29-05-2025
Residents appeal Oaks Amusement Park's plan to install 135-foot Drop Tower ride
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Some Portlanders are pushing back on Oaks Amusement Park's plan to install a ride they worry would hinder the surrounding neighborhood and animal habitats.
The City's Hearings Office heard an appeal on the proposed 135-foot and 5-inch 'Drop Tower' on Wednesday. Portland Permitting & Development tentatively approved the plan on March 25, but the Bird Alliance of Oregon, Urban Greenspaces Institute and Friends of Oaks Bottom challenged the decision with an appeal the following month.
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The the proposal violates city regulations against structures that are more than 30 feet tall within residential farm zones, although Oaks Park Association Marketing & Events Director Emily MacKay that rule predates the 120-year-old park.
But according to appellants, the high-intensity lights and historic light poles proposed along with the Drop Tower would also violate the city's rules against exterior lights that aren't shielded on top or on the sides. Both the Bird Alliance and Friends of Oak Bottom claim the lights could disorient birds, in addition to being an '.
'Wild birds are in trouble, with a third of North American migrants destroyed over the last 50 years, yet the City has decided to put essential habitat, migratory airspace, and the many special status species of Oaks Bottom and surrounding areas at risk,' Portland resident Eileen Stark wrote in testimony to the Hearing's Office. 'Oaks Park Association must curtail — or at the very least — drastically modify its Drop Tower lighting design and provide a biological opinion and photometric plan that realistically evaluates impact to vulnerable wildlife.'
On the contrary, Jesse Roper — the biologist that Oaks Park tapped to conduct an analysis of the proposal — claimed wildlife in the surrounding area is 'too far away' to be negatively impacted by the Drop Tower.
'In general, the effects from ALAN on migrating birds are a legitimate concern,' Roper's presentation read at the hearing. 'However, these specific lights in this specific location are outside of typical migration flight paths.'
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City Planner Andy Gulizia further noted that officials accepted the proposal with conditions that are stricter than what is typically expected of an amusement park. Oaks Park Association CEO Brandon Roben added that the proposed ride's lights would only be illuminated during the park's limited daytime operating hours.
Portland Hearings Officer David Doughman is expected to issue a decision on the appeal in early July.
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