Baker City Downtown earns state Main Street designation; council working group to study Main Street lane reduction

Baker City Downtown reported to the Baker City Council on April 22 that the organization has reached the designated Main Street level in the Oregon Main Street (OMS) network and will begin quarterly reporting to the council.

The downtown coordinator said, "I submitted our reports to the city council, and this is something new that we'll be doing quarterly." The coordinator also circulated the organization's 2024 annual report and a quarterly newsletter to council members.

The report noted an endorsement from the state review committee. Sherry Stewart, state coordinator for the OMS network, wrote that "the review committee met and wholeheartedly endorsed accepting Baker City Downtown at the designated main street level of the OMS network. In fact, BCD is the only community to receive this designation this year. The committee noted that BCD is especially strong in historic preservation, which they found impressive, and they appreciated the robust calendar of events." The coordinator said the recognition highlighted the downtown program's emphasis on historic preservation and events programming.

Council members and downtown leaders discussed the downtown district boundary and the limitations it imposes for program activities and grant eligibility. The coordinator said the state-approved downtown district map must remain the primary focus of the OMS work and acknowledged the city's district covers more than 40 blocks, saying the community is "one of the largest downtowns in the entire program." The coordinator said staff would continue collaborative efforts outside the district where projects qualify and where grants support historic-preservation goals.

The council also reported on a working group formed to study a potential lane reduction on Main Street. Council members said the group met April 14 and collected perspectives from business owners, building owners and residents. The next steps are two targeted surveys: one to Main Street business and building owners and another tailored public survey. Ariel volunteered to assemble the survey, and the council said the questionnaires will merge the working group's pros and cons to guide follow-up research.

Councilors said they will research other downtowns that have implemented lane reductions or parking changes to gather evidence of outcomes and best practices. No council action or ordinance was taken on the lane-reduction idea at this meeting; the item remains in the study phase and will return with survey results and further analysis.

For context: Baker City Downtown will provide quarterly reports to council and the state OMS network; staff asked councilors what additional data they would like included in future reports, noting that some indicators must be gathered by local observation because the city lacks a formal business-license dataset.