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This winter, for the first time in nearly 100 years, Portland business owners won’t need a special permit to operate a pool table or pinball machine. An outdated city policy—with its roots in the days when “amusement devices” like these were tied to vice—is set to sunset next month following the Oct. 14 passage of a suite of code changes proposed by City Councilor Steve Novick.
Currently, around 200 businesses pay $50 to $1,000 for an annual permit to operate pinball machines and pool tables in Portland. It’s understood many establishments skirt this particular law, but for some, like pool halls and arcades—with the machines in their business model—this is more difficult.
Spencer Knowles, Novick’s chief of staff, said he noticed the “silly” provision one day while perusing city code and brought the matter to the attention of his boss, who proposed getting rid of it.
A package of code updates, including heightened requirements for payday lenders, secondhand stores and pawn shops—and the axing of the amusement device permit—cruised through committee. Last Wednesday, most of the changes were approved on the council’s consent agenda. The timing was intended to give relief to business owners who typically file permit applications in November and December.
