MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Tuesday, March 3, 1998

Council Annex

Members Present:  Lisa Naito (Chair), Patricia McCaig (Vice Chair)

Members Absent:    Don Morissette

Also Present:    Ruth McFarland, Susan McLain

Chair Naito called the meeting to order at 1:32 P.M.

1.  CONSIDERATION OF THE FEBRUARY 20, 1998, GROWTH MANAGEMENT MEETING MINUTES

2.  HAPPY VALLEY COMPLIANCE PLAN ASSISTANCE REPORT

Mary Weber, Community Development Senior Program Supervisor, Growth Management Services, presented the Happy Valley compliance plan. A copy of the Happy Valley Compliance Plan Assistance Report is included in the meeting record.

Councilor McFarland said she read in The Oregonian newspaper that some Happy Valley residents are uncomfortable with the regulations imposed on them, and plan to vote against annexation. She asked for more information.

Ms. Weber said that around the region, there are a number of citizen efforts to put a vote before the people regarding annexation.

Councilor McFarland said she would like more information on the situation in Happy Valley. She said she prefers to achieve Metro’s goals through cooperation and compliance with local jurisdictions, rather than by imposing regulations on them.

Jim Crumley, City of Happy Valley Planning Director, said he supports the compliance plan assistance report and said Metro staff has been very cooperative. He said Metro has not responded to requests from the City of Happy Valley over the past two years to amend the job target in Table 1 to a more realistic projection. He said the Happy Valley City Council is committed to meeting its housing goal to the best of its ability, but the city cannot meet its jobs target. He said citizens are attacking Happy Valley’s volunteer City Councilors and accusing them of allowing Metro to ruin Happy Valley. He said the City Council had a public hearing on March 2, 1998, and the Council spent 4.5 hours defending its commitment to try to meet its growth management obligations. He said that despite frequent statements to the contrary, citizens believe that Metro is forcing Happy Valley to adopt certain growth planning goals. He said Metro’s public involvement effort has been very successful, however the public education process is lacking. He asked Metro to put together an educational program for the public that describes the growth management history, from State land-use rules up through the Regional Framework Plan.

Mr. Crumley said the City of Happy Valley is taking the annexation initiative Councilor McFarland mentioned seriously, and he believes the initiative will pass once it reaches the ballot. He said the citizens are frustrated and do not realize that blocking annexation will defeat their purpose.

Councilor McFarland said she has heard people attack Metro’s figures and numbers many times, and she asked how Metro determines its numbers.

Executive Officer Mike Burton said the growth projections are based on transportation units, which are smaller than census tracts, and projected out over a period of time. He said Metro asked local jurisdictions to review the numbers, although, as Mr. Crumley said, not all jurisdictions agree with the final numbers. He said Metro next asked local jurisdictions to determine their capacity inside their cities based on their current codes and zoning.

Councilor McFarland asked if Metro has the ability to adjust targets that are unrealistic, such as Happy Valley’s job target. Ms. Weber said Title 8 of the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan includes an exception process.

3.  DISCUSSION OF METRO VISION
 ·  GROWTH MANAGEMENT
 ·  PARKS AND GREENSPACES
 ·  TRANSPORTATION  

Executive Officer Burton asked Chair Naito to clarify the intent of the discussion. Chair Naito said that at the Growth Management Committee’s first meeting, committee members determined that Metro will face a number of challenges in the future, such as money issues and Metro’s relationship with its local partners. She said the purpose of the discussion is to look at where Metro will go in the future.

Councilor McCaig said that as a Councilor, she has felt driven by minutia. She said that while the small pieces are important, she fears that the overwhelming concentration on them prevents the Council from focusing on potentially looming, larger issues.

Elaine Wilkerson, Director of Growth Management, reviewed the history of the Regional Urban Growth Goals and Objectives (RUGGOs) and the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan. She said the growth targets are aggressive because at the time they were set, local jurisdictions were under intense pressure to not expand the urban growth boundary (UGB). She distributed a diagram of the Regional Framework Plan and how its components interrelate. A copy of the diagram is included in the meeting record. She also distributed a diagram developed by the Transportation Department demonstrating the progression from the Future Vision document to Metro’s current work. A copy of the diagram is included in the meeting record. Ms. Wilkerson explained how Growth Management Service’s work plan addresses the challenges of the Regional Framework Plan. She said Metro needs to focus on leadership, partnership, and education.

Andy Cotugno, Senior Director of Transportation, said all of Metro’s actions during the past two years, such as the adoption of the Region 2040 growth concept, have had a strong transportation and land-use planning interconnection. He said the key to the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is converting principles into applications on the ground. He said an important principle to remember is that transportation creates accessibility, and accessibility fuels the location of development. He said the goal is to channel growth into centers and corridors by providing good accessibility to those areas. He said the key to good accessibility in centers and corridors is to create multi-modal transportation: places that are compact, mixed-use, and have good pedestrian transit environments. He said multi-modal transportation systems can also assist with affordable housing by making it easier for families to own only one car. Mr. Cotugno discussed the implications of the congestion standards and the importance of freight to the region’s economy. He said one challenge the Transportation Department faces is balancing the need for multi-modal transportation with the need to move trucks down the freeways quickly. Mr. Cotugno reviewed the Transportation work plan for 1998, which will focus on the Regional Transportation Plan update. He discussed the funding component of the work.

Charles Ciecko, Senior Director of Regional Parks and Greenspaces, reviewed Parks and Greenspaces’s policy history and the regional and local parks systems. He identified areas of potential controversy, related efforts, and tentative time lines for work. A copy of Mr. Ciecko’s speaking notes are included in the meeting record.

Executive Officer Burton said Metro’s work has become increasingly detail-oriented over the past few years as the region has begun implementation of the Future Vision goals. He said the departments look at each piece of work to ensure that it meets the goals laid out in Future Vision, RUGGOs and the Regional Framework Plan.

Councilor McLain said it is important as a Council to remember what has been accomplished and what is on the work plan for 1998. She said she feels it is important to stay true to the foundation of the foundation documents. She said it is important to coordinate between departments and to ensure that each document coordinates with prior documents and prior Council decisions. She said she is concerned that all work done is timely. She said the Council faces a number of deadlines in the next six to eight months. She said the Council needs to consider its role in helping local jurisdictions with their urban reserve planning. She said the Council must address the issue of long-term funding for the agency. She said Metro will soon take over the responsibilities of the Boundary Commission, and the Council needs to consider the effects of this change.

Chair Naito said the staff work on the planning documents and the vision for the future has been extraordinary. She said she has deep concerns, however, about Metro’s relationships with local jurisdictions and the ability of the region to coordinate its actions. She said Metro has control over its own resources, but there are other financing mechanisms in place, over which Metro has no control, that will also impact Metro’s goals.

Councilor McCaig said she had hoped the purpose of the meeting would be to address Chair Naito’s concerns about funding and regional coordination. She said she is still trying to define the unique role of the Council, which should include broad discussions of Metro’s future role. She said the Council needs to begin to struggle with a number of regional problems: pockets of poverty throughout the region, a deteriorating educational system, and a lack of adequate funding in the infrastructure to meet Metro’s goals.

Chair Naito said she sees today’s meeting as a lead-in to the discussion that Councilor McCaig hopes to hold. She said that in addition to the issue of funding, the agency needs to address educational planning, and public education of how growth management policies will affect individual neighborhoods and cities.

Executive Officer Burton said that unlike other jurisdictions, the Council has no informal process to address long-range, broader issues. He said the Council should discuss how Ballot Measure 50 changes the current tax structure in the region. He said Measure 50 created a very competitive, pro-growth tax system that will dramatically change how jurisdictions interact.

Chair Naito thanked everyone for attending and said the meeting was very helpful.

4.  COUNCILOR COMMUNICATIONS

There were none.

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Naito adjourned the meeting at 2:55 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Myers

Council Assistant

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ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF MARCH 3, 1998

The following have been included as part of the official public record:

Oral Testifiers (testimony cards included)

Happy Valley Compliance Plan Assistance Report

 Jim Crumley