Should Portland adopt the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub Policy Project to support public health and natural hazards risk reduction (amend Code Titles 33 and 24)?

The City of Portland ordains.Section 1. The Council finds:The State of Oregon and the greater Pacific Northwest are vulnerable to powerful subduction zone earthquakes that occur periodically along the Juan de Fuqua and North American plates.In the past, both the Huu-ay-aht First Nation peoples and the Makah tribe shared stories of lost land and peoples as a result of these earthquakes and tsunamis, which scientific research has matched with Japanese tsunami records and on-the-ground geologic field research to reconstruct the Cascadia earthquake of 1700. This research shows that subduction zone earthquakes have occurred along the Pacific Northwest with relative regularity over the last 10,000 years, and if averages from past events are predictive, the region could be overdue for another powerful subduction zone earthquake.Fuels stored in areas subject to natural hazards, such as liquefaction, wildfire and landslides, pose risks to safety, public health, and livability, including mobility of people, freight, and other commercial vehicles.The Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub in northwest Portland consists of eleven (11) bulk fuel terminals and the area is subject to multiple natural hazards, including liquefiable soils, wildfire and landslides.The CEI Hub, which consists of Oregon's primary liquid fuel storage and distribution facilities, receives 90 percent of the state's liquid fuel supply either via pipeline or marine vessel. Most of the fuel storage tanks within the CEI Hub were built before seismic design requirements in Oregon's building codes were adopted in 1993.The Portland Bureau of Emergency Management's Mitigation Action Plan (2021) identifies how natural hazard events like floods, landslides, and earthquakes might affect the City of Portland. The Portland area has experienced numerous earthquakes in the past, ranging from Magnitude 4.5 to 9.0.The CEI Hub, and bulk fuel terminals therein, are vulnerable to failure in the event of subduction zone earthquake. A 2012 Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) Earthquake Risk Study for Oregon's Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub states that a magnitude 8 or 9 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake would impact the CEI Hub with: ground shaking; liquefaction (soil behavior phenomenon in which a saturated sand softens and loses strength during strong earthquake ground shaking); lateral spreading (where surficial soil permanently moves laterally due to earthquake shaking); landslides; co-seismic settlement (where the ground surface is permanently lowered due to seismic shaking); and bearing capacity failures (when the foundation soil cannot support the structure it is intended to support). The study also notes that, at the time, only three existing storage tanks were known to have addressed liquefaction vulnerabilities.Most of Portland's industrial districts, especially those areas with river access, are located in areas with a high probability of liquefaction, as documented by the 2018 DOGAMI Earthquake Regional Impact Analysis. Fuel storage and associated transloading infrastructure pose considerable risks in the event of a major earthquake as documented by the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management's 2016 Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub Study; the 2012 DOGAMI Earthquake Risk Study for Oregon's Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub; the 2019 Portland State University Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub Fuel Tank Seismic Assessment, and the 2022 Multnomah County/City of Portland Impacts of a Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake on the CEI Hub report.Continuing to allow the unlimited expansion of capacity at bulk fuel terminals in a high-risk area increases the risk to the surrounding industrial district, the Willamette River and Portland as a whole.Tribal communities in Oregon have expressed the importance of protecting the river, a life sustaining and sacred water. They have shared their support for efforts to reduce risks associated with the storage of fuel in natural hazard areas near the river and the related threats to human health, cultural heritage, and environmental quality.Resolution 37168, adopted November 12, 2015, expressed the City Council's opposition to the "expansion of infrastructure whose primary purpose is transporting or storing fossil fuels in or through Portland or adjacent waterways." It also expressed the Council's intent not to restrict improvements in safety, efficiency, or seismic resilience; the provision of service directly to end users; or infrastructure that will accelerate the transition to non-fossil fuel energy sources.In 2016, as part of the adoption of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan (Ordinances 187832, 188177 and 188695), Council adopted Policy 6.48 to limit fossil fuel distribution and storage facilities to those necessary to serve the regional market.The 2035 Comprehensive Plan sets policy direction (Policies 4.75 and 4.76) to encourage disaster-resilient development and specifically to reduce natural hazard risks to critical energy and transportation infrastructure in Portland Harbor.Resolution 37289, adopted May 20, 2017, established a goal to meet 100 percent of community-wide energy needs, including transportation fuels, with renewable energy by 2050.The Climate Emergency Declaration (Resolution 37494), adopted June 30, 2020, declared that a human-made climate emergency threatens our city, our region, our state, our nation, humanity, and the natural world, and that such an emergency calls for an immediate mobilization effort initiating greater action, resources, and collaboration that prioritizes frontline communities to restore a safe climate.The Climate Emergency Declaration (Resolution 37494) further resolved that the City of Portland will adopt new policies and development standards to further prevent expansion of new fossil fuel infrastructure, reduce fossil fuel consumption, reduce the risk to the community and the environment, and encourage the adoption and use of clean, renewable fuels, including but not limited to updating the Renewable Fuel Standard.In 2022, Ordinance 190978 adopted amendments to Title 33, Planning and Zoning, that prohibited new bulk fossil fuel terminals within the City of Portland and placed limits on new fossil fuel storage tank capacity at existing terminals except for storage for aviation and renewable fuels.In 2023 the City received a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "to adopt additional zoning code restrictions on fossil fuel terminals so that the energy infrastructure of Portland will be more seismically resilient, and to amend the natural hazard policies in the 2035 Comprehensive Plan to provide a stronger policy foundation for these actions."The CEI Hub Policy Project continues to implement established City policy by further limiting increases in bulk fuel terminal storage tank capacity within a high-risk area, which will reduce the risk to the surrounding industrial district, community, and the Willamette River, compared to current regulations.The CEI Hub Policy Project amendments will regulate transloading facilities and the expansion of renewable and aviation fuel storage tank capacity, which are not currently regulated. The proposed amendments allow for limited opportunities for expansion of aviation fuel storage capacity and for transloading infrastructure through Type III land use reviews.The CEI Hub Policy Project amends Comprehensive Plan Policy 6.48 to articulate the City's intent to further regulate bulk fuel terminals and serve as a policy basis for expanding zoning limitations on facilities for all types of fuels.The amendment to Policy 6.48 also removes references to "the regional market," a market-specific geography that the city does not have the authority to regulate.The CEI Hub Policy Project also amends Comprehensive Plan Policy 3.72 to remove the CEI Hub from the list of industrial and port facilities that should be enhanced. This amendment provides the policy direction to support the zoning limitations on terminal capacity. This amendment works in conjunction with a new Policy 3.83.c, which recognizes the economic importance of the CEI Hub without encouraging additional growth at the Hub.The CEI Hub Policy Project creates new CEI Hub-specific Comprehensive Plan policies (Policy 3.83 and 3.83 a through 3.83 i) and a new map (Figure 3-10, Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub Policy Geography). The new policies support limits on bulk fuel terminals in the CEI Hub, environmental and human health, community resilience, and emergency management coordination; while also acknowledging the economic value the CEI Hub provides.The CEI Hub Policy Project Title 33 zoning code amendments continue to prohibit new bulk fuel terminals, and they further limit expansions of existing terminals. The amendments also create development standards that regulate new and replacement fuel storage tanks and related transloading facilities. The zoning code amendments also create three Bulk Fuel Terminal Reviews under which approval may be granted for: expansion of existing or creation of new transloading facilities; a limited increase in aviation fuel storage capacity; and the transfer of storage tank capacity from one terminal to another. These Bulk Fuel Terminal Reviews are designed to ensure that bulk fuel terminals have a pathway to propose expansions that improve safety and ensure fuel needs can continue to be met.The CEI Hub Policy Project also includes technical amendments to Title 24, Building Regulations, to more explicitly state that a building permit is required for structural support for "piping carrying combustible, flammable or hazardous materials" to match Title 31, Fire Regulations.All of the amendments are intended to support to human health and safety, environmental health, and resilience, with minor impacts to economic prosperity and equity.The amendments are intended to reduce the financial risks associated with a major accident involving bulk fuel storage and related infrastructure in the CEI Hub in northwest Portland as identified in the 2022 Multnomah County/City of Portland Impacts of a Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake on the CEI Hub report.Between May and September of 2025, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) staff engaged a wide variety of interested parties, which informed development of preliminary concepts and alternatives that were presented to the public in the CEI Hub Policy Project Discussion Draft. In September 2025, a postcard was mailed to all addresses on postal routes within a mile of the CEI Hub. These postcards provided a project overview, an invitation to the Discussion Draft open house, links to project website and the project email address.On September 16, 2025, the CEI Hub Policy Project Discussion Draft was released for public review, and comments were accepted through October 17, 2025. Staff received over 850 written public comments.On November 10, 2025, notice of the proposed action was filed with the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) in compliance with the post-acknowledgement plan amendment review process required by OAR 660-18-020.On November 10, 2025, a Measure 56 notice for the CEI Hub Policy Project Proposed Draft was mailed to property owners of sites with a bulk fuel terminal use or fuel storage within the City's industrial or employment base zones.On November 10, 2025, notice of the December 16, 2025, Planning Commission public hearing on the CEI Hub Policy Project Proposed Draft was sent in accordance with Code Section 33.740.020.B, Public notice for the hearing.On November 14, 2025, the CEI Hub Policy Project Proposed Draft was released for public review.On December 2, 2025, the Planning Commission received a briefing on the CEI Hub Policy Project Proposed Draft from BPS staff.On December 16, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the CEI Hub Policy Project Proposed Draft. Sixty-three (63) people testified orally and 155 pieces of written testimony were submitted.On January 10, February 14, February 27, and March 10, 2026, the Planning Commission held work sessions to discuss the proposal and discuss potential amendments.On March 10, 2026, the Planning Commission voted on a set of amendments to the Proposed Draft and voted to forward a recommendation to City Council on the amended package.On August 17, 2026, the CEI Hub Policy Project Recommended Draft was released for public review.On September 2, 2026, notice of the September 16, 2026, hearing before the Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole of the Portland City Council on the CEI Hub Policy Project Recommended Draft was mailed to all persons who have testified in writing, testified at the Planning Commission hearing, or have requested such notice.On September 16, 2026, the Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole held a hearing on the CEI Hub Policy Project and invited public testimony.The City Council held a hearing on the CEI Hub Policy Project on October 21, 2026, and invited public testimony.The Findings of Fact Report, attached as Exhibit A, includes additional findings demonstrating consistency with the Statewide Planning Goals, Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan, and the City of Portland 2035 Comprehensive Plan.The City Council finds that large bulk fuel terminals at the CEI Hub represent a risk to people, property and the natural environment that the City Council finds as a compelling reason to limit future risk by further limiting the expansion of fuel storage tank capacity and transloading infrastructure at existing terminals. Continuing to allow an unlimited increase in capacity at bulk fuel terminals in a moderate- to high-risk area would be less supportive of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan than adopting the CEI Hub Policy Project amendments.NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:Adopt Exhibit A, Findings of Fact Report, as additional findings.Adopt Exhibit B, CEI Hub Policy Project Recommended Draft, dated August 2026, as further legislative intent and findings.Amend the 2035 Comprehensive Plan, as shown in Section 3 of Exhibit B, CEI Hub Policy Project Recommended Draft, dated August 2026.Amend Title 33, Planning and Zoning, of the Municipal Code of the City of Portland, as shown in Section 3 of Exhibit B, CEI Hub Policy Project Recommended Draft, dated August 2026.Amend Title 24, Building Regulations, as shown in Section 4 of Exhibit B, CEI Hub Policy Project Recommended Draft, dated August 2026.The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability shall report to City Council no later than December 31, 2028, on the implementation of this ordinance, including: An update on fuel demand projections;An update on progress and status of Oregon DEQ Fuel Tank Seismic Stability program required Risk Mitigation Implementation Plans (RMIPs) for terminals in the CEI Hub; andAn update on the newly established Title 33 Bulk Fuel Terminal Reviews including how many reviews and the change in storage capacity or transloading infrastructure.City Bureaus, including Portland Permitting and Development, Portland Bureau of Emergency Management, and Portland Fire and Rescue, shall continue collaboration and coordination to support public health and natural hazards risk reduction in the CEI Hub.Section 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, diagram, designation, or drawing contained in this Ordinance, or the plan, map or code it adopts or amends, is held to be deficient, invalid or unconstitutional, that shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions. The Council declares that it would have adopted the plan, map, or code and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, diagram, designation, and drawing thereof, regardless of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, diagrams, designations, or drawings contained in this Ordinance, may be found to be deficient, invalid or unconstitutional.