Oaks Park wants to add 147-foot Tower Drop, neighbors not thrilled

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- For 120 years, Oaks Amusement Park has provided thrills, chills and fun to kids of all ages at its 44-acre park in Southeast Portland. Now they want to add a new 147-foot ride, the Tower Drop, that will require zoning changes, drawing the wrath of some neighbors and environmentalists.

In December, park officials filed a permit review as part of a long-planned renovation to the facility on the banks of the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. The permit wants the zoning...