Portland planning board reviews proposed 750-foot buffer for large theaters after Live Nation venue application draws debate

The Portland Planning Board on Tuesday reviewed a staff-drafted text amendment that would redefine theaters by size and require a minimum 750-foot separation between large theaters and performance halls in the B-3 downtown business zone and the Waterfront Central Zone.

City staff said the proposal would split the existing single definition of theaters into two categories — small venues under 1,000 occupants and large venues at 1,000 occupants or more — and add supplemental use standards in proposed section 6.4.4.2 that create the 750-foot spacing requirement. Staff emphasized that the board’s role at the workshop is advisory: the board will recommend a course of action to City Council, which has final authority.

"We received a major application for a new music venue next door here at City Hall — a 3,300-capacity music venue proposed by Live Nation" and "the ordinance requires those types of venues to dedicate a certain percentage of ticket sales to a fund that would help support digital artists," staff said in the presentation, summarizing the application history, the 2007 100-foot buffer adopted after a mayor’s nightlife task force, and the council moratorium and subsequent sector-benefit ordinance.

The staff…