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The Portland City Council on Wednesday approved a plan that envisions full redevelopment of the Centennial Mills site amid questions about public access to the Willamette River and preservation of the historic flour mill on the property.

Commissioner Nick Fish offered an amendment directing the Portland Development Commission and the Portland Housing Bureau to come back with recommendations to develop affordable housing on the property for renters at 60 percent of median family income or less. Commissioners passed Fish’s amendment, and the PDC’s proposal, unanimously.

The PDC’s plan likely means the Police Bureau’s Mounted Patrol Unit will not return to the property. PDC officials have said the presence of a police office and a horse paddock limit the site’s development potential.

PDC Executive Director Kimberly Branam said a private fundraising effort is under way to relocate the Mounted Patrol Unit to another location.

Plans for the riverfront property have languished since the city acquired the land in 2000 to be a park. In 2005, the City Council directed the PDC to explore redevelopment options for the property. Harsch Investment Properties was selected through a request for proposals, but the agency let a memorandum of understanding with the developer expire, essentially ending Harsch’s involvement.

Now, the PDC plans to issue a new request for proposals late this year or early in 2018. Ground would be broken in 2018 or 2019.

The PDC’s current plan calls for mixed-use development with 426 residential units and 17,000 square feet of commercial space in three separate buildings. The existing flour mill would be renovated into office space.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman said it may be time to consider developing the property without the flour mill because development scenarios that include the structure have not gone forward.

鈥淭here’s been too much designing on high with our hopes and aspirations and nothing’s penciled yet,鈥� he said.

A group of Pearl District residents pushed for rededicating the parcel to open space as originally planned, with little or no development on the site. 鈥淚t would be a shame if it becomes a privatized enclave on the river,鈥� the Pearl District Neighborhood Association stated in a letter to the City Council.

Residents said preliminary renderings by GBD Architects showed too many buildings and not enough open space.

Commissioners said any development at Centennial Mills must connect to the Willamette River Greenway and ensure public access to the river.

鈥淚 do not want to foreclose opportunities to reinvigorate our waterways,鈥� Mayor Ted Wheeler said. 鈥淲e’ve turned our backs on the Willamette for too long.鈥�

Another twist was revealed when Sarah Iannarone, speaking on behalf of Oregon Harbor of Hope, the nonprofit founded by developer Homer Williams to raise funds for a homeless shelter, floated the prospect of temporarily relocating Right 2 Dream Too to Centennial Mills.

鈥淭his is actually a very viable option for moving R2DToo in the short term,鈥� Iannarone said.

She said Centennial Mills would be a 鈥渢emporary site while we find a permanent location.鈥� Iannarone did not identify a permanent location, or say how long R2DToo would need to stay at Centennial Mills.

PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said Centennial Mills has not been discussed as a site for the homeless camp.

鈥淧DC hasn’t had any conversations with anyone representing R2DToo,鈥� Uhlman said.

The agency has done no due diligence on the property to see if it would be suitable for a homeless camp, Uhlman said.

That would seem to make Centennial Mills an unlikely temporary site for R2DToo, which faces an April 7 eviction date to move from its current location at the Old Town Chinatown gate. Developers of the Grove Hotel under construction next door have sued to force the city to evict the homeless camp.