News in the CorridorAugust 2005
14th Annual CCA Golf Scramble
sponsored by
New Date! New Course! New Fun!
September 19th is coming up fast. Call Marissa for player reservations and sponsor opportunities—503.287.8686. This is our first year at Riverside Golf & Country Club and we expect our best event ever. Sign Up Now!
Spread the word to your clients or suppliers that might enter a team! If they are really important to your business success, you might even consider investing in their tournament entry fee.
Send a friendly challenge to a competitor or neighbor business inviting them to a head-to head, winner-take-all competition between their team and yours! Development, real estate, utilities, banking and others all lend themselves to this option. Let us know and we might even be able to provide a perpetual trophy for the winner to display this year and the loser to try to win next year.
Contact an individual or two who would like to join in 18 holes at Riverside! We'll match them up with others to form a team.
We know you are in for a tournament unlike any that CCA has put on before. Thanks for helping share it with as many as possible. We're grateful for your support!
City of Portland Studies a Corridor District Plan
With the goal of bringing a variety of land use regulations under one umbrella, the City of Portland is studying the possibility of a Columbia Corridor District Plan. The City's River Renaissance Plan, adopted by the City Council in November 2004, anticipated a new approach to balancing industrial development and natural resource preservation in the Corridor. It called for a "scoping process", a series of interviews with stakeholders, to learn if a new approach is needed and, if so, what that approach might look like and what it would accomplish.
Given the uniqueness of the Columbia Corridor's status as an Industrial Sanctuary and urban watershed with natural resources worth protecting and enhancing, all recognize it is important to have existing regulations mesh in a way that is easy to follow and implement for new development. More…
ConnectOregon and Federal Funds are Coming to Town
Gov. Kulongoski is expected to sign the ConnectOregon bill sometime in the next month. The program is a $100 million lottery bond-funded measure intended to fund infrastructure projects that aren't otherwise eligible for highway funds, but that are critical to meeting the state's intermodal freight needs. More…
New FEMA Maps for the Columbia Corridor Lead to Cost Savings
Those developing property in the managed floodplain of the Columbia Corridor should review closely the new FEMA maps adopted by the City of Portland in November of 2004. Included in these maps is a new "X" zone (500-year flood plain) in which balanced cut and fill requirements are exempted because the USACOE and FEMA have determined development in the this zone will have no impact on 100-year flood storage.
This could provide significant savings if a development's location is within the "X" zone where mitigation for fill is not required. For more information, contact Dave Hendricks at the Multnomah County Drainage District (503-281-5675), or Doug Morgan at the City of Portland's Bureau of Buildings (503-823-5824).
Think Local First Picks Up Steam
The Sustainable Business Network of Oregon has launched a new campaign that seeks to boost local businesses by encouraging everyone to do business locally. Columbia Corridor businesses may be interested in participating in the awareness campaign by visiting the Think Local First website and signing up for the program. There are over 200 participants to date, including Powell’s Books, Rejuvenation Inc., New Seasons Market and Albina Bank.
Encouraging the consideration of local businesses is good for the Corridor, as every dollar spent locally multiplies and helps the local economy grow.
Other benefits include advertising opportunities, group rates in local papers and spotlights on Think Local First events. Your participation will help local businesses thrive. Please see Think Local First’s webpage at ThinkLocalPortland.org to learn more, sign up and receive a Merchant’s package.
Portland Begins Online Payment Options
The Bureau of Licenses has announced new online City Business License fee and Multnomah County Business Income tax payment options. In an ongoing effort to assist business owners, the Bureau of Licenses implemented the online file/payment system to add more payment flexibility for our customers.
The online filing/payment option is only available at this time to make quarterly payments and file extension requests (including extension requests where no payment is due), however, the bureau plans to offer online transactions in other forms in the near future.
To file or pay online visit: http://www.portlandonline.com/licenses
The 2005 Oregon Legislative session did not go down in history as one of the most productive. Nevertheless, there were some notable successes you might be interested in. Take a look at the short list from the Oregon Business Plan website. You might also want to view their scorecard at oregonbusinessplan.org. More…
August 30: Breakfast Tour of WorkSource Oregon
September 9: Lunch with Dan Saltzman
Our 14th Annual Golf Tournament
Sponsored by Jubitz at The Riverside Golf and Country Club on Monday, September19.
New Date! New Course! New Fun!
We still have sponsorship opportunities and we still have room for 30 more golfers. Many thanks to our sponsors--the response has been fantastic.
September 28: Breakfast Forum on the New Cascade Station
Recent Breakfast Forum on Business Incentives Programs
A four-person panel discussed a wide variety of incentive programs available to businesses that are trying to expand, improve manufacturing efficiency, decrease energy use, etc. The panel included:
Tom Briggs, Oregon Economic and Community Development Department
Pat Murphy, Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership and NWHPEC
Rashid Ahmed, Portland Development Commission
Bill Nesmith, Oregon Department of Energy and EnergyTrust of Oregon
If you would like to see what you missed, we have a dvd of the forum available. For a copy, contact Marissa at 503.287.8686.
A 501(c)6 Non-Profit Organization
PO Box 55651
Portland, OR 97238
503.287.8686
