Overnight shelters help more people| 50th year of community gardens

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City of Portland Newsletter | November 19, 2025

Waterfront artwork by Native American artists

Traveling With Our Ancestors is the title of a new art installation in Tom McCall Waterfront Park near the Hawthorne Bridge. Designed by two artists and enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, these works celebrate living Indigenous cultural activities and highlight historic canoes that are still used today.

“Being in the canoe is where I feel most connected to my ancestors, my people, and the water.” said artist Zoey Holsclaw. “It centers me and feeds my spirit.”  

This project was supported by the City of Portland’s Office of Arts & Culture, the Portland Monuments Project, Mellon Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, and Lewis & Clark College.

In this issue

Beyond the headlines

Leslie Pohl-Kosbau helped start the community gardens program

50 years of seeds and stories

Since 1975, Portland Community Gardens have grown from three sites to an astonishing 61. Founder Leslie Pohl-Kosbau looks back on year-round plots, the gardeners who shaped them, and a city still growing together.

 

 

A grinning child smiles behind big sunflowers and tomato

Leslie Pohl-Kosbau stands at the entrance of Fulton Community Gardens. She breathes in the scent of ripe tomato plants while watching a hummingbird dart around a bed of flowers. She’s been coming to this grid of garden plots for 50 years. It is quiet in the way gardens are quiet. Not silent, but settled. Leslie doesn’t describe what started here as something she built. She describes it as something that grew naturally, something neighbors nurtured and the land welcomed.

In 1974, Portland Parks & Recreation hired Leslie as one of its first female gardeners. About a year into the role, her supervisor asked if she could turn a loose collection of garden plots into something real. People were planting vegetables in unused corners and along empty park edges with informal permission.

Leslie got to work. There was no budget. No staff. No irrigation. Leslie tilled the soil herself those first few seasons. She borrowed irrigation parts, ran waterlines and hauled tools from site to site. Neighborhood associations spread the word. Volunteers showed up with rakes, shovels, hoses, buckets, and lots of enthusiasm.

“People wanted this,” she said. “They were already there. We just listened.”

Read more about Leslie and Portland Community Gardens: 50 Years of Seeds and Stories

News

Urban Forest Plan horizontal kids smiling at a tree planting

City Council Adopts Plan for Portland’s Urban Forest

Last month City Council voted unanimously to adopt a long-term roadmap to equitably preserve, plant, and care for trees for our children, grandchildren, and future generations to enjoy. The plan sets out community priorities to direct decisions about funding, management, policies, and programs.

A new data dashboard shows that the City’s new overnight shelters are helping more people than ever as temperatures drop and winter storms roll in. The shelters provided 8,032 nights of rest in October – safe, warm beds to give homeless neighbors a chance to connect with services and get back on their feet. The dashboard is designed to provide the public with transparent information about the number of people using the City’s emergency overnight shelters.

Overnight shelter data graph

Following a nationwide search, the City of Portland’s Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts team is excited to announce the selection of 11 members to serve on the project’s steering committee.

Leaders from 97 cities on six continents for the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last week to share ideas on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, building resilience, and confronting the climate crisis. One of the highlights of the event was the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF).

Candidates bring national experience in civic leadership. One will be selected by Mayor Keith Wilson for city council approval.

Following a three-day strike, the City of Portland and AFSCME, representing 11 Independent Police Review employees, reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract. A ratification vote by Portland City Council is anticipated by the end of the calendar year.

Buses will run less often in the evenings on five TriMet bus lines, including FX2-DivisionLine 35-Macadam/Greeley and Line 77-Broadway/Halsey in Portland. These cuts, which begin Nov. 30, are the first in a series of reductions intended to bring TriMet’s spending in line with revenues. Learn more: trimet.org/servicechanges

 

Data spotlight

90 percent yellow circle graphic The Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub is a six-mile stretch of industrial land in Northwest Portland along the Willamette River. The hub stores 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel supply, such as biodiesel, crude oil, gasoline, natural gas and propane. Learn more about the City’s work to make the Hub safer at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub Policy Project.

 

More news

Opportunities

Darcelle's is a LGBTQ historic site

This guide highlights some of the records illustrating the interconnections and interactions between the City and the LGBTQIA2S+ communities.

Timbers Army at a soccer game - a great experience gift

This year, consider giving family and friends experiences rather than stuff. From cooking classes to tool sharpening, Portland offers plenty of ways to give meaningful gifts that support local businesses, reduce waste, and last long after the wrapping is gone.

 

 

Sprinklers watering a grass lawn; irrigation

With the changing seasons comes a change in your landscape’s watering needs. The Portland Water Bureau offers some quick tips to help reduce your outdoor water use this fall.

 

 

 

Repair cafe square image

Looking for ways to stretch your budget, reduce waste, and meet your neighbors? The City’s Resourceful PDX calendar is filled with free and low-cost events that make it easy and fun to live more sustainably.

 

 


New job openings at the City of Portland

Because of a budget shortfall, the City will impose a hiring freeze on most jobs starting October 1. There will be some exceptions. And positions that are open now will stay open until they’re filled. So check out our listings and apply today.

  • Clean Industry Coordinator (Coordinator III – CPPW) – Limited Duration
  • Community Engagement Coordinator (Coordinator II – CPPW)
  • Senior Capital Projects Engineer – PE (Engineer III)
  • Water Security Specialist

 

 

Jobs at the City of Portland
Open Bids and Proposals

Grants and funding

Home Sharing Capacity Building Grant

The Portland Housing Bureau is offering funding to support capacity building for organizations that promote home sharing. This grant is intended to help organizations grow, strengthen their operations, and provide services to homeowners either engaging in or preparing to engage in home sharing activities. The goal is to ensure that more homeowners and tenants can successfully engage in home sharing, including expanding the number of home sharing units in Portland.

Who’s Eligible: Nonprofit organizations, community groups, coalitions, or fiscally sponsored projects

Application Deadline: Applicants must register in advance in WebGrants by December 12. Applications are due Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 p.m.

 

Prosper Portland provides funding to property owners and small business owners who are in the process of negotiating a lease. Grant funds may be used for tenant improvements, space-related soft costs, and permitting support to ready space to open for business.

Who’s Eligible: Property owners and business owners in the Interstate Corridor TIF District and the Gateway Regional Center TIF District.

Application Deadline: Ongoing

 

Local Small Business Expanded Repair/Restore Grant Program

Prosper Portland provides funding to small businesses located in the City of Portland that have sustained physical and economic damage due to break-ins and vandalism. Grants assist eligible businesses to remain open and operational and contribute to maintaining a healthy street environment. Eligible entities may receive up to $25,000 over the life of the program for eligible repairs.

Who’s Eligible: Small businesses and nonprofit organizations occupying a ground-floor storefront

Application Deadline: Ongoing

Grants and funding

Make your voice heard

Give us your feedback

FITCOG meeting shows diverse crowd

Two opportunities to learn about and provide feedback to gun violence reduction

The Focused Intervention Team Community Oversight Group (FITCOG) works in collaboration with the Portland Police Bureau’s Focused Intervention Team to make recommendations aimed at reducing gun violence through prevention, intervention, and response strategies, ultimately creating safer communities. Your participation at these meetings is crucial to better understand community concerns build trust and possibly identify any systemic issues to ensure fair and equitable policing practices.

  1. FITCOG regular meeting: Nov. 20, 2025, 6-8 p.m., at Black Men in Training facility, 10534 NE Sandy, Portland, OR
  2. FITCOG Annual Meeting & Listening Session: Dec. 4, 2025, 6-8 p.m., Portland Community College Southeast, Community Hall, 2305 SE 82nd, Portland, OR

Your voice, experiences, and priorities are essential to selecting a leader who understands our community’s needs. Finalists will introduce themselves, present their visions of the first 90 days in the position, and take questions from the community submitted in advance of the meeting. Nov. 20, 4 p.m.

Portlanders—join us for an open house to inform future urban design approaches and a District Framework to reconnect Lower Albina. Explore concepts for how streets, buildings, open spaces, and connections could look, feel, and evolve to create a vibrant neighborhood that functions as a place for community life, culture, and connection. Dec. 3

The proposed amendments will further limit capacity expansion at the CEI Hub with revisions to City policies and code. New regulations will require a 20 percent reduction of fuel storage capacity by 2036. You are invited to submit testimony for a Planning Commission hearing on Dec. 16.

 

Administrative rule review notices


Serve on a board or committee

A white, multistory building designed by Hacker Architects - Design Commission image

Design Commission

The Design Commission provides leadership and expertise on urban design and architecture and advances the purpose of the Design overlay zone.  It supports development that builds on context, contributes to the public realm, and provides high quality and resilient buildings and public spaces.  It also helps develop design guidelines for design districts and provides advice to other City Bureaus and Regional Government Partners. Apply by Nov. 20, 2025

Help Portland balance neighborhood livability with special events. Join the Noise Review Board.

The City of Portland seeks interested community members to serve a three-year term on the Noise Review Board. Portland’s Noise Review Board is unique in the United States because it offers both residents and members of the business community the opportunity to help set the City’s policies related to the environmental issues and health impacts of noise. The board reviews applications for noise variances for events and construction that may impact many people or take place over a significant period of time. It also addresses emerging noise problems in the community. As part of the board, you will also be responsible for working with the Noise Program to advise and make recommendations to the Portland City Council on sound-related code and policy decisions. Apply by Nov. 30, 2025. 

Urban Forestry Commission

The Urban Forestry Commission is comprised of 11 community members who play a crucial advisory role in managing Portland’s trees, influencing policies related to the city’s urban forest plan, budget proposals, and more. If you’re passionate about preserving, protecting, and expanding Portland’s Urban Forest, this is a great opportunity for you. It also acts as an appeals board for certain tree permits, nominates new and approves removal of Heritage Trees, and plays a significant role in updates to the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan. Apply by Dec. 8, 2025