PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN) — City leaders can now begin implementing a plan to improve circumstances for Portland’s small businesses.
With a 9-3 vote on Wednesday, Portland City Council approved the report for the Storefront Support Program. The program, introduced by District 2 Councilor Dan Ryan last fall, aims to “retain, reinvigorate and reinvest” in the local business community, as some entrepreneurs continue to cite livability issues.
“We can’t ignore that small businesses don’t just need clean sidewalks and increased funding for broken window repair, they also increasingly ask for police presence and public safety response,” Ryan told councilors. “Our businesses will continue to pack up and we need to give them reasons to stay and operate in our city, as we all know this is the Portland that we want to live in: sidewalks that are robust and full with joyful people engaging with our storefronts, not staring at ‘for-lease’ signs.”…