Council approves $150,000 police settlement, initiates four foreclosures and adopts plaza resolution

PORTLAND — Portland City Council on Oct. 1 closed out several council-level actions including a police settlement, multiple foreclosure initiations and a plaza resolution intended to create a permanent street-plaza program.

Key decisions taken by the full council during the meeting included:

- Settlement: The council approved an emergency ordinance to pay $150,000 to resolve bodily injury claims by Hillary Rosio and Colleen McDonald arising from a Portland Police Bureau vehicle maneuver. The ordinance passed on a roll-call vote (11–0).

- Foreclosures: The council approved four ordinances to initiate foreclosure actions to collect delinquent city liens on separate properties; each ordinance passed on second reading with an 11–0 vote.

- Public street plaza framework: Council adopted a resolution to establish a permanent public street plaza program and directed PBOT to adopt administrative rules and fees for plaza use; the resolution passed in committee and was adopted with a 7–0 vote in council (first reading for related ordinances was referred to a subsequent meeting).

- Appointments: The council reappointed members to two advisory bodies — reappointments to the River Community Advisory Committee and to the Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners — by unanimous consent of the commissioners present (7–0 votes recorded for report acceptance in the meeting context).

Several items (including PBOT property acquisitions and other ordinances) were heard at first reading and will return to council for final votes at a subsequent meeting.

Why it matters: The settlement follows public testimony and committee briefings the council had received. The foreclosure ordinances are routine steps the city takes when property owners do not resolve municipal liens. The plaza resolution is a policy move to standardize city processes for closing and using streets as public plazas and to align agency work on placemaking.

Votes at a glance: - Item 7 (settlement of Hillary Rosio and Colleen McDonald): outcome — approved; tally — 11 aye, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion text — “Pay settlement of Hillary Rosio and Colleen McDonald bodily injury lawsuit in the sum of $150,000 involving the Portland Police Bureau”; mover/second — not specified in roll-call reading; legal threshold — met. - Item 8–11 (initiate foreclosure actions on multiple addresses): outcomes — approved; tally — 11 aye each; motions — begin foreclosure to collect delinquent city liens on specified properties (addresses read into the record); mover/second — not specified in roll-call reading. - Item 17 (adopt public street plaza program framework — resolution): outcome — adopted; tally — 7 aye, 0 no, 0 absent (first reading and referral for accompanying ordinances); motion text — adopt framework and direct PBOT to adopt rules and implement program. - Item 5 and Item 6 (reappointments to River Community Advisory Committee and Prosper Portland board): outcomes — accepted (reports) with roll-call tallies of 7 aye as recorded for the consent/report items.

What councilors said: Several councilors used the meeting record and the roll-call votes to press for follow-up policy work: for the police settlement some members urged examination of operational practices to reduce future claims; for foreclosures and property work councilors asked for confirmation that owners had been notified and offered remediation options; and on plazas several members asked staff to prioritize outreach to underserved parts of the city.

Next steps: Several first-reading ordinances were sent to second reading at a later meeting. Staff were asked to return with reports, and the public street plaza ordinances on lighting and fee schedules will return for final votes at a subsequent meeting.