Will METRO step on Stafford?

Photo: Tiding File, Vern Uyetake

Stafford Hamlet held a second community meeting on Monday evening following a similar one on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, from the tone of the article in the Lake Oswego Review, it appears as if the Monday meeting was a more stressful affair.   The Town Hall meetings were held to allow residents of the Hamlet to review and edit planning maps and discuss the future of the area.

"Yet finding common ground hasn’t been easy, and Molly Ellis, a hamlet board member who is the chairwoman of the planning committee, came away displeased with the tone of the second town hall meeting Monday.

“The first meeting (Saturday) was a good deal more convivial and much more productive,” Ellis said. “It was a less strident tone — I was disappointed with the strident tone (Monday). Because we had an opportunity here to learn more; it’s not often that you get (Metro Deputy Planning Director) John Williams to give up his night and come out to your little community.”

At Monday’s meeting, Williams was joined by Clackamas County Strategic Policy Coordinator Dan Chandler, as well as local attorney Ed Trompke and a number of other representatives from both Metro and the county — including County Commissioners Jim Bernard and Paul Savas. There were about 25 people present."

Not mentioned was Lake Oswego Senior Planner, Debra Andreades who attended on behalf of the city planning department.  

Unlike Saturday when I attended, the big guns formed a sizable portion of the audience.  "The prevailing message from the county and Metro alike was that the voice of the community would be highly influential on any future development."   I hope that their voice is more than merely influential.

“What you hear is fear,” Ellis said. “People don’t really know what to expect now that we’re in the urban reserve, and they’re afraid. They’re afraid of losing the quality of life that they cherish here.”

I think residents of communities all over the METRO region feel the same as the folks in Stafford.  In Lake Oswego, citizens are fighting back against what they see as the incursion of high density development that will ruin the character and charm of the city as a small town.

Central Planners are the big bullies on the block these days with allies among developers, consultants, industrialists,  politicians, and NGOs.  Everyone wants a piece of the land use puzzle, and citizens are having difficulty being heard.  The professionals have access to money and attorneys to assist them with their plans while the average citizen does not.  Almost everyone who has a say in land use seems to have a motive other than what the citizens want, and more often than not, Goliath wins.  No wonder people in Stafford are afraid!  

I hope that Stafford residents are able to preserve their countryside and way of life.  I hope the big guys on the block stay out of their back yard.  And I pray for the same for Lake Oswego.