METRO POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING RECORD

March 26, 2003 – 5:00 p.m.

Metro Regional Center, Council Chambers

Committee Members Present: Charles Becker, Dave Fuller, Eugene Grant, Ed Gronke, John Hartsock, Alan Hipolito, Tom Hughes, Vera Katz, Richard Kidd, Mark Knudsen, Cheryl Perrin, Dan Saltzman

Alternates Present: Jack Hoffman

Also Present: Hal Bergsma, City of Beaverton; Beverly Bookin, Columbia Corridor Assoc.; Al Burns, Portland Planning; Sarah Cleak, THPRD; Brent Curtis, Washington County; Ed Dennis, Councilor – Hillsboro; Michael Dennis, TriMet; Bob Durgan, Anderson Construction; Kay Durtschi, MCCI; Elissa Gertler, PDC; Stacy Hopkins, City of Tualatin; Holly Iburg, Newland Communities; Michael Jordan, Clackamas County; Norm King, City of West Linn; Jim Labbe, Audubon Society of Portland; Stephan Lashbrook, City of Lake Oswego; Irene Marvich, League of Women Voters; Rebecca Ocken, City of Gresham; Pat Ribellia, City of Hillsboro; Amy Scheckla-Cox, Cornelius Councilor;

Metro Elected Officials Present: Liaisons – David Bragdon, Council President; Brian Newman, Council District 2; Rod Park, Council District 1. Other: Carl Hosticka, Council District 3; Susan McLain, Council District 4.

Metro Staff Present: Kim Bardes, Dick Benner, Dan Cooper, Andy Cotugno, Michael Morrissey, and Mary Weber.

1.  INTRODUCTIONS

Tom Hughes, Mayor of Hillsboro and MPAC Chair, called the meeting to order at 5:07.m. Those present introduced themselves.

2.  ANNOUNCEMENTS

There were no announcements.

3.  CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS

There was none.

4.  CONSENT AGENDA

There were not enough members to form a quorum; therefore no vote was taken.

5.  COUNCIL UPDATE

Council President Bragdon said that at the last Council meeting he had nominated Mr. Michael Jordan as Chief Operating Officer. Other items coming up at Council were the performance measures ordinance and resolution which MPAC had already given Council advice on, and the Task 3 work plan, which he hoped MPAC would give advice on that night. The internal metro budget would be proposed at Council on April 3^rd.

6.  DRAFT ESEE REPORT REFERRAL TO MTAC

Carl Hosticka gave a presentation on the Draft ESEE Analysis.

Chair Hughes said that MTAC could work on all the items on the MPAC work program without specific recommendation from the MPAC committee members.

7.  TASK 3 RESOLUTION

Andy Cotugno presented the staff report, resolution and materials for the proposed amendment to Metro’s periodic review work order. The existing work order was approved by the LCDC commission a few years prior, and the current proposal would formally amend the resolution. All information was included in the packet and forms part of the record.

Mayor Grant asked if the Regional Economic Development Partners group was private.

Alissa Gertler said it was a non-profit organization. There was a membership fee to participate but it was open for any that wanted to participate.

Mayor Grant said that small cities don’t have economic professionals or the budget to be included in the partnership. He wanted to know how the small cities could participate.

Andy Cotugno said that the decision-making responsibility remained with Metro/MPAC, not with that group. He said that the group offered expertise to help with that decision.

Mayor Grant wanted more information about the Metropolitan Economic Policy Task Force, and specifically if it was a group created by Metro.

Andy Cotugno said that the task force was formed by the Portland State University Institute of Metropolitan Studies.

Council President Bragdon said that several MPAC members were also on the task force.

Mayor Grant said he was concerned about the experts bringing their material to MPAC as a finished product.

Councilor McLain said that both groups were probably going to present a body of work, but that the real work would be done by MPAC.

Jack Hoffman said he had concern about the regional framework amendments. He said he had concern also about the Regional Economic Development Partners because they advocated policy changes.

Chair Hughes asked Jack Hoffman who he saw doing the economic strategy work, then?

Jack Hoffman said that Metro, as the regional government, could command the jurisdictions to actually do something, because partnerships and volunteer compliance didn’t always work. He said he felt that the task was appropriate, but not necessarily the product.

Councilor Park said that if they did not have a strategy, then how would they determine where more high tech land was needed (as an example)? He said that figuring out the driving mechanism to finish the decision was what MPAC needed to determine.

Council President Bragdon said that he envisioned MPAC’s work on this as a resource.

Councilor Newman said that the early stages of policy development were just as important as when the information went to MPAC or the Council. He said that if groups supplied MPAC with policy recommendations, then MPAC should make certain that those recommendations were legitimate.

John Hartsock suggested that MPAC define what would make-up the framework plan.

Councilor Newman said that the subregional rule process looked to be a lengthy process.

Andy Cotugno said that the subregional rule process would be lengthy. He said that Metro’s expectation going into the program was that they could accomplish the plan without subregional rule, but it was possible that subregional rule would be needed. That would make it more than an 18-month time frame.

Brent Curtis said he saw the process involving two steps: 1) develop a regional policy and 2) apply that policy to a map. If you were going to hold out the possibility, then mention it in some way so that there would be no surprises. He said that it was clear that they were not starting out with the intention to use subregional rule, but rather just keeping the possibility open.

Jack Hoffman asked when periodic review would start again.

Dan Cooper said the process would start in the spring of 2005.

Mary Webber said that the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) was reviewed every 5-years based on a 20-year forecast. Therefore, if the economy was to change dramatically, or regional needs were to undergo a radical change, then those changes would be picked up in the 5-year review.

Councilor Park said that the actual decision was determined by many factors and not just the alternatives analysis.

Dan Cooper said that studying prime farmland did not change the statutory priority on the order of selecting land. All the higher-priority, lower-quality land would still have to be ruled out before they could venture into prime farmland.

Vera Katz said if they expanded enough they would be forced to include prime farmland and then by the time they were ready to develop, it might not be needed.

8.  SUBREGIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE

Mayor Kidd said he had a list of individuals who were interested in being members for the subregional subcommittee, which is attached and forms part of this record. He anticipated that it would take approximately 13 months to complete work on that issue. He said they would not meet the expectations of the governor if they tried to accelerate that time frame. The subcommittee had put together a list of tasks that included identifying and understanding the legal basis for the subregional rule, and whether subregional analysis was required in some areas to meet the livability criteria. He said they would convene twice a month. They would meet after the MPAC meeting on the 2^nd Wednesday each month and then before the MPAC meeting on the 4^th Wednesday of each month. He invited Dan Cooper and Mr. Whitman to attend. He said that if they had to accelerate the timetable they would have to increase the time of the meetings. He intended to have a good product at the end of their work.

Mayor Katz recommended that they take a look at communities that had already tried utilizing subregional rule.

Mayor Kidd said that there were several case studies slated to be reviewed at the 4^th or 5^th meeting of the subcommittee.

There being no further business, Chair Hughes adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kim Bardes

MPAC Coordinator

ATTACHMENTS TO THE RECORD FOR MARCH 26, 2003

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