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Council approves emergency five-year East Portland lease to house community safety programs
Summary
The Portland City Council on July 22 approved an emergency ordinance authorizing a five-year lease for community safety programs in East Portland (Doc. 2026-236). Councilors pressed staff on costs and tenant improvements; the measure passed 11–1.
The Portland City Council voted July 22 to authorize a five-year lease for the Community Safety Division’s Eastside office to house the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), Ceasefire and Portland Street Response programs, allowing relocation by Sept. 1, 2026. The emergency ordinance (document 2026-236) passed 11–1.
Christopher Hare, council operations policy analyst, told the council the lease with the Multnomah Plaza landlord was recommended by the City Life committee and that fiscal and performance responsibilities will be assigned to the Bureau of Fleet & Facilities. Hare said the emergency clause allows the lease to take effect immediately to avoid a lapse when OVP’s current lease expires.
Rick Dyer, real estate planning and portfolio manager for the Bureau of Fleet & Facilities, told councilors the quoted gross rental rate is $27 per rentable square foot and that staff built a cost cushion because the client requested optional storage and potential washer/dryer facilities. “The reason the numbers don't quite add up is because we built a cushion in,” Dyer said, adding the landlord will self-perform many tenant improvements at no charge and did not provide a dollar value for those improvements.
Councilors pressed for clarity on cost allocation and the value of tenant improvements. Councilor Green asked whether utilities were included in the $27 rate; staff said utilities could increase by up to $3,500 annually and that the lease structure blends some internal and external service costs. Director Stephanie Howard said the new lease does not increase costs for OVP or the ceasefire program and that Portland Street Response’s planned expansion makes an East Portland location important for response times and community engagement.
Councilor Zimmerman, who was the sole committee-level no vote and reiterated his position at the dais, said he supports prioritizing use of city-owned property before turning to the private market and said he would vote no today. Despite that objection, the ordinance passed with an 11–1 vote, and council staff said the city will prepare necessary budget documents and execute the lease so programs can relocate by Sept. 1.
The measure directs the city administrator or designee to prepare budget documents to fulfill obligations under the lease and assigns primary fiscal responsibility to the Bureau of Fleet & Facilities. Staff did not provide a monetary estimate for the landlord-paid tenant improvements during the meeting; councilors requested that value be added to the public record.
The council approved the lease at the July 22 meeting and moved to the next agenda items.
