Portland General Electric’s Harborton Reliability Project Land Use Application was deemed incomplete after the city of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services (BDS) conducted its analysis. FPC remains in opposition of this access to Forest Park due to the impact the project would have in the northern portion of Forest Park, especially to species like the northern red-legged frog, a species protected in Oregon which uses the park for habitat and as a migration pathway.
Additional information on a number of items were requested by the BDS in order for the proposal to be fully evaluated. Among these items listed were inconsistencies in their proposal, conflicts with the Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan, inadequate mitigation proposals, and more, including trees proposed for removal outside of PGE’s easement.
If you were present during PGE’s public virtual meetings, you may recall that PGE representatives spoke multiple times on how the work was planned within their existing easement inside Forest Park. This would be consistent with the project description as written in the memo. However, according to comments from city agencies in the memo, it appears multiple trees outside of the easement were proposed for removal.
Additional info regarding future phases of the project was also requested by multiple city agencies to understand the future impacts of this work. This was a topic that PGE had not shared much information on during their recent online community meetings, however, it is something that we at FPC would also like to know. As it stands, if future phases will require more tree removal then the current proposal’s estimated 5 acres of tree removal does not give a full picture of the expected impacts in Forest Park.
While PGE has stated they do not have details to share at this time to the public regarding future phases, we also consider that information important to understand the full scope of work PGE proposes in Forest Park. With this proposal only encompassing phase 3 of a predicted 5-phase project, we can currently only presume additional impacts would occur in future phases but not to what extent they would occur.
The BDS memo is in-depth and we recommend that you read it if you are interested in learning more about the issues noted in the proposal and the additional information requested from PGE. The Portland Zoning Code allows PGE up to 180 additional days to complete their application with the additional requested materials and information. This means PGE will have until November 6th to complete their application.
We will continue to be on the lookout as future developments occur with this project proposal and will share these updates with you when we are able to.
Edit: If you want to learn more about the proposal, we highly encourage you to attend PGE’s community events. Learn more about the project, 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.