Portland City Council set to vote on music venue moratorium and Arts District improvements

Portland City Music Hall architectural rendering

Rendering/ Courtesy of Mile Marker Investments Mile Marker Investments' proposed 3,300-capacity music venue to be built at 244 Cumberland Ave. in Portland has been stalled.

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By Tina Fischer

Portland City Council's agenda for Monday night will tackle two controversial issues — a proposed 180-day moratorium on new large performance halls and an initiative that would support downtown maintenance and improvements.

A moratorium on performance centers would affect the proposed development of a 3,300-seat, 66,000-square-foot performing arts venue at 244 Cumberland Ave., brought forth late last year by Scarborough-based Mile Marker Investments in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: LYV).

The moratorium would be retroactive to Dec. 1, 2024 on venues with a 2,000-plus capacity but does not specifically mention the Cumberland Avenue project, about which a range of concerns have been raised including traffic congestion and parking.

Todd Goldenfarb, managing director of Mile Marker Investments, has told Mainebiz if the moratorium were to pass, “we are fully prepared to immediately defend our rights as developers who are following the zoning the city has established. You just can’t change the rules on people midstream. It sets a very dangerous precedent.”

The Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce has expressed opposition to the moratorium, citing potential harm to the city’s recent overhaul of the land use code in a process known as ReCode.

A statement from the Chamber released Friday urges City Council to reject the moratorium: “While we have not taken a position on the underlying site plan application, we are always against City Council actions that attempt to retroactively rewrite ordinances in an effort to kill specific development proposals."

Downtown improvements

City Council will also consider the Portland Downtown District’s fiscal year 2026 development plan, which would include support for a newly launched Ambassador Program which would include hiring eight individuals to be present in the district. The ambassadors would help monitor activity, remove graffiti and clean up trash, including discarded needles.

The program would be funded by an assessment on downtown property owners and does not affect the city tax rate.

An additional agenda item calls for a public hearing and vote on placing a referendum on the November ballot to increase the minimum hourly wage to $20, but staff is recommending this item be taken up at the Council's Aug. 25 meeting.

The meeting starts at 4 p.m. at Portland City Hall and will also be available on Zoom. Public comment will be heard from both in-person attendees and those participating online. Council agendas can be viewed on the city of Portland website.

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