Residents want 97230 and 97233 zip codes changed from ‘Portland’ to ‘Gresham’

Published 5:00 am Friday, February 21, 2025

“Screwy” city boundaries and haphazard postal codes have left a large swath of Gresham residents with an identity crisis for decades — what municipality do they belong in?

Now a new activist has taken on the crusade that has so often stumbled into failure. The hope is with a motivated City Council, and receptive US Postal Service to early discussions, this time might be different.

Scott Muilenburg spoke during a Gresham City Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 18, after spending days knocking on doors of neighbors. He has been a resident in East Multnomah County for the past 52 years.

“I can’t be the first one to bring this up before,” he said.

He isn’t — four times before the city of Gresham has attempted to get the postal codes changed. Each has ended in failure, as did subsequent appeals.

The two problem ZIP codes are 97230 and 97233 — both are within Gresham city limits, meaning those folks vote and participate within the Gresham sphere. But those codes have Portland attached to them, leading to not only confusion, but a series a blows to residents’ wallets.

“I don’t live in Portland, I live in Gresham,” he said. “I want my ZIP code to reflect that.”

That effect on insurance rates is what spurred Muilenburg to investigate the funky system.

“The cost of being a homeowner is expensive nowadays,” he said.

He and his wife grew up in Mollala, both farm kids who wanted to get away from the place they had spent all their lives. The high school sweethearts were married in 1972, and moved north, buying their first home on 174th Street back when it was unincorporated land within Multnomah County.

Life was good, they had three girls, all who went through the Centennial School District, and now have a couple of grandkids.

Then in 1986 Portland and Gresham stretched their respective city limits to abut, eating up that formerly unincorporated land. Gresham annexed more than 3,300 acres and increased its population by more than 20,000 people at the time. That included several neighborhoods with the Portland ZIP codes.

“These households, in the recently-annexed areas, need mailing addresses that more accurately reflect their domicile,” wrote then-Mayor Gussie McRobert to the postmaster.

The response was that boundaries are established for the efficient distribution and delivery of the mail, and “may not always coincide with municipal boundaries nor be adjusted to reflect changes in boundaries.”

The main thrust for denying the changes in the past were “excessive facility and operational costs.”

“We realize the important of identity to your city, however we cannot incur the costs and impacts of accommodation,” wrote Arthur Porwick, then-manager of delivery policies and programs with US Postal Service.

Ongoing struggle

The Muilenburgs moved to a house on 176th by that time, unknowingly getting swept up in the ZIP code kerfuffle.

Recently Muilenburg’s insurance premiums took a huge jump for home and auto. He called his agent to explore what happened, and the answer was “Portland.” Because those ZIP codes are considered to be Portland’s, those folks pay those astronomic rates suffered by their friends to the west.

“I asked what my rates would be if the ZIP code was in Gresham — $300 less for car insurance and $250 for home insurance,” Muilenburg said.

But the problems extend beyond higher cost of living. Former City Councilor Dina DiNucci, a longtime advocate for Rockwood and the western neighborhoods of Gresham, also spoke during the meeting.

“This has been an issue for at least a decade, if not longer,” she said. “Maybe this time it can actually happen.”

“So many in those ZIP codes don’t understand what city they belong in,” DiNucci added. “They don’t understand they can volunteer and participate in this community. It disenfranchises them.”

Some of the issues caused by the erroneous zip codes:

• Excess money is spent by both the city of Portland and Gresham because they send mailers to folks not living/voting in their municipality. For example, people in the 97230 and 97233 zip codes get documents from the Portland Water Bureau, despite not being customers.
• Many don’t apply for Gresham committees or take community surveys because they believe they are “part of Portland.”
• Businesses in Gresham with a Portland mailing address, because of the ZIP codes, face economic disadvantages. Google searches for “Best Coffee in Gresham” would not turn up a coffee shop in the 97230 or 97233 codes. This is a problem DiNucci faced when she owned a crepe restaurant in that neighborhood.
• Many will call the city of Portland for help, when they should be contacting Gresham. That leads to frustration for residents and ties up employees at City Hall.
• 911 and emergency calls can also lead to delays — “If you are calling about an incident in Portland, press one. If you are calling about an incident in Gresham, press two.” Delays in getting emergency responders to your address can be life threatening.

Gresham City Council was receptive about the concerns — Mayor Travis Stovall and Councilor Kayla Brown both live within those disputed ZIP codes.

“We are very aware of this situation, this is not the first time we have heard about this,” Stovall said. “We have asked four times and were denied four times — but that is not to say this isn’t worth another try.”

“Scott, thank you for continuing to work on this and bringing this issue before council,” added Councilor Brown.

City staff is already in communication with the federal government, though a recent shake up could slow things. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he is stepping down, so the organization may have its hands tied for a while until new leadership is installed.

Also working against the city’s request, likely harkening back to past excuses around the costs, is that the US Postal Service has been bleeding money in recent years. Between 2007 and 2023 it lost $98 billion. In 2024 it lost $9.5 billion. President Donald Trump has also spoken of plans to restructure the organization, mulling the idea of privatizing the agency.

But despite the turmoil in Washington, D.C., Gresham is motivated to try again. Perhaps the fifth time will be the charm.

“Council agrees we are going to take a look at this,” Stovall said.

“Well, my work here is done,” Muilenburg responded with a smile.