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 development approval (referred to in the record as "Luxe/Deluxe") was not a land-use decision. The Court of Appeals concluded that the conditions attached to that approval made it a land-use decision and remanded the matter to LUBA for further proceedings. Taylor said the office is reviewing the decision's implications for the city's related matters.

Members of the public used the committee's reserved testimony period to press the city for a more open process. Nick Caleb, Climate Energy Attorney at Breach Collective, urged the committee to ensure the investigation considers materials he reported in a June 20 letter, including three categories of alleged wrongdoing: (1) that Zenith misled the mayor's staff in 2019 about its handling of tar sands and petroleum shipments; (2) that Zenith misrepresented to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that an expansion would not increase throughput or volatile organic compound emissions; and (3) that Zenith's own recent filings show six consecutive years of increased liquid throughput, which would contradict earlier representations. "We are concerned that this information ... will not be included in the investigation," Caleb said, and asked that such materials be included in Cable Houston's review.

Other public witnesses—including representatives of local climate and neighborhood groups, 350PDX, and the Braided River Campaign—called for more transparency, asked that Cable Houston be given unsupervised access to city records back to 2017, and requested that the firm's full scope of work, timeline and reporting protocols be published. Marnie Glickman of the Braided River Campaign specifically requested the city use the authority she cited in Portland City Code 7.12.0.03 to compel disclosure as needed.

Taylor said the city has posted relevant public records on its portal (Portland.gov QA), including the Cable Houston contract and scope of work, and that staff will develop a work plan for Cable Houston's review. He emphasized that the scope empowers outside counsel to say in writing where they disagree with staff and to request additional documentation, and that the city can explore options for presenting Cable Houston's findings to council.

The update produced no formal action on Zenith itself. Several council members said they wanted more time to digest the Court of Appeals order and to see the draft report timeline; Taylor estimated a staff report would return to council in January or February 2026. Chair Murillo said she would press staff to increase the amount of information posted publicly when possible.

What happens next: staff will continue collecting documents and drafting a work plan for outside counsel; Cable Houston will review staff work and may request additional material. The Court of Appeals remand to LUBA is expected to prompt further proceedings in that separate appeal.

Sources: Remarks and testimony before the Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee, Nov. 13, 2025. Direct quotes and attributions to speakers are drawn from committee testimony and the City Attorney's update.