When Mayor Ted Wheeler reassigned the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) to Commissioner Carmen Rubio at the beginning of the month, climate activists in Portland had cause for hope. The city commissioner in charge of BDS is responsible for the city’s decision about whether to grant a land use permit to the oil transport company Zenith Energy to continue operating its oil transportation facility in Northwest Portland. Each year, Zenith transports hundreds of millions of.
The city of Portland denied Zenith Energy’s Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) Friday, labeling the oil transport facility’s operations in conflict with the city's climate goals. The denial could force the Zenith facility to shut down completely. Environmental advocates and local leaders are celebrating the decision while the future of the Zenith facility is in limbo. The battle over the LUCS decision started because Zenith needs to renew its air permit with the Oregon Department.
The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed a recent land use decision that upheld the city of Portland’s right to deny Zenith Energy a permit to operate its Northwest Portland oil tank facility Wednesday. Zenith’s facility stores oil that arrives by train and ships it out from a dock in Northwest Portland’s industrial zone on the Willamette River. The facility has been under scrutiny from city officials and environmental activists for years for its contribution to.