Metro chief operating officer Michael Jordan continued to meet with organizations across the region to discuss his Aug. 10 report recommending the development of a Community Investment Strategy. On Aug. 19, Jordan met with members of the Commercial Real Estate Economic Coalition to provide some insight into his recommendations and receive comments from representatives of commercial developers across the region.
Jordan emphasized the need for better coordination among local governments in making more efficient investments of limited public money that can better enable the private sector to supply new investments that build the kinds of communities that residents of this region want to have. He noted that this effort is focused on achieving six desired outcomes that the Metro Council and the Metro Policy Advisory Committee identified in 2009 as essential to establishing a successful region. Those outcomes include reductions in global warming, supporting vibrant communities where people can choose to walk to meet their everyday needs, and providing safe and reliable transportation choices. One of those outcomes seeks to achieve "sustained economic competitiveness and prosperity."
Brad Miller, a partner with Ball Janik LLP, asked Jordan directly, "How does Metro accomplish better integration of private and public sector investment? How does Metro envision enforcing cooperation and collaboration among service providers and local governments?" Jordan’s response focused on both the regulatory means by which Metro could require local governments to take certain actions that support particular types of development – an approach the Metro Council rarely employs and has generally preferred not to use – and the ways by which Metro could put conditions on the uses or allocations of regional funding, such as that for transportation. "I think it will be a carrots and sticks approach," he said.
Jordan also received critical feedback asking why his report did not reflect more on the lessons Metro has learned in terms of how it understands and deals with the private sector. "More self-criticism and self-reflection would improve Metro’s credibility, said "Ty Wyman, a partner with Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue.
During his presentation, Jordan cited the need for a coordinated regional economic development strategy, though he indicated that Metro does not need to be the regional entity that develops and implements it. Jordan noted existing efforts by Greenlight Greater Portland, a private-sector-led organization, and Portland Regional Partners, an effort led largely by officials from local governments, to develop coordinated regional economic development strategies.
Shaun Jillions, legislative relations director for the Oregon Association of Realtors, underscored the importance of a regional economic development strategy. "Without a clear economic development plan at the regional level, we will not be able to achieve the six outcomes."