Northwest Natural Gas Co. v. City of Gresham

Plaintiffs Northwest Natural Gas, Portland General Electric, and Rockwood Water People’s Utility District brought this declaratory relief action challenging a City of Gresham resolution that increased plaintiffs’ utility-license fees from five percent to seven percent of the gross revenue that plaintiffs receive from their Gresham operations. Plaintiffs contended that the city could not impose the increased fee because ORS 221.450 preempted the city’s authority to charge a fee of more than five percent. The city responded that the statute did not apply because the ordinance imposed a…