The Metro Council voted yesterday to accept the 20- and 50-year forecasts of population and employment growth and the assessment of the region's capacity to accommodate that growth in the urban growth boundary. Although the state requires that Metro approve the urban growth report every five years, this time staff took a different approach with a range forecast (rather than trying to pick specific numbers) and focusing on six desired outcomes for the region endorsed by the Metro Policy Advisory Committee. The forecast shows a potential gap in availability of residential housing but enough land for employment areas - with the exception of some large lot industrial demand.
Metro Councilor Carl Hosticka introduced the resolution, noting that the process, which included expert review and public input last spring, produced a high quality result - improving over previous efforts in that instead of "arguing about numbers" the council was able to focus on policy issues. Council President David Bragdon commented that the report provided a "sound basis for making good decisions over the next six to twelve months that will impact residents of the region for the next 40 to 50 years."
Seven people testified before council adoption of the resolution, most commending Metro staff on the quality of the report but expressing concern about the diminishing availability of affordable housing. Martha McLennan, director of Northwest Housing Alternatives, spoke of an "alarming picture" of housing affordability and the need for the Metro Council to actively engage communities over the next year to address this issue and make information more accessible to local governments. Jeff Bacharach of Newland Communities expressed support for the forecast and the report but also called for the region to consider affordable housing as part of the basic infrastructure of community development.
Several councilors noted that the "real work" will begin now as Metro works in 2010 to address the capacity gap identified in the urban growth report, and called upon local jurisdictions and affordable housing advocates for support and participation in the upcoming year.