Old Town entertainment district

Lacye Sparkle of SparkleMovement.com dances on a closed block of Northwest Third Avenue between Davis and Couch streets. The streets in Old Town's entertainment district are closed to traffic and parked cars from 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturday -- to the ire of bar owners who say they're losing business and residents who say the noise is unbearable. Now the city is considering whether it should create a "Late Night Activity Permit" for businesses open to the public after 10 p.m.

(Motoya Nakamura /The Oregonian)

UPDATE: Portland Mayor Charlie Hales' office announced that Wednesday's presentation on a "Late Night Activity Permit" will be postponed. No future date has been announced. Hales' spokesman said the topic has been postponed because officials are expecting Wednesday's session to be long and would prefer to return when there's less on the agenda.

Any Portland business open to the public past 10 p.m. may need to buy a new permit from the city, according to a concept headed to the City Council on Wednesday for discussion.

City officials say a permit program would help proactively deal with security, alcohol and crowd-management issues at late-night establishments.

And creating a permit process could give the city something it currently doesn't have: leverage to shut down problematic businesses.

Right now, permitting remains only a concept.

But city officials plan to spend the summer gathering public input with the hope of returning to the City Council in September for final approval, said Theresa Marchetti, the city's liquor license coordinator.

The "Late Night Activity Permit" would be required citywide for any business open to the public past 10 p.m., from bars to movie theaters, Marchetti said.

The cost of the permit hasn't been disclosed. Businesses would receive training about alcohol serving, crowd management and security when the permit is issued.

Marchetti said permit costs wouldn't cover, but could help offset, some of the city's expenses for responding to businesses after problems occur.

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Reading:

The Oregonian: Fred Miller, brought in as Portland's top financial officer to replace ousted Jack Graham, sheds 'interim' title

KATU: Street closures = less crime, but also = less business, bar owners say

The Oregonian: Portland boil water alert: City officials were prepared days ahead of public notice

-- Brad Schmidt