Metro head: Reserves bill ill-timed

House bill adds noise to final week of urban-rural reserves debate

By Christian Gaston

The Forest Grove News-Times, Feb 25, 2010, Updated Feb 25, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

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On Monday, the Oregon Legislature pulled the plug on a bill that would have changed the way counties and Metro can use urban and rural reserves.

That’s good news for David Bragdon, president of the regional planning agency Metro.

Bragdon was frustrated Monday that the House was even considering House Bill 3648, before the region’s governments have inked deals to set aside reserves.

“I would hope the majority of the legislature wouldn’t want to short-circuit the process that they authorized,” Bragdon said.

Arnie Roblan, a Coos Bay Democrat, said amendments aimed at shaping what the land-use bill would actually do didn’t make it to his House Rules Committee in time.

“At this time we’re not intending to do those. However, we’ll be watching,” Roblan said. “An amendment or a new bill for 2011 may be available.”

Bragdon, who along with Metro Councilor Carl Hosticka put together the framework of a regionwide compromise on the reserves issue, said he was surprised that in the 11th hour of a two-year planning process so much hardball was being played.

At the heart of the debate was land north of Council Creek near Cornelius. Clackamas County Commissioner Charlotte Lehan put serious pressure on Washington County leaders to exclude the 600-acre area north of town, which local planners say is a vital area for industrial development.

“I was surprised that people would make such an issue about 400 to 600 acres around Cornelius,” Bragdon said. “Even threats to wreck the whole process just because somebody didn’t like 200 acres. There was just no sense of proportion.” Dave Vanasche, who farms north of Cornelius and has argued that identifying land north of Council Creek for urban reserves would harm the ability of farmers to negotiate long-term loans on their property, told the News-Times that the legislature may be their only chance for slowing urban growth in the fertile Tualatin Plains, bound to the North by Highway 26, the south by Forest Grove and Cornelius and the east by Hillsboro.

It’s not entirely clear if that was the goal of HB 3648, introduced by Rep. Brian Clem, a Salem Democrat.

Clem didn’t return the News-Times’ phone call, but he did tell Carla Axtman, who writes about Washington County politics for the website BlueOregon.com, that all legislative options are on the table.

“I probably could have passed a bill during the special session,” Clem told Axtman. “Citizens and groups from across the spectrum have been complaining about this, including builders, conservation groups and farmers. All options are on the table given how upset the farm and conservation people are.”

Those options include:

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