In the wake of a controversial plan by city leaders to sell part of Mt. Tabor Park -- a plan that provoked neighbor's anger and accusations of secret deals -- officials announced Thursday that the City of Portland won’t sell the land to Warner Pacific College.

Background: City leaders deny sales plan but their own documents prove otherwise

Portland City Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday calling for an update of the Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan; with the council's approval, the public process to update the master plan for Mt. Tabor Park to include the 20-acre Central Maintenance Yard and Horticultural Service Center will move forward in January 2008.

The update is expected to be completed, with design, costs, and timeline, by January 2009.

"The process expressed in this resolution starts with the assumption that the Parks Central Maintenance Yard is staying at its current location," said Parks Commissioner Dan Saltzman. "I fully support this assumption and hope Council can support this and pass the resolution before us. It is a vital step on the path to real improvements in our employees' working conditions."

The Mt. Tabor Park Central Yard, on the south side of the park, is home to Portland Parks and Recreation’s central maintenance facilities; these facilities and the associated nursery have provided critical support functions for Portland's park system for nearly a century and are a part of the National Register historic district that encompasses all of Mt.Tabor Park.

Community concerns over the planned sale of 8.5 acres of this land to Warner Pacific College for private development prompted a series of mediated discussions with PP&R staff in April and May.

The original Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan was completed in 1999, but its scope did not include that part of the park that houses the maintenance yard and nursery.

The new public process will consider, from both the community and PP&R points of view, the pros and cons for maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the Mt. Tabor Park Central Yard and Horticultural Service Center, and the associated financial implications, PP&R officials said.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman and parks director Zari Santner came under fire earlier this year after the public learned of their plans for the sale.