Last week, I attended PGE’s first in-person community meeting, held at the Skyline Grange off NW Skyline, near Forest Park, to give feedback on their Harborton Reliability Project. About 25 people from PGE were present and about 25 community members attended. PGE brought a number of subject matter experts in an attempt to assuage our fears about the disturbance of 5 acres of habitat in northern Forest Park, but unfortunately that was not what happened.
One notable disappointment was the lack of time they allowed for open questions as a group. The moderator read aloud a few questions that were anonymously submitted, but then they said, “The rest of the questions are too hard to answer so we won’t answer those now.” While these questions were answered after I pushed back and expressed my desire to hear what these questions were and what PGE had to say about them, that moment was quite disheartening. At an event that is supposed to allow us to engage with PGE on this contentious proposal, openly avoiding the hard answers is no way to instill confidence in myself or the community.
Additionally, it seemed not even PGE’s experts were in agreement with PGE. As a potential mitigation strategy, the presenters discussed the creation of crossings to allow the northern red legged frog to migrate into Forest Park more safely. However, after talking to the mitigation team, I was told that PGE had been told by the city that this would not be feasible. I don’t know what misunderstanding occurred here between PGE’s presenters and their experts, but the experts contradicting the presentation did not give me confidence in what PGE had just presented to us and that they knew what they were talking about.
The bottom line is that if this Type III Land Use application is approved, PGE will remove at least 5 acres of habitat in Forest Park. The type of work contemplated in the application is in direct conflict with the Natural Resources Management Plan, which provides that “Above all, wildlife habitat in the North Unit should be protected…Special attention should be given to development which may threaten wildlife migration in and out of the North Unit.” The PGE site is at the edge of the interior forest habitat. As recognized by the Management Plan, the City should “Protect and enhance the high quality of Forest Park’s interior forest habitat. This large, relatively intact habitat type is unique and supports wildlife not found in any other urban park in the world.” There are at least 42 species of birds who call this area home, it has a stream where the protected red-legged frog has been seen, and it’s the best connector to the Willamette River in Forest Park. PGE needs to answer all of the “hard questions” about how they will prevent disrupting all of that, not avoid them.
In a few weeks, we expect to hear that the application will have been deemed complete, and from that point the public hearing will be set within 51 days. We will keep you posted when the application is deemed complete and how you can participate in public hearings. Until then, we encourage you to attend the next two community events so that you can ask your questions and make your voice heard.
- Tuesday, September 24 at Linnton Community Center, 10614 NW St. Helens Rd., Portland
- Thursday, October 24 at Linnton Community Center, 10614 NW St. Helens Rd., Portland
All of these community meetings will open at 6:15 p.m. with a brief presentation at 6:30 p.m.
Also, be on the lookout for an event of our own, co-hosted with Bird Alliance of Oregon, Bark, and more partners so we can share with you our specific concerns, you can ask us questions, and we can plan together how to ensure this development does not occur in Forest Park.