Council approves Freightliner laboratory 3

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--> --> Council approves Freightliner laboratory PORTLAND (AP) - The city council has given tentative approval to Freightliner's effort to build a 2.2-acre wind tunnel research laboratory along the Swan Island Lagoon. Freightliner says the tunnel will help improve the aerodynamic drag of its trucks, leading to fuel savings. "It's an important case not just because it's a vote of solidarity with Freightliner, but because it calls the question of whether we're going to have an industrial waterfront," Commissioner Charlie Hales said. "It's nice to say warm and fuzzy things about the river, but we've got to figure out whether there's any place you can put a crane and a loading dock anymore." Wednesday's vote gave the truck manufacturer and city regulators three weeks to work out some environmental concerns. Gregory Frank, a city land-use hearings officer, had recommended that the council deny Freightliner's application to extend the wind tunnel 60 feet into and over the Willamette River lagoon. Frank said he wasn't convinced that a wind tunnel was an appropriate use of scarce waterfront property under state and local land-use laws. The tunnel would extend into the Willamette River Greenway, an area protected from development by Oregon land-use laws. The city's land-use goals allow industrial development in the greenway as long as it doesn't reduce land available for river-dependent uses. Freightliner officials say wind tunnels work most efficiently when they are near water because they pick up less dust and debris. Freightliner has laid off about 1,850 employees locally and plans to cut 781 more jobs as demand for its trucks slows. The company had considered closing its Portland truck-manufacturing plant. Instead, it announced a restructuring plan last month that called for the shutdown of its parts plant in 2002. Company officials say the wind tunnel won't create many new jobs but will help make Freightliner's trucks more competitive. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing