For over a year, the staffs of Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties have been poring over technical studies and maps and consulting stakeholders to determine which lands within their boundaries are suitable for future urban development and which are best kept as farms, forests and natural areas.
Last Wednesday the view toward urban and rural reserves shifted from the counties to the region when the regional Reserves Steering Committee convened at the Double Tree hotel in Portland. This 26-member committee representing business, agriculture, land use, environmental, social equity and urban management interests from around the region has been meeting for over a year to advise the three county commissions and Metro Council on how best to craft a map of the region's long term land use.
First on the agenda, Michael Jordan, Metro chief operating officer, described Metro's Making the Greatest Place initiative and used his laser pointer to circumnavigate a map of the region from Troutdale to Wilsonville to Forest Grove, elaborating on his priorities for reserves. The counties each presented their latest recommendations. The committee then split into two working groups and spent three hours pondering landscapes and exploring issues.
No decisions were made on Wednesday. The committee anticipates making their formal recommendation on Oct. 14. The working groups did generally agree to the recommendations from Metro staff. They did not reach conclusions on the scale of reserves or agreement on forecasts for future employment needs. Committee members want some reconciliation between the employment forecasts conducted by the counties and those done by Metro. They agreed on the need for further discussion of whether and how to balance jobs and housing across the region.
Committee members also recognized there are major tradeoffs between cities' and counties' desires for future growth and where these growth aspirations bump up against protection of natural resource lands. Members want to further explore implications for lands that remain undesignated -- those lying outside both urban and rural reserves. They also want to consider whether it is prudent to consider a 40- versus 50-year time horizon. Members expressed the desire to identify areas of agreement and frame the discussion to avoid a win-lose outcome.