On June 25th, the Portland City Council passed new rules governing portable signs placed on city sidewalks. Previous legislation from 25 years ago required businesses that placed sandwich boards and a-frame signs in front of their establishments to pay an annual fee, last set at $114. According to city officials, the cost of the complaint-based enforcement program exceeded the income raised by fees, meaning this removal unburdens businesses that had been paying for these types of signs and could save the city money by not investigating unregistered boards.
Councilor for District 3, Steve Novick, brought the code amendment before the Portland City Council after months of work on the initiative. Novick explained in an interview last March that his Chief of Staff, Spencer Knowles, brought this issue to his attention as an unprofitable pain point for small business operators. “We checked, Spencer discovered that it costs more to administer the permit requirement than it brings in,” remarked Novick. The amount of fees paid into the program dipped from $181,295 in 2013 to $39,308 in 2025. He speculated that its decline likely reflected businesses failing to participate due to lax enforcement or because operators did not know that registration was required. “There’s some well-informed, conscientious people who have to go through the process of paying a fee and waiting for a permit. That just struck us as silly,” said Novick.
Novick’s team recognized that this effort did not require immediate attention, as more impactful city issues took precedence before the amendment reached a vote. However, its passing has a measurable impact on business owners who pay the fee each year, particularly in walkable business corridors. Portable signs help advertise a shopfront at a human scale. Capped at four feet tall, A-Board messages are often blocked from the view of passing traffic by curbside parked vehicles. So they target pedestrians, keeping a sidewalk visually active and letting visitors know that, just a little further down the street, another destination may welcome them. Sidewalk-positioned signs can also help businesses stay visible when healthy street tree canopies block traditional over-doorway signage. As Portland works to increase pedestrian area shade by encouraging tree-lined streets, some business operators have noted that the greenery blocks their signs. Portable sandwich boards have long offered a remedy that does not require an adjacent business owner to aggressively prune the greenery.
Business owners may no longer need to pay to register portable signs; however, they are still responsible for maintaining a clear, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- compliant frontage. Signs cannot block the sidewalk or curb ramps and must be located in front of the business. Shops using these signs should still review City rules and ensure they are not obstructing the public right-of-way. The change will likely not significantly increase the number of sidewalk-placed signs, but should create an equal environment for businesses to use this way-finding tool without annual costs.
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Portland City Council District 3 members are up for reelection in November 2026. Montavilla News does not endorse individual candidates or ballot measures.
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