There might have been a lot of empty seats at the Happy Valley City Hall, but there was certainly no lack of ideas or discussion. The public hearing on Metro chief operating officer's recommendations Thursday night included a diverse set of four people offering testimony -- a mayor, a lawyer, a citizen and a public advocate.
The hearing began with Rob Wheeler, the Mayor of Happy Valley, welcoming the council to his town and facilities. He went on to address the chief operating officer's recommendations, commending the Sunnybrook Boulevard west extension (a proposed project in the Regional Transportation Plan) that would extend Sunnybrook Boulevard to Fuller Road. Mayor Wheeler stated that the "Sunnybrook extension would do a lot to alleviate congestion" and "as a [city] council we are unanimous in the need of that road."
The next testifier was Carrie MacLaren, a lawyer representing a land owner with property that was designated a rural reserve in the chief operating officer's recommendations. She felt her client's property, a rock quarry, should be designated as an urban reserve and that it was ideal for industrial re-use because of the high demand for industrial land, proximity of existing transportation infrastructure, and the property's depleted environmental state.
According to Ms. MacLaren, the chief operating officer's recommendations essentially made her client's property a rural "island" in a sea of urban designated land. Ms. MacLaren stated that the designation conflicts with Metro code which prohibits urban or rural islands. But she also felt it was understandable if a mistake was made, due to the amount of detail necessary in the overall recommendation. "It's just an overlooked piece of property," MacLaren said. "I agree with the basis and conclusion, just not with where the line has been drawn."
Stephen Lashbrook, a resident of Milwaukie (and also an employee of the City of Wilsonville) began his testimony by commending Metro Council and staff for the extensive "volume" of work completed for the recommendations. Lashbrook went on to express his concern with the lack of bus service from West Linn to I-5, which used to exist but was cut due to lack of ridership. He stated that this bus connection is more important in connection with the proposed west side commuter rail in the Regional Transportation Plan. He admitted that his request didn't include details on how funding would be created for this bus connection and that the City of Wilsonville currently has it on its list of financially constrained projects.
The last speaker was Mara Gross from the Coalition for a Livable Future who focused on the RTP and what she thought was a heavy reliance on roads and road expansion. She suggested the need to shift the balance to a healthier system that supports communities and walking and biking versus car use. But she did acknowledge the difficulty of planning for such a large area and suggested that Metro look carefully at how and if the proposed projects meet Metro goals. "Different jurisdictions are at different points and have different needs," Ms. Gross stated. "While there may be road needs, there are also other needs."
Councilor Harrington commented that many if not all of the proposed roads in the RTP included sidewalks and bike lanes, but that Ms. Gross still has just cause to be wary. Councilor Harrington stated, "I'm concerned that the projects will be dressed up as bike/ped projects when they're really road projects."
Overall, the meeting provided for extended discussion between Councilors and testifiers because of the small number of both. (Only Councilors Liberty, Park, Harrington and Hosticka were present, along with two advisory committee members – Gresham City Councilor Shirley Craddick and Lake Oswego City Councilor Donna Jordan. Councilors Burkholder and Collette, along with Council President David Bragdon, were away on Metro business.) The councilors expressed gratitude for the community's thoughtful feedback and especially the positive feedback for the extensive effort from Metro staff to produce the recommendation.
There are still two more public hearings remaining and an opportunity to submit comments on the chief operating officer's recommendations via online survey, e-mail or letter until Oct. 15.