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A long-range development plan was adopted for Portland International Airport and the surrounding area.

Unanimous votes of approval by the Port of Portland Commission and Portland City Council, in separate meetings on Wednesday, ended a three-year planning process. However, the final plan left out the most controversial aspect being proposed: strengthened environmental zoning for properties along the Columbia Slough. City and port staffers in the next year plan to further discuss the zoning with industrial business officials, who are concerned that tighter restrictions could generate negative economic impacts.

鈥淲e’ve been asking them to separate the two projects since last summer and we’re glad that the city decided to,鈥� said Corky Collier, executive director of the Columbia Corridor Association, which represents business and property stakeholders along the slough. 鈥淥ur point all along has been that these two issues should be handled separately so the zoning had more time to be discussed.鈥�

The project, known as Airport Futures, does two things. First, it updates the port’s master plan for the airport, to guide development through 2035. Second, it creates a land-use plan for the city that recognizes the uniqueness of airport-related development.

The land-use plan also eliminates the need for the port to periodically reapply to the city for conditional-use review and approval, and sets up an environmental mitigation plan for when airport development does occur.

The plan also states that because of a much smaller predicted growth rate than for the previous 25 years, a third parallel runway will not be built. Additionally, the plan states that the existing airport terminal and roads can meet projected demand through 2035 with only modest improvements.

鈥淚 want to point special attention to the fact that the plan prohibits development of a third runway and it would require approval from the council for that to be changed,鈥� Councilor Amanda Fritz said before voting in favor of the plan. 鈥淪taff worked hard in making these types of determinations, and I’d like to thank them for that.鈥�

But despite creating maps and specific language that would update and strengthen environmental overlay zoning for properties near the airport, the city did not include such content in its land-use plan.

Presently, land within 50 feet of the bank of the slough is in a conservation zone. Under the proposed new zoning, that area would become a protection zone and the next 50 feet out would become a conservation zone.

Under conservation zoning, development and improvements are allowed in exchange for a set amount of mitigation or restoration work, but under protection zoning, neither is allowed. Businesses could operate as they do now, but expansions and improvements would be strictly prohibited in a protection zone. A zoning change mostly would affect industrial businesses and golf courses.

Early in the Airport Futures project, City Council decided to dovetail the airport master plan and zoning updates in order to conserve resources and ensure they didn’t interfere with each other. But then industrial stakeholders began to express concerns about potential zoning changes.

According to Collier, the CCA’s objection continues to be that creation of a protection zone would eliminate some of the city’s supply of available industrial land without a replenishment plan in place. This is the same issue that arose with the North Reach portion of the River Plan, which was adopted by the city last year.

According to the ordinance adopted by the city to approve the new land-use plan for the airport, City Council decided to defer adding the new zoning because of uncertainty about the River Plan. It was remanded to the city by the state Land Use Board of Appeals in late January after LUBA concluded that the city needed to either provide evidence that the River Plan wasn’t causing a loss of industrial land, or put in place a plan to replace the lost industrial land.

The city is presently working through the River Plan issues identified by LUBA. If they were addressed to the state’s satisfaction, the city would go forward with the proposed new zoning along the slough.

鈥淭he (Planning and Sustainability) Commission recognizes the importance of the area as an industrial sanctuary, but we were also moved by testimony that urged the city to preserve and enhance a narrow environmental buffer along the slough over time,鈥� wrote Don Hanson, a commission member, in a letter to Portland City Council urging it to go forward with the zoning change. 鈥淭he commission heard that this is needed not only to meet city goals, policies and compliance obligations, but also as a legacy we all owe to the future generations.鈥�

Collier said the CCA is optimistic that an agreement on zoning can be reached. But its stance, he said, will be dictated by the city’s adjusted River Plan, and how LUBA responds to it.