As Metro wraps up its month-long public comment period on growth recommendations, questions are still flowing in about how the planning organization reached its conclusions and how it plans to raise money to attract private investment.
Damascus City Councilor David Jothen said he disagreed with Metro's assertion that improving lands inside the urban growth boundary would be less expensive than new development outside the boundary.
"I haven't seen any analysis that would bolster that argument," Jothen said.
Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder pointed Jothen to data in the recommendation's appendices that generally supported that claim. However, Burkholder stressed that reinvesting in existing facilities might not always be less expensive. He added that no matter where Metro invests its limited public dollars, it's going to have a hard time funding infrastructure.
Burkholder and Metro planning manager John Williams met Thursday with members of the East Metro Economic Alliance in one of Metro's last meetings with community members about the Metro staff report, "Making the Greatest Place: Strategies for a sustainable and prosperous region." The report encourages channeling most growth into the existing urban growth boundary, investing in repairing and maintaining existing buildings and infrastructure, and holding Metro and its local government partners accountable for the goals they put in place for themselves and the region.
Members of the alliance had several challenges to the recommendations. Matthew Wand, a Gresham attorney and Troutdale city councilor, said there's a perception that the eastern part of the region is being slighted to the benefit of other areas.
"It almost seems like you're locking in the gains that other areas have gotten in the region," Wand said. He wanted to know how Metro plans to spread economic gains throughout the region.
Burkholder told Wand that development in the region is linked to transportation, and how effectively each area in the region analyzes how it uses transportation to move people and goods throughout the region. He said the Gresham area has the ability to develop industrial lands and make economic gains that way.
"It's not locking in anything. It's saying 'You've got opportunities here. Here's what you have to do to make it happen,'" Burkholder said.
Theresa Delany-Davis, chair of the Reynolds School Board, asked Burkholder when Metro would make a decision on corridor improvements, as the school board is waiting on Metro to complete land studies before making its own plans. Burkholder said he wasn't sure about how corridor projects were being prioritized, but said projects in specific areas often rely on local support.
"We can do all the planning we want, but if the local governments aren't ready, why bother?" Burkholder said.
Throughout Metro's month of community engagement, councilors and staff have been stressing the idea of using public money to attract private business investment. Antonio Paez, a training coordinator at Mt. Hood Community College, wanted a clearer idea of what kind of industries Metro hopes to attract.
"Predicting specific industries is very difficult," Burkholder said, citing technological advances that no one can expect, just as few people expected a surge in the need for microprocessors 20 years ago. He also said some variables are extremely volatile, like climate change and energy prices, making predictions hard to pin down.
Still, Paez pressed on: "I'm assuming that financial incentives will align with an industry."
– by Sean Breslin, Metro staff