The State, the Region and Damascus

Is Damascus in Clackistan?
The state create regional governments to enforce state land use rules. But do we really need Metro?  Metro is a regional government with authority to control land use, and to tax landowners within its boundaries.  The operative word is "control."  What sane person or community wants to be controlled by a bigger bully government, even if only as a "partner."

Portland Tribune | Tuesday, 14 October 2014 | Written by Shasta Kearns Moore

The fight for Damascus

Is town's incorporation struggle an omen for land-use future?

The leader of The Citizens for De-annexation from Damascus says some who share his views on wanting to annex to Happy Valley are holding fast to the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.

“Thankfully it’s been peaceful so far,” Syring says. “For urban governments, I’ve never ever seen anything like it and maybe there will never be anything like it again.”

“It’s a bone of contention that we have to act like a city to provide the services that they want and need,” Ludlow says. “We hope that more and more of unincorporated Clackamas County will continue to be annexed and be a city, and better represented as a city rather than rural.”

But the board chair and former mayor of Wilsonville says he also doesn’t see a lot of movement in that direction. “I can’t foresee any area of Clackamas County will want to incorporate and that’s of grave importance to us,” Ludlow says. 

Photo Credit: TRIBUNE PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ - Jerry Schofield has support from his friends, Hank Brown (left) and Jim Syring, to de-annex from Damascus to Happy Valley. Schofield's fence behind him serves as the boundary line of Damascus and Happy Valley. The Damascus City Council argues the de-annexations are unconstitutional and is suing Schofield, Brown and Syring to remain in the city.

Portland Tribune | Tuesday, 21 October 2014 | Written by Shasta Kearns Moore 

The fight for Damascus: Land-use struggle heads to ballot

Part Two: Metro planners put their hope in rural city's development

...the Legislature decided “it ought to be more difficult to incorporate a city within the urban growth boundary,” (land use attorney) Sullivan says.

Since then, only two Oregon communities have succeeded in efforts to incorporate: Damascus in 2004 and La Pine in 2007. Both have had a significant uphill battle.

The city’s Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ann Gwaith says La Pine had long felt too far removed from the Deschutes County seat in Bend and first began efforts to gain local control by pushing for an airport in the early 1990s. Gwaith says the community’s efforts have been hampered by state land-use regulations ever since.

“Those cities that have been around forever and ever, it was probably one guy who said: ‘Let’s be a city!’ and everybody said: ‘OK!’ ” Gwaith says. “I think all of us were naive that things were more still along those lines and that you could structure your city the way you wanted it.”

The current iteration of La Pine — the third and final official incorporation attempt — was specifically designed to be the smallest geographical area that could produce enough revenue to provide needed city services. The population of the city is about 1,600, but Gwaith believes closer to 20,000 consider themselves at least part-time residents of La Pine. Because of the state’s density requirements, though, the city can’t expand its borders anytime soon.

“Why couldn’t the state have looked at La Pine and say: ‘OK, there’s all these one-acre lots; obviously that’s why people move to this area. You can have one-acre lots in a city. Let’s not have this huge restriction,’ ” Gwaith asks.

Even so, Sullivan says La Pine was lucky to have incorporated outside of an urban growth boundary.

Metro Deputy Director for Community Development John Williams says the region has been waiting for Damascus to open up to development for 10 years. During its recent five-year update to Metro’s 20-year development plan, it counted Damascus for half its available inventory. If Damascus continues along in limbo, Metro may have to look elsewhere for developable land, and few rural areas are volunteering.

“We’re still relying on Damascus’ capacity,” Williams says. “If that turns out not to be possible, we have to figure out what do we do as a region to come up with that?”

A comprehensive plan in Damascus would allow the entire Portland urban area’s planners and developers to breath a sigh of relief.