Height, and where tall buildings would detract from neighborhoods, dominated the initial public hearing for the proposed draft of Portland’s Central City 2035 Plan.

Goose Hollow and West End residents came out in force on Tuesday to a meeting of the Planning and Sustainability Commission to oppose proposed maximum building heights of up to 460 feet on some parcels. The Goose Hollow Foothills League has been a vocal advocate for preserving views of Mount Hood from the historic neighborhood.

“Excessive heights cause an excessive incentive to tear down rather than preserve,” said Richard Rahm, a West End resident.

Developers and some affordable-housing advocates have been pushing for taller buildings to provide more housing and greater return on investments. That has caused consternation throughout Portland, and the West End and Goose Hollow have emerged as particular hot spots for the debate.

Sherry Salomon, a Goose Hollow resident, said allowing buildings up to 325 feet “threatens the character of our neighborhood.” It puts at risk historic Goose Hollow buildings such as the Concordia Club, a historic Jewish social club, she said.

Fred Leeson, president of the Architectural Heritage Center’s board, lamented that the neighborhood’s views of Mount Hood haven’t been the same since construction of the KOIN Tower in 1983.

“We seem to be in such a rush to be a huge city just like any other American city,” he said.

Walt Weyler, a West End resident and an Oregon Symphony Association board member, said the city should not allow construction of large multifamily buildings without additional parking.

“Parking is needed for arts performances,” he said.

The city has moved away from minimum parking requirements, instead investing in public transit.

Some speakers advocated for greater heights. Allison Reynolds, a lawyer representing Unico Properties, owner of the U.S. Bancorp Tower, said the code should allow for unlimited height at the site of the skyscraper better known as Big Pink.

The building, along with the KOIN Tower and the Wells Fargo Center, predates and exceeds downtown’s 460-foot height limit. As a result, the towers are considered nonconforming uses, which could complicate refinancing, transactions or rebuilding after a disaster, Reynolds said.

Reynolds added that the buildings’ owners would be amenable to limiting the allowable height on those properties to the towers’ current heights, but she said there are some discrepancies in how skyscrapers’ heights are measured.

Portland State University officials also argued in favor of increasing allowable building sizes along the transit mall and MAX orange line tracks.

Several speakers decried a zoning code requirement that buildings and additions should meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold standards from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“There is an issue with mandating one single green building program,” said Caitlin Horsley, sustainability and education manager for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland.

Some speakers said they want the option to use a competing certification: Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative.

Audrey Craig Gnich, with Portland Forward, cautioned against doing away with a floor-to-area ratio for providing day care facilities in the Central City.

“We’ll be left with a zoning code that does almost nothing to support families and family-sized developments in the Central City,” she said.

The Planning and Sustainability Commission will hold a second public hearing on the Central City 2035 Plan on Aug. 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the Portland Building. Attendees can sign up to testify beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Room C of the Portland Building and then return near the start of the meeting.