Development

Breaking: Metro Approves Urban Reserves Plan

February 25, 2010
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UPDATE:

Council President David Bragdon releases a statement calling this a vote a “historic moment.” He goes on to write:

“Our work is not done. We need to refocus our efforts on how we can best invest in attracting more jobs and residents to our existing communities inside the urban growth boundary. Metro, local governments and the private sector need to work more strategically to invest limited public resources more wisely and encourage greater private investment in the communities we already call home.”

EARLIER:

The Metro Council put a final stamp of approval on a plan to guide growth in the region for the next 50-years. The vote was 5-2.

The plan creates 28,000 acres of urban reserves, areas outside the urban growth boundary that will be set aside for most new business and residential development.

It also preserves 272,000 acres as rural reserves, places protected as farmland and natural areas.

Read more »

Session Watch: Greenhouse Gas Bill Moves Forward

February 11, 2010
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A bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks was approved this afternoon by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

But rather than going straight to the Senate floor, SB 1059 will be taking an unexpected detour.

Read more »

Events For The Week Of Wednesday, February 10

February 9, 2010
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WEDNESDAY:

Urban Reserves

The Metro Policy Advisory Committee meets today to consider urban and rural reserves. It will make a recommendation based on the plan approved earlier this week by the Core 4 group. The committee’s job is to advise the full Metro Council on land use decisions.

Details: 5pm, Metro Council Chambers, 600 NE Grant Ave, Portland

Georgia Pacific Wastewater Meeting

Oregon Surfrider, Oregon DEQ, the Georgia Pacific company and OSU are leading a public meeting in Newport to talk about G-P’s wastewater permit for its mill in Toledo, Oregon.

In the past, Surfrider has complained that the permit doesn’t address important issues such as how much bacteria is in the wastewater, the cloudiness or turbidity of the discharge, or what it does to oxygen levels in the Pacific Ocean.

The G-P mill wastewater is sent out through a pipe that extends 4000 feet into the ocean near Nye Beach.

Details: 6:30pm, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Hennings Auditorium, Newport

Close Enough: Metro Moves To A Decision On Urban Reserves

February 8, 2010
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The Metro regional government is “almost” at a decision on urban reserves.

The latest plan, as proposed by a committee called the Core 4, includes setting aside 27,000 acres for urban reserves and 270,000 acres for rural reserves. That leaves about 2300 acres in the “undecided” category.

Read more »

VIDEO: HUD Secretary Talks Sustainability In Portland

February 4, 2010
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HUD Secretary Donovan. Photo from HUD.

Saying that, “everyone wants to be like Portland,” Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan came to this city to announce he’s creating a new office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

Donovan told a group at Portland State University that this office will lead Housing and Urban Development’s new emphasis on building stronger and more sustainable communities across the country.

He also says that sustainability – including more energy efficient homes and apartments, as well as access to mass transit – needs to be made more affordable.

Read more »

Portland Enviro Groups Rally For Willamette River Restoration Plan

January 27, 2010
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Cruise the Willamette downstream from central Portland and you’ll soon realize this is not the wild river our city founders knew.  Shipping terminals, cargo vessels, scrapyards, oil tanks, warehouses and gazillions of imported cars line the riverbank. This area, as city officials like to describe it, is a working river. An important area for business and for jobs.

But it’s home to wildlife as well. Herons, sea lions, otters and fish spend some or all of their lives here. Fall salmon numbers in the upper Willamette system have been surprisingly robust, giving hope that the endangered fish might be making a comeback. For that to happen, salmon and steelhead have to migrate at least twice through the dirtiest section of the Willamette. The working part of the river. A Superfund site.

Soon, the Portland City Council will hold a public hearing on a plan to reconcile all these different demands. Two of Portland’s best known environmental groups, Willamette Riverkeeper and the Audubon Society, are concerned over industry attempts to weaken some of the environmental protections in the plan. Those industry objections led Mayor Adams to cancel a public hearing that was scheduled for last month. It could also be the reason why Thursday’s planned hearing was put off as well.

Read more »

The Great Debate: What’s The Best Way For Metro Portland To Grow?

December 15, 2009
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With more than a million new people expected in the metro area over the next 20-years, politicians are trying to figure out where to put all of them. Do we allow the area’s Urban Growth Boundary to expand to accommodate the growth? Or do we hold tight, and pack more people into the same amount of space?

Two very different men, with very different visions of the future, debated the issue Monday night in Hillsboro. On one side, Washington County Chair Tom Brian who supports expanding the boundary. County leaders are looking at plans to open another 34,000 acres as urban reserves, areas where farmland could be replaced by development.

Then there’s Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who believes in more dense development as a way to control sprawl, transportation costs and pollution, and create livable neighborhoods where people don’t have to travel far to find basic needs.

The debate was sponsored by OPB’s Think Out Loud program and the Forest Grove News-Times. It will be aired on Think Out Loud at 9:00am Tuesday morning.

Meawnhile, a short excerpt from the hour long event. The two men discuss infill, with Brian saying it costs more than people realize and could lead to more expensive housing. Adams says infill reduces costs.

Green Wire: Wednesday Night

November 11, 2009
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Whale Visits Coos Bay Casino

One, maybe two, gray whales were spotted playing in the waters off the Mill Casino near downtown Coos Bay. It was enough to convince some gamblers to take a break from the slots and check out a close encounter with Mother Nature. The whale (or whales depending on who you ask) was probably migrating south from Alaska to its winter home in Mexico when it decided to wander up Coos Bay for a quick diversion. From the Coos Bay World.

Why Eat Local?

It’s not just Portlanders who are getting into the eat local craze. It’s catching on in Central Oregon, too. An article in the Bend Bulletin looks at why this is becoming so popular, and the reasons for choosing food grown locally.

What To Do With Eugene’s Riverfront

People in Eugene are trying to figure out what to do with 27 acres of riverfront property near downtown. The land is current owned by EWEB, the city’s electric and water utility. EWEB is moving to a new location and is inviting public comments on how to develop it. Some kind of chic urban motif appears to be popular. From the Eugene Register Guard.

OR House Defeats Metolius Protection Bill

June 16, 2009
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One of the mostly closely watched environmental bills of the session went down to defeat today in the Oregon House.

House Bill 3298 would have protected the Metolius River Basin from development, first by declaring it an Area Of Critical State Concern, then by banning large scale resorts from the area.  The legislation was in response to plans by two developers to build destination resorts inside the basin.  The Senate approved the same legislation on Friday.

Those who voted against the bill seemed to be concerned about the process of how it was put together, rather than what it would do for the Metolius.  The two resorts had been approved by Jefferson County, and many local government officials griped that the protection plan was a power grab by state officials in Salem.  That argument held sway over many who voted, “no.”

Among them was House Speaker Dave Hunt, who released this statement after the vote.  “I believe this bill usurps the land use process that Jefferson County adopted in approving these resorts. It is not our job to decide if Jefferson County made the right or the wrong decision.”

The bill may come up for another vote tomorrow.  Rep. Brian Clem, the bill’s sponsor, switched his vote to “no” when it was clear the bill wasn’t going to get enough votes to pass.  This allows him to get more supports, and bring the bill up for another vote tomorrow.

VIDEO: The Once Extinct Fisher Now Lives, And Breeds, In Washington Forests

May 28, 2009
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Reintroduced into the wild only 18 months ago, the fisher is off to a strong comeback in Washington state.

New video released by Washington Fish and Wildlife, and the Olympic National Park, shows a mother fisher carrying four little ones down from their den in a tree.  It’s the first proof we have that the fishers are reproducing on their own, in their once native territory.

Mother fisher carrying a kit. Courtesy National Park Service.

Mother fisher carrying a kit. Courtesy National Park Service.

The images were captured on an automated camera placed deep in the woods on the Olympic peninsula, southeast of Port Angeles, Wash.  Getting the images was no small feat.  It took biologists several weeks of hiking and tracking to find the den and install the camera.

“This is a very exciting outcome,” says Phil Anderson, WDFW’s interim director.  Anderson says it’s sign that the reintroduction program is off to a good start.  The photos, plus evidence that other fisher females are denning, he says, “Give great hope for the future of fisher recovery in Washington.”

Fishers were wiped out in Washington state by the middle of the last century due to hunting and loss of habitat.  They’re on the state’s endangered species list.  The reintroduction program began in January of 2008, and since then 36 fishers have been released in the Olympic National Forest.  A final group will be released next winter, and then the program begins ten years of monitoring.