The Metro Council approved the third round of Community Planning and Development Grants on Aug. 15. Twenty projects across the region received funding for a total of $4.2 million. These grants will assist cities and counties in getting specific areas ready for development that brings increased housing options and more jobs for their residents.
The Community Planning and Development Grants program was created in 2006. In its previous two grant cycles, the program distributed a total of $9.9 million in the Metro region. Funding for these planning grants comes from a regional excise tax on construction permits.
Metro received 26 grant applications from local governments. These proposals were carefully evaluated by a screening committee of development professionals, architects and planners, and by Metro chief operating officer Martha Bennett. Councilors reviewed the funding recommendations and made the final funding decisions. The Council voted 7-0 to provide full funding to 14 projects, and six additional projects received partial funding.
All 20 funded grant proposals meet local and regional housing and employment needs, facilitate development or redevelopment in important areas, support equitable distribution of funds and public involvement, and create opportunities for public and private investment. “These grants are a direct way for Metro to help our communities find room for the housing and jobs new residents will need,” Metro Councilor Bob Stacey said.
Examples of funded grant applications include the Urban Reserves Concept Plan in Cornelius, the Rock Creek Employment Center Infrastructure Funding Plan in Happy Valley, the King City Town Center Action Plan, the Lake Oswego Southwest Employment Area Plan, and the Powell-Division Transit and Development Project in Gresham and Portland.
The City of West Linn will receive $220,000 to develop a master plan and financing strategy for the Arch Bridge and Bolton area. "This Metro grant will allow us to take the first steps to make a part of our city more economically viable," said West Linn Mayor John Kovash in his testimony to the Metro Council. Noting that Aug. 15 marked the centennial of West Linn’s founding, the mayor added, "I can’t think of a better birthday present that Metro could give to West Linn than a grant to start planning our next 100 years."
The impact of the previous rounds of planning grants in the region has been significant. These grants helped communities plan for the development of areas recently brought inside the urban growth boundary. They also allowed cities and counties to create investment strategies, solve code discrepancies, strengthen partnerships among local governments, involve communities that are traditionally underrepresented in planning efforts, and attract significant amounts of private investment and in-kind resources for projects.
"These regional grants support ongoing efforts in local communities to enhance the great places where we all live, work, shop and play,"said Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.