They’re just trying to have it both ways.
Can we allow some industrial development on West Hayden Island, while leaving enough of the area untouched so it can useful as wildlife habitat?
Thursday’s vote on the Portland City Council is a tentative, ”yes”.
What the council decided was to begin planning for annexing the 800+ acres of undeveloped land on the west half of Hayden Island. Ultimately, about 300 acres could be developed by the Port of Portland as marine terminals – places to bring in imported automobiles. The other 500 or so acres would be restored as wildlife habitat.
Some commissioners stressed that the decision isn’t final, and that they might change their minds when the planning work is done in December. But when planning work gets underway, it becomes more difficult to undo.
The vote was unpopular with most of the people who attended the hearing. Environmentalists, like Willamette Riverkeeper and the Audubon Society of Portland, want all of West Hayden to remain wild. It’s the largest area of undeveloped, but unprotected, land in the metro area. They say the best thing to do is to preserve it as wildlife habitat.
The Port didn’t exactly get everything it wanted either. It said 300 acres is as small as they can go, and still have a viable operation on the island. Originally, the Port was hoping to develop another 100 acres. By expanding onto West Hayden Island, the Port projects creating more than 1,000 jobs and $20 million annually in tax revenues.
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