Hayden Island Neighborhood Plan Project

The purpose of the Hayden Island Neighborhood Plan Project is to develop a plan for the Island while working cooperatively with residents, business owners, and other stakeholders. The Hayden Island Plan will strive to address the unique situation of the Island while considering the best plan for its future.

Project News

If you have questions for us, please contact us referring to the link to the left, or look for us at the HINooN (Hayden Island Neighborhood Network) Meetings. These meetings are the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the former Hayden Island Yacht Club.

Introduction and History of the Island

Hayden Island is an approximately 1,400 acre island located in the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. It is bisected into East and West halves by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway line. The Eastern half is part of the City of Portland, while the Western half is not. The Eastern portion of Hayden Island is developed and includes residential and commercial areas. The residential areas vary and contain mobile and manufactured homes, floating homes, site-built homes, and condominiums. The commercial areas consist of both locally based and big-box retail. Vehicular access to Hayden Island is from Interstate 5 which runs through the Eastern portion of the island. Western Hayden Island is currently undeveloped and contains wetlands, riparian forests, and a Columbia River dredge material handling facility.

Hayden Island was first recorded in 1792. It has been called Menzies Island, Painted Image Island, and Hayden Island. It was also previously two separate islands, Hayden and Tomahawk. They are now joined. The Island was used for farming and grazing until the Interstate Bridge opened in 1917. In 1928 Jantzen Beach, a large amusement park, opened to much popularity. It remained open until 1970 after which the Jantzen Beach Shopping Center was constructed on the site. It opened in 1972 and was remodeled in the mid-1990s in order to accommodate new big-box retail development.

There have been attempts to develop West Hayden Island for a number of years, with the latest occurring in the late 1990’s. In 1999 the process was tabled for a later date due to a number of unresolved issues, which include habitat preservation, transportation issues, bridge access, and others.

Within the last ten years transportation issues have become increasingly urgent to address on Hayden Island. Initial analysis of the congestion problems and possible solutions on Interstate 5 are currently being conducted through the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project. With the CRC project unfinished and recent suggestions of new development on Hayden Island the Portland City Council enacted a development moratorium for Hayden Island in October of 2006. This was based on transportation and infrastructure concerns for the island. It was renewed in April of 2007 and was overturned by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals in July 2007. Currently the City is in the process of appealing this decision.

Currently the Bureau of Planning is developing and implementing a public outreach process. This process will lead to the creation of an area plan for Hayden Island. Ultimately the Hayden Island Plan may include: comprehensive plan and zoning designations, a street plan, development standards, a conservation strategy, and an affordable housing preservation strategy. This process will take into consideration both East and West Hayden Island and the Columbia River Crossings Project. The entire project will be conducted with a large amount of community and stakeholder involvement in order to create the best product for Hayden Island.