Urban renewal is a state-sanctioned program designed to help communities improve and redevelop areas that are physically deteriorated, unsafe, or poorly planned. Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development and urban renewal agency, uses urban renewal as a tool to help specific areas of the city realize capital projects—parks, streetscape improvements, community centers, and the like—that would not happen on their own.
The Urban Renewal line item shown on tax statements received by property owners within the City of Portland represents the amount collected for urban renewal activities. This amount is a combination of Prosper Portland’s share of taxes assessed by taxing jurisdictions including the city, the county, and schools, and an urban renewal tax assessed by the City of Portland against all taxable property within the City of Portland. The urban renewal line item on your bill is not a new tax.
For more information on your property tax bill, contact the Multnomah County Property Tax Assessment and Taxation office at 503-988-3326.