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Oregon
Land Use Update
March 1, 2005
In
this issue:
1000
FRIENDS OF OREGON
- Coastal
Forum packs the room in Seaside
- 1000 Friends
testifies against legislation to allow unlimited commercial and industrial
development in remote rural areas
OREGON
NEWS
- Gutting
Land Use Planning for Profit: ACTION LIKELY MARCH
2
- Regional
Livability Summit March 3 & 4
- Legislature
at work on Measure 37 bills
- Transportation
Measures
- Legislation
we support
NATIONAL
NEWS
- Smart
Growth America Shareware available
- Michigan
Sprawl Subsidies Harm Residents
If you would
like to receive Land Use Update via email, please subscribe at
http://www.friends.org/update.
You can unsubscribe at http://www.friends.org/unsubscribe.
1000
FRIENDS OF OREGON
Coastal
Forum packs the room in Seaside
Over 80
North Coast residents spent Saturday at an all-day workshop hosted by
the Oregon Coastal Futures Project. The standing room only crowd, joined
a team of experienced planners, public officials, activists, and experts
to create common ground for the region's future. Learn
more about the event and the Oregon Coastal Futures Project.
1000 Friends testifies against legislation to allow unlimited commercial
and industrial development in remote rural areas
1000 Friends
of Oregon testified on February 16 against HB 2458, legislation that
would allow industrial and commercial development of any type and size
on lands outside the Willamette Valley, current zones for rural commercial
or industrial uses, and outside of urban growth boundaries (UGB’s).
Why is this bill a bad idea? First, LCDC established an advisory committee
to look at industrial and commercial uses in rural areas. That committee
should finish its work before the legislature makes up its mind. Second,
putting these kinds of uses out of town means that employees have to
drive far from where they live. Third, shoppers are also drawn to remote
areas adding more traffic and creating conflicts with farm machinery
that travels rural roads. Some developers want land in more remote areas
because it is cheaper. It is cheaper because the investments made by
cities for sewer, roads, and safety features have not yet been made
for these areas. These services will be needed eventually, costs will
increase and limited funds will have been spent draining needed investment
away from Oregon towns and cities. See related story below.
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OREGON
NEWS
Gutting
Land Use Planning for Profit: ACTION LIKELY MARCH
2
Has passage
of Measure 37 made fair game of core community planning principles?
Maybe. Some special interests are trying to take advantage of the uncertainty
surrounding planning in Oregon to go for the gold -- gold in their pockets,
that is.
These interests
want, in HB 2458, to erase the distinction between our towns
and areas where families farm by plopping down big box stores in remote
locations where it is cheaper for developers -- but the community pays
the higher price when it has to provide those services out of town.
HB 2458 allows urban levels of development for commercial and industrial
uses outside of urban areas. 1000 Friends of Oregon opposes this
legislation. A work session will be held on March 2 and the House
Land Use Committee (Rep. Garrard, Chair) is likely to report it out
the same day.
HB 2549
allows anyone to build a dwelling on land if the owners ever could have
built on that land. This means that the zoning is ignored, and family
farms bear the cost of conflicting development in farm use zones. A
hearing was held on February 23 by the House Land Use Committee. 1000
Friends opposes this legislation. A work session will be held on
March 2 and the House Land Use Committee (Rep. Garrard, Chair) is likely
to report it out the same day.
Comment
on these bills to House Land Use Chairman Garrard (R-Klamath Falls)
or your representative.
Regional Livability Summit March 3 & 4
Coalition
for a Livable Future is hosting its annual summit with a keynote by David
Goldberg, Communications Director for Smart Growth America and three-time
Pulitzer Prize nominee. Other highlights include: State of the Region
presentation by Sheila Martin, Director of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan
Studies at Portland State University; Straight Talk about Measure 37:
A Community Conversation; and Community Caucuses, an opportunity to build
collaborative relationships with people in your part of the region. Please
register in advance by calling 503-294-2889 or online.
Legislature at work on Measure 37 bills
There are
several bills that have been introduced that address the unfairness
of Measure 37.
- SB
406, introduced by Sen. Schrader, provides for a compensation system
for landowners pinched by community planning rules. A hearing on this
was held in the Senate on February 9. The bill aims to capture the economic
benefits created by sound community planning and use those funds to
compensate landowners who are unfairly burdened by restrictions. 1000
Friends supports the concept of compensation and would like to see refinements
of the ideas embodied in this bill. Read
our testimony.
- SB
350 delays the date on which land owners become eligible for compensation
and can file a cause of action in circuit court for compensation. 1000
Friends supports this legislation.
- SB
308 creates compensation through a system of transferable development
credits. 1000 Friends supports the concept of development credits and
is neutral on this particular proposal.
Transportation Measures
The transportation
proposals are not encouraging thus far:
- SB
897 unravels the very concept of land use planning in Oregon. The
measure would make transportation planning optional by making Goal 12
(Transportation planning and thus the Transportation Planning Rule)
merely advisory. Making planning optional unravels our statewide system
of community planning so all Oregonians can rely on sound planning to
protect their future as well as Oregon’s. If Goal 12 is made only
advisory, what is the future for our other goals that protect farmland,
Oregon’s forests, coastal areas and keeps our cities great places
to be? 1000 Friends of Oregon opposes this measure.
- SB
894 would mandate that all major highways in the state, part of
the National Highway System, be considered “freight routes”.
Currently only a fraction of these highways are freights routes and
the Oregon Transportation Commission has the discretion to designate
freight routes. Freight routes must meet higher levels of mobility,
and also the prohibition against reducing capacity on a freight route
will frustrate efforts to balance through traffic needs with local need
where a highway is a community's main street. 1000 Friends of Oregon
opposes this measure.
Legislation we support
Some of
the legislative proposals are potentially positive steps.
- SB
82 creates the Oregon Task Force on Land use Planning, which is
the beginning of the 30th anniversary review of land use planning in
Oregon. The bill has been referred to the Senate Environment and Land
Use Committee and Ways and Means.
- SB
307 allows system development charges to be used to pay for schools.
The bill has been referred to Environment and Land Use Committee.
- HB
2537 requires the Department of Land Conservation and Development
(DLCD) and the Economic and Community Development Department to help
local governments improve economic development planning. A second reading
was held on February 25 by the House Land Use Committee.
- SB
425 requires a percentage of the estimate total cost of all urban
renewal projects to be for affordable housing. With the downturn in
federal support for affordable housing, this state-led effort could
be an important step to assure that all Oregonians can find housing
that suits their needs. For more information on the impact of housing
cuts, see information at the Community
Development Network.
- HB
2520 repeals the prohibition on real estate transfer fees and has
been referred to State and Federal Affairs Committee.
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NATIONAL
NEWS
New Smart
Growth America Shareware available
Smart Growth
America has just issued a free CD-ROM containing a library of smart
growth resources for creating communities that are great places to live
and work. Publications, fact sheets and web site links are included.
To sign up for a CD, go to Smart
Growth America website and click on the link.
Michigan Sprawl Subsidies Harm Residents
The Michigan
Urban Land Institute and the United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan issued
a report about the costs of sprawl. The report, Follow the Money found
that of $382 million spent by the Michigan Trnasportation Economic Development
Fund, only 22% went to core cities. The town of Auburn Hills (population
20,000) received $1,250 per resident for a total of $25 million, while
Detroit (population 920,000) received $25 per resident for a total of
$18 million. Learn
more.
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Land Use
Update is edited by Kate Kimball and brought to you by 1000 Friends
of Oregon, a statewide organization dedicated to protecting Oregon's quality
of life.
To help support
this work, including the distribution of Land Use Update, please
consider making a tax-deductible donation online at http://www.friends.org/support
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