Rod Park

The Metro Council and boards of commissioners of Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties approved agreements this week that will set aside more than 272,100 acres of farmland, forestland and natural areas to be excluded from urban growth during the next 50 years. The agreements also set aside about 28,100 acres of land for potential future growth needs during that same period.

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Throughout one of the most challenging business climates in decades, Metro and its Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission (MERC) continued to infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy in 2008 and 2009. A recent study concluded that the Oregon Convention Center, Portland Expo Center and Portland Center for the Performing Arts generated more than $522 million in direct and indirect spending throughout Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties during fiscal year (FY) 2009. The independent analysis also estimated that 5,540 local jobs with more than $203 million in employee earnings were supported, and that $18.2 million in tax revenues were distributed to state and local governments as a result of the venues' business.

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Metro continued efforts to protect land along Johnson Creek and the Springwater Corridor trail last week with the acquisition of 5.6 acres on Southeast Telford Road, just south of Gresham. The property includes more than 1,000 feet along Johnson and Sunshine creeks, which support Chinook, Coho, steelhead and cutthroat trout. "Collectively, all those acres have a big impact on the Johnson Creek watershed," said Metro Councilor Rod Park, who represents District 1, in the eastern part of the region where the property is located. "The community has embraced this creek, and cares deeply about its long-term health."

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After more than two years of research, study and public input, Metro and the three counties in the Portland metropolitan region are nearing the end of an unprecedented process to agree on where and how our region will grow in the next several decades.The reserves process is unique in the nation - never before has a metropolitan area mapped out a decades-long plan that identifies areas for urban growth and lands that should be set aside as rural reserves.

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At its meeting Wednesday night the Metro Policy Advisory Committee recommended the Metro Council and the Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington county commissions adopt an urban and rural reserves map that reflects the suggestions made by MPAC at its Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 meetings.

Concerns were raised by several MPAC members that their committee's recommendations were not discussed by the Core 4 at its Feb. 8 meeting, and that MPAC's recommendations may have been ignored in the development of the final Core 4 consensus map.

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