Zenith Update: When “Enforceable” Means Not Enforceable

Transcript:

Hey folks. I wanted to give an update on the lawsuit from environmental groups and Portland residents against the City of Portland for granting a Land Use Compatibility Statement to Zenith Energy back in March. 

Basically, the lawsuit is still in the stages of fighting about whether the case will be heard at the Land Use Board of Appeals or Multnomah County Circuit Court, but something interesting happened at an appeals court hearing yesterday that is worth highlighting. 

In short, City Attorney Lauren King told the Oregon Court of Appeals that the conditions in Zenith’s LUCS are not actually enforceable. 

This was an incredible thing to say to a judge given that the Land Use Compatibility Statement approved by the city includes language that repeatedly says that the conditions are enforceable by the city of Portland.

When pressed by the judges about how the words that said the conditions were enforceable could possibly mean that they weren’t, King acted like she was completely unaware of the context for why Zenith would submit these supplemental conditions as a part of its LUCS application. 

This was an extraordinary act of omission given that Lauren King was the City Attorney who negotiated these conditions with Zenith in the now infamous 2022 backroom deal. Instead of providing this background to the court, King withheld this important context from the judges.  

Why is the city making these arguments? In short, the city attorney and by extension, the mayor, city administrators, and staff who continue to grant permissions to Zenith despite repeated lawbreaking and continuous dishonesty would rather give up these weak conditions than allow the public to have a voice in whether Zenith’s activities are consistent with our comprehensive plan.

As the lawsuit continues forward, the public deserves answers about these representations to the court. Did the city always consider these conditions unenforceable and just shine us on for public relations purposes as they conspired with Zenith? Or is the city purely being opportunistic to keep the public from interfering with their choices? 

Either way, it’s a bad look and another betrayal in a long list of betrayals since the city decided to get into bed with Zenith. 

More to come as the case continues forward.