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Developers, contractors and real estate brokers say who they will elect to the newly created seat of Metro president depends upon the candidate’s urban growth boundary expansion strategies.
Candidate Kate Schiele is a self-employed marketing executive with experience as a state legislative assistant who bills herself as pro-growth with proper planning and an advocate for business.
Her opponent is David Bragdon, a Metro councilor since 1998 who prides himself on working to fight out-of-control growth and contain the sprawl that threatens the region’s livability.
The position of Metro president was created by voters last year to combine two positions at Metro: the council presiding officer, a Metro councilor who is appointed by fellow council members, and the executive officer, a regionally elected official. The goal with the new position is to make Metro more responsive to communities through one voice, instead of two separate legislative and executive positions.
The first-ever Metro president will serve a 4-year term, earn about $90,000 per year and will preside over Metro Council as the gavel wielder with the authority to appoint people to key positions.
Building industry concerns about the UGB focus on the lack of industrial land readily developable in the region.
Even though Executive Officer Mike Burton recommended adding over 20,000 acres into the UGB, the recommendation still falls short about 2,500 acres of industrial land needed to meet the region’s projected needs over the next 20 years.
A large chunk of the industrial land Burton did recommend is not readily developable.
While both candidates recognize this as a problem, their solutions vary.

Meeting the region’s industrial land needs
Schiele believes it makes sense for the government to take a hard look at state land-use policies and be more responsive to the needs of the region.
When the current land-use policies were being formed 30 years ago, Oregon was a primarily agricultural-based society, she said.
“We’re not anymore. We’re much more diverse and our needs are not so heavily weighted on agricultural revenues,” said Schiele.
Schiele doesn’t see expansion into Washington County, an area that is “business-ready” with an established high-tech base and needed infrastructure in place, as a tradeoff between agriculture and industry.
“Many lands immediately outside the UGB, which are deemed as EFU (exclusive farm use) lands, have had soil tests done that show they are not prime farmland,” said Schiele. “The land is not being farmed and couldn’t be even if someone had the desire to. But according to state law they are zoned EFU and that is government being irresponsible to the needs of the region.”
While Schiele advocates pushing the envelope and reforming outdated regulations, Bragdon sees ways the land can be brought in under current land-use laws, without forcing land-use reform across the state just to meet the region’s needs.
One route Bragdon suggests is using specified land need, a method which takes into account the land’s proximity to entities like suppliers and other related businesses.
Using specified land need is allowed under current law, but has yet to be properly executed, he said.
He also recommends using subregional analysis, a method of looking at need around regional centers, rather than the entire region at once.
The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development voted 5-1 to approve the subregional rule at its Oct. 25 meeting. While subregional analysis has always been an option for Metro, this ruling now gives the council some guidelines so that UGB movement decisions made under subregional analysis will better withstand court challenges.
Bragdon said he would pursue either subregional analysis or specified land need as a means to bring land into the UGB that makes sense for industrial purposes but may be zoned as EFU land.

Growth in communities
Some regional communities, like Lake Oswego and West Linn, have made it clear that they no longer want their communities to grow.
Bragdon said he wouldn’t allow cities to have absolute veto power.
“The UGB decisions need to made in the interests of the overall region and not in a parochial way,” said Bragdon.
Bragdon supports bringing in land that will benefit the region as a whole, even if the community is resisting growth.
“Everybody has to do their share,” he said.
Schiele advocates respecting a city’s wishes if it doesn’t want more growth.
“Metro and its policies are on an anti-growth mission,” said Schiele. “By forcing density targets and dwelling unit targets in its jurisdiction, (Metro) is decreasing livability in our region.”

Cumbersome process
Evaluating the UGB is such a time consuming and complex process that some businesspeople say it’s nearly impossible to stay actively involved in the region’s planning.
Schiele believes that more business involvement is the key to success and the cumbersome process only seems to pop up when industry is advocating for something, a roadblock that turns many people away, she said.
“One of the first things I will do as president is form an advisory panel of members of the business and residential community so that Metro can be more responsive to their needs,” said Schiele.
Metro will then see what the real economic impacts of policies and decisions are and whether they are truly to the betterment of the community, she added.
Bragdon, however, thinks streamlining the process will actually make it harder for businesses and associations to stay actively involved.
“To be as inclusionary as possible makes it a long and winding process,” said Bragdon. “Potentially, streamlining it would actually cut people out of the process.”

Strategies for UGB expansion
Bragdon does believe that some areas of state law are outmoded and marketplace factors need to be considered more in UGB evaluation.
State laws are oriented toward what happens outside of the boundary and don’t allow for evaluation of creating great spaces inside the UGB, he said.
“That’s what I’d like to change,” said Bragdon. “I want more analysis of how moving the UGB affects what’s inside rather than how it affects the outside.”
Schiele believes Metro has conducted a scare campaign, convincing the region that growth is a virus that will kill the region, she said.
“Growth is not a dirty word,” said Schiele. “It’s good for our communities as long as we’re responsibly planning it.”
While she maintains her pro-growth stance, Schiele is confident the region can handle it better and in a way that works in everyone’s best interests.
“Just because you want to be a size six shoe, if you’re really a size seven and a half, you’re not going to be very comfortable cramming into a smaller size,” said Schiele.