A proposed urban reserves map from Washington County leaders garnered no traction from the Metro Council Tuesday, as councilors made their first public statements about the proposal.
Each of the six Metro councilors said they couldn't support the proposal from Washington County Chair Tom Brian and Chair-Elect Andy Duyck, which called for a new urban reserve north of U.S. 26 and an addition of 1,100 acres of undesignated land across the county.
"No one on this council is supportive of the map we were sent as a draft from two of the Washington County commissioners," Metro Council President Carlotta Collette said in Tuesday's worksession. "I'd rather take the time and make sure we get something good rather than trying to meet some arbitrary deadline."
Councilors said they first saw the proposals last weekend, and downplayed the level of collaboration that Brian and Duyck's memo detailed. The memo said that Brian and Duyck have been "working with staff, legal counsel, Metro councilors and the LCDC director to develop a proposed response to LCDC's decisions… our staff and counsel have been working with their counterparts at Metro and LCDC to avoid misunderstandings and to hopefully, arrive at a response that is acceptable to our Board, the Metro Council and the LCDC."
The memo also said "neither Metro nor the County feels it is necessary to re-open the analysis process or conduct an extensive outreach and public information effort."
Metro and Washington County have most of next year to come to an agreement on urban reserves following the state Land Conservation and Development Commission's October vote to reject some of the proposed urban reserves. If they don't reach an agreement, Metro would have to use the old exception-land/soils-based system if it were to consider an urban growth boundary expansion in 2011.
The council could also put off expansion of the boundary until 2016.
The discussion at Tuesday's worksession makes it seem unlikely the council will get an urban growth boundary review done this year. Two new councilors take office Jan. 4, and the last scheduled council meeting of 2010 is Dec. 16.
Still, Collette said she might draft a different proposal for Washington County's reserves, one based on Metro Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan's initial recommendation that land south of Cornelius be included in an urban reserve.
Cornelius had asked for land north of the city for potential industrial sites, saying it didn't want industrial traffic (including employees and freight) commuting through the city en route to the Sunset Highway. The city and Washington County also said the area south of the city was prone to flooding. While the northern urban reserve made it into the region's reserve proposal, the state land commission rejected Cornelius' request to go north of Council Creek.
Update 4:40 p.m.: Council President Carlotta Collette issued a statement, that reads, in part:
"On Monday, the Metro Council received a proposal, developed by the chairman and chairman-elect of Washington County, designed to address the LCDC’s request.
"The Metro Council, at its work session today, briefly discussed this proposal. There is no support on the Metro Council for the proposed map.
"The Metro Council is committed to reaching agreement on a new urban and rural reserves map for Washington County and completing this effort in a timely, thoughtful and inclusive manner. At multiple phases throughout the urban and rural reserves process, the Metro Council has provided many opportunities for public input. The Metro Council will continue to provide opportunities for the public to comment on any reserves proposal it has under consideration before making final decisions."