Renewing Oregon's Land Use System
The Oregonian - September 18th, 2008
Time to take your own Big Look
The spike in gas prices shows yet another reason why Oregon's land-use system is built to last.
To understand why Oregon's land-use planning system has worked well -- and a recent analysis by Oregon State University showed it has -- you have to return to first principles.
The system's Job No. 1 is citizen involvement. These days, it is a tougher job than ever to get citizens involved. But the land-use system only works to the extent that it continues to elicit the trust of Oregonians.
The launch this week of a series of public meetings by the Big Look Task Force -- beginning in Tillamook today and ending in Bend on Oct. 2 -- gives thousands of Oregonians a chance to take a fresh look, recommend changes, and renew and revive the trust.
Over the years, the land-use program has been buffeted by ballot measures. That it has withstood controversy stems perhaps from the exhaustive outreach that went into designing it. The first director of the state Department of Land Conservation and Development, Arnold Cogan, invited 100,000 people to participate and held hearings in 35 Oregon cities. He wanted "regular good old citizens" to step up to the podium, and they did.
Today, Oregon has 19 statewide planning goals. They're aimed at conserving farm and forest land and other irreplaceable resources. But not even the goals can fully capture the economic and environmental benefits of smart land-use planning in Oregon. One is so glaringly obvious this summer we may be in danger of overlooking it.
By concentrating urban development and minimizing sprawl, the land-use system lessens the carbon footprint of Oregonians, makes transportation improvements, like light-rail trains, more cost-effective and saves gasoline. (The evidence suggests the land-use system has also helped to cushion the drop in housing prices in Oregon. They're now falling precipitously in some exurban areas, where buyers are saying "no" after adding up the high cost of commuting.)
By late 1973, remember, the first energy crisis had paralyzed Oregon, shuttering nine out of 10 gas stations. Early in 1974, Gov. Tom McCall was nationally celebrated for putting on a sweater and keeping his office at 63 degrees to save energy. (That was three years before President Jimmy Carter buttoned on his own cardigan and called for the Moral Equivalent of War. His moment in the spotlight didn't go as well.)
Few anticipated back then, though, that land-use planning would prove so instrumental. Today, our state has some of the toughest planning laws in the nation and a veritable armada of planners. But the system doesn't work because of the caliber of their talent or the zeal of their enforcement.
The system works because the rules were inspired and shaped by "regular good old citizens." There are 19 goals, yes, but Goal No. 1 is still, literally, citizen involvement, a form of energy that can't be stored or conserved for more than one legislative session.
In the next few weeks, as the Big Look Task Force holds its meetings, Oregonians should step up to the podium, reclaim the land-use system, renew it -- and help re-energize it.
For more information, go to www.oregonbiglook.org.
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Original article: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2008/09/renewing_oregons_landuse_syste.html