The Portland Council hearing has been rescheduled. The hearing regarding the request to rezone Colwood Golf Course from open space to industrial is now expected to happen on September 17th. Formal notice of the hearing should be posted by the City on or before August 20th.

We will have a strategy meeting prior to the hearing but there are always opportunities to have your voice be heard and help keep Colwood green before the hearing:

• Talk to your neighbors, co-workers, and friends about this issue. Ask them to provide written or in-person comment the Portland City Council Members to Keep Colwood Green!
• Contact your neighborhood association. Ask them to adopt a formal resolution asking that the City Council deny the request to rezone Colwood and to let the Council know about it! Many neighborhood associations have already done this, including Concordia, Cully, Parkrose, the Central Northeast Neighbors Coalition, and the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods.
• Contact your local businesses and business associations and ask them to join the North Northeast Business Association, Fox Chase Business Association, and many local businesses in supporting the livability and health of Portland’s residents!
• Contact the environmental organizations you are part of, ask them to join the Audubon Society and others in opposing the rezoning of Colwood!
• Tell the press. Comment on articles related to the rezoning and send letters to the editor showing your support to Keep Colwood Green! Here are links to a couple of recent articles and posts that directly address or are related to the Colwood rezoning request:

1. [1] No Third Runway - July 20, 2008 Portland Tribune: A key impetus for the rezoning request for Colwood - and the possible future request to rezone Broadmoor from open space to industrial - was expansion of the airport. That expansion is off the table. You can also comment on the related post in [2] Jack Bog’s Blog.
2. [3] 2 public courses’ days may be numbered - July 15, 2008 Portland Tribune: This story notes that there is a push to rezone Colwood and Broadmoor Golf Courses to industrial. Both courses are zoned open space and previously were zoned agricultural. Both provide open space and recreation in an area that is underserved in both of these areas. The rezoning of either area would result in enviromental and local health impacts. Both areas should be preserved under their present zoning.

And be ready to provide written and/or public testimony against the rezone. We need you! The Portland City Council needs to hear from you!