AUG. 6, 2010:NWLP
8/3/10
10:10 AM
Page 6
...Marine terminal at Hayden Island would create jobs
(From Page 1)
national Longshore and Warehouse
Union Local 8, told delegates at a July
26 meeting of the Northwest Oregon
Labor Council that West Hayden Is-
land is the only piece of land within
the urban growth boundary that pro-
vides access to two railroad mainlines,
interstate highway trucking corridors
and a deep-water port facility located
on a newly deepened international
shipping channel.
“The channel deepening was a 10-
year, nearly $200 million federal, state
and local investment in our maritime-
trade future,” he said.
A community work group formed
by Mayor Sam Adams more than 18
months ago was charged with advis-
ing the City Council on whether a mix
of uses was possible on the island.
The group was not able to reach a
consensus. Eight members of the 15-
member panel felt it was doable,
while six members said it was not
possible. Eleven votes (75 percent)
were needed for the proposal to be
forwarded to the City Council as a
recommendation.
Bruce Holte, a former president of
ILWU Local 8 and a member of the
community work group, told City
commissioners the committee spent
more than a year and a half reviewing
various impact studies.
“It was clear from the discussions
around the table, that many of the
members had strongly held views that
were not going to be influenced by the
information,” said Holte, who also
Jeff Smith (lower right), president of the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union Local 8, joins longshore workers and Teamsters in a
“thumbs up” for testimony at Portland City Council in favor of developing a
portion of West Hayden Island into a deep water marine terminal. Because of
the large turnout, Mayor Sam Adams asked the audience not to clap or boo,
but rather to show support or disapproval with a thumbs up or thumbs down.
serves as a commissioner on the Port
of Portland. “This is why it didn’t sur-
prise me that we spent very little time
discussing how a mix use could be
reconciled. I do believe that a mix of
uses on Hayden Island is possible.”
Tom Chamberlain, president of the
Oregon AFL-CIO, agreed.
“Jobs and the environment can co-
exist,” he testified. “As much as we talk
about green jobs in Oregon, we seem
to focus on the green part a whole lot
more than we do the jobs part.”
Chamberlain pointed out that even
though the proposal is about using
less than half of the available land for
job creation, “this isn’t recognized by
our opponents as an economic sacri-
fice or as a good-faith effort to bal-
ance those interests. Those of us who
want to keep this land in job produc-
tion have already conceded over 500
acres. Why is it so unreasonable to
keep 300 acres for jobs and trade?”
Opponents of marine development
argued that mixed use on the island is
unattainable. They want all of West
Hayden to remain wild. Environmen-
tal activists successfully blocked an-
nexation for industrial development in
1999.
The City Council resolution calls
for the annexation and development
guidelines to come back to council in
December 2011.
“As amended, what we are agree-
ing to is a road map for the second
phase of analysis,” said Commissioner
Nick Fish. “This vote does not call the
question on whether we go forward
on annexation. It does not call the
question on whether we will develop
any particular way. But it does say
that we believe there is a basis for go-
ing forward into a second phase.”
Commissioner Dan Saltzman said
the resolution, with the amendment to
limit marine development to no more
than 300 acres, “does strike a good
balance and holds the Port’s feet to the
fire to make it work as efficiently as
possible.”
Although she recognized Hayden
Island as a valuable economic asset,
Commissioner Amanda Fritz said she
was “not yet convinced that the costs
of developing this site as a marine ter-
minal outweigh its environmental,
recreation, and open space values.
Doing what’s right is our city’s mantra
for a sustainable development, and it
often costs us more than doing what is
wrong. This council has demonstrated
over and over that we are willing to
pay to do the right thing for the Cli-
mate Action Plan and for other goals
our citizens value.”
Hayden Island is located in the
lower Columbia River at its conflu-
ence with the Willamette River. It is
part of a regional network of natural
areas that provide habitat for migrat-
ing birds and many other species.
Hayden Island is bisected by the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail-
road line. Currently, the western por-
tion of the island contains electrical
power lines, transmission towers, the
Columbia Wastewater Treatment
Plant pump house and de-chlorination
facility, and dredge spoils and storage.
Wyatt, director of the Port of Port-
land, said even if all goes according to
schedule, it’s unlikely a terminal
would be operational on the island for
at least 10 years.
Zachary
Zabinsky
• Social Security Disability
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PAGE 6
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
AUGUST 6, 2010