METRO COUNCIL GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Tuesday, August 4, 1998

Council Chamber

Members Present:    Jon Kvistad (Chair), Don Morissette

Members Absent:      Rod Monroe

Also Present:      Susan McLain

Chair Kvistad called the meeting to order at 1:45 P.M.

1.  CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 7, AND JULY 14, 1998, GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS

2.  ORDINANCE NO. 98-769, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AMENDING THE REGIONAL FRAMEWORK PLAN SECTION 1.3 REGARDING HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ADDING A CHAPTER TO THE METRO CODE CREATING AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND CONFIRMING THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS

Councilor McLain said Councilor Ed Washington asked her to present the ordinance and to remind the committee that this had been passed last year and efforts had been made to get the committee up and running. She said there had been mediation and some core issues had been presented. She said Councilor Washington believes the spirit of the resolution and ordinance are still intact after the mediation and compromise. She said it is important to Councilor Washington for the committee to move on the ordinance.

Councilor Morissette said he feels the ordinance targets certain classes of people as responsible for the high cost of housing, when government regulations and a strong market are responsible. He said he cannot support the language “without subsidy” in the second paragraph of Exhibit A, fifth bullet item. He said the language forces builders to pay for a societal problem. He said he hopes the Council can create an incentive-based approach instead. He recommended adding three positions to the committee: a representative of the Realtors Association, the Portland Homebuilders Association and the Manufactured Housing Association. Councilor Morissette asked Larry Shaw, Senior Assistant Counsel, if he had correctly interpreted the phrase “without subsidy.”

Mr. Shaw said yes, the modifier “without public subsidy” intentionally adds an extra concept to the sentence and means that the 20% target would not count housing units created with public subsidy.

Councilor Morissette asked Mr. Shaw about paragraph A on page 5 of Exhibit A. He said he is concerned that a replacement housing ordinance would ultimately reduce the amount of buildable land, thereby increasing housing prices.

Mr. Shaw said the key to the paragraph is the phrase “committee shall consider methods.” He said the committee would determine how the concept of a replacement ordinance would work. He said if any marketing limitations surface during consideration, the ordinance could be amended.

Councilor Morissette said he may support the language, as it does not limit supply. Councilor Morissette recommended deleting paragraph I on page 6, which includes a real estate transfer tax as a funding source.

Councilor McLain asked Mr. Shaw if paragraph I only says that the committee could consider a real estate transfer tax and set out issues for review, and nothing more. Mr. Shaw said yes.

Councilor Morissette said he wants to eliminate the suggestion. He said he is concerned about paragraph A on page 7, but would support it because Gresham and Hillsboro have offered to link affordable housing to transportation funds.

Councilor McLain said the Metro Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) also indicated concern regarding that language. She said MPAC chose to allow the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) to address the issue. Councilor McLain asked Mr. Shaw if there was any indication that the mediation group would be willing to reconvene.

Mr. Shaw said there was a signed tentative agreement with all the parties, including Metro, to this settlement, and upon adoption of this ordinance, lawsuits would be dropped in the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). He said the issue should be discussed at full Council and not in committee.

Councilor McLain suggested sending the ordinance to Executive Session on Thursday without a committee vote because any debate or vote in committee could damage mediation.

Councilor Morissette said he could not move the ordinance forward without an agreement on his recommended amendments.

Chair Kvistad suggested going through the ordinance, voting on any changes, and then taking it to Executive Session on Thursday. He said if the Council agreed, the ordinance could either be sent back to committee or moved forward to mediation.

Councilor McLain said it was her understanding that the three additional positions proposed by Councilor Morissette could be represented in existing categories. Councilor Morissette said he wants additional members to represent the people who do the work. He said there is virtually no representation of for-profit builders.

Chair Kvistad said his main concern is Exhibit C. He recommended deleting the names in Exhibit C, with the understanding that those people can be appointed by their respective jurisdictions once the ordinance has passed. Councilor McLain agreed.

Chair Kvistad said the Council did not authorize the mediation, and therefore should not be prevented from amending the ordinance that resulted from mediation.

Councilor McLain said she would support adding three positions to the committee, but she is concerned about the potential effects on the currently signed mediation.

Councilor Morissette asked Councilor McLain for her position on the motion. Councilor McLain said the additional positions were discussed in mediation and turned down. She said the three groups could be represented using the current membership positions. She said nothing would be gained by delaying the formation of the committee.

Councilor Morissette said the committee needs more representation by the people who actually produce the housing.

Councilor McLain said if the Council could establish the initial committee, representatives from those three groups could be invited to the committee as experts, to be a necessary and welcome part of the conversation.

Councilor Morissette asked if Councilor McLain would support adding two positions instead of three. Councilor McLain said it would still have the same effect on the mediation.

Councilor Morissette the mediation would not progress unless the committee addressed the issue.

Councilor McLain said she wants the ordinance out of committee. She said the committee should vote and send it to full Council.

Councilor Morissette said he has no intention of moving the ordinance out of committee in its current form.

Chair Kvistad suggested finishing the amendment process and then sending the ordinance to Executive Session for debate regardless of the committee’s actions. He said changes could be made now to amend the package, send it to full Council for debate, and address it in committee next week.

Councilor Morissette said if the Presiding Officer did not pull the ordinance out of committee, it would die in committee for lack of support.

Chair Kvistad said unless there are two votes today to move it to full Council, or unless he took it off the table, it would not come before the full Council.

Councilor McLain said there is already an Executive Session scheduled for Thursday on this item.

Councilor Morissette said he still did not intend to move the ordinance out of committee without a more balanced package.

Chair Kvistad said the ordinance would not be voted out of committee at this meeting, but the committee could vote on amendments and sent it forward to the Council for debate.

Chair Kvistad said the full Council has voted against this proposal more than once, and it would probably be overturned again.

Councilor Morissette said he is fairly uncomfortable with the process laid out by the chair of the committee. He said he would prefer to withdraw his amendments and vote no on the package, but he is trying to follow the chair’s process.

Chair Kvistad said he and Councilor Morissette have been voted down on this amendment at least four times. Councilor Morissette he would not give up and would not vote yes on anything in which he did not believe.

Chair Kvistad said he could not support the amendment, knowing the Council had voted it down. He said he would vote for it at Council if there is a majority.

Chair Kvistad asked Councilor Morissette if he would consider the language “may consider revenue sources such
as . . . .”

Councilor Morissette said no, he does not believe the private sector is the primary cause of the lack of affordable housing. He said the group should look at current regulations and come up with incentives to find ways to make the process easier. He said the complicated land use process in Oregon adds to the price of housing.

Councilor McLain said the language in paragraph I merely states that the committee “shall address” a real estate transfer tax, not that such a tax will be the solution. She said she does not want to hamper the committee’s possibility to find a balanced solution.

Chair Kvistad suggested changing “shall also address the following” to “may also address the following.” Councilor Morissette restated that he would not vote for something in which he did not believe.

Chair Kvistad said he would support Councilor Morissette’s motion, but may move to amend the language at full Council.

Councilor Morissette said he did not have more amendments, but would still not vote to move the ordinance out of committee.

Chair Kvistad said Ordinance No. 98-769A did not have enough votes to move out of committee, and would be send to Executive Session at the next full Council. He said the ordinance would return to committee and then be sent back to Council for action or back to mediation.

3.  INFORMATIONAL UPDATE ON METRO POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MPAC) CONSIDERATION OF CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY EXPANSION

Elaine Wilkerson, Growth Management Services Director, noted the MPAC minutes in agenda packet. She said MPAC discussed the Code changes and the possibility of amending the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan. She said MPAC would probably discuss the item again in August at its joint meeting with JPACT.

Councilor McLain said she understood the productivity study would be the second round of numbers and that there would then be an opportunity for local planners to review it for the issues that might affect them. She said she thought an independent peer group would review the productivity analysis and comments from local planners. She said the Council should receive 1) the numbers from the consultant, 2) the narration from the local jurisdictions, 3) the independent peer review comments, and 4) the staff analysis.

Chair Kvistad agreed and directed Meg Bushman, Council Analyst, to write this up as an action item.

Councilor Morissette said the work needs to fit into the established time frame. Councilor McLain said she felt it could be done with a minor adjustment to the calendar.

Chair Kvistad said the calendar is slightly flexible, but clarified that the established schedule will be met.

Councilor McLain said the Council should be able to meet its September deadline while still obtaining the necessary information to make a decision. Councilor McLain said the purpose of the established timeline is to demonstrate a good faith effort to meet state law. She said she would not support the timeline if it means omitting necessary, parallel work. Chair Kvistad agreed.

4.  DISCUSSION OF DLCD/LCDC COOPERATION IN THE URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY EXPANSION PROCESS

Chair Kvistad said he added this item to the agenda in response to an opinion piece in The Oregonian by Jeff Bachrach which complained that there was no point in the Council making land use decisions if the state was going to invalidate them. He asked the committee to discuss the possibility of sending a letter to the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) from the Council stating that the Council’s decisions were made after 5 years of work, and politely asking the DLCD to make a decision.

Councilor McLain asked Mr. Shaw for an update on the legal proceedings. Mr. Shaw said legal counsel received 12 briefs: as predicted, two attacked first tier and 10 focused on farmland. He said legal counsel had not predicted that state agencies and 1000 Friends of Oregon would ask for the entire decision to be sent back based on each of their 26 objections. He said legal counsel had expected the state to sever and sustain the 15,500 acres of designated exception land and then disagree with the farmland, as it had in the primary portions of its brief. He said he understood that Dick Benner, DLCD Director, had committed to the idea of severing the 15,500 acres of exception land with his attorneys.

Chair Kvistad said Metro’s authority to designate urban reserves is clear.

Mr. Shaw said he is confused by the set of events because Mr. Benner’s position at MPAC was consistent with positions taken in Council, but not consistent with the DLCD’s briefs.

Chair Kvistad said there would be a brief update on Tier 1 following this discussion.

Councilor McLain said if a letter is sent, it should focus on the 15,500 acres of exception land and ask the state to sever those acres if it wants the process to move forward.

Chair Kvistad said he feels it is unacceptable for a state agency to take such a long time, and a decision needs to be made.

Mr. Shaw said the urban reserve appeal does not legally limit Metro’s ability to make urban growth boundary (UGB) amendment decisions. He said without urban reserves in place and acknowledged, there were still statutory requirements to move the UGB to include a 20-year land supply. He said if the state severed the 15,500 acres of exception land, Metro would be in a cleaner position because there would be more than enough land from which to choose.

Chair Kvistad said he is frustrated that after 5 years of work developing urban reserves it now appears that they could basically choose any land they wanted regardless of the study or the reserve lands.

Councilor McLain said she wants to make sure the Council is committed to reviewing the UGB in a timely way to meet state law. She said the Council may wish to send a letter stating that Metro needs to be able to sever those issues that are less controversial if it is going to be able to follow the process it worked out over the past five-and-a-half years. She said the Council will have more data to make the necessary findings to move the UGB after steps one and two of the productivity analysis have been completed.

Councilor Morissette said he felt a letter was not necessary, but he would sign one if it conveyed the feelings of the majority of the Council.

Chair Kvistad said his goal is not to send a letter, but to get the discussion out in the open and on record. He said if the Council does decide to send a letter, a draft will be distributed to the Council beforehand.

Councilor McLain said it will be crucial to give MPAC a clear understanding of Ordinances Nos. 98-770 and 98-772 at MPAC’s joint meeting with JPACT.

Mark Turpel gave an update on the status of urban reserve planning in first tier urban reserves.

Chair Kvistad asked if any litigation could be resolved through minor boundary adjustments. He said the Council should begin to determine its process for adjusting the boundary. Mr. Turpel said the process under consideration is good, and if there was a chance of settling any of the pending law suits, the Council would have already held an Executive Session.

5.  COUNCILOR COMMUNICATIONS

There were none.

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Kvistad adjourned the meeting at 3:24 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Myers

Council Assistant

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