Multnomah County convenes public advisory committee for Urban and Rural Reserves
From Public Affairs:
On Thursday, April 24, the Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners appointed 19 volunteer community members to a land use committee who will help advise and inform county policy makers during the next 18 months. The group’s first meeting is open to the public and scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Thursday, May 1 at the Multnomah Building, Room 315, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland.
Read the rest after the jump and check out the Reserves website.
The group will study unincorporated lands in Multnomah County for possible designation as “urban reserves” or “rural reserves.” The Multnomah County Urban and Rural Reserves Citizens’ Advisory Committee comprises community members from both urban and rural areas of the county that have diverse interests and vocations such as farming, conservation, homebuilding, real estate, neighborhood and property owners’ associations, planning and transportation.
“I’m pleased with the wide range of perspectives and backgrounds of the volunteers on this committee,” said Commissioner Jeff Cogen, Multnomah County’s representative in the regional planning effort. “I think they will do an excellent job of representing diverse interests in Multnomah County and that will help us create good policies for the future.”
Urban and rural reserves will provide greater predictability for landowners, farmers and communities about where the urban growth boundary may expand over the next 40 to 50 years, while protecting important farmland, forestland and natural areas from urbanization for that same period of time.
Reserve designation will occur by way of intergovernmental agreements after committee members have studied options and made formal recommendations to the Multnomah County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners. Formal adoption by the counties and Metro is expected to take place in late 2009.
Multnomah County will hold a number of open houses for public information and feedback, with the first expected to take place this summer. Other avenues for public feedback on the process will be announced in the months to come.
Members of Multnomah County’s committee are: Patricia Anderson, Peter Finley Fry, Greg Hockert, Mads Ledet, David Persons, Joe Turner, Zelijka Carol Kekez, James Thayer, Laura Masterson, Katie Pearmine, Dale Burger, Kria Lacher, David Treadwell, Carol Chesarek, Lora Creswick, George Sowder, Josh Townsley and Robert Wiley.
For information and updates on the project, please visit: The Reserves website.
Posted on April 28, 2008
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