The Southwest Hills Residential League Boundary Dispute

The borders of Bridlemile and its direct northern neighbor, the Southwest Hills Residential League (SWHRL), overlap. Parts of Bridlemile extend north of SW Patton Road. Parts of SWHRL extend south of SW Patton Road. This is despite the fact that Portland discourages its neighborhoods from having overlapping boundaries. The story behind the overlap is summarized below.

The Southwest Hills Residential League Boundary Dispute

The Southwest Hills Residential League (SWHRL) boundary dispute started in 2003, when the then president of the Southwest Hills Residential league noticed “Hillsdale” popping up on street sign caps in what she considered to be SWHRL territory.  She claimed that two-thirds of the Homestead district (which includes OHSU), much of the Hillsdale business district and about a third of Bridlemile were all really part of SWHRL.

In 2004, SWHRL filed a lawsuit to resolve the issue. Furthermore, it also asked for the right to collect membership dues.

An August 3rd, 2004 Oregonian article stated:

“The roots of the dispute lie in history. The residential league was formed as a nonprofit entity with dues-paying members in 1969, five years before the city created its Office of Neighborhood Associations. Under city rules, neighborhood associations had to be open to all citizens and could not charge dues for membership.

Several Southwest Portland associations were formed and recognized by the city in the 1970s. The city did not formally recognize the residential league until 1995, after the league changed its bylaws to conform with city rules.

Although some city neighborhood maps indicate that boundaries are in dispute, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement ruled against the residential league in a grievance procedure in April.

Brown (ed note: he was the director at the time of the Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement) denied the residential league's grievance "based on documents indicating that the city did not formally recognize the league's boundaries until 1995, well after the city's formal recognition of the Hillsdale, Bridlemile and Homestead Neighborhood Associations."

The residential league's lawsuit contends that because the league claimed the territory first, new associations should not encroach on the league's boundaries without the league's permission.”

A March 14, 2005 Oregon article stated:

“The league was founded in 1969, five years before the city created its Office of Neighborhood Associations, now called the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. The city did not formally recognize Southwest Hills until 1995, in part because Southwest Hills charged dues to its members.”

A November 10th, 2005 Oregonian article stated:

“Directors of SWHRL and the Bridlemile Neighborhood Association have agreed to let stand a small overlap on SWHRL's western flank. "Nobody had any problem with it," says Kathy Bambeck, chairwoman of the Bridlemile association.”

Currently (2025), Portlandmaps.com lists around 228 homes in northern Bridlemile as being in both Bridlemile and the SWHRL.