Mayor Charlie Hales tried to enact a $25,000 "demolition tax," that failed in the face of community pressure (he settled for a "deconstruction" requirement that makes it more expensive and time-consuming to raze old buildings). There are groups that rail tirelessly against demolitions all around town, fearing the loss of a hard-to-pin-down "character" they say is becoming endangered. There are controversial loopholes in city code that many say make it too easy to demolish buildings that might have actual historical significance (though that's probably about to change).
And yet, Portland is growing, and needs to accommodate greater density and new housing options. Combine that fact with the rapidly rising value of land here, and you've got a recipe for more demolitions. According to the Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS), applications for demolitions of single-family homes or duplexes has risen every year since 2009. That makes sense, since 2009 involved a dire recession. But demolition applications in recent years have also eclipsed pre-recession levels. There were 358 such applications last year, compared to 278 in 2006.
All of which is a long way of introducing the fact that BDS is testing out a useful new tool for tracking home demolition permits in town. The bureau's taken to mapping out all applications by year, color coding them by status ("under review," "issued," or "finaled"), and even providing a link to the property's listing on PortlandMaps.com.
I haven't played with it too much yet, and BDS is only just getting it going.
"We are doing a soft roll-out (internal announcement only) for now while we vet it some," says BDS spokesperson Ross Caron.
Anyway, have at it.
