By Craig Pridemore
Dear Friends:
One thing stands clear about the tighter urban growth boundary Commissioner Judie Stanton and I adopted last year: it's working.
Thousands of acres of farmland, environmentally sensitive lands, and open space that would otherwise have fallen beneath residential sprawl have been spared for the future.
Land inside urban growth boundaries that would otherwise have been passed over is being put to better uses. This is important because it increases the value of that land thus generating more tax dollars to pay for our schools, our parks and our core public services, helping lighten the tax burden on all of us.
The urban decay that was afflicting many of our established cities has been stopped and is being reversed. Public and private investment that would otherwise have gone to subsidize growth on the urban fringe is instead being used to revitalize our downtowns and to help preserve our historic neighborhoods.
By any reckoning, a tighter urban growth boundary has begun to place Clark County on the path to a brighter future.
Now, the homebuilders and the Board of County Commissioners want to change that. They have set in motion a process for another massive expansion of the urban growth boundary only a year since the last expansion. This new expansion is intended wholly to support more residential sprawl, and they are doing it as rapidly as possible and with as little public involvement as possible. How did we get here? How could so much be going wrong just when we thought we'd set it right?
As most of you know, thirteen appeals of last year's comprehensive plan were filed with the state Growth Management Hearings Board. Eleven of these appeals were brought by the homebuilders, two were bought by groups who felt even the proposed plan was too lenient on new growth. Rather than defend the existing plan, the Board of County Commissioners, led by Commissioner Betty Sue Morris, decided to just give in - not to all thirteen appeals, mind you, just to the eleven appeals filed by the developers. The county will continue to fight against the appeals brought by citizens.
Did the developers' appeals have any merit and were they likely to win at the Hearings Board? It seems highly unlikely - even county attorneys proclaimed their willingness, even eagerness, to defend the plan. Commissioner Morris doubtlessly knew the developers' appeals had no chance of passing so, like George Bush "defending" federal environmental laws, she simply agreed to their demands without a fight.
Against this ominous beginning, Commissioner Morris has stated that she wants to complete the overhaul of the plan as quickly as possible. She's set a deadline of finishing before the November election when Commissioner Steve Stuart, the only commissioner who sought to defend the existing plan, will be on the ballot.
If we care about the future of our community, now is the time to rally to action. The county is attempting to allow as little public involvement as possible, but it is vitally important that we make our views known at every opportunity. Letters to the Columbian and Oregonian need to be written explaining to the citizens of this community that the commissioners aren't making minor revisions to the plan but are throwing it out altogether to adopt a plan approved by homebuilders. Talk to your family, friends and neighbors about what's going on. Call and write the commissioners, making it clear this is not the kind of future we want.
I am disgusted and appalled by what the current Board of County Commissioners is doing to our community. I hope that you will join with me and Judie Stanton in telling them that we won't put up with this without a fight.
Sincerely,
Senator Craig Pridemore
Friends of Clark County is pleased to have Senator Pridemore on our Advisory Board
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