Restore Oregon supports the Historic Resources Code Project.
We need your voice to ensure that Portland’s older properties and historic districts reflect an equitable and full understanding of the past, preserve affordable housing and contribute to improving lives for Portlanders.
Learn More
Read the following online resources for background information:
Read the City of Portland’s information about the Historic Resources Code Project (HRCP), including the Recommended Draft, background for the process, and how to participate.
Read Blog post by Fred Leeson’s “Building with History”
Visit Portland Tomorrow, a resource for details, talking points and action from various community members who’ve tracked HRCP all these years
How to Participate
We need your testimony of support. Portland's City Council's public hearing on the project is Wed, Nov 3, 2021.
Provide Oral Testimony
- Testimony will take place live from 2-5pm on Wednesday, November 3rd over Zoom.
- Typically, you can provide 2 minutes of testimony as to why these amendments matter to you and your community.
- City Staff and Commissioners rarely ask questions to those who are testifying - but even if they do and you don’t feel confident, you’re always able to say you aren’t able to answer a question.
- Not sure what to say? Check out our suggested talking points or ways to think and present the importance of preservation in Portland (below)!
Provide Written Testimony
- Written testimony can be as long or as short as you like.
- Not sure what to say? Check out our talking points below - or you could just simply say “I am writing to support the HRCP Recommended Draft and Restore Oregon’s suggestions/amendments.”
What to Say
I want Portland to cherish the benefits of saving diverse historic places for all!
Consider putting these points into your own words for testimony or letters of support:
Share the many ways that Portland’s historic places and neighborhoods matter to you personally – for example: they connect to your cultural heritage; create a sense of place; support jobs and small business; impact livability, reuse reduces our carbon footprint, etc.
Pass the recommended draft of HRCP with no further weakening of its provisions.
Align Portland’s preservation policy with Oregon’s Goal 5 Land use rules.
Historic resources are a vibrant part of the solution to our most pressing challenges.
Let’s all work together on:
Racial Equity - let’s push to recognize, celebrate and protect a wider variety of places and spaces that reflect the diverse communities of Portland.
Climate Action - let’s preserve and reuse existing older neighborhoods all over Portland to reduce our carbon footprint. The embodied carbon of our existing buildings is an underutilized resource. Re-use is Climate Action!
Housing Affordability and Anti-displacement - let’s continue to encourage the City toward a more equitable model for funding historic preservation efforts for all older housing, regardless of designation.
Cultural Heritage - let’s tell the full and complete story of the people and places of Portland.
Our Testimony
Restore Oregon's submitted testimony to Portland City Council.