Word

Can't add much to this. Well done. There are hearings scheduled on this issue for next week (2/10) as well, where you can and should come to make sure legislators understand that there are plenty of people who support Oregon's land use planning and who don't want to see the developers win out through a "divide and conquer" strategy executed county-by-county.

House Land Use Committee
Representative Mary Nolan, Chair
453 Oregon State Capitol
Salem OR 97301

RE: HB 2229

Dear Representative Nolan, Members of the House Land Use Committee:


House Bill 2229 represents the recommendations of the "Big Look" task force. The 2005 Legislature enacted legislation directing the Big Look to examine Oregon's land use system was an effort to reconcile the deep divisions that exist among Oregonians regarding land use. The scope of its work was germane in 2005, but was quickly overtaken by events: Measure 49, an upsurge recognizing the need to address the human impact on global warming, and the current economic crisis. What seemed farsighted in 2005 turns out to be shortsighted in today's environment.

It is idealistic to assume that the legislature can bridge the land use chasm. Oregonians are divided between those who see land almost as chattel -- theirs in the same sense as an automobile or toaster -- and those who see the land ownership as a grant from the state, a grant with strings attached.

Though I am one who thinks the work of the task force came down to a solution in search of a problem, I do want to point to the parts of this bill that I believe have value and represent the direction the legislature ought to take.

The Overarching Principles

Some have stated that these are too general to have any legal force. On the contrary, I understand them in much the same way as I read the opening words of the Constitution, or of the Declaration. They form the framework for a common understanding that seeks to bridge the chasm.

The fourth principle, to insure equity and fairness to all Oregonians recognizes that the interests of all Oregonians drives land use policies throughout Oregon. Though I live in Marion County, what happens in Wallowa County or Curry County affects me as a citizen of Oregon. I understand it to clearly state that I can participate in land use decisions in Klamath County as much as I can here in Salem.

I urge you to retain these principles. As stated, these principles provide guidance and constraint in the land use decision-making process. They apply, frame, and restrict what county commissions can do and also substantially assist in framing debates, now and in the future. If they do no more than to frame the debate by diminishing the destructive debate over property "rights" they will serve a useful purpose.

Counties and Regional Definitions

Oregon is a geographic entity; counties are administrative anomalies, carved out over time. Their shape and size represents political decisions made over a period of decades. One has only to walk around the fountain in front of the Capitol to understand that counties are the works of politics, not nature.

To permit a coalition of counties to alter land use decisions affecting the entire state is to justify Balkanization of the state. Land use decisions are local, but the impact of these decisions is statewide. Sub-state definitions are myopic because they assume that what happens in Curry County stays in Curry County. That is false.

The nature of the land surface is the product of climate, soil, ecology, and of the environment. Counties are administrative districts, of which land is merely a component.

The public policy implicit in Sections 5-8 effectively creates new forms of governance and diminishes the impact Oregonians have on what Oregon is.

Not everything in Sections 5-8 is bad. The guidelines in Section (6)(4) (page 5, line 10) should be requirements placed upon the commission, as well as all political subdivisions. All land use decisions should consider these factors -- at all levels of governance. The standards set out in Section 7(5) should also be incorporated as decision framing requirements for all jurisdictions.

Section 17 requires cities to annex lands within the UGB. This is unnecessary and to my mind encourages the very sprawl our land use system is intended to constrain.

Conclusions

I have been deeply concerned with the manner in which the task force operated. I am especially concerned that assertions unsupported by evidence have taken on a degree of truth to which they are not entitled. The task force has become persuaded that Oregon will grow dramatically, but at no point in their proceedings was the extent of this growth ever documented. This enabled an unjustified sense of urgency and crisis; at a time when far more serious crises should cause us to refocus our energies on preserving and enhancing Oregon's agricultural and forest capacity.

There exists a deep suspicion of county government among many Oregonians. Some of these concerns have been brought before this committee. These concerns about permitting local government to decide land use issues using sub-state criteria share common themes - the more local the governance, the less transparent the process; the more local the governance, the greater the opportunity for abuse; the more local the governance, the greater the chance for decisions that, while clothed the mantle of openness, are in truth arbitrary; it is easier to hide at Council or Commission level than it is at an agency or legislative level.

The evaluation measures set out in Section 5-8 attempt to address these concerns; evaluation measures that should be adopted, but without creating sub-state regulations. Plants, soils, wildlife, as well as people and what they do, where they work, and where they live do not recognize counties, except as governmental jurisdictions created to carry out what the legislature delegates to them.

We should not grant to counties the ability to make decisions that have statewide impact. Land use issues are the last issue that should be left to the myopia of county commissioners.

Sincerely,
Richard van Pelt
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Update below: More on the sad results of the "Big Look" Task Force -- which looks increasingly like an attempt to make the Big Grab at forest and farmland -- precisely the land which is becoming more and more vital to our future as is.

Join us next Tuesday, February 10th in Salem when the House Land Use Committee will hold the *final public hearing on the Big Look Task Force proposed legislation (HB 2229). The public hearings are scheduled from 3-4pm and from 6-8pm.

The task force has made several proposed changes to Oregon's land use planning program. Some changes we support, including a plan to have key state agencies develop an integrated strategic plan to coordinate land use, transportation and economic development efforts.

Unfortunately, the task force has focused much of their effort on a controversial proposal to allow counties to develop new criteria to redefine farm and forest lands and propose this to LCDC for approval.

This proposal, not supported by any data from the task force, is based on the perception that unproductive lands have been mis-designated by counties, and that counties are prevented from correcting these errors. Counties can, and do, re-designate land from agricultural or forest to other categories. In fact, counties re-designated over 20,000 acres from agriculture to other rural uses between 1989 and 2007. If land is mis-zoned, counties should correct the zoning error, not come up with new definitions for farm and forest land.

Simply put, this Task Force proposal will lead to rural sprawl, increase global warming pollution from cars and trucks, and impact Oregon agriculture at a time when our economy is already in danger. The Task Force report acknowledges that Oregon has a land use system that protects farm and forest land, contains urban sprawl, and manages growth better than anywhere else in the United States. The system can and should be improved, but it makes no sense to adopt proposals to
weaken land use planning in Oregon.

Now is the time to tell the House Land Use Committee to support the task force proposals to adopt better strategic plans and new performance measures and to oppose allowing counties to re-define farm and forest land. Please come to Salem to testify in support of a stronger, more effective land use program for Oregon!

Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm; 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Place: State Capitol, Hearing Room E, Salem
Date: February 10th
Contact: Gerik Kransky at gerik@friends.org