AFTER WEEKS of contentious testimony from area residents,
Bureau of Development Services (BDS) Hearings Officer Gregory Frank is
in the last phase of making his recommendation to city hall over
controversial plans to switch the zoning designation of an 80-year-old
golf course in Northeast Portland. The owners of Colwood National Golf
Course—which is currently designated as open space—want the
property rezoned for industrial use.

The implications of such a change could be dramatic: Some believe
the Port of Portland, the body that operates Portland International
Airport, wants to buy a portion of the undeveloped land and eventually
use it as a third runway.

Frank has until May 15 to mull over the merits of each side’s
arguments. His recommendation will then be sent to city council, which
makes the final decision.

On one side, a broad coalition of neighborhood associations,
grassroots organizations, and individuals vehemently oppose the change
in designation. In written letters and public testimony during the last
six weeks, Portland residents complained about the potential loss of
green city space and drops in property value.

Concordia Neighborhood Association Co-Chair Tony Fuentes has added
that the negative impact on the environment would be serious, saying,
“The location of this open space is along the Columbia and Whitaker
Sloughs… sensitive wildlife areas that include fragile riparian zones
and important buffers to these zones. The transition of this open space
and habitat area to industrial use will have a substantial effect.”

Most local activists fear that once the zoning designation is
changed, the northern section of the 143-acre area will be sold to the
Port of Portland for future airport expansion. They seem convinced it
will eventually mean a third runway and, as a result, increased air and
noise pollution over NE Portland.

The land-use decision is a “quasi-judicial” procedure, which means
Frank and the city council can’t discuss it—let alone take a
position—outside of public hearings. That said, City Commissioner
Dan Saltzman’s office has said that Saltzman is “seriously concerned”
about the possibility of airport expansion in the region and is opposed
to a third runway.

On the other side, the majority stakeholder in the golf course, Bill
Saunders Jr., argues that the Colwood owners are simply preempting the
airport’s future attempts at acquiring the land through more forceful
means—like with the support of the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). He believes that if the FAA and Portland
International Airport officials eventually want the land, then there’s
not much he’ll be able to do about it. “This way, we’re at least
controlling the process,” Saunders says.

The owners of the golf course have also assured residents that
they’d like to donate the central portion of Colwood, including the
part surrounding the Columbia Slough, to the City of Portland as a park
area.

Nevertheless, area residents have prepared themselves for a
protracted battle, and plan on fighting the rezoning all the way.