The City of Portland has instituted its long talked about fee for removal of leaves in the streets of Portland neighborhoods with the heaviest street tree canopies. Many homeowners were surprised when implementation finally came since there was apparently no advance direct notification. According to the Oregonian article on the subject, the news of the plan was supposed to be disseminated via the individual neighborhood associations–even though they are not city entities. Paige Coleman, director of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, distributed an email querying neighborhood association volunteers if they had in fact been notified by the city.

The portion of King that is in a leaf district is Walnut Park from Alberta to Ainsworth and Rodney to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This district will receive two leaf removals each year. This year’s will be on November 5th and 24th and the fee will be $30 with low income households paying $10. Property owners can opt out of the fee if they apply for a waiver and submit a leaf removal plan. More info is at the City of Portland leaf removal page: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=47144&a=319617

Read Oregonian columnist Anna Griffin’s take on the issue here.