Part 2: One million more

Multifamily and Mixed-Use all over the place.

With Metro (and the State legislature lurking behind the curtain) taking more and more command and control over land use planning in the region, is there room for small towns and cities to exist anymore?

However the demographers do it, the population growth projections for the metro area are that the Portland metro area will grow by one million in the next two to three decades.   Does this mean that every town and every city within Metro's grasp need be overridden with high density?   One of the amenities not mentioned in the article was the diversity of  housing and lifestyles we currently enjoy here.

The "Amenity Paradox" described what great outdoor experiences the region has to offer, but small towns are suffering from the same malady:  Poor planning is destroying why people move to the towns in the first place.  Density on the scale and of the type described by Metro is best when the density of an area is very high - high enough to support rail and bus transit and other urban amenities, and that does not fit well in neighborhoods and small towns, hence the push-back.

Please note the passage where a development manager at Capstone Partners says, "The question is: How do we fund this?"  It's as if the government (us) is responsible for funding housing for newcomers!   Has insanity reached this level?

Other issues here are 1) viability of Mixed-Use, 2) funding for transportation and other infrastructure/needs, and 3) how well or even if planners can manipulate the markets and direct people's lives in ways they see fit.

Leaders ask: How can Portlanders prepare for a million more?
Daily Journal of Commerce,  February 7, 2014, by Jeff McDonald

Excerpts:

Population growth is coming to the Portland-metro area – that much is known.

Though projections vary, the number of residents in the region could increase from 2.2 million to 3.2 million within the next two to three decades.

The question of how to plan for that growth while protecting environmental assets and making investments in public transit and housing density was discussed by six panelists Thursday at an event hosted by Society for Marketing Professional Services.

For the construction industry, that could mean finding ways to create more diverse housing types and make them financially feasible, said Lauren Golden Jones, development manager at Capstone Partners LLC.

“We’re going to need to provide more housing,” she said. “The question is: How do we fund this?”

Neighborhood resistance to proposals of “micro-apartments” or reduced tenant parking can challenge projects too, she said.

Also evident is a lack of funding for the region’s transportation network, which has a projected $10 billion to $14 billion shortfall in terms of what can be bonded and what the region needs.

The cost of infrastructure is growing and the failure to keep up will saddle the region in the future, Stacey said.

TriMet‘s financial resources also are limited, especially in the wake of a state audit released last month that revealed the agency has $852 million in unfunded liability for retiree health care. The agency also must address delayed maintenance and other costly issues, according to the audit.

As the agency gains financial strength, it will steer projects in the direction of planned growth, said Alan Lehto, TriMet’s director of planning and policy.

As more people come to the Portland area seeking a closer natural environment and other assets, the greater the challenge becomes to protect those assets, said Jurjevich, who calls this the “Amenity Paradox.”

“We want to plan to accommodate growth in a way that doesn’t threaten the very reason people find the Portland-metro area a great place to live,” he said.