Portland Takes the Road Less Traveled

Posted: 18-Feb-2003; Updated: 20-Aug-2003

When John Chamberlin moved to Oregon from Chicago in the 1970s to go to law school, he bought a small piece of land 40 miles outside Portland with the idea of one day being a weekend vintner while practicing law during the week. "Where else can you watch herds of elk and even see mountain lions and yet be within 40 minutes of an urban area?" he says. For many of those who moved here in the last few decades, swelling the greater area's population from roughly 1.3 million people in 1980 to 1.9 million in 2000, the attraction was a lifestyle that combined the peace of natural beauty with the excitement and cultural attractions of a city.

Today the farm Chamberlin shares with his wife and children lies within the city's "greenbelt," where development is restricted, as part of the city's growth management plan. Called the 2040 Growth Concept, and affirmed by the region's voters in 1992, it solidified the region's commitment to managed transit-oriented mixed-use growth and open space protection.

More Growing Pains

Fast forward to 1988: As population pressures in the city mounted, road congestion and traffic snarls did, too. When the Oregon Department of Transportation announced its plans to build a new freeway (called the Western Bypass) to circumvent the west side of Portland, few were surprised, since the project had been talked about for years as a remedy to bumper-to-bumper traffic and was considered a "done deal."

But many residents were alarmed by a highway project that seemed to embrace the notion that more roads and sprawl were inevitable to a growing populace - and upset that members of the local community had not been given the opportunity to voice their opinions. So a handful of citizens and local groups got together and decided that there must be a better way, one that didn't cater to only those who could afford or were able to drive cars.

Out of those initial meetings was born the LUTRAQ Project (Making the Land Use, Transportation, Air Quality Connection). A key player in developing the project was Michael Replogle, Transportation Director of Environmental Defense since 1992. The coalition, spearheaded by the group 1000 Friends of Oregon, developed an alternative plan that combined an expanded public transit network with incentives (like parking pricing and transit subsidies) with a new land-use plan that shifted growth from low density car-dependent areas into bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented centers. The group was able to demonstrate clearly that their proposal would actually reduce congestion and traffic jams significantly more than the bypass, at lower cost. 

"What makes Portland a paragon," says Replogle, "is the democratic process by which the area developed its blueprint for growth that allowed for public involvement every step of the way, and that made the system work better." In fact, the region has its own elected body that guides growth issues, Portland Metro.

"Portland Metro probably does a more effective job of public outreach and soliciting public involvement than almost any agency of its type," says Replogle. Every five years the board is required to revisit the issue of whether to expand growth boundaries or create more areas of denser development. "The real success story is that Portland Metro has encouraged mostly compact transit-oriented development rather than fostering more sprawl, traffic and congestion, pollution and loss of landscapes and scenic places."

Dispelling the Myths About Land and Housing Prices

While Chamberlin is delighted that his scenic views and rural way of life will be preserved, he admits many of the old-timers are not so happy. "I have one 90-year-old neighbor who would like to sell his land to developers for a big sum, buy a bigger piece of land farther out and retire on the rest. He's resentful that he can't do what he wants with his land, and I understand how he feels."

"It's true that farmers and landowners outside the urban growth boundary area do not enjoy the kind of real estate land value appreciation that they would in an uncontrolled speculative market that allows for sprawl," Says Replogle. "On the other hand, the policies that Oregon has pursued have done an immense amount to protect viable, productive farmland on the edge of cities. The exact opposite happens when you don't have managed growth because rising tax assessments in non-growth controlled areas tend to drive farmers off the land into the hands of land speculating developers. So a lot of the support for Oregon's growth management system has come from members of the agricultural community who want to preserve their way of life and the beauty of the Willamette Valley." 

Another oft-cited downside to controls against sprawl is that housing prices skyrocket to heights far higher than they would without controls. Simply not true, says Replogle. Studies have shown that rising housing prices in Portland have been no greater than those in places that have grown tremendously without planned growth, like Salt Lake City and Denver. "Because Portland has emerged as a key success story for transit-oriented growth and managed development, a number of groups including the National Association of Home Builders have invested millions of dollars in an effort to attack Portland's smart growth policies, and one of their strategies is to push this myth."

But if there are those in Portland who are less than pleased with the results of managed growth, Chamberlin is not one of them. On weekends he often drops off his two teenage children at the light rail station about 12 miles away from his home and they go into Portland for the day to mingle with friends. There they can easily walk or take buses to the places teenagers like to hang out in, then they take the train back out in the evening. "They've been taking the train since they were about ten and it's completely safe." Not having to drive in the full 40 miles leaves him more time to tend his grapevines and putter around in his land.  "I'm happy; they're happy."

By Leslie Valentine

FIND OUT MORE

  1000 Friends of Oregon
  Myths & Facts About Portland's Urban Growth Boundaries
  Saving Open Space, Revitalizing Brownfields: City of Portland (7/02)
  History of the Urban Growth Boundary
  Public Transportation: Promoting Public Health, the Environment and Access to Opportunity (Testimony of Michael Replogle, 6/02)