Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Foreclosure Actions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council advances several foreclosure initiations, refers four cases back to mayor's office for ongoing negotiations
Summary
Council considered a set of foreclosure-initiating ordinances; four properties were referred back to the mayor's office after negotiations were reported to be ongoing, and four others were moved to second reading for further council action.
Portland City Council on Sept. 24 considered a set of ordinance items to initiate foreclosure actions on multiple properties to collect delinquent city liens. The items were presented together; council staff and foreclosure-prevention staff provided an overview of process, redemption rights and community impact.
Christopher Hare, council operations policy analyst and staff to the finance committee, summarized that the full impact statements included budgetary and community impacts and that no verbal or written testimony had been provided prior to committee action. Kevin Foster, the city’s foreclosure prevention manager in the revenue division, and Mike Liefeld of the Property Compliance Division described the code-enforcement and lien process: inspections and notice from Portland Permitting and Development, attempts to secure compliance, lien placement, abatements or city-contracted rectification when property owners do not respond, and legal steps for foreclosure and title notification.
Councilors noted the remediation goal is prevention of long-standing nuisance properties and that foreclosure is a last resort. The council moved several items to second reading and referred others back to the mayor’s office because staff reported negotiations or payment plans were underway.
Disposition from the council meeting record: - Items referred back to the mayor’s office (not advanced at this time): agenda items 11 (1140 SE 130th Ave), 13 (1810 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd), 14 (1822 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd) and 17 (8315 N Wayland Ave). Council staff indicated negotiations and payment arrangements were in progress for those properties. - Items moved to second reading for further council consideration: agenda items 10 (initiate foreclosure on 1541 West of Interstate SW Market St), 12 (1541 SW Market St — separate parcel), 15 (3821 NW St. Helens Rd) and 16 (5130 SE 804th Ave). Council said these items would return for a subsequent reading and vote.
Staff reiterated owners or interested parties retain a redemption right by paying the full redemption amount to the city treasurer within the statutory redemption period described in the municipal administrative procedures (staff cited a 90-day redemption window from the foreclosure sale date in committee materials). Foster noted foreclosure prevention staff and permitting staff continue outreach where possible.
Councilors asked operational questions about the process timeline, estate properties and the differences among parcels that share an address but are distinct legal parcels. Staff explained the two Market Street parcels were separate legal parcels with similar ownership and that the designation “WI” in the committee paperwork reflected a plat description rather than the property spanning an interstate.
The council’s action on these items was procedural: moving selected items to a later reading and referring certain cases back to the mayor’s office to allow ongoing negotiations to continue before the council takes further action.
