Metro to Troutdale: DO WHAT WE SAY, OR ELSE!

Those were Troutdale City Councilor Rich Allen's sentiments in his comment on the OPB web site story "Metro and Troutdale Battle Over Environmental Standards".   

Here is Allen's complete comment:

"It's an outrage. We were merely asking Metro for help identifying where our code was lacking, and they went into enforcement actions instead. I feel like I asked for help and I got the back of the hand. Teaches me for thinking Metro was a partner in the common goal of protecting the environment. It's do exactly what they say without question or else." -Councilor Rich Allen of Troutdale

A beaver in Troutdale's Beaver Creek says, "Metro? We don't need no stinkin' Metro!"

The OPB story quoted  Metro chief operating officer Martha Bennett, who laid out Metro's take it or leave it stance:

"Metro chief operating officer Martha Bennett says Metro could force Troutdale city councilors to accept a planning ordinance they recently rejected. Or Metro councilors could hit Troutdale's wallet. Bennett explains, "They can withhold funds that Metro distributes to local juridictions. Or they can ask the state of Oregon to find Troutdale out of compliance with Oregon land-use planning goals – and if that happens, the city would lose cigarette tax revenue, liquor tax revenue, and gas tax revenue."

Shame on you, Martha Bennett. Have you ever bothered to read Troutdale's Development Code for yourself? Have you ever visited Troutdale? Have you ever bothered to talk to anyone from Troutdale? Have you ever walked along Beaver Creek or the Sandy River and viewed the plentiful wildlife- fish, beavers, great herons, skunks, deer, even the occasional cougar??

I didn't think so.

Metro Declares War On Troutdale Property Rights

Joseph Stalin, the first Metro Chair.

Metro Councilors recently voted unanimously to "proceed with enforcement action" against the City of Troutdale.  According to a story on Metro's web site by Metro Chief Propagandist (ok, ok, he's officially known as a Metro staffer) Nick Christensen, the Metro Council decided to punish the City after the Troutdale City Council voted unanimously in November, 2011 to reject changes to the city's code that would have placed extensive restrictions on property that Metro considers "environmentally sensitive". ((You can read a transcript of the November 8, 2011 City Council meeting here- it's agenda item 7).

Barbara Roberts, former Oregon Governor and current Metro Spitter-In-Chief

Christensen's article included a quote by Current Metro Councilor and former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts, who said of Troutdale's refusal to limit property rights, "This is really a spit in your face kind of thing,"

The Troutdale City Council determined that its codes were already compliant with state land use rules.   If Metro has its way, many property owners in Troutdale would lose significant parts of their land for no good reason and without any compensation. That's not good policy except for the Stalinists on NE Grand Ave.

I agree with the Troutdale City Council. Metro is not Troutdale's friend. Want examples? Read these articles:

Land Use Regulation: don't call defenders of property rights zealots 

Metro's Fear And Loathing of Troutdale and Suburbia 

Troutdalians: Bear any Burden, Pay Any Price

Metro Tells Troutdale Where To Shove Its Quality of Life



  Troutdalians have the right to decide how we want our city to look fifty years from now. Not Metro's new urbanist dreamers. Therefore, (to borrow from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address), let every new urbanist know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of Troutdale's high quality of life.
  
Had enough? TAKE ACTION NOW!!! Call or e-mail  Metro NOW and tell them to stop violating your property rights:

Metro Council office
503-797-1540 | 503-797-1793 fax
metrocouncil@oregonmetro.gov

Light Rail Roadhouse: Enter At Your Own Risk.

Another stabbing on the Light Rail Roadhouse this weekend.  From Oregonlive: 

"At 12:10 a.m. Sunday, police arrived at the 1000 block of North Interstate Avenue near the Rose Quarter and found Andy Bloomstrom, 30, lying on the ground with stab wounds. He told police he was riding MAX with several friends when Poston held the door open, waiting for someone. An argument between the two turned physical and Poston allegedly stabbed Bloomstrom three times: twice in the chest and once in the left forearm."

  TriMet was right on top of things with Mary Fetch, their black belt PR mouthpiece. Fetch was convincing with her tough talk:

"Obviously we take every incident seriously," said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. "We want to send the message that TriMet is a safe system. We want to send the message that we have the additional personnel to prevent (these incidents) this from happening."

 TriMet probably has more PR flacks than transit cops. Wouldn't it be great if instead of saying "we want to send the message that TriMet is a safe system. . .", Fetch said something that Roadhouse cooler Dalton (played by the late, great Patrick Swayze) would have said:

" People who really want to have a good time won't come to a MAX train. And we've got entirely too many troublemakers here. Too many 40-year-old adolescents, felons, power drinkers and trustees of modern chemistry.

If somebody gets in your face  I want you to be nice. Ask him to walk. Be nice. If he won't walk, walk him. But be nice. If you can't walk him, one of the others will help you, and you'll both be nice. I want you to remember that it's a job. It's nothing personal.... I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice."

We need more transit cops on MAX and less PR flacks in TriMet offices. It's time to not be nice.

It's the Cans v. the Can'ts, The Will's v. the Won'ts.

The problem with the Occupy Wall Street protesters across the country is that they're all about problems. They're protesting about all sorts of things, but what's the use of protesting if you're not coming up with reasonable solutions and not every worn out scheme and idea of the failed left?

Instead of sitting on their butts in downtown Portland, why don't they go home and actually help someone, like check on their senior citizen neighbors and ask if they can help with yardwork or take them to the grocery store, etc? Why not sign up to volunteer for Meals on Wheels, CASA, volunteer at a school etc? There are those that complain, and those that do something about it instead. 

These protesters can't change themselves, for crying out loud. What gave them the idea they could change the world?

East Metro Association of Realtors Endorses Canfield For Troutdale City Council

The East Metro Association of Realtors (EMAR) endorsed Robert Canfield for Troutdale City Council position #5.  EMAR stated it chose Canfield because:

"He understands Metro and need for a cohesive voice. He is focused on economic development policies  for the City's final build-out."

In its endorsement letter, EMAR said its objective was to lend support to "candidates who are knowledgeable of,  and in sympathy with,  issues concerning the protection of private property rights, major issues affecting the East County area and who are open to studying all sides of the issues."

Thank you, EMAR!! 

Beware of Obama's Magic Elixir

Troutdalians: Bear Any Burden, Pay Any Price

That's what Troutdale and the other east county cities need to do by fighting Metro's "up, not out" urban growth strategy. Metro's rejection of Troutdale's request to add 775 acres to its urban reserve is just the latest slap in the face to local government control of its own land use decisions. Tom McCall himself would reject Metro's draconian one size fits all urban growth boundary decisions.

Troutdale needs a 50 year supply of land according to state law. But without land for new housing and the anticipated new jobs coming to Troutdale over the next 50 years, Troutdale's future job holders would have no choice but to commute 20 or more miles to their jobs in Troutdale. Sure, Metro would like to force Troutdale to resort to more density via multi-story apartments and condo towers, skinny houses, light rail, the works. But Troutdalians must fight Metro's high density plans for Troutdale.

We value our high quality of life. We value our 30 foot height restrictions. We love our homes on family friendly large lots with big backyards. We know from experience that Metro-mandated high density"mixed use" was a failure in Fairview- its Fairview Village business strip is business ghost town. And it certainly doesn't work in Troutdale. We don't want high density. We don't want crime-ridden light rail and all of the tax abated crackerbox apartments that could be forced on us. We're not Portland. We're not Hillsboro. We're not Gresham. Not that there's anything wrong with those places.

Troutdalians have the right to decide how we want our city to look fifty years from now. Not Metro's new urbanist dreamers. Therefore, (to borrow from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address), let every new urbanist know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of Troutdale's high quality of life.

Metro Tells Troutdale Where To Shove Its Quality Of Life

Michael Jordan, chief operating officer of Metro regional government, is recommending that Metro Council reject the city’s request for urban reserves, effectively thwarting development of the area for a 50-year period. Read about it at the Outlook online.

Tualatin's 80% Minimum Density Requirement: Bye-Bye

The November 20 Tigard/Tualatin/Sherwood Times reports that the City of Tualatin rescinded its 80% minimum density requirement. According to the article,

"This has the potential of creating bigger lot sizes and bigger homes in Tualatin, says Development Director Doug Rux. The repeal pushes the city’s minimum density requirements for medium-to-high density, high density and high density high rise back to the city requirements from the 1997/1998 timeframe."

Good for Tualatin.

If Noah Tried To Build An Ark Today

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said: Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans. He gave Noah the blueprints, saying: You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark. Noah! He roared, I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark? Forgive me, Lord, begged Noah, 'but things have changed. I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.

Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem.

There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go! When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. Immigration and Naturalization are checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work.

The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience. To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky Noah looked up in wonder and asked, 'You mean you're not going to destroy the world?' 'No,' said the Lord. 'The big government democrats beat me to it."

-From an anonymous internet source.

1.4 Billion Reasons Against Multnomah County's Vehicle Registration Fee Increase

Today's Portland Tribune article about the $1.4 billion dollar cost of the proposed new line rail line from Portland to Milwaukie explains in an obvious way the reasons why Multnomah County's proposed vehicle registration fee increase to pay for bridge maintenance/replacement is irresponsible. From the Tribune's article:

"According to a preliminary draft environmental impact study released by TriMet last week, the Portland-to-Milwaukie line could cost up to $1.4 billion, nearly double the $757 million being spent on the South Corridor Light Rail project, which is scheduled to be completed next year. . ."

"According to both Liberty and TriMet officials, a major factor in the cost is the new bridge across the Willamette River that will connect the South Waterfront urban renewal area to the Central Eastside Industrial District."
"The study estimates the cost of the section of the project that includes the bridge at nearly $340 million — almost one-fourth of the entire project."

"The bridge — which is not a replacement for the existing Sellwood Bridge — also is expected to provide an east-west connection for the Portland streetcar, and to carry pedestrians and bicyclists across the river."

The money to replace the Sellwood Bridge is already available. But Oregon's congressional leadership, our state legislature, and Metro have other priorities. They have already decided that spending $1.4 billion for light rail to Milwaukie, and a BRAND NEW light rail/ bike bridge over the Willamette River is more important than preventing a disaster at the Sellwood bridge.

Whatever happened to government's highest reason for existence- public safety? Blaming the Troutdale City Council for not "playing ball" by rejecting Multnomah County's proposed vehicle registration fee increase is ridiculous. We said "no thank you" to the vehicle registration fee increase because it's unfair to Multnomah County residents. It won't raise enough money to replace the Sellwood Bridge. And it ignores the elephant in the room- the region's leaders have ignored their responsibility to provide safe streets and bridges by making light rail a higher priority.

Umbrella Man

On a rainy night like this, enjoy Umbrella Man with Dizzy Gillespie & Louis Armstrong.

Metro Councilor Park Stops By For a Troutdale Chat

Yes, indeed, Metro Councilor Rod Park visited us at last night's Troutdale City Council meeting. He gave us an update on Metro activities and plans for the future. After exchanging greetings before the meeting, Park suggested I might write something negative about Metro after the meeting.

Me? Write things about Metro that could be construed as negative?? I was shocked at the suggestion!

In all seriousness, while Councilor Park and I will probably never agree on much regarding Metro or regional planning, he has been a great representative for Troutdale and east Multnomah County on the Metro Council. He is always willing to answer any questions. His staff has always been prompt with requests for information. I was especially impressed with Councilor Park's ability to remain calm and cool during a contentious joint meeting of the Gresham, Wood Village, Fairview and Troutdale City Councils a few months ago.

So thanks for stopping by, Councilor Park. You're always welcome in Troutdale. By the way, about those forms the Mayor wanted you to fill out for us. . .

Metro's Fear and Loathing of Troutdale and Suburbia

Portland Transport: Height Limits: Another Zoning Decision that Causes Sprawl
In his post, Metro councilor Rex Burkholder wrote:
Troutdale, like Lake Oswego, Wilsonville and other suburbs, have very low height limits for buildings even in their "downtowns." Height limits are intended to maintain a "village" feel, even if these "villages" are part of a bustling metropolis and the "villagers" mostly commute to the high density towers of the city to make their livings while the wife and kids are safely ensconced in Pleasantville. This is an example of citizens using zoning codes to enforce a particular lifestyle and class structure on their communities. (See previous post on Sprawl and Zoning).
Technorati tags: Rex Burkholder, height limits, sprawl, City of Troutdale, Pleasantville, zoning codes

March 2, 2006 10:06 PM
rex Burkholder Says:

"Government didn't create zoning; special interests used government to create value for themselves and to protect that value. Zoning was created to separate the bourguosie from the lower elements (most zoning is exclusionary--large lots, minimum housing values--designed to keep the low income populations away.)

Of course, when the real estate development industry persuaded Congress to grant deductions for home mortgage interest, enact the Veterans home purchase program, as well as the federal home mortgage guarantee, even working class folks could afford a ranch house on a cul-de-sac. Unfortunately, like the popularization of the automobile, what started as a high value luxury for the rich (country life and mobility) ends up being devalued as it is over-built. Result: congestion and sprawl."

Just so folks in Troutdale know what your elected Metro officials think of our community.