By Judie Stanton
It's the public's plan that's being scrapped
I am profoundly disappointed that our new Board of County Commissioners has decided to junk a product so many of our residents participated in designing. The current plan for how and where we will grow is not Craig Pridemore's, it is not mine. It is a plan that was built with the assistance of thousands of Clark County residents through an expensive and time-consuming process.
Rather than working from a predetermined agenda, at least two of the board members really listened to the people of Clark County. We held many open houses in different geographic parts of the county, read written communications, received phone calls and in-person opinions, and commissioned public opinion surveys. Our goal was to hear from a wide cross section of county residents.
Yes, it was expensive. But the Growth Management Act rightfully insists on public participation in the drafting and revision of a Growth Management Plan. Done openly, this is an iterative process where something is proposed, public comment is taken, the original draft is revised and is sent out again for more comment and more revision.
People's wishes were loud and clear. Our residents don't want to pay Oregon income tax and are tired of the long, congested commute to jobs in the Portland metro area They overwhelmingly asked us to focus on developing the potential for more family-wage jobs on this side of the river. The business community was adamant that we improve the jobs to housing ratio.
Clark County residents also want the most out of every dollar they spend in taxes, user fees and utility rates. They have been reluctant to approve new taxes and have been supportive of initiatives to limit government spending. With that foremost in our minds we studied where there was current capacity in infrastructure such as roads, sewer lines, and power substations, so we could take advantage of prior investments.
We focused on where it would be least expensive to grow and zoned the bulk of that land for job-producing uses. Recognizing cities are better equipped to provide urban services than the county we channeled growth to areas likely to be annexed by cities Professional staff did an exceptional job of providing the board with every bit of factual information we needed.
The growth plan is very purposeful and targeted. It directs scarce public dollars to build facilities that would make job-producing lands attractive to private investment. It includes an ambitious, and by some accounts unrealistic, job creation goal. It is a good plan that can be both affordable and sustainable.
Washington's Growth Management Act requires the county to consider how roads, schools, jails, sewage treatment plants, and other similar capital projects would be paid for. It does not require governments to address what you and I know to be the increase in hidden but ongoing costs… personnel and maintenance being most obvious. These costs add to our tax burden over and above the price of new capital facilities.
Just one example is in our law enforcement ranks which are already spread thin. The sheriff gave convincing evidence about the anticipated costs of his department for even a modest population increase. It was scary. It was unaffordable.
We've voted to pay more in property taxes so we have enough schools to serve our children. Still our schools are overcrowded. Cities are looking at various taxes and fees to help meet the demands of new growth The bottom line is either residents and businesses pay more or the service level has to drop.
It is questionable whether we will even be able to pay for the growth identified in the current plan. Now the county commissioners want to add even more population, which will bring even higher costs. Few people want to pay more for utilities, taxes and fees. But we all do pay for growth, and frankly these new costs may make living or doing business here unaffordable for many.
The plan for how we grow must reflect the needs of the whole community. Private citizens who want to build a balanced community where our grandchildren can live, work, shop and play should have just as important a voice as the developers and those who would benefit financially from expanded boundaries.
Friends of Clark County is pleased to have Judie Stanton on our Advisory Board
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