Justin Carinci//February 25, 2010//
The Metro Council has approved agreements with the three Portland-area counties mapping out where development can occur for the next 50 years. The council’s vote Thursday finalized agreements on urban and rural reserves each county’s board had approved.
The Multnomah and Clackamas county commissioners voted unanimously on Thursday to approve their individual agreements with Metro, following Washington County’s unanimous vote on Tuesday.
Multnomah County‘s vote came after Commissioner Judy Shiprack added an amendment shifting undesignated land along the Washington County border near Bethany into the rural reserve. The amendment passed 3-2, with Commissioners Diane McKeel and Deborah Kafoury joining Shiprack in support. Kafoury testified that she received close to 1,000 e-mails and phone calls in favor of putting the land into rural reserve, county spokeswoman Karol Collymore said.
Commissioner Jeff Cogen, Multnomah County’s representative on the Core 4 group that met to establish the reserves region-wide, voted against the amendment. The county shouldn’t unilaterally amend what was a negotiated agreement with Metro, Cogen said.
Still, the Metro Council approved the agreements 5-2, with commissioners Robert Liberty and Rod Park voting against.
The reserves process identified approximately 272,000 acres that will remain rural and approximately 28,000 acres that can be developed. Metro will look at land within the urban reserve for future urban growth boundary expansions.