Washington County Commissioners took aim Tuesday at how Metro plans to promote density inside the urban growth boundary, with Commissioner Andy Duyck asking Metro Councilors if they've thought about how dense is too dense.
"At some point, it is no longer livable and no one will want to move here," Duyck said.
Metro Councilor Carl Hosticka said he didn't know if Metro staff had looked for that point, but said most people moving to the region are looking to live in more densely-populated areas.
But Commissioner Roy Rogers said planners shouldn't focus so much on density, but on housing choices.
"The real issue is not density, it's how much diversity you're going to have," Rogers said.
Hosticka and Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington met Tuesday with the Washington County Board of Commissioners to garner further insight into how the county is reacting to Metro chief operating officer Michael Jordan's growth recommendations report, "Making the Greatest Place: Strategies for a sustainable and prosperous region." Jordan was also on hand, and commissioners spent much of the genial meeting discussing future housing options for the area.
Several commissioners said the housing market has been slow to respond to demographic trends, like aging baby boomers who are looking for smaller, single-level dwellings, or younger people who don't need a three-story, 5,000-square-foot home.
Commissioner Dick Schouten said many acres currently eaten up by parking lots could be converted into parking structures, which would free up room for more high-rise, high density housing.
Commission Chair Tom Brian said increasing density and promoting the development of more high-rise, steel-framed structures is expensive, and doing so could reduce developers' willingness to create more affordable housing in the region. Jordan said there will always be a segment of the population that earns less than 50 percent of the median income. Those people will need public housing assistance, he said. But beyond that, he said governments need to work cooperatively with private developers to ensure a variety of housing choices are being built in the region.
The commissioners and councilors did not spend a significant amount of time discussing urban and rural reserves. Washington County had requested some 34,000 acres to be set aside for urban reserves, more than Jordan has recommended for the region as a whole. Brian said the region should look into adopting a "fast-track" system to bring land into the urban growth boundary if a large business is ready to develop it, but also acknowledged that much of Washington County is prime farmland that deserves protection.
Brian also raised the possibility of Metro requesting regional taxing authority from the state legislature during its 2011 session. Jordan said the region has money right now to do some projects, but it will need more over the next 40 to 50 years because Metro doesn't expect the post-World War II boom in state and federal funding for infrastructure to continue well into the 21st century. But Jordan said it's not solely up to governments to decide taxes.
"Ultimately, I don't think you get a big chunk of money without a vote from the people," Jordan said.
Additionally during the meeting, Commissioner Desari Strader said that despite the region's promotion of renewable energy, it's still attracting businesses like SolarWorld with tax incentives, not with a fundamental shift in attitudes about renewable energy. She also spoke about the importance of Washington County's agriculture traditions, and the need to protect historic American Indian burial sites.
- by Sean Breslin, Metro staff