191051

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1. The Council finds:

1. That, as recognized in the Climate Emergency Declaration [Resolution No. 37494], “there is a human-made climate emergency that threatens our city, our region, our state, our nation, humanity and the natural world, and that such an emergency calls for an immediate mobilization effort initiating greater action, resources, collaboration and new approaches to restore a safe climate.”
    
2. The climate emergency is urgent, but Portland has an opportunity to act by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and can make significant quality of life improvements for many Portlanders by centering the needs and priorities of Black and Indigenous communities, people experiencing low income, and community members who are more at-risk and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
    
3. The Climate Emergency Workplan [Resolution 37585] includes the following actions that these grants support:
   1. Action No. T-1: Make low-carbon travel options safe, accessible, and convenient for all
       
   2. Action No. T-7: Make it easier to use electric vehicles if you can’t charge at home
       
   3. Action No. T-8: Make freight cleaner
       
4. The Portland City Council adopted the Electric Vehicle Strategy [Resolution No. 37255] which directed PBOT staff to develop right-of-way priorities and policies to enable the installation of publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers in strategic locations and provide clear guidelines for public and private parties. PBOT staff have been working on code updates to accomplish this directive.
    
5. As a result of the Biden Administration’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the focus on addressing the climate crisis, $7.5 billion in federal funding has been invested in EV charging and additional funding is available to make advances on other aspects of transportation electrification and decarbonization.
    
6. Although there is a significant increase in funding at the federal level, Portland will see limited resources allocated to local projects and face enormous competition from other jurisdictions. 
    
7. The projects identified accelerate transportation electrification and advance citywide goals on equity. Both projects involve public-private partnerships with key local partners to help leverage resources and expertise and ensure project success:
    
   1. Park and Charge - “Park and Charge: Leveraging Utility Pole-Mounted Chargers to Increase Access to Overnight EV Charging in Portland, Oregon” provides an opportunity to develop a utility pole-mounted EV charging network focused on filling private sector gaps and providing access to affordable and reliable overnight charging to communities that lack access to home charging. Led by an innovative partnership between the City and local utilities, this project will build upon successful pilots and projects in other municipalities and will address access to and affordability of EV charging, which is an obstacle to EV ownership for renters and residents without garages or driveways.
       
   2. SMART Grant - Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant provides an opportunity to demonstrate novel approaches to freight electrification as identified in the 2040 Portland Freight Plan process. This grant will enable the City to build internal capacity and technology systems to digitize curb rules, better monitor curb usage, and pilot curb management strategies and innovative technologies to combat dirty diesel and make freight cleaner.
       
8. For the Park and Charge grant, local matching funds of no less than $750,000 will be provided from private-sector partners, including but not limited to Portland General Electric and PacifiCorps.
    
9. The SMART grant does not require match funds.

NOW, THEREFORE, The Council directs:

1. The Mayor is hereby authorized to make application for grants in the amount of up to $5.5 million to the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Transportation.
    
2. The Mayor is authorized to provide such information and assurances as are required for the grant period.
    
3. The OMF Grants Office is authorized to perform all administrative matters in relation to the grant application, grant agreement or amendments, requests for reimbursement from the grantor, and to submit required online grant documents on the Commissioner-in-Charge's behalf.
    
4. The Portland Bureau of Transportation to return to City Council no later than February 2023 with proposed code changes to enable Level 2 EV charging in the public-right-of-way, which the City Council intends to support. 

Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists because the grants are due immediately; therefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Council.