Posted by Kevin Matthews on January 20, 2005 at 02:02:23:
From: Kate Kimball
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 15:57:23 -0800
Subject: Land Use Update: January 19, 2005
1000 Friends of Oregon
Land Use Update
January 19, 2005
In this issue of Land Use Update:
1000 FRIENDS OF OREGON
- Farmers and 1000 Friends file lawsuit challenging constitutionality of Measure 37.
- 1000 Friends hires lobbyist.
- Measure 37 claims monitoring: 106 claims, 4200 acres, $151 million and counting.
- 1000 Friends testifies before the legislature, Stacey at City Club 1/21
OREGON
- Demands under Measure 37: How is land value calculated?.
- Monmouth and Independence benefit from Smart Growth policies.
- Lowe’s seeks a 1.4 million square foot warehouse in Lebanon.
- Measure 37 is not just a rural issue: Portland demands filed.
- The public’s rights under Measure 37.
- OSU Agribusiness Conference February 1.
- Free training on how to lobby your legislators
NATIONAL
- New study finds sprawl hurts wildlife.
- Zoning seen as a tool to enhance quality of life and economic development.
- Developing county-Wide Plans: a new step in other states
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1000 FRIENDS OF OREGON
Farmers and 1000 Friends file lawsuit challenging constitutionality of Measure 37
1000 Friends, Farm Bureaus in Linn, Washington, Marion and Yamhill Counties, and individual farmers and property owners are all plaintiffs in the litigation, which asserts that Measure 37 violates the Oregon Constitution’s privileges and immunities clause, as well as several other individual liberties guaranteed against governmental infringement. Measure 37 gives a privileged class of property owners special rights: to demand payment or immunity from community zoning safeguards on which neighbors depend. No one can choose to join the class; they alone hold special rights to profit-making guaranteed by taxpayers. For more information on the lawsuit, see <http://www.friends.org/issues/m37.html For a news report,
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1105738479165620.xml&storylist=orlocal
1000 Friends hires lobbyist
Elon Hasson has joined 1000 Friends as our new Legislative Affairs Director. Elon is an attorney with lobbying and political experience, as well as a graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School. We are delighted that he has joined us in time to wear out his cell phone this legislative session.
Measure 37: 106 claims, 4200 acres, $151 million and counting
In the absence of a coordinated, statewide registry for monitoring demands for payment or waiver made to local governments, 1000 Friends has developed a team of volunteers to help us monitor claims. Based on the claims we have seen (we count only confirmed claims that have been filed, not rumors of claims), Oregonians face 106 demands for payment totaling $151,389,745 to develop 4,205 acres of land. Half the claims are for development in exclusive farm use zones, some claims are for developing prime farmland.
The state has set up a registry for state claims, which you can access at http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/Risk/M37Registry.shtml
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer claims monitor, please contact us at info@friends.org.
1000 Friends testifies before the legislature, Stacey at City Club
Land use is again a hot topic before the legislature. In the second week of the session, 1000 Friends of Oregon Executive Director Bob Stacey testified twice on Measure 37. On January 17, Stacey testified before a joint House-Senate Committee hearing. For a copy of his written statement, see http://www.friends.org/issues/leg/M37-testimony-01-17-05.html
On January 19, Stacey testified before the House Environment and Land Use Committee. On Friday, January 21 look for Stacey on a panel at the Portland City Club talking again about Measure 37. You can download an MP3 file from the City Club site for about two weeks using this link:http://pdxcityclub.org/forums-events/friday-forums.php#ListenOnline
OREGON
Demands under Measure 37: How is land value calculated?
Measure 37 provides that landowners can demand compensation for a decrease in land value due to land use restrictions put in place by the government. There is no money provided for compensation in the measure, so estimating a change in value might seem irrelevant. It is actually a core requirement of the measure that a decrease in value be demonstrated before a demand can be deemed valid. But how does one know if there has been a decrease in land value? Andrew Plantinga, Associate Professor at OSU has looked at this question. For a story on this, see <http://www.bend.com/news/ar_view.php?ar_id.487 and to download the paper, go to http://arec.oregonstate.edu/faculty2/plantinga.htm
Monmouth and Independence Benefit from Smart Growth Policies
Smart Growth benefits all sizes of towns, not just major cities. Smart Growth is about shaping growth so it benefits communities. Making downtowns energetic places people want to be instead of boarded up buildings is but one benefit. Other benefits include providing a range of housing choices so young adults, families, single adults and retirees can comfortably live in the same community and giving those residents options for how to get around in their communities. For more on what has happened in Monmouth and Independence, see the article: http://tinyurl.com/4jbmy
Lowe’s seeks a 1.4 million square foot warehouse in Lebanon
Lebanon Mayor Ken Toombs announced January 10 that Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse Inc. is hoping to build a 1.4 million square foot warehouse in Lebanon on 204 acres. The warehouse could expand to 2.2 million square feet. The property is in the north part of town. The company has reportedly submitted an application to the city. The company states that the center will employ 400-750 workers paying above minimum wage. The city, Linn County and Oregon are providing over $12 million of public funds in incentives, according to reports. For more information, see http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2005/01/11/news/top_story/news01.txt
Measure 37 is not just a rural issue: Portland claims filed
Most of the demands filed under Measure 37 are in rural areas, but urban neighbors may be in for surprises as well. From protection of Tryon Creek to building an oversized house and garage, Portland is not immune to Measure 37 demands. To see more, go to <http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=27919
The public’s rights under Measure 37
Measure 37 pits property owner against property owner, but Hasso Hering in an editorial in the Albany Democrat-Herald suggests that the public also has rights to protect what makes Oregon a special place to live and visit. To read the editorial, go to http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2004/12/26/news/opinion/edit01.txt
OSU Agribusiness Conference February 1
Family agribusiness will be the focus of a daylong program on Tues., Feb. 1, at Oregon State University. Sponsored by the College of Business' Austin Family Business Program at OSU, the event will aid farmers and growers in improving business skills, transferring ownership of their business and better communication with family members. Ten sessions are featured from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at OSU's CH2M-Hill Alumni Center and include topics such as trends and updates on family agribusinesses, impact of Measure 37 on family agribusinesses, marketing and business plans, estate planning, as well as legal and financial planning. Presenters include a variety of local experts on financial, marketing, legal, and business issues.
Cost is $100. To register, call (800) 859-7609 or register online at http://www.familybusinessonline.org/programs
Free training on how to lobby your legislators
Spend your time in Salem effectively! The Oregon League of Conservation Voters is providing free training on how to effectively lobby your legislators. Some dates have passed, but remaining dates are for Portland (1/26) and Ashland (1/29 as part of the Headwaters conference). For more information and to sign up, go to
http://www.olcv.org/olcvalerts/120904-ocn-training.html
If you these sessions don’t work for you, lobby training sessions are often hosted by other groups. Please check in with organizations familiar to you to see if they are offering their own trainings.
NATIONAL
New Study Finds Sprawl Hurts Wildlife
Uncontrolled sprawl presents a grave threat to wildlife due to destruction of habitat reports a new study entitled “Endangered by Sprawl” issued today by Smart Growth America, NatureServe, and the National Wildlife Federation. For 85% of species at risk, habitat degradation is the principal reason for their decline. NatureServe found that 60% of the nation’s species most at risk are located within metropolitan areas. In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton metropolitan statistical area, there are 45 species at risk, according to the report, including the Willamette Valley Daisy, Oregon Chub, and Oregon Spotted Frog. The Portland metropolitan area has pursued all nine practices recommended in the report. The effects of Measure 37 on this success remain unknown. Wildlife-related recreation is big business in Oregon: in a separate report the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that in 2001 wildlife-associated recreation generated $2.1 billion in Oregon.
To see the report, go to http://www.smartgrowthamerica.com/ebsreport2.html To download the Oregon survey of fishing, hunting, and wildlife-associated recreation, go to http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/fishing.html
Zoning as a Tool to Enhance Quality of Life and Economic Development
For areas without Oregon’s land use planning program, community planning is being more widely recognized as a tool that can protect quality of life while promoting rural economic development. That is part of the discussion going on in Lawrence County, Ohio. For more details see http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/2005/01/13/news/news444.txt
Developing County-Wide Plans: A New Step in Other States
In Oregon, the first round of local land use plans were all completed and approved in 1986. Local governments in states without a comprehensive community planning program are having to take it upon themselves to invent how they want to proceed. Wayne County, North Carolina has just decided to prepare a countywide land use plan for how its wants to develop. This is old news in Oregon, and a big step forward for other communities. For more information, see
http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2005/01/12/work_on_wayne_landuse_plan_to_begin_in_spring/index.shtml
[NOTE: The hyperlinks are not always working properly in these updates yet: please bear with us as we find a reliable solution. Thanks.]
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