"Any conditions they set, they'll have to have a legal right to do so," he tells the Mercury. "We have legal representation through the ACLU that is helping us make sure."

The city can legally regulate music volume and the closure of public streets.

I don't think enforcing laws which already exist really qualify as "reforms." Collecting fees for an event that costs the city money and knowing the most basic information about the vendors making money on said event seems like a baseline for a street fare which is already permitted to run afoul of city regulations.

The notion that there's some city hall jackboot stomping the life out of an event that would be in no way substantively harmed by reasonable rule enforcement, which every other event in the city seems able to function under without issue, is an odd one, even for Portland.

The Art of Entitlement

The police doing the job that they exist for at a public event should not be considered a cost of the event itself. It's their job. That's like charging the victim of a fire for the fire department to come to their house (except it's a generally well behaved, enjoyable experience).
Besides, it's events like Last Thursday that have made Portland the growing, attractive place that it is. If anything, the city should be paying the organizers who are helping bring this prosperity to town, which happens to support other businesses and new residents that can now pay higher taxes, and employ local police, and the local government elect.

The city's rational is literally backwards. Last Thursday is going to happen whether city officials that have nothing to do with it want it to or not. Again, they should be paying the people willing to undertake organizing that kind of event.

jesiah: If you light your house on fire on the same day at the same time every month for four months, you will absolutely be charged for the services rendered. You'll also spend some time in jail.