tommy Jarvis, Loretta Guzman, Zachary Lauritzen, Hannah Lewis.

1:50:26Go ahead and come up to the table.

1:50:28You can state your name for the record and begin your testimony.

1:50:37Go ahead.

1:50:38Okay.

1:50:38Hi, my name is Loretta Guzman.

1:50:40I'm a small business owner here in the City of Portland, and I was also raised here.

1:50:44I think, um, when I originally first read this, what was coming before you guys, it was— there was like so much.

1:50:50But I'm glad to hear that, that everybody is like putting input in this, and so it's not just going to fall on the business owners.

1:50:58Because we running businesses, we are held to a higher standard than people, but we also can't control everything that happens out on the streets around our business.

1:51:07Thank you.

1:51:08We try to, but also you guys need to put something in place that works for us because there's like not a lot for help for us when we do call or we do need help.

1:51:18A lot of times we have to go to other sources to get help because our— right now our system is eroding.

1:51:25It's not safe out there.

1:51:26I don't care what you guys say.

1:51:28You know, you guys already know I come here all the time and speak.

1:51:32I speak about, you know, my real life experiences.

1:51:34Thank you.

1:51:35That I have.

1:51:36So there's a lot of concern, and our kids are our future.

1:51:39And I feel like you guys need to take and give, give our kids safety.

1:51:44Our kids don't have safety.

1:51:46You know, my net— my little nephew, um, his dad was killed.

1:51:49He just, he just moved.

1:51:51His— him and his mom had to move because, you know, she has a lot of trauma from everything that's happened.

1:51:57And she could have very easily been somebody who fell between the cracks and became a prostitute and became a drug addict.

1:52:03She could have been out there on 82nd, and I had to do a lot of work to help to get her to where she, you know, was able to get, get a job.

1:52:12And, you know, and I did a lot of juggling with the kids.

1:52:15So our kids are our future, and I hope you guys do something really, um, put something in place, but also don't put all the blame and all everything on us as business owners.

1:52:26Thank you.

1:52:27It, it's hard for us right now.

1:52:29You know, everything is raising on us.

1:52:31A lot of businesses are really struggling, and I don't know, we just need help.

1:52:37And so I just feel like our system is really eroded, and so I hope we get some real help out here, and you guys will see me more.

1:52:45Thank you.

1:52:46Thank you so much for your testimony.

1:52:48Emmy is joining us online.

1:52:53Hi, thank you so much.

1:52:54My name is Emiko Yama, and no relation to Councilor Koyama Lane, but I'm happy about the, you know, yesterday's proclamation earlier.

1:53:02I'm a survivor who has been on 82nd Avenue many years ago and longtime advocate for survivors, people who live and work on the street, migrant Asian women working in massage parlors, and other people in or adjacent to the sex trade who have not been meaningfully consulted in the process of drafting this legislation.

1:53:20I oppose the expansion of chronic nuisance property ordinance, especially in the name of preventing and interrupting exploitation and abuse within sex trade, because it displaces people in activities that community considers nuisance rather than addressing underlying social economic conditions that lead to vulnerabilities and abuse.

1:53:37People engage in sex trade under varying and oscillating combinations of choice, coercion, and circumstances.

1:53:45Public policies must respect and empower choices.

1:53:46Fight coercion, and vastly improve circumstances so that everyone in the sex trade, regardless how one entered or how much power they currently exercise, can benefit from greater freedom and safety.

1:53:57The proposal before you does none of that.

1:54:00In fact, it does the opposite.

1:54:01It pushes certain people and activities further underground, displacing, isolating, and endangering people who are already vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

1:54:11From the street sweeps to backpage.com shutdown to motel and strip club closures, Last summer, Seattle expanded its chronic nuisance property law and recently received the first batch of public records from its enforcement.

1:54:30I noticed that in December, Seattle's Chief of Police issued a letter designating a business as chronic nuisance property based in part on the police report generated when someone at the business called 911.

1:54:41Thank you.

1:54:41I would like to ask the city I don't think it was the intent of Seattle City Council to penalize businesses for saving lives by reporting overdose, but this is a textbook example of unintended consequences.

1:54:53The Novick 1 amendment comes close to addressing this particular harm but does not actually provide relief because seeking medical emergency assistance in good faith is not included.

1:55:03Nobody in Seattle foresaw that expanding current nuisance property ordinance to include businesses.

1:55:07Councilmember Herbold.

1:55:07Might discourage businesses from calling for medical assistance and possibly cause delay in assistance and increase preventable death.

1:55:15But here in Portland, we are telling you right now that the likely detrimental consequence of enacting this ordinance on the safety and lives of people in sex trade— please scrap this legislation now and start over with a broader group of stakeholders to enact the policies that respect choice, fight coercion, and radically transform social and economic Thank you very much.

1:55:39Thank you much, so much for your testimony tonight.

1:55:43Zachary is joining us online.

1:55:46Good evening, everyone.

1:55:47Zachary Lauritzen at Oregon Walks.

1:55:49We're a pedestrian advocacy organization, and I'm testifying in support of the changes to the nuisance property code.

1:55:56In my role at Oregon Walks, I do a lot of organizing along 82nd Avenue, and over the years we've really developed a community vision for 82nd as this transit-rich, as this housing-rich spine of East Portland.

1:56:07And thanks to the work of advocates for years, of many of your predecessors, and frankly many of you, we're making steady progress towards those goals.

1:56:17You know, one of the biggest challenges, frankly, is 82nd Avenue's reputation, and that reputation is based in a lot of reality often.

1:56:26McDaniel students tell me about hearing gunshots shots being a weekly occurrence.

1:56:3082nd Avenue is known as a place where folks can get drugs of choice.

1:56:35Parts of 82nd Avenue, especially as mentioned earlier in the northern section by the Grotto, McDaniel, that area is well known as a place to purchase sex, often from people who have been coerced or trafficked into Portland to do so.

1:56:46And that's the reality.

1:56:48And philosophically, Oregon Walks, myself personally, we're not big in the enforcement lens of using police to achieve ends.

1:56:56But this legislation reminds me as a time, as like my time as an educator.

1:57:01Some of you know that before I was at Oregon Walks for 15 years, I was a coach and a teacher and an administrator in public schools in Oregon.

1:57:08And in that role, we needed various tools.

1:57:12You know, you taught appropriate behaviors, you used restorative practices, you intentionally built positive community, but sometimes and this feels a lot the same.

1:57:26You know, first we want to build a lot of housing on 82nd Avenue, really develop out the transit.

1:57:31We want to have thriving businesses so that we bring positive interactions.

1:57:35We want to depave and plant trees and make the space more welcoming and humane.

1:57:40And in the case where we know exactly, for example, where a hotel is being used, as we heard earlier tonight, You know, we need those traditional discipline tools, and I see this legislation as, as tightening and cleaning up the code that refines those tools that we have in that tool belt to address these challenging behaviors that you've heard tonight.

1:58:05I appreciate the process over the last few months.

1:58:07I appreciate actually hearing the attention to detail tonight to improve this legislation.

1:58:12Thank you.

1:58:13And I hope that we can heed the call of neighbors on 82nd Avenue, but also around the city in general, to start addressing these nuisance properties and the very real harms that they are causing to our community.

1:58:24Thank you very much.

1:58:26Thank you so much.

1:58:28Hannah Lewis is joining us online.

1:58:31Welcome, Hannah.

1:58:33Hi, Council.

1:58:34I had, uh, Hannah Lewis, she/her pronouns.

1:58:37I had a very well-thought-out testimony for tonight, but I'm going to go rogue because just hearing everybody's comments, the amendments, it's inspired me to share a stream of consciousness with you.

1:58:51I also want to thank Zachary for the spine of East Portland.

1:58:55I'm going to be quoting that going forward.

1:58:59I just want to say thank you to council.

1:59:00This process has been very well thought out to understand the impact to residents.

1:59:05Owners, impacted individuals, and our workers on the streets.

1:59:11Meaningful consultation has occurred through the public testimony process.

1:59:16This first was brought to us back in January, and I thought we were voting in January, but here we are in March and continuing the discussion.

1:59:28A point that was brought up earlier was the Change to the number of instances in 90 days, and I'm curious around that because gun violence and trafficking tonight is being referred to as a nuisance, but it's really so much more than that.

1:59:44So when we have this history of issues happening at a property and then all of a sudden there's gun violence or we confirm trafficking, is that weighted heavier?

1:59:56Yes.

1:59:57Just a question I have.

2:00:00Removing loitering, I think, is a win for those that are consensually out there in the sex work industry.

2:00:10At every one of our community meetings where the human trafficking unit presents, it's really interesting.

2:00:18The audience ends up turning their attention more towards the buyers than the women.

2:00:22So is there an opportunity to call for tougher consequences?

2:00:28Along the lines of loitering, but maybe it's— it looks more like repeat offenses.

2:00:34We've also heard from some really great business owners.

2:00:38Ms. Patel, very impressed to hear from her.

2:00:42Loretta Guzman as well.

2:00:44And we see those business owners being listened to tonight.

2:00:50I want to talk about an experience I've had in the Sumner neighborhood with the Quality Inn.

2:00:53Yes.

2:00:54This goes back to delivering notice to a property owner where I personally tried to reach that hotel before I was really plugged into my neighborhood association or city council and how it all works, and it went unanswered.

2:01:08So is there an opportunity to hold the property owner accountable for being contactable, and how many owners work in their businesses train their staff, know how to support their staff with this nuance.

2:01:23And then just to add on to Rep Tran's statement, for students it's more than witnessing this, it's more than living among this, it's the fact that they are walking to school and they have a car slowly pull up to them and want to know their price.

2:01:38How can students respond to that?

2:01:42Um, just want to say thank you for your time and thank you for this process.

2:01:47Thank you very much, Hannah.

2:01:53Okay, next up, um, well, actually, let me check to see if Tommy Jarvis is here.

2:02:01Um, our last testifier is Taliana Lindseth, joining us online.

2:02:15Welcome, please go ahead.

2:02:18Hi, my name's Theo.

2:02:21Some of you guys have seen me— I go by Theo, but some of you guys have seen me in council.

2:02:26Sorry, my baby is here.

2:02:29Um, as someone that has worked as a sex worker in Portland by choice, I'm here to testify the opposition to the ordinance 2026- Um, -039 to amend the chronic nuisance property.

2:02:41I do want to thank everybody that has been hearing the concerns from the community about making a difference between consensual sex work and prostitution from human trafficking, because they're definitely 2 different things.

2:02:56Consensual sex work is not the same thing as human trafficking.

2:03:00Human trafficking is a real and pressing issue in our city.

2:03:03However, Thank you.

2:03:04I'm here today with concerns for the unintended impacts that this could have on sex workers in Portland.

2:03:13When you criminalize sex work and any action aiding in sex work, you put our community members at a greater risk, pushing them to the shadows and forcing them to work in unsafe conditions, specifically using lording and soliciting— solicit prostitution.

2:03:29Thank you for changing that as well.

2:03:31Thank you.

2:03:32Prostitution or related offenses, public indecency, unlawful prostitution and procurement activities.

2:03:40Things like this that I just listed can potentially lead to harming consensual sex workers.

2:03:47I do, I do not want others who choose to work here to face greater danger as a result of well-intended but harmful policy.

2:03:56For example, amending policy to include verbiage as prostitution or public indecency dredges up negative ideas around consensual sex work.

2:04:06I do urge you guys to work with BIPOC-led sex worker organizations within the community to work on decriminalization of sex work, to help separate sex work from sex trafficking.

2:04:19If you're going to work with— work on things that affect the sex worker community, then you should have consensual sex workers included in the conversation.

2:04:31If you're voting yes on this, then you should think about working to make consensual sex workers safe as well as decriminalizing sex work and step towards— and step towards working towards that.

2:04:43Thank you so much for listening to me, and I hope that when you guys vote yes on this, that you guys are thinking about consensual sex workers in the community that can be harmed by specific words.

2:04:55Thank you.

2:04:56Thank you so much for your testimony tonight.

2:04:58That completes testimony.

2:05:00Colleagues, I'm going to give us a 10-minute, uh, bathroom break.

2:05:04We will be back here at 8:10.

2:15:00And we are back.

2:15:01Thank you, colleagues, for getting back on time.

2:15:05Um, we are now moving into council discussion.

2:15:09Uh, Councilor Avalos.

2:15:12Thank you.

2:15:14Um, yeah, colleagues, I testified on this proposal when it was in committee because I wanted to make make sure that the people most likely to be impacted, particularly members of the sex worker community, were meaningfully included in the conversation.

2:15:26I appreciate that outreach occurred and that amendments were made, but I'm still hearing from community members who remain deeply concerned about the impacts.

2:15:34And so I want to take those concerns seriously and ask a couple of questions to get to the heart of that.

2:15:40So, and I don't know who will answer some of these, I see there's people in the audience.

2:15:44I'm assuming, Councilor Novick, you have like staff that are available to answer technical questions?

2:15:48Yes?

2:15:49Yes.

2:15:49Okay, sounds good.

2:15:52Um, let's start here.

2:15:54So we have heard that this policy is intended to focus on buyers, not victims.

2:16:01So I was wondering if, um, someone could explain how that distinction is operationalized in practice, especially when enforcement is tied to place-based nuisance Councilor Avalos, thank you for that question.

2:16:21I'll try to answer as best I can because I think enforcement with chronic nuisance is a little different than enforcement for criminal investigations, but they go hand in hand.

2:16:32And so as of, I would say, roughly around 2012, law enforcement and prosecutors' offices, especially in the Portland area, in Multnomah County area, decided not to arrest or charge victims of trafficking, any sellers.

2:16:49And so the focus of investigations, of enforcement, of missions has been specifically towards reducing demand, because we know economics— you reduce demand, you, you reduce trafficking— as well as looking into the people behind the scenes who are forcing individuals, victims, manipulating, controlling them to engage in this work.

2:17:11And so it's been— we've been focusing on buyers and traffickers.

2:17:15100% Of victims that are victims in significant trafficking cases, when they are contacted, say, I chose to do this, I don't have a trafficker, I am an independent sex worker.

2:17:28100% Of those individuals say that.

2:17:29Thank you.

2:17:30And so although I think theoretically it's easy to say that there's a difference between someone who's a sex worker and someone who's being trafficked, reality is, is that all victims of trafficking are groomed and told and taught to say that they are independent, that there's no one behind the scenes running them, and that the details of trafficking, when you look at the details of the violence, the homicide rates, the horrible things that I hear on a daily basis, That is at the very least a lack of choices, and most likely because someone is forcing them to do that.

2:18:09Okay.

2:18:09I don't think that answered the question, but I'm going to move on.

2:18:12So my next question is, this ordinance still relies heavily on police reports and probable cause determination.

2:18:19So in communities, particularly in East Portland, where people may be reluctant to engage with law enforcement due to immigration concerns or prior experiences, How are we ensuring that this is not silencing victims or discouraging reporting?

2:18:34Yes, human trafficking is one of those— Councilor Avalos, human trafficking is one of those crimes that very few people come forward on their own.

2:18:42There's a lot of proactive investigations that go on.

2:18:46What I will say is probable cause is a standard in which warrants are, you know, in which warrants are used to apply to search homes, the residence probable cause is the standard for officers to use to make arrests, to refer cases to the DA's office.

2:19:00So probable cause is the standard that I think is available to law enforcement in a day-to-day base, in a daily basis for all sorts of things.

2:19:10As far as silencing victims, this only focuses on businesses and property owners in which we have are trying to seek ways to reduce crimes on their businesses or related to their businesses.

2:19:27So I don't believe, in my experience, and I've been doing this since 2008, I don't believe that there is a mechanism here that would silence victims of trafficking because they're worried about what may happen to the business who enabled their trafficking, if that's the question.

2:19:46Okay, uh, let me move on to another one.

2:19:50So I appreciate the amendment to ensure that if a property owner calls to report their own property, that they will not be penalized.

2:19:58I understand the spirit of that amendment.

2:20:00However, I am still wondering, how does this ordinance protect tenants, small business owners, and immigrant-owned businesses from being penalized for activity they might not be aware of or have the ability to control?

2:20:10I heard a little bit of that in the testimony.

2:20:13Uh, I'm wondering if you can respond to how this well, first of all, I want to point out that the ordinance amends existing law, and under the chronic nuisance statute exists under existing law, and under existing law, the property owners can be held responsible for authorizing, for allowing illegal activity.

2:20:39What this— what the underlying law does is it prohibits the city from and what is that?

2:20:46Provide that if illegal activity is going on in a property, then the property owner is asked to take steps to abate that illegal activity.

2:20:57The property owner may or may not be aware of the illegal activity, but they're informed that this illegal activity is going on.

2:21:05Will you take steps to stop it?

2:21:07And then there's a back and forth between the property owner and the city about what those steps might be.

2:21:13So the property owner isn't penalized for conduct they weren't aware of.

2:21:17They're told, here's conduct that's going on, and will you take steps to address it?

2:21:22I also want to note that we're discussing the amendments now, and I—.

2:21:27Are we?

2:21:28Yes, we're not discussing the underlying measure.

2:21:32So which amendments?

2:21:34All of them?

2:21:35It was a package of amendments.

2:21:36Right.

2:21:37We, we had— there was a move.

2:21:38They— yeah, the package of amendments have been moved and seconded.

2:21:40Okay, I still think my questions are relevant, but thank you for letting me know.

2:21:43Yeah.

2:21:44Okay, uh, my last question is, um, what evidence do we have that nuisance property designations— and I am aware that you are amending an existing ordinance, but my concerns are that the amendments are making it worse, not better— so, um, what evidence do we have that nuisance property designations reduce trafficking or exploitation rather than simply moving it elsewhere?

2:22:05And specifically What are the metrics that you're using to determine whether this ordinance is actually improving safety?

2:22:27Why we think that there's that these that the nuisance property designation is effective.

2:22:32Okay, but to be clear, just to restate my question, I'm asking what specific metrics.

2:22:36So that's my, my ask.

2:22:43Go ahead.

2:22:45So I hear that you're asking about the future metrics.

2:22:51Well, I guess I'm asking a technical question about how to implement the ordinance.

2:22:54So maybe if you want to share a bit of your experience with— I don't know that you're the right person to answer this.

2:22:58I'm looking for actual metrics that we will use to enforce the, the law.

2:23:02Um, so the way that we will enforce the ordinance is I think that the law will be enforced with the city using it to try to get property owners at properties designated product nuisance properties to try to abate the nuisance.

2:23:18And I can't promise— whenever we pass laws, we don't generally say we're going to change the law back if we don't have certain specific evidence of certain results within a couple of years.

2:23:29So you're not going to change the law?

2:23:31We think that this will reduce illegal activity at the properties that are designated as chronic nuisance properties.

2:23:40But there's nothing that we— I mean, there's nothing that we do is guaranteed to have a particular result.

2:23:48We make our best guess as to what the results might be.

2:23:52Yeah, I understand that.

2:23:53But I also thought the point of making laws is so that they could produce certain results.

2:23:57And so what I'm asking is, technically, In your belief, what do you believe is changing about this law that you think is going to, with specific metrics, make a difference in human exploitation and not moving it elsewhere?

2:24:11Because that's the concern that we're hearing, that it's going to get pushed away.

2:24:13So how do you— how are you— what is your judgment on how this is going to affect that?

2:24:18And I am looking for specifics because I do think that we can ask for that as we are passing laws.

2:24:23I think that if there's fewer places for exploitation to occur, I also note that part of our concern— and again, this ordinance is not just about human trafficking— but part of our concern is the students at McDaniel walking through a gauntlet of sex trafficking, which is partly because of the hotels that have tolerated that periodically.

2:24:47It's not all hotels at all times, but if hotels are accepting sex trafficking in their establishments and the hotels are around that area, then that's a problem.

2:24:54Thank you.

2:24:55Then you can see more of that activity, and the students will see more of that activity.

2:25:00So I am hoping that by holding property owners in that area accountable for sex trafficking on their establishments, you'll wind up with the students walking into Daniel High School dealing with less— not having to walk through a gauntlet of sex trafficking.

2:25:17Thank you.

2:25:18So then what I'm understanding by how you're describing it, you do not expect this to abate it.

2:25:23You just expect it to move because what you said is your concern is people seeing it and that there's a row of hotels.

2:25:30And if this is a place-based ordinance, tell me more about how— like, that's not what I'm—.

2:25:35Councilor, that is not what I said.

2:25:37What I said first is that I think by reducing the number of places where trafficking can occur, I would hope that reduces trafficking.

2:25:43Okay.

2:25:44I also said that there's an additional issue which we're, which we're concerned about, Which is the children of Daniel High School walking through a gauntlet of sex trafficking.

2:25:51I, yeah, I appreciate that, and I, I— please do not lecture me about the impact.

2:25:55I am aware, I'm aware of that impact.

2:25:57I work with youth about this, so I would appreciate that not being the case.

2:26:01Um, I think both that what I'm hearing though is that it's not a clear one-to-one, and that's what I'm asking.

2:26:07That's— I'm asking for data on is this a one-to-one, and if it is, we don't want it in this area, then that's great.

2:26:13But I didn't hear that that is the impact that it's reduce human trafficking across the city if there's just one place.

2:26:19Particularly, I say that because the DA specifically— or I'm sorry, no, your title, your DA assistant specifically said that when it was moved off of online, it just moved back to the streets.

2:26:30So it was— you didn't abate it, you just— it moved somewhere else.

2:26:33So that— I'm taking your words of how you describe that situation.

2:26:36That's what I'm trying to avoid.

2:26:37So I'm looking to understand how the ordinance is going to avoid that impact.

2:26:40Sure.

2:26:41I want to talk about metrics.

2:26:43In a couple ways.

2:26:44The way that chronic nuisance works is that the vast majority of businesses don't even get to this point because they send their employees to be trained.

2:26:53We've been training hotel and motel staff for 10 years.

2:26:56Most of these businesses say, we want to help, what can we do?

2:26:59We'll send our employees to be trained, and we want to look for signs so that we can report it and help it and prevent it in our hotel.

2:27:05This is for the hotels or businesses, whatever it may be, That have refused to do that, refused to meet with the city, refused to work with investigators and detectives to identify victims of trafficking.

2:27:18And very— at the very end, this is a last-ditch effort to say we need your help to prevent trafficking of youth and minors and individuals in your hotel.

2:27:28As far as metrics, if I can prevent 2 young people in Portland from being trafficked and their trafficker to be held accountable so that they don't recruit other young people, I think that metric is well worth—.

2:27:39Thank you.

2:27:41Creating and amending this city code to protect those youth in our community, because they are not youth from other countries, they're not youth from other states.

2:27:49They're youth that you live next to, that go to school with your children, that go to church with you, and other things.

2:27:55That metric, I think, is enough.

2:27:58And the fact of the matter is, is because trafficking, trafficking is so prolific, and we've seen that there's over 10,000 attempts to purchase another human being a week, it would be very difficult for us to say that that metric has been met other than to say we are protecting and helping vulnerable— the most vulnerable in our community not be trafficked.

2:28:19And when I said it moved from one place to another, absolutely.

2:28:22I didn't say increased or stayed the same.

2:28:24I was just saying about the general movement of what we see was from street level to online to back to the street.

2:28:31I'm not saying that the same numbers happened in each movement.

2:28:34All I was saying is that that's what we've seen in historical look at trafficking in the city.

2:28:40But have you seen a reduction then as a result of that?

2:28:42Are you saying that it's just moving from—.

2:28:45Absolutely, we've seen a reduction there.

2:28:46Okay, well, I appreciate the value statements.

2:28:48Again, I'm looking for facts, I'm looking for metrics, so that's what I'm trying to seek out.

2:28:52I agree with the values.

2:28:54I obviously care a lot about this, especially as a survivor of sexual abuse.

2:28:58So this is very personal to me too.

2:29:00So I would appreciate having a little bit of deference for the fact that I'm coming from my own lived experience and that there are people in my community that are experiencing the results of exploitation by further pushing this into the shadows, and especially immigrant communities.

2:29:16And so, and that's what I heard from the immigrant communities that I talked to in a workshop, that they are concerned that women are being pushed into trafficking Or they're being pushed into sex work because ICE is stealing their permits.

2:29:27They have no way to work.

2:29:29And so for them, it's the choice between working with— working for sex or feeding their family and keeping a roof over their head.

2:29:37And so I think it's important that we're naming these as the real impacts and the people that are being affected by that.

2:29:43And this is not some ideological thing.

2:29:45This is a real impact that I'm seeing in the district, and I think it's important we voice that.

2:29:48I'll say that for now, and thank you.

2:29:50I'll yield the rest of my time.

2:29:51Thank you.

2:29:52Mr. President, I'd like Chelsea to have an opportunity to weigh in on her views of whether this would simply push sex work into the shadows.

2:30:00I would appreciate that, but I think I've asked my questions, and I— if I have more, I will ask them.

2:30:04I thank you for your, for your, your perspective, but I think I'm done with my questioning, and I'm not asking for further.

2:30:10Thank you.

2:30:13I'm going to move us forward.

2:30:15Thank you.

2:30:16Thank you.

2:30:17Councilor Green.

2:30:21Thank you, Mr.

2:30:21President.

2:30:22Thank you to everyone who testified today.

2:30:25I also read through the volume of written testimony as well, so I want to thank folks for submitting that.

2:30:31I'm going to speak just to the amendments on the floor as a package.

2:30:36I think in general, I think these amendments are an improvement on the piece that came out of the committee.

2:30:43Thank you.

2:30:45I don't know if I can support the underlying, but I'm going to save my comments on why or where I'm at on that until we get past this vote.

2:30:53But I, but I do appreciate the— appreciate the— I want to call out specifically, I appreciate the amendment.

2:30:59I think it's Novick 3 maybe that, that struck the explicit reference to solicitation of prostitution and just replaces it with the human trafficking citations that are out there.

2:31:11Thank you.

2:31:12I forget exactly which one that is, but it's part of this package.

2:31:15That was a big one for me.

2:31:17So thanks for being responsive to that.

2:31:20I think there are some other— there's some other cleanup stuff that I think I heard that Councilor Pirtle-Guiney also laid on the table that was helpful relative to what came out of committee.

2:31:31So I'm going to support the amendment package, but I've got more to say on the underlying Thank you, Councilor Green.

2:31:43Councilor Knell.

2:31:46Thank you, Council President.

2:31:48Uh, first, I wanted to thank my colleagues on the Community and Public Safety Committee for a thoughtful conversation, not just in the conversation around this, uh, agenda item, but Councilor Novick led on holding presentations about human trafficking and raising the attention of the committee, the council, and the broader community, uh, to the issues that we're talking about here, including the particular nexus, not just on 82nd, but the particular points around what the police and the DA's office refer to as the blade here.

2:32:12I also want to thank the testifiers, in particular those who do important work on this subject, Safety Compass, DA's office, but also Rep. Tran, who led the way on House Bill 4157, which I support.

2:32:21I want to start by saying I share the concerns and the assessment here.

2:32:24I had the privilege of going to an event with Councilor Novick, and I think several other councilors or staff were there too, at McDaniel High School.

2:32:30Yes.

2:32:31It was an hour and 7 minutes in before the first mention of hotels or motels in talking about the problem.

2:32:37And it was in 2 responses to the question, what are some misconceptions around the situation around McDaniel, where one person said they felt hotels were a big part of the problem and the next person said they felt they were not.

2:32:47Hotels were mentioned one other time in passing with no commentary.

2:32:49And this crowd was parents and one student.

2:32:52No representatives from hotels were there.

2:32:55They talked about what one of our testifiers talked about in testimony the experience of their children in their communities.

2:33:00They talked about the desire to have a police response, and that includes the county not engaging in catch and release.

2:33:06And they talked about the need to do more and have more conversations with hotel and motel owners.

2:33:11That hasn't happened yet, but we're still talking about running them out of business, which is the only really predictable outcome of this legislation.

2:33:17And I want to be clear: I don't assume bad intent from anyone who supports this.

2:33:20I think Councilor Novick and his team are trying to do the right thing.

2:33:23I do not think their goal is to do anything other than what they say, which is ending human trafficking.

2:33:27But I have to say, and this is underlying my vote on every amendment, that one of the most dangerous things a person with decision-making can do, a decision-making authority can do, is to recognize a real problem and say just we have to do something.

2:33:40Because when you say we have to do something, you're really opening the door to doing anything.

2:33:44And while I agree with the testifier who said that doing nothing is not neutral, we have a responsibility to find a solution that addresses the problem instead of blaming another group of people.

2:33:53What has been done here is taking an accurate assessment of the problem and going and finding a scapegoat— business owners along 82nd beyond the one that we all know about— and proposing creating new policy to bail out the people who should be keeping us safe from their responsibility to do so.

2:34:06The sponsor noted that the fundamental question this ordinance poses is to what extent do we think property owners have an obligation to make sure their properties aren't being used as a base for certain sorts of illegal activity In my interpretation, the fundamental question of this ordinance is whether or not the responsibility for addressing an observable, geographically limited pattern of a particular type of crime, which is to say human trafficking along 82nd and the area there is, resides with the police, or whether or not we should allow the outsourcing of that responsibility to private business owners.

2:34:39And there are ancillary questions as well to this.

2:34:41I'll name 2.

2:34:42One is, is the city's response to human trafficking how does this affect other businesses?

2:34:44How would it affect yours?

2:34:45At what point does something within 200 feet of your business become your fault?

2:34:49Would we consider the stadium superette a chronic nuisance property because they're surrounded by some significant criminal activity, and perhaps some of those people have purchased something in the past from the superette?

2:35:01And I'll note that that's in the original code.

2:35:03That's not part of Councilor Novick's proposal here.

2:35:05This idea that you are responsible for something within 200 feet of your business.

2:35:08Feet of your, of your business if someone's purchased something from your property?

2:35:13And secondly, why have we not implemented council guidance to move overtime dollars to the police's human trafficking unit?

2:35:20The commanding sergeant of that unit has said in years past there was overtime available for human trafficking and said that there are no hours available for them now, despite a council-approved budget note saying to move overtime away from protest response and community presence to a suite of community needs, including human trafficking.

2:35:36And PPB data showing that they presented in our committee that the overtime spending on protest response and community presence did go down, but that overtime spending on those community needs did not go up.

2:35:46I'm not opposing this legislation without offering an alternative.

2:35:49I would think we should do a 2-part alternative, which is to first get PPB to follow the budget guidance approved by the City Council and give the Human Trafficking Unit the resources we said to, and for the DA's office to commit in public to stopping catch and release, which we've heard from some of the business owners here.

2:36:03Councilmember for the kinds of abuses that we're talking about.

2:36:06And let me also say that I support using existing law, criminal law, yes, but also other legal structures like eminent domain to address the specific nuisance property that is at the center of what we're all talking about here.

2:36:18I understand that this law will target all hotels and motels, but the examples people are giving, many of them focus on a single property near McDaniel High School.

2:36:27We don't need to name them, but everyone knows the state of the property and the state of public safety in that area.

2:36:32Why do we need to put other hotel and motel owners out of business when we know where a lot of this is centered?

2:36:37Why can't we use the existing code about the state of that one property?

2:36:42And I think that we have to talk about this because that is what's in the community impact statement.

2:36:48And it's also in the statement of, I think by reducing the number of places where trafficking can occur, I would hope that reduces trafficking.

2:36:55We know what the impact will be.

2:36:57This is designed to go and put the impact on a whole host of businesses as opposed to the small subset, which everybody agrees it's a small subset, who are doing the particular types of activity we're talking about.

2:37:13So with that, I'm going to make a motion because of the importance and because my comments were about the underlying and because of the volume of the amendments that have been proposed here and the time it is now.

2:37:23To postpone this item, the entire item, to a time certain, which is the next meeting of the Community and Public Safety Committee.

2:37:34Councilor Kanal has made a motion.

2:37:36I— is this a debatable motion?

2:37:40Oh, it also needs a second.

2:37:42Second.

2:37:42Sorry, for clarity, you want to refer this back to the Public Safety Committee?

2:37:49I'm looking to our attorneys.

2:37:51Point of information.

2:37:54With the way our committees are structured, can we refer to a time certain at a committee, or do we need to vote to send it to committee as a separate action?

2:38:08I am not trying to be pedantic here.

2:38:10I am trying to make sure that we know what our rules are and are following them.

2:38:15That is a good clarification.

2:38:18I don't know.

2:38:20I'll need to look.

2:38:21So it's the 2 questions, voting to time certain and whether that's debatable, and the voting on dissent committee.

2:38:31Yeah, should a referral back to a committee be to a time certain, or is it simply— is it a simple motion to refer back?

2:38:38I'd like to— oh, sorry, go ahead.

2:38:40I can amend the motion because I think this is a correct— I think it's a motion to refer to the committee.

2:38:47Okay.

2:38:48And yeah.

2:38:48Okay.

2:38:49With the intention of it not being referred with an indefinite never come back to it, but with the intention of it being discussed.

2:38:56Okay.

2:38:56So the motion and a second is to refer the item back to committee.

2:39:01We are in a motion as well on amendments.

2:39:05Motion to refer takes precedence.

2:39:06It's a motion to refer.

2:39:07Thank you.

2:39:07Thank you.

2:39:08We're learning lots about Robert's Rules.

2:39:11Who was the second?

2:39:12I'm sorry.

2:39:13Uh, Avalos was the second.

2:39:16And is this a debatable motion?

2:39:18It is debatable.

2:39:19The motion to refer to a committee is debatable.

2:39:22Okay, so we have a motion and a second that is debatable to refer this back to committee.

2:39:27This is going to take precedence, so we are now in debate of the motion to Refer.

2:39:38Councilor Novick, do you want to—.

2:39:41Yes.

2:39:42This proposed ordinance already passed out of committee, and I have yet to hear anybody objecting to any of the specific amendments that have been offered here today.

2:39:51I've heard a lot of argument about the underlying measure.

2:39:54So I don't see what the point would be of sending this back to a committee And when— I don't see any argument that there's any reason for the amendments that we're proposing, which I haven't heard anybody opposing, to be rediscussed by the committee.

2:40:15Thank you, Councilor Novick.

2:40:18Councilor Marie, are you to the motion?

2:40:21Yeah.

2:40:22First, I want to say thank you to the folks that came and testified both at committee and here.

2:40:26I think this is a very important issue.

2:40:28A very important issue for our entire city and painful for many people in our community for a lot of different reasons.

2:40:36So I just want to honor the work that's being done here.

2:40:40And I— it did come out of committee.

2:40:44I do think it needs to go back to committee for a few reasons.

2:40:48For one thing, I think that the amendments, some of them are certainly improvements.

2:40:53I think the removal of language around sex work and changing it to human trafficking is really critical.

2:41:00But there are simply too many changes to the actual— the amendments that are proposed make it slightly better for me, but not good enough for me to feel comfortable with them because there are a lot of changes that need to be made.

2:41:16Like, for one thing, I think—.

2:41:18Councilor Smith.

2:41:20At its crux, the police report thing I think needs to be changed to actual evidence and not just an officer's arbitrary perspective on writing up a report.

2:41:32There— all of the amendments are slightly better than what is being proposed, but I don't think that they actually make things better in the long run.

2:41:41And the— even the discussion about changing it from 2 to 3 and back to 2, I think, is a little bit of a stretch.

2:41:46Councilor Smith.

2:41:48It's very clear that there's no real metric for why we are making these decisions.

2:41:53It feels very vibes-based.

2:41:55And the majority of what we have seen as far as data collected from the ACLU is that chronic nuisance ordinances actually reduce public safety because they can incentivize landlords to repress crime reporting and evict victims.

2:42:10That is what we often see.

2:42:11Councilmember Herbold.

2:42:12So I don't feel comfortable with this as is.

2:42:17And I think that this is a very complicated policy that just requires a bit more discussion in committee.

2:42:25We had some time for discussion.

2:42:27It was— I raised some concerns in committee and then it was quickly— we quickly moved on from them before they were fully addressed.

2:42:35And now we're here.

2:42:36And that's fine.

2:42:38That happens sometimes.

2:42:39Councilor Smith.

2:42:40But I think with the amount of feedback that we've gotten from community members, I am concerned about it.

2:42:47The town hall that was also held talking about this policy, Councilor Kanal brought up that there were no hotel owners there present.

2:42:57I would also point out that there were no sex workers present there to talk about the impacts of this.

2:43:03And so— Councilor Smith.

2:43:06I just don't feel comfortable with this as is, and I think it does need, uh, further research and discussion.

2:43:12Thank you, Councilor Morillo.

2:43:14Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, to the motion?

2:43:16I was in the queue for a different motion, but if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to this one.

2:43:20Please.

2:43:20Thank you, Council President.

2:43:22Colleagues, I am generally a fan of taking more time in committees, but what I have heard tonight are concerns with not even the language in the underlying ordinance, but the language in the current law, which is some— in some areas is being changed and some is not.

2:43:46I am hearing a lot of concern with the extent of the amendments, but what I see are a few amendments that don't change the direction of the underlying ordinance.

2:44:04Perhaps not all of them, but many, and folks saying that it is making it better.

2:44:11I am hearing a lot of opposition to, at a minimum, the underlying language, the original language in code right now, and perhaps to the ordinance before us.

2:44:24But I'm not hearing an interest in making it better.

2:44:26I think that's a fair point.

2:44:28Changing this policy, perhaps an interest in other changes to the current code, but not this policy.

2:44:35Um, so I'm not sure why we're sending this back to committee other than to delay.

2:44:43I'm, I'm trying to listen for interest in digging in on this, um, and I'm not hearing that.

2:44:52So I would that we vote on whether these amendments move us in the right direction or not, and that when this comes back up, presumably in a week, because I believe this is a first reading of a non-emergency ordinance, that we give an up or down vote on whether this is a change to the current code that exists that we like or not.

2:45:17But I'm not sure why we're sending it back to committee if if there's not a real interest in addressing the language to move us toward something that makes our current code better in a way that's different from what we have before us.

2:45:37Thank you, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

2:45:38Councilor Koyama Lane.

2:45:39Thank you, Council President.

2:45:44I do feel that these amendments are moving things Thank you.

2:45:48I think that the amendment is moving things in a bit of a better direction, and I'm trying to separate that from the underlying, also from the idea that maybe some more work needs to be done on this.

2:46:01My thoughts around more work being done on this connect to— and Councilor Novick, you can let me know if this is addressed in any of the amendments, but there is written testimony from Multnomah County Health Department's Public Health Division where they are so they say they're supportive with changes, and they ask for an inclusion of a requirement for annual public reporting on the ordinance's implementation over a 3-year period.

2:46:28Um, is that already addressed in any of the amendments?

2:46:33It isn't.

2:46:35It isn't.

2:46:37Okay, so I am, I am interested in, in that.

2:46:40And then the other one that stood out to me was the one from the Northwest Regional Director for the Asian American Hotel Owners that one's more about engagement, which is important.

2:46:54This Multnomah County Health Department Public Health Division one is one that I think deserves some more, I think, some more conversation.

2:47:05I think that could be an important amendment to add.

2:47:09Can I ask you to restate that again?

2:47:12Remind me what the Health Department said.

2:47:14Said to ensure the ordinance's effectiveness and to guard against potential abuse or unfair use, we respectfully recommend the inclusion of a requirement for annual public reporting on the ordinance's implementation over a 3-year period.

2:47:28This transparent reporting mechanism will monitor implementation and enforcement practices and increase accountability and transparency, allowing the public and policymakers to track the ordinance's impact, monitor for unintended outcomes, assess its equity, and make data-driven adjustments as needed.

2:47:43So I do believe this is very important.

2:47:46Everyone who's come to testify, thank you so much.

2:47:49I do think it's— we want to make sure that we do this right, and this seems like something to consider.

2:47:57And so I could be supportive of spending a little bit more time and being able to work on these amendments.

2:48:03I'm seeing like last-minute amendments come in.

2:48:06I know there's mixed feelings about that.

2:48:09I do support making sure we're getting to as best of a place as possible and doing it well.

2:48:15I'd actually bet that— I think that is an interesting potential amendment.

2:48:21And given the time, I actually would be okay with continuing this to the next council meeting, and we could see if we can work on that amendment and drop it into the package.

2:48:37If this item is continued, I will schedule it with urgency.

2:48:41Thank you.

2:48:42Thank you, Councilor Koyama Lane.

2:48:43Councilor Ryan.

2:48:44Sure.

2:48:44Thank you, Council President.

2:48:47Well, you know, it must be council after dark because we always have these moments, um, when you think something's moving along and then some surprises come at you.

2:48:56Um, I'm not in support of putting this back to the committee.

2:49:00I am good with it going back back to the council.

2:49:03So I hope that it stays in the lane of the council.

2:49:07I really just want to say a couple things.

2:49:09I really appreciate Councilor Novick's solid and comprehensive work.

2:49:13You connected with— you connected the dots with those closest to this issue, um, providing safety for those who understand sex trafficking system.

2:49:23It's very complex.

2:49:25Victims, family members, DA's office, hotels, schools, neighbors, police.

2:49:32And thank you all for being here.

2:49:33Many of you are still here in the audience.

2:49:36I also really want to take a moment, like we all have, to thank you all for the test— those who testified.

2:49:41It was outstanding testimony.

2:49:43You're brave, you're courageous, and you're also fighting for those who don't have a voice.

2:49:49How many times do we have to hear the average age of mostly young women?

2:49:52There's also men, there's also boys.

2:49:55That often gets dismissed.

2:49:58Girls and boys who are on the street that don't have anyone advocating for them.

2:50:04Your lived experiences, your advocacy for children and youth inspired me.

2:50:09It really did capture my heart.

2:50:12I'm confused about some of the pushback that's currently happening.

2:50:17I feel like we got off topic a few times.

2:50:19I want to ask if it's okay when We hear things like the DA does catch and release, like maybe the DA could come back up and explain that as opposed to having that just tossed out there because they're thoughtfully remaining with us in the room.

2:50:34Anyway, I want to end by saying these are really thoughtful amendments.

2:50:37Thank you, Councilor Pertigini and Novick.

2:50:39You could tell you really worked well together to make these even more thoughtful and improve this legislation, which everyone seems to agree they have.

2:50:47So I look forward to supporting those when we ever get to vote on them.

2:50:49Thank you.

2:50:50And I, I would like to hear a response from the DA on that statement because it was a very heavy statement, and I think it's important for transparency in government to allow that.

2:51:02I, I will definitely do that, but we're going to get through this discussion of the motion first.

2:51:09Um, sorry, Councilor.

2:51:10It's okay, as long as we have transparency.

2:51:13Absolutely.

2:51:13Councilor Kanal.

2:51:15Yeah, so first, I repeated a statement from testimony.

2:51:19I want to just be very clear about that.

2:51:21But it's also something that I've heard from many, many of the people who've weighed in on this.

2:51:24And I wish that people had paid attention to the testimony in committee, where I think some of the folks may have given up on our willingness to listen on this after it got referred out.

2:51:35But, you know, it's— that testimony still exists.

2:51:38And I'm grateful that Councilor Koyama Lane referred to the I want to stress that I do not think that all the amendments are improvements.

2:51:47I think a couple of them are.

2:51:49I will, if this fails, I will be dividing out the amendment package.

2:51:52I think it's a rewrite of most of the legislation, and it doesn't make sense to do that here after the ordinance that we referred out was not the same as what it would be if these amendments all passed, right?

2:52:06The committee referred out something that is very different from what will be heard in the later parts of this consideration because of the amendments that were made.

2:52:12Councilor Smith.

2:52:15And I think that's not exactly fair.

2:52:18But it's also broadly that in committee is where you can do the changing of direction.

2:52:23I think that's the better place to do it.

2:52:25I was asked by Councilor Novick if I wanted to put up amendments to it.

2:52:28I drafted one.

2:52:29I pre-filed it to get rid of the 200-foot requirement because I think it's ludicrous to have guilt by association.

2:52:35And again, that's not in the ordinance or the amendments today.

2:52:40It's in the original code that is being altered in the first place.

2:52:42Councilor Novick, place.

2:52:43But fundamentally, the purpose of this is to help make a law that is not currently being used, which is why I'm not focused on changing it— help take a law that's not currently being used and provide as much discretion as possible to try and use it to go after business owners, not traffickers, business owners, for things that might happen 199 feet away from their and, you know, when we have someone who comes up and testifies about it, and then they're accosted after they testify in opposition, that's a problem, right?

2:53:21For being a business owner.

2:53:22And I have a colleague who asked my motivation, who's also talked about how one of the most marginalized groups in Portland is business owners.

2:53:31And I think that's a fair point to raise.

2:53:33And it is.

2:53:34Yes.

2:53:34And so if, if there's going to be a change in direction, I, I don't think it's fair for me to say I'm going to offer this small amendment and then it's a total change in direction.

2:53:43So that's why I haven't done that.

2:53:44But I think it's fair to say if we want to have a change in direction, we should go back to committee and do it.

2:53:49So that's, that's my underlying interest here.

2:53:52I can debate the individual ones.

2:53:54If this motion fails, I'm happy to do that.

2:53:55I'll be— I'll just divide them and, and go one by one because some of them are very good.

2:54:00I, I particularly, I tend to support more of the ones I like the ones from Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

2:54:04I also like a significant part of Novick 5, but there's other ones in here that I think are pretty problematic.

2:54:10And we've had this conversation before, and I was hoping to have a conversation on the underlying before amendments were limiting what we could talk about, because we— not knowing the direction the council helps— knowing the direction the council would help me understand whether we're trying— what the purpose is of amending something to make it better when it's just not good in your— in my personal opinion.

2:54:35So that's, that's what I was trying to get to.

2:54:37But because the amendment was allowed to be moved before, we've been stuck in this.

2:54:40So anyway, that's the, that's the rationale here.

2:54:43I would love to have consideration of it.

2:54:45If I wanted to kill this just completely off and say this isn't a real thing, it's not important, I wouldn't be proposing to refer it back to committee.

2:54:51I'd be proposing to postpone it indefinitely.

2:54:54But because I do think there is merit to talking about this actual problem and addressing it in a way that addresses it, um, and doesn't go after a different situation.

2:55:05Because I do think there are plenty of tools that— and I'd love to ask when the ADA comes up, what other tools exist when there is a single property that is the nexus of so much of this?

2:55:14I'll just put that into the ether.

2:55:16But that's my rationale for the motion.

2:55:20Thank you.

2:55:21Thank you, Councilor Kanal.

2:55:22Councilor Murillo.

2:55:23Oh, I'm sorry, briefly, colleagues, I will remind you there is still another item after this, and if we do not start the item by 9 o'clock, we must move that to the next agenda.

2:55:32And that's in 10 minutes.

2:55:33So we are probably gonna be moving it to the next agenda.

2:55:36Councilor Maria.

2:55:37Thank you.

2:55:39I just wanna say I have had to make the very tough choice of sending an ordinance back to committee when I was very certain, like fairly certain that based on the discussion at the dais that I had the vote but my algorithmic price-fixing ordinance, I realized that day that there was a legal issue that made the policy not as strong as it should have been to serve Portlanders.

2:56:04And even though it could have been an easy win that day, I made the choice to refer my policy back to committee for the good of the public.

2:56:12So it wasn't a cheap win.

2:56:15It did eventually pass, but I had to send it back to committee to fix the things that were wrong.

2:56:19Councilmember Herbold.

2:56:20And then it did come back to council and it passed, and I think it will do good.

2:56:25So when I say that I think this needs more discussion, I don't say that lightly, and I don't say that as someone who— I've worked on a policy for months that I'm profoundly passionate about and had to make that tough choice.

2:56:39I think the issue here is that I don't just have issues with the amendments and not just with the but with the whole underlying code.

2:56:47I think that's correct.

2:56:48But if we're going to revisit the law, then we should do it thoroughly and we should do it right.

2:56:54It doesn't make sense for us to piecemeal this and to not do it, to not address all of the impacts that this could have on communities of color, on businesses that are not actually causing harm directly.

2:57:08And this is exactly what we're talking about here.

2:57:11This is the purpose of committee.

2:57:13Yes.

2:57:13Which is to make sure that we are fleshing out those conversations and addressing them.

2:57:21There are a lot of people that we have heard from, mostly in written testimony and to our offices, who are also experts on human trafficking, who have studied this issue extensively.

2:57:33And the committee, we discussed some of these things, but there were also, frankly, a lot of amendments that came out after committee, which means that we didn't have time to process them.

2:57:45And that's okay.

2:57:46I'm totally someone who has brought amendments last minute as well.

2:57:49But when you have about 6 amendments to process to code for code change, that is, uh, that is a very substantial, I would say.

2:57:57And I have been chided before and told that if I'm making substantial changes to a policy, that it needs to go back to committee to be processed.

2:58:06So So what I'm hearing is, frankly, a lot of vibes-based policymaking around the 3 versus 2.

2:58:13There is no evidentiary basis for some of these adjustments that we're making.

2:58:18We don't have analysis of these chronic nuisance cases that show what the right numbers are and why we are making those adjustments, other than we think it might have this impact, maybe.

2:58:30This is a good policy.

2:58:31It is an important policy, and it deserves Councilor Smith.

2:58:34Thank you, Mayor.

2:58:35I think that this deserves due diligence.

2:58:37And so, again, I say this truly as someone who understands the position that it is to send a policy that you care about, that you've worked on really hard, back to committee.

2:58:46But I think that that is the right choice because there's just too much to process with this policy.

2:58:50There's too much drafting, and the amendments don't cut it either.

2:58:53But if it does come to that, I agree with Councilor Kanal.

2:58:56I would also approve to divide the question on each amendment.

2:59:02Thank you, Councilor Murillo.

2:59:08Councilor Novick.

2:59:10First of all, thank you, Mr. President.

2:59:13Councilor Knoll and Councilor Murillo were on the committee.

2:59:15I do not recall them saying that they had a list of amendments they'd want to make, except Councilor Knoll had one to amend the underlying ordinance to eliminate the within 200 feet and have it just be on the property.

2:59:26So it was not like they offered a bunch of amendments that were voted down.

2:59:30So I don't see why they think that we would benefit from further discussion in committee.

2:59:35As the amendments we're talking about today, they're pretty straightforward.

2:59:39They're not hard to understand.

2:59:41One of them is instead of 2 and 90 days, 3 and 90 days.

2:59:45That softens the proposal a bit.

2:59:49The others are instead— Councilor Pirtle-Guiney is proposing that okay.

2:59:53Whereas the current law says that you can serve the person in charge by first-class mail, she wants there to be personal delivery to the property.

3:00:07That is not a very complex proposal.

3:00:10The other— another proposal is currently under the existing law, you can base the determination of whether something is a nuisance property is based on a police report.

3:00:23And Councilor Pirtle-Guiney and I decided that a police report— it should be that it should specify what the police report might say.

3:00:31This is not like— we don't have a whole bunch of like big, long, complicated things.

3:00:37They're pretty simple things.

3:00:38And I do think that my colleagues do simply want to delay.

3:00:42I don't think they see any reason to think that sending this back to committee would make any difference.

3:00:46Thank you.

3:00:47They don't like the underlying law.

3:00:48They don't like the proposal.

3:00:50That's not going to change.

3:00:53Thank you, Councilor Novick.

3:00:55Councilor Avalos.

3:00:57I think what we're saying is that there is plenty of written testimony, testimony from community, emails we are all receiving from constituents, our own experiences.

3:01:05That is what we were saying is the reason it needs to go back to committee.

3:01:09So, uh, there's your answer.

3:01:14Thank you, Councilor Avalos.

3:01:17Colleagues, seeing no one else in the queue, uh, Keelan, can we please call a roll on the motion to refer back to committee?

3:01:32So yes, a yes vote is to send the, uh, item back to committee.

3:01:39Avalos?

3:01:40Aye.

3:01:41Smith?

3:01:42Absent.

3:01:44Kanal?

3:01:44Aye.

3:01:46Pirtle-Guiney?

3:01:48No.

3:01:50Ryan?

3:01:50No.

3:01:52Koyama Lane?

3:01:52No.

3:01:54Murillo?

3:01:55Aye.

3:01:56Novick?

3:01:58No.

3:01:58Clark?

3:01:59No.

3:02:00Green?

3:02:02Aye.

3:02:11Councilor Zimmerman.

3:02:13He's gone.

3:02:15I don't see him online.