METRO COUNCIL GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Tuesday, June 16, 1998

Council Chamber

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

Members Absent:    None

Also Present:    Jon Kvistad, Ruth McFarland

Chair Naito called the meeting to order at 1:34 P.M.

1.  CONSIDERATION OF THE MAY 28 AND JUNE 2, 1998, GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

The minutes stand as read.

2.  ORDINANCE NO. 98-744, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADDING TO DESIGNATED URBAN RESERVE AREAS FOR THE PORTLAND METROPOLITAN AREA URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY; AMENDING RUGGO ORDINANCE NO. 95-625A; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY

Mary Weber, Growth Management Senior Program Supervisor, presented Ordinance No. 98-744A. A copy of Ordinance No. 98-744A is included in the meeting record. Ms. Weber reviewed the staff report on Ordinance No. 98-744, dated June 2, 1998. The substance of her comments can be found in the staff report and Attachment 3 to the ordinance.

Councilor McCaig said she understands there is a housing/jobs deficit in Wilsonville if the Dammasch site is not developed as a mixed use site. She asked Ms. Weber to elaborate.

Ms. Weber said staff’s capacity analysis of Wilsonville showed that the city would not meet its housing or jobs targets in Table 1 of the Urban Reserve Functional Plan (Functional Plan) if a prison is sited at Dammasch. She said if Dammasch is developed as a mixed use center, the City of Wilsonville will exceed its Table 1 targets for dwelling units and jobs.

Councilor McCaig asked if Urban Reserve 42 has been appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Ms. Weber said neither Urban Reserves 41 nor 42 is under appeal.

Chair Naito opened a public hearing on Ordinance No. 98-744 at 1:40 P.M.

Maggie Collins, Planner, City of Wilsonville, submitted copies of the North Wilsonville Industrial Area Proposed Concept Plan, Preliminary Urban Reserve Plan Area 42, and written comments to the meeting record. She read from her written comments.

Stephan Lashbrook, Planning Director, City of Wilsonville, submitted written testimony on the impacts of prison construction, along with a letter from Ransford McCourt, DKS Associates, regarding changes in traffic volumes created by the proposed northern alternative prison site. He also submitted a bound series of photographs showing existing zoning and land uses at the alternative prison site. Mr. Lashbrook said the proposed 72 acre addition to Urban Reserve 42 is a logical addition of exception land.

Dave Kanner, Public Affairs Director, City of Wilsonville, reviewed the City of Wilsonville’s public outreach and information effort. A copy of his written testimony is included in the meeting record, along with two examples of public information distributed by the City of Wilsonville at its open houses: “The Wilsonville Industrial Reserve” and “Urban Reserve Planning: A Primer.”

John Junkin, Attorney, Bullivant Houser Bailey, 888 Southwest Fifth Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, spoke as a representative for Citizens for Accountability in Prison Siting (CAPS). He said Metro does not have a process to expand urban reserves, and does not have the legal authority to site prisons, make conditional approvals of urban reserves, or create permanent city boundaries. He said the City of Wilsonville’s Conceptual Plan for Urban Reserve 42 violates Objective 22 of the Regional Urban Growth Goals and Objectives (RUGGOs) and the city has no coordinating planning authority for that area. He said CAPS appealed Wilsonville’s concept plan to LUBA on June 15, 1998.

Melanie Pennington, President of CAPS, said CAPS is concerned about the process surrounding the alternative prison site and the true nature of the site. Ms. Pennington submitted pictures of the sites surrounding the urban reserve, contesting the staff report’s claim that Urban Reserve 42 is surrounded by industrial uses. A copy of her testimony is included in the meeting record. She said the city has not demonstrated a need for additional industrial development in this area.

Rich Gentes, CAPS, 24925 Southwest Garden Acres Road, said public involvement in the concept planning of Urban Reserve 42 has been insufficient, and the concept plan is inadequate. He asked the committee to reevaluate Wilsonville’s land use plan for the area and leave the job of prison siting to the Oregon State Department of Corrections.

Bob Mitchell, CAPS, 24045 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Sherwood, addressed page 6 of the staff report on Ordinance No. 98-744, and argued that new development would encroach upon agricultural land. He said Metro has not thoroughly investigated the site. He asked for due process and proper public hearings before Urban Reserve 42 is taken under consideration. He said the area is rural residential and agricultural, and is not currently a Wilsonville industrial site.

Jim Jacks, Planning Director, City of Tualatin, submitted a letter into the meeting record. The substance of his comments are contained in the letter.

Pam Craft, 28950 Southwest Sandalwood Drive, Wilsonville, spoke as a concerned parent and citizen of Wilsonville. She asked the committee to support the expansion of Urban Reserve 42 to assist Wilsonville with its current jobs/housing imbalance.

Michael Tannenbaum, President of the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce, read from his written comments, a copy of which are included in the meeting record. Mr. Tannenbaum also serves as the Deputy Superintendent of the West Linn/Wilsonville School District, and he said the school district strongly supports the Day Road site, and opposes the Dammasch site which would place a prison adjacent to a current school and two planned schools.

Marissa Lake, 10884 Southwest Roland Court, Wilsonville, urged the committee to support the expansion of Urban Reserve 42. She said the needs of children must come first, and the choice of dislocating a few families versus endangering thousands of school children who will attend school within a few hundred yards of a maximum security prison is an easy decision.

Dan Willis, Board Member, Oregonians for Responsible Prison Siting (ORPS), 10811 Southwest Hunt Court, Wilsonville, read from written testimony, a copy of which is included in the meeting record.

Joanne Mills, Vice President of ORPS, 10980 Southwest Matzen Drive, Wilsonville, read from written testimony, a copy of which is included in the meeting record.

Terry Withers, President of ORPS, 33900 Northeast Wilsonville Road, Newberg, read from written testimony, a copy of which is included in the meeting record.

William Holmes, 9005 Southwest Stono Drive, Tualatin, said he is opposed to the ordinance because it circumvents a long established process that is normally measured in years, not weeks. He said Metro does not need to act on the ordinance because if the governor chooses to site a prison at Day Road, he can do so regardless of Metro’s action.

Jim Harwood, 9065 Southwest Stono Drive, Tualatin, said passage of the ordinance would violate RUGGOs Objective 22, Separation of Communities, and he urged the committee to oppose the ordinance.

Lisa Quist, 11075 Southwest Matzen Drive, Wilsonville, said when her family purchased a home near Dammasch, they were assured by Metro that the agency supported the City of Wilsonville’s plans for the Dammasch site. She asked the committee to stand behind its previous agreement and do what it takes to allow the best possible use of the Dammasch property to proceed as planned.

Jack Kohl, Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce, 8755 Southwest Citizens Drive, Wilsonville, asked the committee to support the ordinance. He said the commercial industrial plan for Urban Reserve 42 includes the future needs of additional industrial zoned land, the utilization of that urban reserve, and contributes to the economic health of Wilsonville.

Chair Naito asked David Miller, Post Office Box 343, Wilsonville, to make his testimony as brief as possible, as the committee was out of time for the public hearing. She said she would not hear testimony from Jocelyn Ives with CAPS, because CAPS received 12 minutes to testify as a panel.

Mr. Miller said the ordinance is an atrocity because there is no need for additional industrial land and siting a prison at Day Road would rip families from their homes. He said Urban Reserve 42 is important for wildlife habitat and greenspaces, and currently the land is used for agricultural purposes, not industrial. He said his family purchased a home outside of the urban growth boundary (UGB) because they did not want to live inside the city limits of Wilsonville.

Chair Naito closed the public hearing at 2:45 P.M.

Councilor Morissette said he regrets that both the cities of Wilsonville and Tualatin are faced with this issue. He said he wants to do what he can in his limited capacity, however, to help move the prison away from the schools it is currently by.

Councilor McCaig said this is a very difficult decision for everyone involved. She said it is appropriate for the Metro Council to look seriously at Urban Reserve 42. She said the action may set a precedent, but it is the Council’s job to do so, and she would not feel comfortable shirking that responsibility by delaying the process. She said in looking at the criteria established for Metro, such as RUGGOs Objective 22, there are clearly issues which make site 42 and the additional 72 acres acceptable for Metro’s purposes in managing the region. She said she is therefore comfortable moving ahead with the ordinance because it moves the region ahead and gives the governor a choice to make.

Chair Naito said it is a difficult decision, and she thanked the people who took the time to attend the meeting and testify. She said it is the Metro Council’s role to evaluate what is best for region and makes sense for land use planning. She said she believes the linkage of schools and jail sites is inappropriate. She said everything Metro has done in the last few years has set a precedent, because Metro is planning for the region like no other elected body in the country.

Chair Naito said Ordinance No. 98-744 will go before the Council on June 25, 1998, at which time there will be another public hearing which will not be limited in time.

Councilor Morissette will carry Ordinance No. 98-744 to the full Metro Council.

3.  DISCUSSION OF POLICY ISSUES REGARDING URBAN RESERVES PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS WORK PLAN

Mark Turpel, Growth Management Senior Program Supervisor, reviewed the staff memo in the agenda packet. He asked for direction from the committee on the two policy questions proposed in the memo.

Councilor McCaig said she supports staff’s recommendations.

Councilor Morissette said it is important to evaluate the effects of the buffers, but he supports the process proposed in the memo. He asked staff to be careful not to be overly optimistic as it analyzes the productivity of the highly partitioned lands in Tier 1 Urban Reserves.

Mr. Turpel said staff will return to the Council with several options.

4.  COUNCILOR COMMUNICATIONS

Councilor McCaig said this will be her and Chair Naito’s last Growth Management Committee meeting, and she wished Councilor Morissette good luck.

Chair Naito said it has been a pleasure to serve with both Councilors McCaig and Morissette.

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Naito adjourned the meeting at 2:58 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Myers

Council Assistant

i:\minutes\1998\grwthmgt\06168gmm.doc

ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF JUNE 16, 1998

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

Oral Testifiers (testimony cards included)

Ordinance No. 98-744

Maggie Collins

Stephan Lashbrook

Dave Kanner

John Junkin

Melanie Pennington

Rich Gentes

Bob Mitchell

Jim Jacks

Pam Craft

Michael Tannenbaum

Marissa Lake

Dan Willis

Joanne Mills

Terry Withers

William Holmes

Jim Harwood

Lisa Quist

Jack Kohl

David Miller