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Vacancy ordinances are being embraced by multiple cities and towns in Maine with the aim of keeping downtown economies thriving.

PORTLAND, Maine — After a recent string of businesses flocking their storefronts, city leaders in Portland are weighing in on a recent proposal to keep local economies thriving.

Kate Sykes, a city councilor, says the nail in the coffin was the announcement of chain department store Renys plans to close its Portland location.

"We recognize that there is a problem here, and we're seeing larger storefronts starting to pull away," Sykes said. "That means that we need to do something immediately."

City councilors on the Housing and Economic Development Committee have been discussing the idea of implementing a vacancy ordinance to address the long stretches of empty storefronts.

If passed, the ordinance would require that empty commercial properties be registered with the city after 90 days. Landlords would also have to pay a $250 fee, which increases yearly.

"Vacancies drag neighborhoods down. It's kind of a spiral, where you have empty storefronts that are sitting idle, not as many people are coming in," Sykes explained.

She says the goal is to discourage vacancies by finding solutions to fill those spaces, like offering temporary leases for pop-up shops.

A handful of other cities and towns have also implemented similar ordinances.

Biddeford is now in the early stages of implementing its own vacant building registry after voting on the idea in April 2025. Sanford also has a similar ordinance in place, according to its municipal website.

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Maine Chamber of Commerce President Patrick Woodcock says although ordinances to address vacant buildings can protect from devaluations of properties, finding the root cause of long-standing vacancies should be explored.

"You do recognize that a lot of these communities are being challenged right now," Woodcock said. "I think fundamentally, you just really have to focus on creating a safe corridor downtown that businesses see that's their future."

Sykes explains the ordinance will likely only apply to District 1 and 2 of Portland. Both council members representing those districts tell NEWS CENTER Maine they're on board with the idea.

The Housing and Economic Development Committee voted Tuesday night to move the proposal to the full council.

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Published 10:31 am Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Watershed councils like those that cover Oswego Lake and Tryon Creek try to counteract what has become an increasingly challenging environment for fish to thrive.

The councils, which are nonprofit organizations made up of small staffs and community volunteers, work on projects like replacing small culverts with more wide open fish passages, enhancing stream habitats by adding deadwood, planting native species and removing invasive ones on the edge of creeks, conducting education and workshops in the community, provide grants for private property restoration and much more.

Most of Oregon is covered by a watershed council, but there are a few remaining gaps including parts of Portland, West Linn and Wilsonville.

This is why the Oswego Lake and Tryon Creek watershed councils are beginning an effort to explore expanding council coverage to those areas and potentially combining the Lake Oswego, parts of Portland, West Linn and Wilsonville councils into one. However, they want to hear from the communities before selecting a path.

“We are not in the business of telling the community what is best. We want to bring people together and hear from them,” Tryon Creek Watershed Council Executive Director Alexis Barton Castro said.

The salmon population has declined significantly in the Pacific Northwest in the last couple hundred years in Oregon due to hydroelectric dams, urban development and warming temperatures, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Addressing challenges that are also seen globally might not be something watershed councils do on their own, but they can help fish on their journey by reducing barriers and making ecosystems healthier. They also conduct assessments and collect data to identify what problems exist and how to fix them.

“The projects happening on the ground are helping and are science based,” said Oswego Lake Watershed Council Executive Director Jack Halsey. “We do studies within watersheds to figure out what is most effective for them to do.”

The Oswego Lake Watershed Council has expanded its staff capacity in recent years while the Tryon Creek council has reduced staff and struggled a bit with fundraising, Barton Castro said. However, they both say they struggle with capacity.

“Our watershed council would not be able to function without donors who support the work we do, and volunteer time goes into the projects to keep costs down,” Halsey said.

The councils are two of the smallest in Oregon and are therefore not eligible for certain state funding sources, but Halsey and Barton Castro are hopeful they would be if they combined forces and expanded to the areas not currently covered. The executive directors also believe working together on tackling bigger challenges, particularly related to helping salmon, could be easier in tandem.

However, they understand there could be reticence from community members and volunteers, who might want to keep efforts focused locally, and said the community engagement efforts they plan to undergo will inform the direction moving forward.

“People don’t want to lose the projects they care about. We are going about this in an intentional way,” Halsey said.

The groups have received support from the cities of Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville as well as members of Portland City Council and plan to discuss their plans in front of local government boards. They said community engagement could begin this summer.

For more information on the Oswego Lake council, visit www.oswegowatershed.org. For more information on the Tryon Creek council, visit www.tryoncreek.org.

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