Farmers, Conservation Groups Come Together On Urban Growth
First public meeting on urban growth starts this afternoon in Gresham.
As the Portland metro area kicks off a long debate over growth and land use, several farming and conservation groups are joining forces on a single vision for how we should grow over the next several decades.
The members freely admit that in the past, they often didn’t agree on big issues. What brings them together now are the common goals of wanting to contain urban growth and make it more dense, while protecting what remains of the metro area’s best farmland and natural places.
It comes as the Metro regional government begins a two week period of public meetings and hearings on the matter.
During a late morning news conference, the coalition released a map that sets aside about 15,000 acres of land in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties as urban reserves. These are areas in the metro region where most industrial, business and residential development would take place. Plus, the groups are calling for another 6,000 acres to be set aside as possible future areas for urban reserves.
That’s a dramatic change from the plan that’s been put out by Metro. The Metro plan calls for 29,000 acres of urban reserves with almost half of them in Washington County. It’s worth noting that this plan was narrowly approved by Metro councilors on a 4-3 vote. It’s an example of how regional leaders are deeply divided on the issue.
Sue Marshall of Tualatin Riverkeepers says their proposal does a better job of protecting the region’s best farmland, habitat that’s important to wildlife and water quality, plus areas for scenery and recreation. She says the quality of the urban environment relies on the quality of the rural areas.
Speaking for the Washington County Farm Bureau, President Dave Vanasche says the local agriculture industry can’t afford to keeping losing so much land to development. Vanasche says about 140,000 acres of farmland in the three county region has disappeared since 1960. “We’re at a critical mass,” he says. Vanasche believes the network of farms, nurseries and suppliers will find it increasingly difficult to support each other if urban growth isn’t contained.
Some of the other groups in the coalition include, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Save Helvetia, Portland Audubon Society, and the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
For more information:
Tualatin Riverkeepers Advocacy
Metro Government Urban and Rural Reserves
Here’s the rundown of meetings and hearings schedule for this week and next.
Monday, Jan. 11
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. open house
6 p.m. Metro Council hearing
Multnomah County East Building
600 NE 8th Ave., Gresham
Thursday, Jan. 14
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. open house
Metro Regional Center
600 NE Grand Ave., Portland
Saturday, Jan. 16
9 to 11 a.m. open house
Washington County Public Services Building
155 N. First Ave., Hillsboro
Tuesday, Jan. 19
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. open house
Clackamas County Development Services Building
150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City
Wednesday, Jan. 20
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. open house
6 p.m. Metro Council hearing
Sherwood Library/City Hall
22560 SW Pine St., Sherwood
Thursday, Jan. 21
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. open house
6 p.m. Metro Council hearing
Wilsonville City Hall
29799 SW Town Center Loop E., Wilsonville
Healthy Streams – Sustainable Farms – Vibrant Cities. We have a map for that! http://tinyurl.com/Map4Future
Thanks for this good piece of reporting. This coalition is impressive and growing, and I hope the policy makers are able to benefit from the work that went into the map presented this morning. It’s intended to help them clarify in their own minds what’s truly at stake in the decisions they’re undertaking over the next few weeks, and avoid making choices that could prove disastrous for Oregon’s economy and natural resources. We DO want this to continue being “The Greatest Place”, not another city drained to exhaustion by suburban sprawl.