Portland council tentatively sides with appellants, overturns hearings officer on PGE Forest Park transmission upgrade

Portland's City Council voted tentatively April 17 to grant appeals by the Forest Park Neighborhood Association and the Forest Park Conservancy and overturn the hearings officer's approval of Portland General Electric's proposed transmission upgrade through Forest Park.

The council's tentative decision means staff were directed to draft findings that would deny the environmental review portion of the permit application and uphold aspects of the record that questioned whether PGE met the approval criteria in the Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan. The council set a final action on the matter for May 7 and staff noted that, because of prior extensions, the city must issue a final decision by May 20.

Why it matters: The project would add a roughly 1,400-foot segment of upgraded transmission line and poles through a utility corridor that crosses Forest Park, a protected urban forest. City planners said the work as proposed would permanently affect about 4.7 acres of natural resources in the park, including removal of 397 trees and impacts to two streams and two wetlands. Opponents called the scale of tree removal and wetland impacts inconsistent with the park's 1995 Natural Resources Management Plan; the applicant and some labor and utility witnesses said the work is necessary to address a bottleneck in the regional transmission system.

What the proposal would do: Portland Permitting and Development Bureau planner Morgan Steele described the land-use pieces of the application during the hearing and summarized the staff analysis: the project would upgrade an existing line, add a new 1,400-foot segment (including two new poles inside the park) and connect to three new poles at the Harborton/Harberton substation. Steele said, "This work will result in significant impacts to 4 point acres in natural resources in Forest Park, including the removal of 397 trees and permanent impacts to 2 streams and 2 wetlands." The application included a conditional-use review and two greenway/environmental reviews.

Alternatives, timing and need: PGE and its consultants told council that the upgrade responds to a long-identified bottleneck in the system and that delaying the work risks outages during future peak-demand periods. The applicant submitted an alternatives analysis and independent reports (including what was called the Toth report) and argued that more than 20 alternatives were considered. PGE also submitted a rebuttal record and materials on transmission planning that it said support the timeline and need. Appellants and several technical witnesses disputed whether the record shows imminent reliability failures by 2028 or whether the applicant had fully analyzed non-wire options and off-park routes in sufficient detail. Opponents noted examples in the administrative record they said show alternatives (including Marina Way alignments) were not exhausted.

Mitigation and restoration: The applicant proposed a mitigation package that staff and the hearings officer described as multifaceted. Ecologist Noah Herlocker and PGE witnesses detailed proposals to (1) expand an existing patch of Oregon white oak habitat by planting nearly 400 oaks, (2) fund at-scale understory restoration and invasive-species removal across tens of acres in the park, and (3) provide in-lieu funding to Portland Parks & Recreation for prioritized restoration work. Herlocker summarized the plan and funding approach, saying the combination of on-site habitat work and in-lieu fees would "fully and robustly compensate for the 4.7 acres of proposed habitat alteration." The application referenced a preliminary in-lieu amount in the low millions; staff and the applicant discussed an in-lieu sum in the record of roughly $2.55 million as part of the mitigation package.

Arguments from both sides: Appellants and dozens of public witnesses urged the council to uphold staff's recommendation to deny the environmental review. Scott Fogarty of Forest Park Conservancy told council that "This is a law that must be complied with, not used as guidance," and urged denial because the project conflicts with the plan's long-term goal of returning the park toward an old-growth forest condition. Attorney and appellant witnesses also argued that the hearings officer had expanded approval criteria and relied on representations not supported by the record.

PGE said the project minimizes impacts while resolving a system constraint and that the city's own regulations allow exceptions where the approval criteria are met. Randy Franks, a PGE project manager, described the physical work and said the company had coordinated mitigation and is continuing to refine in-lieu amounts with Portland Parks staff. PGE and several labor unions stressed the project would create family-wage construction jobs and said the work is necessary for broader regional reliability and the state's clean-energy transition.

Council action and next steps: After roughly nine hours of hearing and testimony, council members voted tentatively to grant the appeal and overturn the hearings officer's decision. The motion to grant the appeal was moved and seconded by councilors and carried with a 12-0 tentative vote. The council instructed its attorneys to draft findings consistent with granting the appeal; a final vote on written findings and the council's decision is scheduled for the May 7 meeting (09:45 time certain). Staff also reminded the council that the record is closed and asked members to avoid ex parte contacts while the decision is finalized.

What remains unresolved: The tentative vote does not finalize the legal findings or the exact remedy language; council asked staff and the city attorney to prepare written findings. The applicant, appellants and other parties may still raise legal issues in the written findings process and the decision could be appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals after a final council action.

Ending: The case highlights the tension between utility upgrades needed to support electrification and climate goals and local land-use protections intended to preserve high-value urban natural areas. Council's tentative ruling puts the burden on PGE to show compliance with the Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan or to pursue less-damaging alternatives before the city will permit construction within the park.