Portland loses plaza sale dispute, will appeal ruling
A decision handed down Thursday could halt the sale of two-thirds of a public park to the Ohio-based Rockbridge Capital, which has plans to build an events center attached to the former Eastland Park Hotel.
The Portland Press Herald reported a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of a group of residents who tried to petition for an ordinance that would increase protection for certain city-owned land, like Congress Square Plaza. The city had blocked the petition attempt. A lawyer for the city said Portland plans to appeal the ruling, which orders it to issue petition papers to the Friends of Congress Square Park group by 3 p.m. today.
The group needs 1,500 valid signatures to put its proposed land protection ordinance on a future ballot. And because the group’s petition request was filed prior to the city council’s sale decision, passage of such an ordinance could invalidate the $523,640 deal. The proposed ordinance would require approval from eight of the city council’s nine members to sell open spaces outright, or approval from six or seven councilors and a public referendum vote.
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