PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The City of Portland has rejected an attempt to block a new “drop tower” at Oaks Amusement Park.
Portland hearings officer David Doughman struck down the appeal from the Bird Alliance of Oregon, Urban Greenspaces Institute and Friends of Oak Bottom on Thursday. Now, the amusement park can proceed with their plans to construct the 135-foot-5-inch-tall ride.
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The city typically prohibits structures that are more than 30 feet tall from being located within a residential farm zone, but the Oaks Park Association has noted that rule predates the 120-year-old site. And according to land use officials, that rule aims to ensure residences are similar heights to allow homeowners privacy in their neighborhoods — and the proposed ride is not located within a single-dwelling residential neighborhood.
“The significant distance separating the ride from a single-dwelling neighborhood means the ride will not disrupt the building scale or privacy options of the neighborhood and permits a finding that the ride will equally meet purposes of the Height Standard,” Doughman wrote in his decision. “If the ride were closer to a residential neighborhood, a height adjustment of this magnitude would be a much closer question for the Hearings Officer.”…