This week’s letter comes from Hillary Garrett who piggybacks on last week’s feature story and points out some of the additional accomplishments that Central Oregon LandWatch has wracked up over the years. Thanks for the letter, Hillary. As this week’s winner you’re entitled to a bag of gourmet coffee courtesy of Strictly Organic roasters. Stop by our office, 704 NW Georgia, to collect your grounds.
Thank you for featuring last week’s piece, “The Green Machine,” and for bringing attention to the tremendous work of Central Oregon LandWatch.
Having been around for a long time, 1000 Friends of Oregon has achieved numerous accomplishments and has strong name recognition around the state. But in Central Oregon LandWatch, the region has something unique: a locally bred, rural-based, land-use advocacy group that has proven successful at both the state and local levels.
Landwatch directed last year’s campaign to protect the Metolius and brought us the Skyline Forest bill with their work in Salem. Were it not for Paul Dewey’s decade of successful legal challenges to development applications in the Skyline Forest area, there wouldn’t be a Skyline Forest left for anyone to protect. For his many contributions that enrich our community, he was previously lauded as the Source Weekly’s “Man of the Year,” and in 2008 was honored as an “Earthstar” by the Central Oregon Environmental Center.
The steady involvement of Landwatch in Bend’s Urban Growth Boundary expansion process over the last three years has gone largely unnoticed, but has proven tremendously influential. DLCD and then LCDC have worked to address the City’s proposal while Landwatch spent countless hours providing testimony. When a remand comes back later this summer that forces the City of Bend to reconsider its costly, sprawl-oriented approach, it will be largely to LandWatch’s credit.
Not many people will remember that LandWatch, then the Sisters Forest Planning Committee, led the successful effort to designate Whychus Creek as a Wild and Scenic River or fought to protect old growth ponderosa forests in the Metolius Basin and won. As a long-time supporter of LandWatch and of Paul Dewey, I can say that Central Oregon has been incredibly fortunate to have them, and would not be the same place without them.
– Hilary Garrett, Bend
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2010.
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Great article. Thanks for informing us “outsiders” about the local situation there.
Bend and Redmond, Oregon both need to expand their urban growth boundary and GROW, in order to attract entrepreneurial talent from other regions, for emerging high tech businesses. Otherwise, the towns will dry up and turn to anti-growth Meth Cities, like eugene, medford, and flagstaff, arizona.
When a tourism/retirement town fails to recruit high paying jobs, doesn’t provide an environment conducive to entrepreneurs and increasing productivity and wages over time, then wages for everyone stall … and the service wages also stop increasing (that’s most Bend residents) … they cannot pay the expensive rents…and quality of life goes down as you have to work 2 or 3 jobs…”poverty with a view.”
Unfortunately, John VanLandingham and Richard Whitman denied Bend’s very modest UGB request of only 8,000 acres (not very large, at least double that would be typical of a Texas town for 20 years) on Election Day, 2010.
This denial will, to some extent, continue the speculation process that resulted in Bend’s soaring land costs, and high cost of living in the first place. Same thing happened in Portland, substitute “DLCD and John VanLandingham / Richard Whitman” for “City Planners” –
http://www.examiner.com/real-estate-in-portland/did-city-planning-and-defining-of-urban-growth-boundaries-create-the-housing-bubble
Urban growth boundaries are not sustainable. There are economically sustainable approaches to open space preservation that don’t cause housing bubbles i.e. conservation easements, land trusts, nature preserves, philanthropic trail building, tree ordinances, community gardens, etc. etc. Look at COTA. They keep building mountain bike trails. And, look at NW Crossing (The Garner Group) and their maintaining Native Pine trees during construction, and their Community Gardens. A great company who should continue to build westward, in a very green way.
Since I would guess that Central Oregon Land Watch and 1000 Friends are not run or supported by by Land Use Economists or Urban Planners, then with all due respect, what credentials do they have to tell the City , County, or DLCD what to do?
Land use decisions are best left to the City Planners in Bend who are certified with the APA (American Planning Association), who are well trained in Urban Planning and Land Use Economics.
It’s up to Bend residents if they are going to listen to others with background in land use economics. Most of the Western US has imposed even stronger anti-growth regulations than Bend. Truly, Bend is unique as a mountain town in supporting a majority of the major national chains. Kitzhaber was voted down 2:1 in Deschusets County, and the Bend City Council and Planners want to bring new industry to Juniper Ridge.
I am hopeful that the People of Bend will continue to predominately support their pro-business leaders, rather than the anti-business special interest groups.
And, truth be told, the City is also very green, with its commitment to bike paths, the riverwalk, parks, and open space. Having evaluated about 20 cities similar in demographics to Bend in 6 Western States, if there is any city grows yet also meets environmental quality principles, it’s Bend. Check out the differences in traffic and pollution between Bend and Boulder, or Bend vs. Eugene, or Bend vs. Santa Cruz, and you’ll see what I mean. I would not worry about another 40,000 people in 20 years in Bend. Destination resorts will bring more money to the area, helping to raise salaries of service workers.
If the City of Bend decides to sue DLCD and wins, then the 8,500 acre UGB expansion will ensure an end to Bend’s recession by the end of 2020.
Tom Lane @ http://smartgrowthusa.wordpress.com