Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council v. City of Portland

The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the Land Use Board of Appeals’ (LUBA’s) conclusion that the City of Portland’s zoning amendments banning new and expanded fossil fuel terminals violated the dormant Commerce Clause. The court concluded that the City’s alleged discrimination against out-of-state producers and refiners of fossil fuels and favoring in-state end users of fossil fuels did not constitute discrimination under the dormant Commerce Clause because the alleged discrimination was not between “substantially similar” out-of-state and in-state entities. The court also concluded that the zoning amendments did not bar out-of-state commerce from entering or operating within the state and did not discriminate against out-of-state consumers. In addition, the court found that the amendments survived the Pike balancing test because the business trade groups had not demonstrated the claimed burdens on interstate commerce were clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits. The court also reversed a LUBA finding that the ordinance violated one statewide planning goal but upheld a LUBA finding that the ordinance violated a different statewide planning goal.