Farmers need to be more proactive in the growth planning process, a Washington County farmer told members of the county's Farm Bureau Tuesday.
"We need to get something back out of this," said Bob VanderZanden, a grass-seed farmer. "Right now everything that's happened is happening to us, and we need to change that." He encouraged the bureau to take a broad look at strategies for protecting agricultural interests rather than focusing on specific land areas to protect.
VanderZanden's comments came as Metro Councilors Kathryn Harrington and Rod Park met with the Washington County Farm Bureau to discuss Metro chief operating officer Michael Jordan's growth recommendations, "Making the Greatest Place: Strategies for a prosperous and sustainable region." Metro Councilors and staff have been touring the region for more than a month soliciting feedback on the recommendations, which promote reinvesting in existing communities, focusing growth inside the existing urban growth boundary, and setting out performance measures for Metro.
VanderZanden also suggested that adopting farming laws should be a local responsibility, not a state one. But Councilor Park cautioned against that idea, saying municipalities sometimes try to enact nuisance ordinances that affect farmers, and the state department of agriculture protects farmers from those kinds of ordinances.
Bureau member Edmund Duyck asked Councilor Harrington if the proposed urban reserves were accurately represented on maps provided by Washington County. Harrington said the lines were not set in stone.
"I don't want you to think things are all said and done, because they're not," Harrington said.
Multnomah County's reserves proposals came into play, too. Bureau member Keith Fishback asked what Metro Councilors could do to influence Multnomah County's decisions on the West Hills area, since Washington County has no say in other counties' rural reserves process. Harrington said councilors will be meeting with Multnomah County officials soon to discuss reserves, and would bring up Washington County's interests.
In looking to accurately represent Washington County farmers' interests, Harrington asked the Bureau if it had a list of essential agriculture infrastructure that they needed to protect in order to do business. Bureau member Dave Vanaschse said they would draw one up and get it to the Metro Council.
Comments received at meetings like this and at recent public hearings will inform decisions by the Metro Council and other public bodies later this year and in 2010 on transportation policies and investments, land supply, urban and rural reserves and public investments within the existing town and regional centers, corridors and employment areas.
- by Sean Breslin, Metro staff