Divided Damascus Reveals METRO’s Flaws

By Les Poole: Fortunately there is ample information available that gives us insight as to how Damascus became a land-use battleground, and why regional governments should not have authority over our counties for planning decisions. The Damascus divide should become a test case for modifying some interpretations of the Oregon Land Use Plan. Approved in 1973, Senate Bill 100 was never intended to become a holy grail for regional planning and control. The battle that’s pitted neighbor against neighbor in Damascus has become common elsewhere in the region, and each battle includes METRO as a major participant. In 2002 METRO proudly added thousands of acres to the Urban Growth Boundary, an action that should have been administered by Clackamas County. Unfortunately METRO was in control, and unreasonable expectations for Damascus became the order of the day. Damascus has survived the disincorporation effort, and eventually it will become a city that is prepared for the inevitable growth that is bulging along its western boundary. In May of 2014 we expect to see one or more comprehensive plans on the ballot.
nw-connection.com/blog1/category/opinion/page/3

Damascus Voters Could Dismantle Government!!

Damascus residents voted to become a city in 2004. That was two years after the Metro regional government included Damascus in the largest urban growth boundary expansion in state history. Those two changes meant a new Damascus city council had to draft a long-term plan for how the city would grow. Chris Hawes says regional plans to develop Damascus were flawed from the beginning. He says building city neighborhoods across the rocky hills and valleys of Damascus is so expensive, that it might never happen. And that makes city property taxes unnecessary. Dissolving the city would save taxpayers money, he argues. "The net would be a $2.53 per thousand of assessed value savings, which is about $600 or so for a house that’s assessed at $200,000.”"Metro needs to be dealt with,” says Anderson. "The city is going to be better able to deal with it. If we go back to county control, then we’re just relying on the county commissioners to make some of the decisions that we’ve already stepped through, and are we going to be happy with the people who are going to run the plan process at the county.”
www.opb.org/news/article/damascus-voters-could-dis...ment-