91ÊÓƵ

Potentially one of the final public forums to discuss the West Hayden Island project before it’s presented to City Council will be held tonight.

The forum, hosted by the Planning and Sustainability Commission, will be held at 5:30 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Portland Building. It will involve discussing the latest draft of the project’s plan, which was released on Aug. 14. Mayor Sam Adam’s recent health and environmental report on the project, released last week, will also be discussed.

City Council will eventually have the final say on whether the project moves forward. That will not happen until the PSC makes a recommendation to the council, according to Eric Engstrom, principal planner for the city.

Based on the recommendations voiced at tonight’s meeting, the PSC will meet again on Nov. 27 to discuss the plan. There is a chance that the PSC will make a recommendation to the council at that meeting, which would put the project up for council vote in December, Engstrom said.

The most recent version of the plan details the island’s potential use, specifically excluding coal and liquid gas use, which the city of Portland would prohibit.

Other details include street improvements to Hayden Island Drive, which surrounds the island, and various community mitigation strategies, such as a Community Benefit Grant Program, which would create a fund that neighborhoods in the area could use toward other projects.

The draft is a continuation of a concept plan that was released by the bureau earlier this year. In that plan, the city proposed to develop 300 acres of the island into a marine terminal and a railway loop. The other 500 acres of the island would be devoted to recreational use and habitat preservation.

Both local environmental groups and neighbors have voiced concern over how the project could impact local residents and wildlife.