By Sean Breslin
The Metro Council represents a lot of communities with a lot of potential for growth. Before Metro looks at expanding the Portland metropolitan area's urban land, it should focus on unlocking those existing communities' potential.
That was Michael Jordan's message Tuesday afternoon to the Metro Council. Jordan, Metro's chief operating officer, presented his plan to the Council in a report titled "Making the Greatest Place: Strategies for a Prosperous and Sustainable Region," which lays out his version of the best way to accommodate regional growth for the next 20 years. Jordan also emphasized limiting expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary (the line that separates city areas from rural farming communities), supporting long term job creation and setting goals against which Metro can measure its success.
"How we invest the public's money will make the difference in how successful we are" in supporting great communities, Jordan said.
Jordan recognized the need to bring more land into the Urban Growth Boundary, but recommended those expansions be done primarily to attract employers and complement already existing downtowns and job centers like industrial areas and business parks. He recommended some new rural reserves be set aside for long-term protection of farmland and open space.
Anticipating that urban and rural reserve areas could become a hot-button issue for many in the community, Councilor Robert Liberty suggested that highlighting reserve areas during the public comment period might distract people from the Jordan's main goal of investing in existing communities.
Metro must be accountable for meeting its goals, Jordan said. In his report, he recommended that Metro set benchmarks for itself based on what residents, businesses and community groups want to see as the region grows.
Over the next month, the Council will meet with local businesses, community groups and members of the public to get feedback on Jordan's proposals before making changes and putting polices in place. Liberty said Metro Council should not rush to legislate after the public hearings, but instead take time to consider community feedback and make changes to the recommendations based on what people tell them. Councilor Rex Burkholder agreed, but added that Metro can streamline its amendment process by taking up issues on which the members agree first and getting those out of the way before tackling potentially divisive parts of Jordan's recommendations.