Portland council committee hears presentations and broad public support for parks levy renewal, questions about levy size and maintenance funding

The Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee met Thursday to discuss referring a parks levy to the November ballot, hear a national perspective from the Trust for Public Land and receive public testimony from community organizations, labor and residents urging renewal and clearer promises about maintenance funding.

The committee heard that Portland ranks highly for park access but spends less per resident than comparable West Coast cities, that private nonprofit financial support for parks in Portland is low, and that some speakers want a larger, clearer levy that dedicates money to capital maintenance as well as operations and partnerships.

Pegine Hanrahan, of the Trust for Public Land, told the committee, “People care very deeply about their parks,” and placed Portland “among America’s great cities” for park access. Will Cline, also with Trust for Public Land, said volunteer labor in Portland translates to roughly 7% of overall park spending but that financial contributions from…