A state land use planner who has been a thorn in the side of the city’s long suffering UGB expansion proposal announced today that he is retiring early. Mark Radabaugh has served as the state’s point person throughout the city’s prolonged UGB process and has been a pointed critic of the city’s unprecedented expansion proposal.
Radabaugh’s dogged skepticism about Bend’s ambitious plan earned him plenty of scorn from local politicians and planners. Councilor Mark Capell in a January interview with the Source likened the city’s relationship with Radabaugh’s employer, the Department of Land Conservation and Development, to its well-publicized feud with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and called Radabaugh a “roadblock.”
Radabaugh’s supervisors however stood by his work publicly and have defended the department’s overall review that was based in large part on Radabaugh’s research and comments.
“I know there have been some differences of opinion and some personality issues and I stand behind Mark. I think he’s done an excellent job,” Whitman told the city council in January.
Based in part on Radabaugh’s review, the state decided earlier this year to send the city back to the proverbial drawing board, a process referred to in planning speak as a “remand.” The city opted to appeal the decision rather than revamp its proposal, presumably to a more modest request. After a series of recent hearings, the state’s oversight commission voted to largely uphold the department’s recommendations.
