Amid Portland City Council vote, River Plan still divides environmentalists, industrialists

Portland politics are supposed to be more civil than Chicago's and our rivers cleaner than New York City's.

But even in polite Portland, environmentalists and industrialists are seeing more red than green.

Today, the City Council will vote on proposals that planners hope will allow steel companies and grain exporters to thrive along the Willamette River while encouraging them to help restore wildlife habitat along the river's polluted northern reach.

But the council will do so while trying to navigate between two sides that can't get along. Industrialists, led by the Portland Business Alliance's Working Waterfront Coalition, say the proposal -- known as the River Plan -- is costly and onerous. Ann L. Gardner of the industry group said: "I don't think we value the contribution businesses make to our city and our quality of life."

Environmentalists, led by the Audubon Society of Portland, say it guts the city's river protections. Bob Sallinger of the Audubon Society said: "This city is at risk of sacrificing its green reputation."