Clackamas County Commissioners thought they were doing what other counties had to do: figuring out where they wanted their county to grow.
But the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners was the only elected body to submit reserve recommendations to Metro staff for its 20-year growth report. The Metro Council has not yet officially spoken out about the report.
"We were figuring we had to get this done," said Commissioner Charlotte Lehan. "When are you figuring your body will weigh in?"
Lehan’s comments came as Metro Councilors Carlotta Collette, Carl Hosticka and Rod Park met with the Clackamas County Commissioners to discuss Metro Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan’s report on regional growth, titled “Making the Greatest Place: Strategies for a sustainable and prosperous region.” The meeting was significant because both the Metro Council and the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners are two of the “core four" governments that ultimately will implement a growth plan for the region. The other two governments are the Multnomah and Washington county commissions.
Jordan’s report encourages channeling most growth inside 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.
Jordan responded to Lehan’s concerns, saying that the Metro Council will decide on certain aspects of the plan, like the Regional Transportation Plan and the urban growth report, in December of this year. But Washington and Multnomah counties are a different story, he said.
"There is no way for the Metro Council to compel Washington and Multnomah counties to give an official recommendation on reserves,” Jordan said.
Lehan continued to press Metro. "It kind of seems like we’re waiting for the elected (officials of Metro, Washington and Multnomah Counties) to weigh in on the COO’s recommendations," Lehan said. "Does the Metro Council have an opinion about the COO report?"
Councilor Rod Park said if the Metro Council takes too particular a position on reserves, it could hinder debate and negotiations by making people think decisions have already been made. And Councilor Collette was sympathetic to Lehan’s comments, likening Clackamas County’s position to a game of poker where Clackamas is the only one showing its hand.
"You want to see some other cards. You want to know what’s the process for ending the game,” Collette said.
Jordan said Lehan had "legitimate" questions about the other counties, and stressed that the process of deciding reserves should be collaborative between the "core four" governments. He also said the new process of planning reserves based on negotiation between governments will take some getting used to.
"We’ve never done this before," Jordan said. "This is where things get tough."
The commissioners also took up the issue of finding land for industrial employment within the existing urban growth boundary. Councilor Park said investment efforts must be coordinated with local governments to make sure industrial lots aren’t converted into other uses like retail space or parks.
"We can do a lot of upgrades, but if it gets converted at the local level then what have we done?" Park said.
But the conversation soon turned outward again, to the planning processes of other counties.
Commissioner Jim Bernard said Clackamas County doesn’t want to wait around for other counties to make official recommendations. He said he had confidence that Clackamas' approach – holding public hearings and then submitting recommendations based on what they hear – would hold up during the negotiation process.
"I think that Clackamas County is pretty close, very close to where we could end up in the end," Bernard said.
Councilor Hosticka agreed, saying Clackamas County’s efforts have forced Metro to take the county’s recommendations more seriously.
"You’ve done everybody else a service by the way you’ve conducted yourselves," Hosticka said.
– by Sean Breslin, Metro staff