Funeral business Riverview Abbey owns 17 acres of forestland in a city-designated "environmental conservation zone", and they're looking at maybe selling that off to some developers to build infill housing there. The developers plan to cut down a few hundred trees so that they can build the Portland politicians' dreams: "high density housing" on what would become 46 lots; 35 of which are in an active landslide zone.
Some of the folks in the surrounding neighborhoods are pretty miffed; claiming that the plans call for removal of 879 trees that will "impact fish and wildlife habitat, groundwater recharge, wetlands, and is in an existing land-slide area" (there are no fish in the area, nor wetlands). Apart from all of that, they note that the development would add hundreds of trips on already congested and poorly-maintained area roads (which would be the case, assuming that developers were not forced to modify the roads to accommodate the increased area traffic, which suburbs require but Portland does not).
And so although some of their "concerns" seem well founded (traffic, a known landslide area), it appears for the most part that their main concern is keeping a "forested, urban, undeveloped tract of land" for their own enjoyment as a park of sorts. In that case, they should purchase the land themselves, rather than attempting to strong-arm acquiescence to their demands. If the funeral home is willing to sell them the property, then they can protect it to their hearts' content.
At present, however, the spat has all the earmarks of your typical Lefty Portlanders attempting to impose their will upon the owners of the land - and for free.
