METRO POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING RECORD

June 26, 2002 – 5:00 p.m.

Metro Regional Center, Room 370A&B

Committee Members Present: Chair Michael Jordan, Chuck Becker, Paul Curcio, Nathalie Darcy,
Andy Duyck, Judie Hammerstad, John Hartsock, Alan Hipólito, Tom Hughes, Richard Kidd,
Mark Knudsen, Doug Neeley

Alternates Present: Meg Fernekees, Mike McFarland

Also Present: G.B. Arrington, Parsons Brinckerhoff; Al Burns, City of Portland; Cindy Catto, Associated General Contractors; Bob Clay, City of Portland; Tom Coffee, Consultant; Maggie Collins, City of Wilsonville; Valerie Counts, City of Hillsboro; Brent Curtis, Washington County; Ed Dennis, Hillsboro City Council; Michael Dennis, Tri-Met; Bob Durgan, Andersen Construction; Kay Durtschi, MCCI; Shelby Edwards, Leland Consulting Group; Jim Jacks, City of Tualatin; Gregory Jenks, Clackamas County; Herb Koss, Land Owner/Developer; Stephan Lashbrook, City of Lake Oswego; Dave Leland, Leland Consulting Group; Irene Marvich, League of Women Voters; Pat Ribellia, City of Hillsboro; Kelly Ross, HomeBuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland; Richard Ross, City of Gresham; Kimi Iboshi Sloop, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Metro Elected Officials Present: Liaisons – Rod Park, Council District 1; Susan McLain, Council District 4. David Bragdon, Council District 7

Metro Staff Present: Brenda Bernards, Dick Bolen, Dan Cooper, Andy Cotugno, Carol Hall, Suzanne Myers Harold, Mike Hoglund, Marci La Berge, Lydia Neill, Mark Turpel, Mary Weber

1.  INTRODUCTIONS

Chair Michael Jordan, Clackamas County Commission, called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m. Those present introduced themselves. Chair Jordan noted that MPAC was meeting in Room 370 A&B tonight, as the Metro Council was currently holding a public hearing on the wildlife habitat map in the Council Chambers.

2.  ANNOUNCEMENTS

There were none.

3.  CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS

Herb Koss, Land Owner/Developer, 22400 Salamo Road, Suite 204, West Linn, Oregon, said not all residents of West Linn are anti-growth. In his opinion, the majority support managed growth. Under the direction of the former West Linn City Council and city staff, a group of ten property owners spent about $80,000 to present a study of the former study area 30 (now study area 37). A copy of the study (the Rosemont Ridge Concept Plan) is included in the meeting record. He expects area 37 to score well on Metro’s cost of services study: there is transit nearby and studies have been done on sewer, water, storm, transportation, natural resources and natural enhancement opportunities. All the land in Rosemont Ridge is exception land, adjacent to a retail center, a school, and transit. He said there are excellent employment opportunities in the West Linn area. He offered to give a tour of the area to anyone who is interested.

4.  CONSENT AGENDA

4.1  Meeting Summary: June 12, 2002

No action was taken on the consent agenda, due to the lack of a quorum.

5.  COUNCIL UPDATE

Rod Park, Metro Councilor, said the Council is currently holding a public hearing on protection of riparian and upland areas. The Council has been holding public hearings on behalf of the Executive Officer. The Council will publish its hearing schedule for October soon. In total there will be eight or nine opportunities for the public to testify, both in the afternoon and in the evening.

6.  SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES

Chair Jordan said the Parks Subcommittee will make its report at the next MPAC meeting. The Subregional Subcommittee held a joint meeting on Wednesday, June 19, 2002, with the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) Subcommittee to discuss the draft rule. The MPAC Subregional Subcommittee will meet on its own on Monday, July 1, at 5:00 p.m. to develop its comments on the draft rule. He asked members to submit their comments in writing prior to the meeting, if possible.

7.  DEMAND FORECAST SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT

Mark Knudsen, Washington County Special Districts, reviewed the Demand Forecast Subcommittee recommendations memo, a copy of which is included in the meeting packet.

Andy Cotugno, Planning Director, noted that the demand forecast drives much of the periodic review process. If MPAC is not comfortable with the forecast, staff needs to know that soon.

Chair Jordan said the item will return to MPAC at its next meeting for a recommendation.

Mr. Cotugno said he would include the forecast document itself in the next meeting packet.

8.  JOBS DISCUSSION

8.3  Employment Land Need Analysis

Mr. Cotugno gave a presentation on the Metro urban growth boundary (UGB) nonresidential land need: employment land demand and supply/inventory estimate. A copy of his presentation notes is included in the meeting packet.

Chair Jordan noted that staff will need MPAC’s direction on a number of significant policy decisions related to the employment land need analysis.

Tom Hughes, Mayor, City of Hillsboro, asked about the slide “Parcel Demand by Acres by Building Type and Size” (page 8). According to the forecast, there is no demand for parcels larger than 100 acres for tech/flex (TF) building type. However since 2000, two firms have been unable to find sites larger than 100 acres in the region. Historically, ten 100-acre sites have been developed in Hillsboro in the last twenty years. What kind of data would project zero need for this kind of lot for the next twenty years?

Mr. Cotugno said the existing supply is determined using tax lot records. However, many of the parcels shown as “existing supply” may not actually be on the market and available.

Mayor Hughes said for policy purposes, if the goal is to create jobs, then the reality of what is actually on the market should be taken into consideration.

Chair Jordan said MPAC will discuss at a future meeting how aspirational Metro can or wants to be. He noted that the rules are based on historical patterns, and the region cannot move too far outside of historical trends.

Mr. Cotugno noted that the study’s bottom line conclusion is that if all of the industrial land supply (types A, B, C and D) is counted as available, the region is still short 5600 acres. The Industrial Land Supply Study warns that while types B, C and D are on the ground, they are not very available for a number of reasons. If Metro makes a policy decision that any of the B, C and D lands are not available, then the need number will increase above 5600 acres.

Richard Kidd, Mayor, City of Forest Grove, noted that history may show that there are no 100-acre sites now. That does not mean that those sites could not have been filled, had they existed. History is not necessarily the most prudent determinant of real demand.

Andy Duyck, Washington County Commissioner, noted that they should be careful using the word “recruitment,” which implies that local governments are seeking these companies. Instead, high-tech firms have been approaching local jurisdictions, but there is no land available.

8.1  Centers Strategy Final Report

Dave Leland, Leland Consulting Group, and G.B. Arrington, Parsons Brinckerhoff, presented their final report on implementation of Metro 2040 centers. A copy of their presentation notes is included in the meeting record.

Judie Hammerstad, Mayor, City of Lake Oswego, asked how jurisdictions can use the ten principles presented in the final report, when they see that they are causing problems for their centers by not following those principles. For example, one of the principles listed is retail outside of centers competing with a center. For example, what about retail in another nearby jurisdiction that competes with a center you are trying to develop?

Mr. Leland said the most difficult land use to bring back into centers is retail. Most urban centers are first revitalized with urban housing, followed by office. In their study, they raise the question of whether office is the right land use for centers. Offices are used five days a week, close at five o’clock, and downtown office workers support about .5 square foot of retail space. A downtown resident, on the other hand, supports about 10 square feet of retail space. In addition, office workers take 2.5 to 3.5 parking spaces per thousand for office workers, versus 1.5 for housing. Therefore, should office use be introduced early into a town center, or allowed to sit on the edge in the corridor until the center is ready to accommodate it at a mid-rise and high-rise level? It has a big impact on when structured parking is introduced.

Mr. Arrington said part of the report’s suggestion is to initiate a process at Metro to cross jurisdictional lines and examine areas where retail currently competes with centers.

Mayor Hammerstad suggested that the report be disseminated, and when there is a problem, jurisdictions can meeting with a convening agent, such as Metro, to discuss how one jurisdiction’s development affects a designated regional or town center.

Chair Jordan said in the next few months, MPAC will make recommendations regarding policy and perhaps regarding the role of Metro. MPAC should consider the principles and suggestions in the centers report when making its recommendations to the Metro Council.

Mayor Hammerstad said the problem of public funding coming first, followed by private funding, is that if circumstances outside of a jurisdiction’s control have undermined its town center, it may not be successful. This is an issue they need to grapple with as regional partners.

Mike McFarland, Clackamas County Citizen Alternate, said one of the principles in the report call for Metro to educate the public and private sectors on centers. He is from West Linn, and one of the areas under consideration for UGB expansion is between West Linn and Lake Oswego. West Linn as a community strongly objects to the inclusion of that nearby land into the UGB. He asked if they had any advice on how to work with communities such as West Linn to make them more open to the possibility of a UGB expansion.

Mr. Arrington said one step is to strengthen Metro’s role in communicating the value of the 2040 vision. Another suggestion is for local jurisdictions to focus on staffing for implementation when planning a center, and to share information about their centers with each other.

Councilor Park noted Mr. Leland’s comment that office use may not be desirable in centers. He asked if there are other uses that centers should avoid.

Mr. Leland recommended avoiding land-intensive uses, versus human-intensive uses, in centers. For example, used car lots are not a great use for centers, but may be a very effective use for corridors.

8.2  Jobs Subcommittee Report

Chuck Becker, Mayor, City of Gresham, introduced the item. He complimented Dave Lohman, Chair of the Jobs Subcommittee, on his excellent job leading the group. The subcommittee carefully considered Chair Jordan’s charge to deliver the industrial land needs and issues of the region. The report covers many bases, from immediate land needs to longer-term policy directions for the region. He noted the guidelines adopted by the subcommittee, listed on page one of the final report.

Mr. Hoglund presented the Jobs Subcommittee report to MPAC. A copy of his presentation notes is included in the meeting record.

Valerie Counts, City of Hillsboro, reviewed a handout on regional high tech large lot needs and West Side high tech cluster needs, a copy of which is included in the meeting record.

Mr. Hoglund reviewed the MPAC Jobs Subcommittee final report and recommendations, a copy of which is included in the meeting record.

Chair Jordan said this is the start of the discussion on the jobs portion of the periodic review. There will be more discussion as MPAC moves forward.

9.  HOUSING DISCUSSION

Mr. Cotugno said the MPAC Housing Subcommittee has been working through the various components of housing supply and demand in order to determine the shortfall. He expects the subcommittee’s recommendations will be presented at the next MPAC meeting. The key issues for discussion are the refill and capture rates. He reviewed a memo from Executive Officer Mike Burton to Councilor Park, dated June 17, 2002, regarding the upcoming UGB decision – policy and numbers; and a memo from Lydia Neill, Principal Regional Planner, to Mr. Cotugno and Mr. Hoglund, dated June 17, 2002, regarding 2002 Urban Growth Report (UGR) dwelling unit scenarios. Copies of the memos are included in the meeting packet.

Chair Jordan noted that the dwelling unit number converts to acreage based on productivity, which is site-specific. He asked when the alternative sites analysis will be merged with the need number.

Mr. Cotugno said the alternatives analysis information will be available for MPAC’s review soon.

Mayor Hammerstad asked if Metro staff will ask local jurisdictions, which would have the planning authority, their opinions of the productivity numbers. She may have some comments to make.

Mr. Cotugno said her comments would be welcome.

John Hartsock, Clackamas County Special Districts, asked if the high end of the productivity range is 10 unites per acres?

Mr. Cotugno said ten units per net acre is the basic goal reflected in Metro’s code. Ten units per net acre, under normal circumstances, translates into about six units per gross acre. In the Pleasant Valley area, because of the significant greenspaces set aside and the existing development pattern, the planning process determined that the capacity is about 3.5 units per gross acre.

10.  WILDLIFE HABITAT INVENTORY

Chair Jordan noted that the Metro Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) recommended that MPAC give it an additional thirty days to review the wildlife habitat inventory.

Susan McLain, Metro Councilor, said the Natural Resources Committee supports MTAC’s recommendation and has revised its schedule to reflect the delay.

Chair Jordan asked if there were any objections to waiting for MTAC’s recommendation before making a recommendation at MPAC. There were none.

Chair Jordan reminded the committee that there is a ton of work to do in the next two to three months. Executive Officer Burton’s recommendation to the Council will be released on August 1, and will come before MPAC on August 14. He asked members to schedule discussions with their planning staff and determine their positions on the issues, because it will be time to make decisions soon. He noted that Rob Drake, Vice Chair of the Tualatin Basin Natural Resources Coordinating Committee, submitted a letter to Presiding Officer Carl Hosticka and the Metro Council regarding Metro Goal 5 Wildlife Habitat Inventory. A copy of the letter is included in the meeting record.

Mayor Becker noted that a number of technical advisory committees are working on the Goal 5 habitat inventory. He asked if MPAC could receive a short summary of all the technical advisory committees’ recommendations?

Mr. Cotugno said yes, staff could consolidate the recommendations of the various committees.

There being no further business, Chair Jordan adjourned the meeting at 7:09 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Myers Harold

MPAC Coordinator

ATTACHMENTS TO THE RECORD FOR JUNE 26, 2002

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