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City attorney updates committee on Zenith Energy probe as Court of Appeals remands related land-use appeal
Summary
City Attorney Robert Taylor told the Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee that outside counsel Cable Houston is reviewing Zenith's franchise compliance and that the Court of Appeals has reversed a LUBA decision in a related appeal; public commenters pressed for full transparency and unsupervised access to records.
City Attorney Robert Taylor told the Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee on Nov. 13 that the city has retained outside counsel—Cable Houston—to review compliance with Zenith Energy's franchise agreement, permits and land-use compatibility, and to recommend further work by subject-matter experts.
Taylor outlined the investigation timeline: a council resolution in March prompted a records request to Zenith in April; Zenith provided documents in May and again in October after a supplemental request; the city administrator asked the city attorney's office in June to retain outside counsel, and Cable Houston was formally retained in August. Taylor said staff will draft a report summarizing the investigation for council, and Cable Houston will have authority to review drafts, recommend additional document requests, and note where it agrees or disagrees with staff conclusions.
Taylor also reported a breaking legal development: the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a prior LUBA ruling that had found a separate…
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