What is Portland deciding about support modification of Bureau of Transportation street opening permits to utilities to include damage cost recovery related to…

WHEREAS,the City of Portland holds its public streets and rights-of-way in trust for the benefit of the public and has invested substantial public funds in constructing, maintaining, and preserving its pavement infrastructure; andWHEREAS, Portland City Code Chapter 17.24 requires any person performing excavation within a public street to obtain a Street Opening Permit pursuant to PCC 17.24.020, and authorizes the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to establish permit fees and related requirements; andWHEREAS,PBOT Administrative Rule TRN-10.19 governs Utility Permits in the Right-of-Way and requires that any person desiring to make a public improvement, perform work in, or use the public right-of-way must first obtain a permit from the City Engineer; andWHEREAS, over the last three years, more than 53 miles of utility trenching, representing approximately 1,400 blocks of excavation, have occurred within Portland's public streets; andWHEREAS, excavation and trenching within the paved portion of the right-of-way disrupt pavement structure, weaken adjacent pavement edges, allow water intrusion, and accelerate cracking, settlement, and deterioration of the pavement area beyond the immediate trench boundaries; andWHEREAS, industry research and pavement management data demonstrate that trenching can reduce pavement service life at least 60% percent; andWHEREAS, maintaining good pavement condition through timely preservation treatments is significantly more cost-effective than allowing pavement to deteriorate to the point where full reconstruction is required; andWHEREAS, under current City practice, the existing restoration standards completed by utilities and other permittees do not address the structural damage caused by utility trenching; andWHEREAS, existing Street Opening Permit fees recover administrative and inspection costs associated with processing permits and overseeing restoration activities, but do not recover the City's proportional costs associated with long-term pavement life loss and accelerated deterioration caused by excavation activity; andWHEREAS, the City would benefit if utilities coordinated with each other or with PBOT to minimize the number of street openings or to construct openings on streets planned for paving improvements; andWHEREAS, Portland City Code Section 12.15.020 recognizes that frequent excavation is a primary cause of early and excessive deterioration of the right-of-way and the City's regulatory authority to protect the structural integrity of its streets; andWHEREAS, other city jurisdictions, including the City of Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco in California and Seattle, Washington, have established damage fees to capture the costs of the deterioration caused by excavation. These cities' fees range from $7 to $22.50 per square foot. The City of Los Angeles has the most mature model and uses an average fee of $13.84 per square foot; andWHEREAS, Portland City Code Section 12.15.050 provides that regulatory fees and compensation for use of the right-of-way are separate from and in addition to other City charges and are not taxes subject to the property tax limitations of Article XI, Sections 11 and 11b of the Oregon Constitution, and are not imposed on property or property owners; andWHEREAS, on July 16, 2025, the Council adopted Resolution 37712 directing the Public Works Service Area and Budget and Finance Service Area to develop a comprehensive strategy to identify and evaluate viable alternative funding sources to help address transportation funding needs; andWHEREAS, on December 15, 2025, the Public Works Service Area and Budget and Finance Service Area presented an Alternative Transportation Funding Report, reviewing possible funding approaches, to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The report presented a narrowed list of four revenue options for further vetting, including a proposal to assess a damage fee to the current utility street opening permitting process; andWHEREAS, on January 26, 2026, PBOT presented several damage fee scenarios, modeling the fee structure from the City of Los Angeles damage fee model, along with other revenue approaches and a public engagement plan, to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Based on feedback from the committee, staff presented the damage fee scenarios to the public to obtain additional feedback; andWHEREAS, PBOT documented public support for adopting a damage fee through open houses held at each of the four Council Districts, as well as an online survey; andWHEREAS, the Council finds that it is reasonable and proportional to recover the long-term pavement degradation costs attributable to excavation from those entities performing street cuts; andWHEREAS, revenue collected from a Street Damage Restoration Fee will be directed to pavement management, preservation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, as well as the administration, coordination, and enforcement of the utility permitting and restoration.NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that City Council supports and affirms the City Administrator's authority under PCC 17.24.020 and related administrative rules to modify Administrative Rule TRN-10.19, Utility Permits in the Right-of-Way, to include a Street Damage Restoration Fee reflecting a proportional share of documented long-term pavement degradation costs associated with excavation in the public right-of-way; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council supports the City Administrator encouraging city and non-city utilities to coordinate with each other and with PBOT paving improvements to maximize the life of the City of Portland's pavement assets; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council supports the City Administrator investing revenue collected from a Street Damage Restoration Fee into pavement management, preservation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, as well as the administration, coordination and enforcement of the utility permitting and restoration; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council supports the City Administrator's intent to include a Street Damage Restoration Fee at the 100% damage recovery amount as part of the Transportation Fee Schedule, as shown in Exhibit A attached to this Resolution and implement this fee by January 1, 2027. Exhibit A includes rates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council requests that PBOT provide an annual report on the Street Damage Restoration Fee that includes the following:A. A report on revenues collected and expenditures made; andB. An evaluation of whether the fee remains proportional to documented pavement degradation costs; andC. Any recommended adjustments to the fee methodology or administrative rules to ensure continued proportionality and legal compliance.