Online Voters' Pamphlet
May 2002 Primary Election

Measure No. 26-11

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

“This initiative measure amends provisions of the 1992 Metro Charter dealing with Regional Planning Functions. It would prohibit the Metro Council from adopting any ordinance requiring cities or counties within Metro to increase housing densities, and prohibits the Council from adopting minimum density requirements on residential lands. Additionally, the Council would be required to repeal any Metro ordinance that establishes density requirements or requires local governments to adopt density requirements.”

“Currently, Metro performs certain required land-use planning activities as part of Oregon’s statewide land-use planning program. Oregon law authorizes Metro to adopt “functional plans” addressing matters that affect orderly and responsible development of the Portland metropolitan area. Metro may recommend or require changes to local governments’ comprehensive land use plans and to the ordinances that implement the comprehensive plan.”

“In 1996, after consulting with elected officials from within the Metro Region, Metro exercised its authority by adopting the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan, which sets forth performance standards for increasing housing supplies. These standards require increase of the capacity for housing inside the Urban Growth Boundary before considering any further boundary expansion. The performance standards also allow cities and counties to increase housing densities selectively in areas that the local governments determine are most suitable for future development.”

“In 1997, Metro adopted the Regional Framework Plan, which contains housing supply standards that parallel those of the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan. Review of the Framework Plan is pending before the Oregan Land Conservation and Development Commission.”

“The proposed initiative requires the Metro Council to repeal any ordinance that establishes minimum housing densities or minimum density requirements on residential lands. It also requires repeal or any Metro ordinance that requires a city or county within Metro to increase housing densities or adopt minimum density requirements. The measure bars Metro from adopting any further ordinances that require, either directly or indirectly, local governments to increase housing density or adopt minimum density requirements on residential land. Residential land is defined as land zoned for housing and mixed use zones that allow residential uses. The measure does not prohibit cities or counties from adopting housing density increases. The initiative would require changes to provisions of the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan and to the Regional Framework Plan.”

“The proposed initiative also requires Metro to provide 14 days’ notice by mail to affected households before a city or county adopts a legislative amendment to a comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance that would increase housing densities or adopt minimum density requirement. Under the proposal, all households within 500 feet of property subject to increased housing densities will be considered affected. Metro can also provide notice to other households.”

“In addition to providing notice of the proposed local government act, Metro must prepare and provide to the public a report on the proposed housing density increase that addresses the effect of an increase in housing densities on existing traffic patterns, availability of land for parks and open spaces, emergency services, public infrastructure, schools, and wildlife.”

Kate Schiele Asks You To Support Measure 26-11

As you may know, I am running for Metro Council President. I am running because I see a major disconnect between the desires of the citizens and the land use and housing density policies of our state and regional government.

I do not believe that our regional government, Metro, is listening to us.

Increased housing densities are not appropriate in all neighborhoods and communities. Cramming more apartment complexes and row houses into neighborhoods has created many urban problems such as serious traffic congestion, classroom overcrowding, loss of parks and open space, and increased pressure on urban services. 

That is why I support Measure 26-11

Measure 26-11 does three things:

1) Gives you mailed notice of proposed density increase in your neighborhood.
2) Requires an impact statement on what affect an increase in housing density will have on your community.
3) Gives your community the final say over the proposed density increase.

Measure 26-11 has brought together neighborhood activists, small business owners, and local homebuilders who have not worked cooperatively together before.

We need to change the tone at Metro, open up lines of communication, and find solutions to our many pressing land use planning problems. Measure 26-11 will help do that very thing.

I am asking that you vote Yes on Measure 26-11 and I ask for your vote for me for Metro Council President.

Thank you,

Kate Schiele
     Chief Petitioner, Neighborhood Preservation Act
     Candidate for Metro Council President

Vote Yes on Measure 26-11
Vote for Citizen Involvement

My name is Craig Flynn, and I’m running for the Metro Council. I support the Neighborhood Preservation Act, Measure 26-11.

Citizen involvement is supposed to be Goal 1 of the land use planning process. Unfortunately, it seems that Metro has forgotten this.

In recent years, citizens have been frustrated by Metro’s poor planning decisions. Too often, changes are made to neighborhoods to increase the density at which houses are built – and nobody is telling the people who live there.

Stacking houses on top of each other, little or no backyards for children, traffic congestion, overcrowding of schools, and the loss of green spaces are all community concerns, but are ignored by Metro’s density mandates.

When an increase in housing density is proposed for a community, the citizens should know and should participate in that decision. 

Measure 26-11 gives the neighborhood control over Metro’s policies of more and more people in a smaller and smaller area:

     It gives you notice,
     It requires Metro to give you information,
     It gives you control by shifting the density decisions back to your community.

Special interest groups always make crazy claims against good measures. If you have any questions about Measure 26-11, just read it for yourself!

You will see that Measure 26-11 simply involves the citizens in planning decisions. That is always a good thing.

Please vote yes on Measure 26-11.

Yes on Measure 26-11

Measure 26-11 is a consensus building tool.
Measure 26-11 requires Metro to work with local communities to better plan our neighborhoods.

Concerning the way growth has affected your community:

Do you believe that more densely packed houses in your neighborhood is good planning?

Have you felt like your neighborhood has been heard?

Do you feel like the impacts of high density housing, like traffic congestion and school overcrowding have been dealt with openly, or have you been left to deal with poor planning decisions after they are already made?

Why do you want making housing decisions for your neighborhood? Your community or Metro?

If you have similar concerns please vote yes on Measure 26-11. This measure requires Metro to involve you and your neighbors in planning decisions. Before it’s too late.

We Can Take a Little Control Back

     As a Broker of National and Regional Real Estate organizations I’ve traveled America for the past 30 years. During those years Portland, as compared to other cities, has changed drastically in my mind. Portland used to be a great place to live and work, especially as a realtor. We had very affordable housing and all of the choices that other metropolitan areas had. We no longer have the choices enjoyed by other metropolitan areas.

     On the East Coast in 2002 major metropolitan areas offer high density, medium density and low-density options. Consumers can purchase seven thousand square foot lots, up to half acre or acre lots in New Jersey, Virginia, and most other cities. Large parcels exist for development of whole communities. Not so in the tri-county area. In the Metro area land is in such short supply that a small minority dictates we live in common wall units with no backyards. I for one, along with many others, feel that the shortage is artificial and contrived. Consumers should have the option to select high, medium or low density as their income and lifestyle dictate.

     The opportunity for residents of metropolitan Portland to vote on a measure that allows them to control planning in their own communities is at hand. Measure 26-11 allows residents to decide how their communities will look and feel.

     Why should the citizens of the Metro area and their elected officials be denied a voice in their own destiny?

     Our citizens are talked down to and dictated to by Metro; this is a chance to say lighten up. We are as good as the people in Texas, or Missouri, Ohio or Maine. Give us the choice and we’ll decide.

Oh, by the way, this is still a great place to be a Realtor.

PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

VOTE YES ON 
MEASURE 26-11

I grew up in Portland and have lived in the Metro area all my life. Neighborhoods have changed in the last 2 years. Metro’s Smart Growth Planning, Light Rail and the Urban Growth Boundary did not help preserve them. Livability today is NOT the same as the livability of yesterday.

The many billions spent and more to be spent will not preserve today’s livability. As Metro continues mandating livability standards for the many communities, change will continue. Change I do not like. Metro is not preserving our livability.

A YES VOTE on Measure 26-11 will bring citizen involvement back into the neighborhood planning process.

I urge my fellow Oregonians to vote 
YES on Measure 26-11 
Send Metro a BIG message.

METRO, THANKS BUT NO THANKS,
We’ll protect our own neighborhoods!

Argument In Favor

Send a Message to METRO….
Nearly 50,000 Metro Area Residents
Petitioned for this Measure to be on the ballot

VOTE YES ON MEASURE 26-11

When I heard Metro was placing a neighborhood measure on the ballot I had to ask myself, Why would this government agency which has claimed to be protecting our livability for years need a ballot measure to protect our livability?

Now, If Metro HAS been protecting our livability for years they should not need a ballot measure.

OR

Metro HAS NOT been protecting our livability, like they have been claiming, but would like to start doing so now.

MAYBE

Metro HAS NOT been protecting our livability and HAS NO intention of doing so now,

THE ANSWER

Metro HAS placed their Measure on the ballot to confuse voters and compete with ballot measure 26-11.

FACT

Measure 26-11 was placed on the ballot thanks to nearly 50,000 citizens who signed petitions.

Neighborhoods and counties are ready to handle the issue of livability and high density housing at a local level.

PROTECT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

YES ON 26-11

The Neighborhood Preservation Committee

Taxpayers support local control over their
communities.

Taxpayers support Measure 26-11

Portland has one of the least affordable housing markets in the nation and is a national leader in traffic congestion. This is stark evidence that letting seven Metro councilors decide the fate of 24 counties is not working as they had planned.

Measure 26-11 is a return of good old-fashioned democracy through citizen control.

Measure 26-11 would let local mayors and city councilors have more control over their own communities and neighborhoods. Local folks know when their schools are overcrowded, their roads are too congested, and when too much density is threatening the livability of their neighborhoods. Such decisions are best made by people who live in the community.

Top down decision making power may work well for parenting a child but not for steering 24 cities with hundreds of neighborhoods.

Taxpayers foot the bill for Metro’s over 400 million dollar budget and now taxpayers want to have a little more say in what Metro does. This is why Measure 26-11 makes so much sense.

Jason Williams
Taxpayers Association of Oregon

Everyone, especially home owners, should vote for The Neighborhood Preservation Act, Measure 26-11. If for no other reason, it’s simply prudent to have a say in government decisions which profoundly affect your life.

Passage of Measure 26-11 insures that you and the other families around you will be able to vote on the question if Metro decides it wants to turn your neighborhood into a sardine can.

Metro’s current goal of dramatically increasing the density of our cities may have seemed of no concern to you, but keep in mind that those rules will force more and more people into your part of town. Even if you like living cheek-by-jowl with lots of strangers, your home is your largest single investment and increased density can wreak havoc on your net worth.

Oregon is one of the most sparsely populated states in the Union. It is absolutely ludicrous to allow ourselves to be crammed into the density of Manhattan (No joke, that’s Metro’s goal) by a bunch of wrong-headed utopians. Measure 26-11 would give us at least some protection against land-use tyrants.

In closing, let us remind you that Metro says increased density is to keep people from settling on farm land. If that’s the purpose, how can they justify the wholesale densification of a community like Gresham? Gresham had the best vegetable and berry farms, anywhere, which now have been paved-over with humongous town house and apartment complexes, in the name of densification!

If the same thing hasn’t happened in your town, it will soon, if we don’t do something.

Take the first step in doing something…Vote YES on 26-1.

SAVE PORTLAND FROM BECOMING LIKE LOS ANGELES

In 1992, Portland-area voters agreed to create Metro on the promise that Metro planners would save Portland from becoming like Los Angeles, the most congested, most polluted urban area in America. Yet by 1994 Metro decided to “replicate” Los Angeles in Portland.

A 1994 Metro staff document called “Metro Measured” compared densities of the nation’s 50 largest urban areas.

Metro found that the Los Angeles area is the nation’s densest urban area, denser even than the New York Area (which includes parts of New Jerseyand Connecticut). The Portland-area’s 1990 density was only about half that of Los Angeles, but Metro wants to increase Portland-area densities to be close to those of Los Angeles.

Metro also found that Los Angeles has the fewest miles of freeway per capita of any U.S. urban area. While the average urban area has 124 freeway miles per million people, and Portland has 105, Los Angeles has only 51. Metro doesn’t want to build many new roads in Portland, so Portland’s per capita freeway mileage will soon be close to Los Angeles’.

On page 7 of “Metro Measured,” Metro wrote, “In public discussions we gather the general impression that Los Angeles represents a future to be avoided. By the same token, with respect to density and road per capita mileage it displays an investment pattern WE DESIRE TO REPLICATE” in Portland.

Los Angeles has the nation’s worst congestion because it is so dense with too few roads. It has the worst air pollution because cars pollute more in stop-and-go traffic. That’s the future Metro plans for Portland.

Density causes congestion, but Metro says congestion “signals positive urban development” and predicts its density plans will quadruple the time Portlanders waste sitting in congestion by 2020.

Do you desire to replicate Los Angeles’ crowding, congestion, and pollution in Portland? If not, then VOTE YES on measure 26-11.

Randal O’Toole (rot@ti.org) senior economist with the Thoreau Institute)

Stop METRO MADNESS

Are you as unhappy as I am about traffic congestion? About our grid locked freeways? About giant apartments springing up all over town? Are you fearing the day they put one of those monsters in your neighborhood?

Ever wonder why we are being subjected to all of this overzealous over development? METRO has population density targets that force cities to increase density, increasing the number of people (and their cars) that will be sharing our roads, and leading to grid lock, more pollution, higher police costs, higher fire department costs, higher school costs.

So what, you say, all those new people will pay taxes which will cover the services. NO! Much of the high density development gets tax breaks. They don’t pay any property tax for many years. In the meantime, we get to make up the difference or lose services like police and schools. Already, Portland announced shortening the school year and is talking of cutting police.

Much new high density development is along busy streets which will become even more congested, slowing your commute even more. To keep busses on time, Portland puts some bus stops on extended (“bubble”) curbs which keep you trapped.

Here are METRO’s density recommendations: (METRO code 3.07.170)
     Central City – 250 persons per acre (ppa)
     Regional Centers – 60 ppa
     Station Communities – 45 ppa
     Town Centers – 40 ppa
     Main Streets – 39 ppa
     Corridor – 250 ppa
     Employment Areas – 20 ppa
     Industrial Areas – 9 employees per acre
     Inner Neighborhoods – 14 ppa
     Outer Neighborhoods – 13 ppa
See www.StopMetro.com and www.ORTEM.org for details.

Stop this METRO DENSITY MADNESS by voting YES on 29-11. And please. vote NO on 26-29 because METRO put that on the ballot to confuse us. If it gets more votes, it blocks the real DENSITY LIMIT MEASURE 29-11
Written and paid for by Jim Karlock, born & raised in Portland and mad as … about our overcrowded streets and neighborhoods (even before METRO’s density mandates are fully realized.).

VOTE NO ON MEASURE 26-11

The Portland and Oregon Chapters of the American Institute of Architects are made up of individuals who depend on construction and development. We also know that the quality of development influences the quality of life in our region, now and for the future. We believe that measure 26-11 is an attack on the principles of orderly development that defend our quality of life.

MEASURE 26-11 IS AN ATTACK ON OUR QUALITY OF LIFE

Individually, our cities and counties can only deal with portions of the growth and development issues influencing our quality of life. Regional coordination, such as setting regional standards for housing development, is key to maintaining our quality of life while accommodating growth. 26-11 would outlaw these regional standards.

MEASURE 26-11 IS DECEPTIVE

The preamble of 26-11 presents a confusing smokescreen about increasing housing density, as if apartment buildings are about to spring up in single-family neighborhoods. The key provisions of the measure actually repeal and prohibit Metro from establishing any housing density standards, opening the door to uncoordinated sprawl on undeveloped land.

MEASURE 26-11 WILL INCREASE TAXPAYERS’ COSTS

It’s simple: it costs more to provide police, fire and emergency services, school buses, roads, water and sewers to uncoordinated sprawling development than to orderly development within the urban growth boundary.

MAINTAIN THE VISION THAT MAKES OUR REGION SPECIAL

The citizens of our region have worked hard to find a way to address growth and development issues that cross the boundaries of individual cities and counties. This regional vision is essential for maintaining the quality of life we enjoy and that we want to pass on to future generations who will make this place their home. Don’t let the special interests behind 26-11 frighten you into dismantling the standards that guide orderly growth in our region.

PLEASE JOIN US TO VOTE NO ON MEASURE 26-11

American Institute of Architects Portland Chapter
American Institute of Architects Oregon Chapter

Join your friends, neighbors and elected officials and vote NO on Measure 26-11!

Measure 26-11 is backed by land speculators and developers. As local elected officials, we urge you to join us in opposing this poorly written and dangerous measure that threatens our farmland and does nothing to protect our neighborhoods.

The following organizations and individuals also urge you to vote NO on Measure 26-11.

THE COALITION FOR A LIVABLE FUTURE 
URGES YOU TO 
VOTE NO ON MEASURE 26-11

Should Taxpayers Subsidize Uncontrolled Sprawl?

The Coalition for a Livable Future believes that we can preserve the character of our region’s established neighborhoods and protect rural farmland, forests, and wildlife habitat. In fact, we must do this to ensure a healthy metro region for ourselves and for our children. Measure 26-11 makes this impossible, and instead forces taxpayers to subsidize uncontrolled sprawl development.

Measure 26-11 Will Not Preserve Neighborhoods.

Measure 26-11 will cause established neighborhoods to crumble from lack of investment as limited taxpayer resources are spent to build costly sewers, roads, schools, and other facilities for new development on farmland.

Measure 26-11 Will Not Preserve the Urban Growth Boundary.

Measure 26-11 will force an expansion of the urban growth boundary, destroying some of Oregon’s best farmland. With no way for local governments to allocate growth, development will sprawl onto our precious farmland, costing farmers their livelihood.

Measure 26-11 Will Increase Traffic and Decrease Transportation Choices.

By causing unplanned sprawl, Measure 26-11 will force people to drive longer distances and spend less time with their families. It will make providing quality transit throughout the region prohibitively expensive.

Measure 26-11 Destroys What Makes Our Region A Special Place To Call Home.

People here value our neighborhoods, farms, open spaces, and diverse housing and transportation choices. Measure 26-11 threatens the quality of life we have all worked so hard to achieve.

WE URGE YOU TO VOTE NO ON MEASURE 26-11.

Coalition for a Livable Future

www.clfuture.org

If you care about protecting our children, our communities, and our future…

Vote NO on Measure 26-11!

Like you, I care about the condition of our neighborhoods, schools, downtown areas and family farms. I support the work of citizens and local governments that has made the Portland region an example for the rest of the country on how to plan for growth and limit the negative consequences of urban sprawl.

But this community – our community, your community – is under attack.

Measure 26-11 is a direct attack on twenty years of work by citizens and local governments to protect neighborhoods and farmland by preventing uncontrolled development.

Let’s make no mistake about it. Measure 26-11 is an irresponsible and unworkable initiative aimed at busting open the Urban Growth Boundary and paving over the farmland and open space that has made Oregon beautiful.

Vote NO on Measure 26-11!

• 26-11 does not protect neighborhoods and it threatens some of the state’s most productive farmland.
• 26-11 is a stealth attempt to encourage more development to be paid for by the taxpayers.

Measure 26-11 is a direct attack on twenty years of work by citizens and local governments.

Vote NO on Measure 26-11!
Stop the developers and land speculators from destroying neighborhoods and farmland.

Measure 26-11 does nothing to protect neighborhoods and it threatens some of the state’s most productive farmland. Vote No!

Measure 26-11 is a stealth attempt to encourage more development that will be paid for by the taxpayers. It is backed by the land speculator special interest group Oregonians In Action.
Vote No!

Measure 26-11 is a direct attack on twenty years of work by citizens and local governments to protect neighborhoods and farmland by preventing uncontrolled sprawl. Vote No!

Jim Gilbert, Northwoods Nursery
Ted Kyle, Chair of the METRO Citizen Involvement Committee

Washington County Farm Bureau
Oregon Association of Nurserymen
American Farmland Trust
and
Farmers Around the Metro Area

Urge a NO Vote on 26-11

As family farmers who depend on the farmland in the Metro region for our livelihood, we urge you to vote NO on Measure 26-11.

• Measure 26-11 Threatens Some of Oregon’s Most Productive Farmland

By repealing laws that require efficient development before expanding the urban growth boundary, Measure 26-11 will cause farmland to be lost to real estate developers.

The farmland in the Metro area is among the most productive farmland in Oregon, and some of the best farmland in the world.

We should not let this farmland be lost to new houses and strip malls that can be built elsewhere – instead, it should be growing fruits, berries, vegetables, nursery products, and other high-value farm products.

• Measure 26-11 Threatens Our Farming Economy

Agriculture is critical to the region’s economy. Clackamas and Washington Counties are two of the top five agricultural counties in the state, and Multnomah is 15th. Combined, our three counties contribute over $900 million to the regional economy each year.

• Measure 26-11 Threatens Our Jobs and Livelihood

Farmland in the Metro area provides thousands of jobs for our farming families, and the many more thousands of jobs that depend on farm production – jobs that are threatened by the extreme nature of Measure 26-11.

Please Vote NO on Measure 26-11
Our Farms Depend on It

Washington County Farm Bureau
Oregon Association of Nurserymen
American Farmland Trust

The Oregon Association of Nurserymen
Urges You to
Vote No on Measure 26-11

     Measure 26-11 would degrade the quality of Oregon’s environment. Voters should vote “no” on the measure and protect the quality of our enviornment and the integrity of METRO’s planning process.

     The beauty of Oregon’s environment is due, in part, to our land use planning laws. For more than 25 years these laws have required protection of farmland against unplanned development. These laws protect the beauty and purity of Oregon’s rural environment from encroachment by urban development. These laws support the maximum possible economic viability for agriculture.

     By prohibiting use of residential density requirements in planning, Measure 26-11 would deprive METRO of a major tool for the control of urban sprawl and the protection of farmland.

     Passage of this measure would lead to expansion of METRO’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) with subsequent loss of farmland to urban residential development. By expanding the METRO Urban Growth Boundary farmland will be converted to urban use. This would degrade the quality of Oregon’s environment.

     While the rural environment would suffer from passage of the measure, the urban and suburban environment would also be strained. The measure would prohibit planners from requiring increases in residential density in proposed new residential zones. This may preclude planning for efficient development in areas where density makes sense, like downtown and near light rail stations. METRO’s ability to comply with state land use laws would be hampered.

     An administrative nightmare would be created by the measure, with taxpayers footing the bill. If passed, the proposal would require the repeal in all 24 cities and 3 counties in the METRO area of ordinances limiting residential density. Public notification costs would pressure city and county budgets.

     Citizens of the METRO area deserve better. The Oregon Association of Nurserymen urges you to protect the environment for all Oregonians. Vote “NO” on Measure 26-11.

ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION TO MEASURE 26-11
OREGON CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION (OAPA)

OAPA is the voice of Oregon’s planning community, working with thousands of citizens over the last thirty years to preserve our state as unique and livable.

Those qualities are seriously compromised by Measure 26-11, an attempt to separate Oregon’s planning program from its supporters. This measure incorrectly suggests that Metro is attempting to force dense housing in our neighborhoods.

However, Metro doesn’t do local planning – cities and counties do that work. Metro works closely with local governments to set the urban growth boundary (UGB) with a range of housing types and densities to create livable communities and prevent sprawl onto farm and forest lands. Metro assures that cities and counties provide sufficient land for housing, commercial and industrial uses for the next 20 years. The choice of where those uses go is one for your local government. The region must remain livable and affordable for our own children and for families who move here. To do this requires balancing – Metro setting the UGB, and local jurisdictions planning and zoning sufficient land to meet housing and employment needs.

Measure 26-11 also creates a costly new requirement, so that each time a density increase is proposed, Metro must prepare a lengthy and redundant report for circulation. Oregon wisely chose years ago not to become involved with wasteful reports that nobody reads and to do its planning and regulation in public where people can participate. Oregon’s planners agree.

OAPA supports the regional growth management program and believes that it is achieving its objectives. It is far too early in the process to throw away. We have the only regionally elected form of government in the US. While OAPA prefers the current program, it also can support fine tuning proposed under 26-29 as an alternative to 26-11.

However, OAPA strongly recommends a “No” vote on Measure 26-11.

Sumner Sharpe, FAICP, OAPA President.