Oregon's future land use the topic of Redmond forum

It has been 33 years since Oregon enacted its benchmark land-use planning legislation, Senate Bill 100, which was intended to outline the state's growth into the new millennium. Nobody predicted, however, that SB100 would outgrow itself as the state's urban boundaries expanded and its population

Then last year came Senate Bill 82, which established a task force to reevaluate Oregon's land-use system and report on it by 2009.

SB82 asks three major questions: Is Oregon's land-use planning program meeting current and future needs of Oregonians in all parts of the state? What are the respective roles and responsibilities of state and local governments in land-use planning? What are the land- use issues specific to areas inside and outside urban growth boundaries and the interface between areas inside and outside urban growth boundaries?

Starting Thursday evening, more questions will be asked and explored during the Urban Land Institute's Oregon Land Use Forum, June 15-17 in Redmond.

The forum, hosted by the Oregon and Southwest Washington chapter of ULI, is just the beginning of a long discussion about land use, said Skip Rotticci, chairman of ULI Oregon/SW Washington.

Oregon is on the cutting edge of land-use policy, so we are excited about the possibility of some great dialogue surrounding this very complex issue, he said, noting it is the first step toward an ongoing process designed to help set precedent and policy on these issues statewide.

ULI has invited a cross-section of land-use planning experts throughout the state, including 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Oregon Chamber of Commerce, the University of Oregon, the Downtown Development Association, the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland and a host of others.

ULI has prompted attendees to think about three key questions: What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to Oregon's land-use planning? What critical land-use planning elements and principles must be considered for Oregon's future and why? How should Oregon's land-use planning system be changed?

The conference begins Thursday evening with an address by Adam Davis, a partner at Davis, Hibbits and Midghall, a public opinion research firm. Friday's events include presentations from the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Oregonians in Action, plus the Oregon Association of Realtors, Oregon Farm Bureau and the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. Saturday morning concludes the event with reports from Metro, the League of Oregon Cities and the city of Portland.

To learn more, visit www.oregonswwashington.uli.org.