Earthquake and Wildfire: Your support of the steering committee’s recommended actions for earthquakes and wildfires is appreciated. You’ve also highlighted several additional actions recommended by the public, which have been documented in the MAP as actions to revisit upon the plan’s annual review to evaluate whether resources allow for their incorporation. One item of note is that the Wildfire Gap Analysis report is, in fact, included in the action plan as item PF&R-3. I agree that this is a valuable assessment and it is the city’s intention to implement its recommendations wherever possible.
Evacuations: PBEM has developed a draft evacuation plan for Linnton (click here to view it), which does refer specifically to landslide risk. Of course, evacuations from an actual landslide event might change depending on its extent and location, which we unfortunately cannot know beforehand. If there is additional information you’d like to see included in the plan, I would encourage you to work with PBEM to include it. In terms of outreach and public education on the plan, I would also encourage you to let folks know about the plan at your neighborhood association meetings and post it to your website and other highly visible locations where your neighbors might access it. We can print copies for you, if you’d like.
CEI Hub Workgroup: It is very important to us that the Linnton Neighborhood Association support the concept of a CEI hub resilience workgroup, and I would hope that there would be representation from Linnton in this group. As we mention in the report, the success of the workgroup will depend on involvement of and support from public stakeholders. This includes the Linnton Neighborhood Association, but also other stakeholders such as environmental groups and other neighborhood associations within close proximity to the CEI hub.
Land Use Repurposing: I understand and appreciate Linnton’s perspective on this topic. If you recall from the draft discussed by the steering committee, we made a specific recommendation to consider downzoning or a buy-out program for the areas immediately surrounding the CEI hub. That recommendation was removed, based on steering committee input, and in its place we included a recommendation for the CEI hub resilience workgroup to evaluate alternatives with the expectation that neighborhoods and community stakeholders would be involved in this process. Some possible options were mentioned, but the actual recommendations should come from the workgroup.
Other possible actions:
Removing tank farms from the urban area – I would encourage you to review the draft regulations being proposed by Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. While removing the existing fossil fuel facilities is not practical in the short term for many reasons, this legislation takes a big step towards a long-term shift away from placing petroleum tankage in risky areas. You can view information about the proposal here.
Rail cars, sirens, foam supplies, and insurance policies – These are all strategies that require collaboration between several levels of government and policy-makers, industry, and community members. They are all complex issues with many different perspectives. It is our hope that these and other alternatives that move us toward safety in and around the CEI hub will be discussed, evaluated, and advocated for by the CEI hub resilience workgroup.
Danielle Butsick
Natural Hazard Mitigation Planner
Portland Bureau of Emergency Management
d: (503) 823-3926 |
9911 SE Bush Street Portland, OR 97266
danielle.butsick@portlandoregon.gov