METRO POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING RECORD

June 12, 2002 – 5:00 p.m.

Metro Regional Center, Council Chambers

Committee Members Present: Chair Michael Jordan, Larry Cooper, Paul Curcio, Nathalie Darcy,
Andy Duyck, Eugene Grant, Ed Gronke, Judie Hammerstad, Tom Hughes, Vera Katz, Richard Kidd, Mark Knudsen, Annette Mattson, Lisa Naito, Dan Saltzman, Jim Zehren

Alternates Present: Meg Fernekees, Jim Griffith, Jack Hoffman, Dave Lohman, Mike McFarland,
Roger Vonderharr

Also Present: Hal Bergsma, City of Beaverton; Al Burns, City of Portland; Cindy Catto, Associated General Contractors; Bob Clay, City of Portland; Tom Coffee, Consultant; Maggie Collins, City of Wilsonville; Brent Curtis, Washington County; Michael Dennis, Tri-Met; Alan Durning, Northwest Environment Watch; Kay Durtschi, MCCI; Stephan Lashbrook, City of Lake Oswego; Doug McClain, Clackamas County; Irene Marvich, League of Women Voters; Pat Ribellia, City of Hillsboro; Kelly Ross, HomeBuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland; Kimi Iboshi Sloop, Parsons Brinckerhoff; Clark Williams-Derry, Northwest Environment Watch

Metro Elected Officials Present: Mike Burton, Executive Officer; Liaisons – Carl Hosticka, Presiding Officer, Rod Park, Council District 1; Susan McLain, Council District 4

Metro Staff Present: Dick Benner, Brenda Bernards, Charlie Ciecko, Dan Cooper, Andy Cotugno, Suzanne Myers Harold, Mike Hoglund, Paul Ketcham, Tom Kloster, Marci LaBerge, Mark Turpel

1.  INTRODUCTIONS

Chair Michael Jordan, Clackamas County Commission, called the meeting to order at 5:08 p.m. Those present introduced themselves. Jim Griffith, Mayor, City of Tigard, invited everyone to the Balloon Festival in Tigard, which begins Thursday, June 13, 2002.

2.  ANNOUNCEMENTS

Andy Cotugno, Planning Director, announced the birth of his granddaughter.

Chair Jordan announced the resignation of Jim Zehren, Multnomah County Citizen Representative. He noted that Mr. Zehren was one of MPAC’s original members and thanked him for his dedication and hard work over the past ten years. He presented Mr. Zehren with gifts from Metro and MPAC.

Mike Burton, Executive Officer, thanked Mr. Zehren for his recommendations and suggestions over the years, and for his dedication to parks and open space. Executive Officer Burton presented him with a small square of grass – the Jim Zehren Open Space.

Charlie Ciecko, Parks and Greenspaces Director, speaking on behalf of the Regional Parks and Greenspaces Department and the Greenspaces Technical Advisory Committee, presented Mr. Zehren with a plaque in appreciation of his vision, leadership and advocacy on behalf of the region’s parks and natural areas.

Mr. Zehren thanked everyone and said he has found his work with Metro rewarding and enjoyable. He looked forward to watching Metro go forth and do good work for the region and for the future.

3.  CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS

There were none.

4.  CONSENT AGENDA

4.1  Meeting Summary: May 22, 2002

5.  COUNCIL UPDATE

Carl Hosticka, Council Presiding Officer, said the Council will consider the budget at its next meeting and is focusing on the transition to the new form of government in January.

Susan McLain, Metro Council, said the Natural Resources Committee is continuing its work on Goal 5 and will hold its first public hearing on the inventory on June 26 at 3:30 p.m. in room 370A. She invited everyone to attend.

Rod Park, Metro Council, said the Community Planning Committee is working hard to prepare for Executive Officer Burton’s periodic review recommendation on August 1. He said that they will publish the schedule for open houses and public hearings soon.

Presiding Officer Hosticka noted the creation of the Economic Technical Advisory Committee (ETAC), which will analyze the economic consequences of allowing or prohibiting conflicting uses for fish and wildlife habitat. He added that Council has secured about half the funding necessary for a peer review of the economic methodology in the Environmental, Energy, Social and Economic (ESEE) analysis.

6.  SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES

Dave Lohman, Port of Portland, said at its last meeting, the Jobs Subcommittee concluded the set of principles that it will recommend to MPAC and Metro. Tonight the subcommittee will continue its discussion of the Urban Growth Report employment findings. One more meeting has been scheduled.

Mr. Cotugno said the Housing Subcommittee is almost done. It will meet tonight to discuss the regional rate. The Demand Forecast Subcommittee met twice and has completed its recommendation.

Mark Turpel, Long-Range Planning Manager, said the Parks Subcommittee will meet tonight. The subcommittee has received responses from local jurisdictions and now has enough information to consider its recommendations.

Judie Hammerstad, Mayor, City of Lake Oswego, said there are a number of potential methodologies for the Parks Subcommittee to follow. The various methodologies are inconsistent and probably pretty arbitrary. She did not know how the subcommittee could make a recommendation that MPAC could say was valid. For example, using historical data gives completely different numbers than using the money generated from system development charges.

7.  A TALE OF THREE CITIES

Presiding Officer Hosticka introduced Alan Durning, Executive Director, Northwest Environment Watch. Northwest Environment Watch is based in Seattle and has done extensive analysis of development patterns in Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland. Mr. Durning made a presentation to the Metro Council in early May, and the Council was very interested in the effects on land consumption of the various development patterns in the three cities and how that relates to other issues such as transportation.

Mr. Durning gave a presentation on sprawl and smart growth in metropolitan Portland, comparing Portland, Oregon, with Vancouver, Washington, during the 1990s. A copy of his presentation materials is included in the meeting record.

8.  REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (RTP) AMENDMENTS

Tom Kloster, Transportation Program Supervisor, reviewed his memo to MPAC members, dated June 5, 2002, regarding RTP post-acknowledgement amendments. He distributed a letter from the City of Portland to Mr. Cotugno, dated June 12, 2002, requesting an amendment to Ordinance No. 02-946A. Metro staff was introducing the proposal on the City of Portland’s behalf, as the city will likely not have a representative on the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) at its June 13, 2002, meeting. Staff recommended approval of the amendment, which was housekeeping in nature.

Mayor Hammerstad proposed amending Exhibit C, on page 10, by deleting the fifth bulleted statement. She said the language in the statement is premature and assumes something that has not been decided. She recommended adding a statement under “Potential transportation solutions” similar to the statement about Beavercreek: “potential for re-evaluating the suitability of the Stafford area for Urban Growth Boundary expansion, based on ability to serve the area with adequate regional transportation infrastructure.”

Mr. Cotugno agreed with Mayor Hammerstad’s proposal to delete the fifth bulleted statement. He did not recommend adding a bulleted statement about Stafford similar to the one about Beavercreek, however. That discussion was more appropriate for an urban growth boundary (UGB) expansion discussion. Beavercreek was included in Exhibit C because the RTP found that the Oregon City bypass, as the only way in and out of the area, had no ability to provide other transportation connections.

Mayor Hammerstad agreed with Mr. Cotugno’s recommendation.

9.  METRO FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM

Mr. Cotugno introduced the item. He noted that there are two resolutions: the riparian corridor inventory (Resolution No. 02-3176), which is about done, and the wildlife habitat inventory (Resolution No. 02-3177), of which MPAC is just beginning its consideration.

 9.1  Riparian Corridor Inventory and Mapping

Mr. Cotugno said the riparian corridor mapping is a follow up to the December decision, which concluded that everything on the map would be defined as significant and part of the regional program. However, the decision in December also directed staff to go back and make changes to some of the criteria. Those changes have now been incorporated and are reflected on the map. Resolution No. 02-3176 was reviewed and recommended for adoption by the Metro Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) on a vote of 14 to 5. The concerns of the members who voted no are reflected in the MTAC Report to the Metro Policy Advisory Committee Concerning Metro Riparian Corridor Inventory, a copy of which is included in the meeting packet.

Mr. Cotugno said one of the concerns expressed was that developed floodplains should not be included as regionally significant riparian corridors. That discussion was a significant part of MPAC’s deliberations in December. At that time, staff recommended keeping developed floodplains on the map because some of them are appropriate places for restoration. The ESEE analysis will determine whether a particular developed floodplain should be removed from the map or restored. The second concern raised at MTAC was that not all of the stream corridors should be considered as regionally significant. The Goal 5 Technical Advisory Committee (Goal 5 TAC), composed of resource agencies, and the Water Resources Policy Advisory Committee, composed of utility agencies, both voted unanimously to recommend adoption of Resolution
No. 02-3176.

Mayor Hughes said he would vote against the recommendation. He voted in favor of the initial measure in December, but as his staff has reviewed the differences between the City of Hillsboro’s map and Metro’s map, they identified about 260 mapping errors. Metro has addressed thirty-five of them. He said parties challenging the regulations will attack the inventory first. He cannot vote to recommend a flawed inventory because it leaves his jurisdiction and others in legal difficulties as they try to defend the regulations required by Metro. He said a better process needs to be established to ensure that the maps are accurate.

Mr. Cotugno said staff has made map corrections where there is information that allows for an observable feature to be accounted for differently, such as wetland shown on the map, but which does not exist. The other 200 differences between Hillsboro’s and Metro’s maps are the result of differences in methodologies. On Metro’s map, all of the secondary features were included to allow for the next step to proceed. The next step will be to decide whether an area’s economic value is more important or less important than its ecological value. From a legal standpoint, once Metro adopts a protection plan, its decision can be appealed. Local jurisdictions will not be required to implement the regulations until a year or two after Metro’s adoption. If there are problems with the inventory, Metro will have to legally defend it before a local jurisdiction will.

Councilor McLain commented that Metro is always open for corrections, but in terms of when to have this debate, Metro has been following MPAC’s advice to have the debate during the ESEE analysis.

Chair Jordan asked if the Tualatin Basin is performing its ESEE analysis locally. Mayor Hughes said yes.

 9.2  Wildlife Habitat Criteria, Mapping and Regional Significance Options

Mr. Cotugno said Resolution No. 02-3177, wildlife habitat mapping, will come before MPAC for a recommendation at its next meeting. Goal 5 TAC is the only committee that has acted on the resolution at this time.

Paul Ketcham, Principle Regional Planner, reviewed the criteria matrix underlying the wildlife habitat inventory and the matrix of options for determining regional significance, both of which are included in the meeting packet. He distributed a document of tables showing the regional distribution of riparian and draft wildlife resources, the acres of land within Metro’s riparian corridors inside the Metro UGB, and the percent of urbanizable land within riparian corridors inside the Metro UGB. A copy is included in the meeting record.

Mayor Hammerstad noted that some jurisdictions have more natural resource protection than required by Metro’s Title 3 program, such as resource protection areas and tree ordinances. She asked if staff inventoried that.

Mr. Ketcham said staff has created a local plan analysis which details all 27 local government plans for their Goal 5 elements and accounts for how they inventory resources, how they conduct their ESEE analysis, and what programs they have. However, it was very difficult to model that information because some of the standards are implemented on a case-by-case basis.

Mayor Hughes asked if staff took local protections into account in their analysis of the downsides of the various alternatives.

Mr. Ketcham said in terms of the yellow areas on the map, for example, some of them could be subject to local regulations such as tree ordinances or parks status. In terms of analyzing what is regionally significant to wildlife, staff is looking at how the wildlife resource would be affected if an area was not protected.

Mayor Hughes noted that there is a difference between no protection and protection by a local jurisdiction. The impact would have to vary depending on whether a local jurisdiction’s program could be folded into the Metro program to provide additional protection.

Mr. Cotugno said Executive Officer Mike Burton and Metro staff have recommended option 2, which would consider everything on the map as significant except for resources scoring below 2. He noted that MTAC has not yet made its recommendation.

10.  SUBREGIONAL RULE MAKING UPDATE

Mr. Cotugno said the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) has formally initiated the subregional rule making process. The meeting packet contains the draft rule proposed by LCDC, which is different from the draft rule submitted by Metro. On the reverse of the LCDC announcement is a proposed process and schedule. A copy is included in the meting record. The proposed process is for the MPAC Subregional Subcommittee to meet periodically with the LCDC Subcommittee to discuss the subregional rule together.

Meg Fernekees, Department of Land Conservation and Development, encouraged people who wish to testify at the public hearing on July 23, to submit written testimony prior to the hearing,.

Chair Jordan noted that the first joint meeting of the MPAC Subregional Subcommittee and the LCDC Subcommittee is next Wednesday, June 19, at Metro. There being no further business, Chair Jordan adjourned the meeting at 6:37 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Myers Harold

MPAC Coordinator

ATTACHMENTS TO THE RECORD FOR JUNE 12, 2002

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