Portland, Oregon, takes a database of unarmed construction buildings offline. News

Want to know if you live in a particularly vulnerable Portland building in the earthquake? You will not be able to do this online anymore.

Portland has quietly agreed to remove its online database that details in detail nearly 1,600 old brick and stone buildings in the city believed to collapse in the next big earthquake.

These structures, known as “unreinforced structures” (or URMs in technical talk) buildings, have been a source of controversy in recent years. Last fall, the city moved back to an unlucky decree that placed big warning signs on these buildings. This was after a group of building owners filed a lawsuit against the city, accusing them of reducing the value of their property by overwhelming them with a sign that was a scarlet letter. The judge eventually issued a temporary order against the condition.

While the signage’s mandate disappeared, the database listing these buildings – until last week.

Dr.. Monden, head of the Portland branch of NAACP, led the latest push to cancel the list, noting the inaccuracies in the database that made it unreasonably difficult for building owners to obtain loans and investments.

In a letter to the city council on May 1, Mondain said that the database often contained buildings that should not be present, either because the owner spent money since then on necessary safety updates or there was a mistake that landed the building in the list in the first place. In the midst of a pandemic, he warned that it could hinder the economic recovery of the city’s black population, as many of the fortified building buildings in Portland are historically located in black neighborhoods.

A banner on a business in northeastern Portland warns visitors that the building was constructed of unreinforced construction on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.

Courtney Sherwood / OPB

“The NAACP unequivocally calls for the leadership of this city to remove any and all burdens on the owners of these properties and any obstacles to their recovery from this crisis. The letter stated that the existence of the list is a red line in the modern era.” Cancel the list.

The Portland Business Alliance also wrote a letter to support the group’s push. Without the city providing financial assistance to building owners to upgrade their buildings, the alliance said, the list “gives a strong impression that the only current purpose is to disgrace building owners to take actions that many cannot afford.”

The alliance said it would support a public database, but it must be rebuilt with “clear goals” and a public-private partnership planned that would help modernize buildings to modern standards.

After a few conversations with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Mundine said the city agreed to remove the list.

Mondin said: “They heard the logic.” “There was no real big struggle.”

Ken Ray, a spokesman for the city’s Development Services Bureau, which oversees the list, said the office believed the database was accurate. But after concerns were raised about the stigma, the office took it down for the foreseeable future.

Removing the list may make it difficult for Portland residents to know if they live in a particularly dangerous building during the earthquake. On the city’s frequently asked questions about buildings site, people who want to know whether they “own, rent or do business” in an unsupported stone building are still directed to the online listing.

After publishing this story, the city changed its FAQ page to reflect that the URM Building List is available through an official application for public records.

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