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Monday Mailing

Year 24 • Issue 12 04 December 2017 1.

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How States Generate Money From The Land They Own Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals Blocks Jordan Cove Permit Solar Developments Could Prompt New Land Regulations Region Plan Calls For Connectivity of Non-Motorized Trails A Town Well Planned: Universal Form Codes Creating Streets People Can Identify With Lizard Brains on Planning In East Portland, Trying To Build Community In A Planner's Nightmare 9. The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design 10. Northeast Oregon Arts Trail 11. Webinar: Citizen Engagement Strategies for the Digital Era – December 12th, 10am PST.

Quote of the Week: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

-Lao Tzu

Oregon Fast Fact: A 1923 state law provided for "the sterilization of all feebleminded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates and sexual perverts who are a menace to society...."

Sterilization was used until 1967.

1. How States Generate Money From The Land They Own When Western states joined the Union, the federal government granted them parcels of land in order to provide sustained revenue for public institutions, primarily schools, and to spread democratic ideals in the growing region. Older states, such as California and Oregon, have little acreage left today because they quickly sold off their “trust lands” to generate money — a move that clashed with the federal government’s long-term vision for those lands. So when newer states like Arizona and New Mexico received their trust lands, the federal government, and sometimes the states themselves, placed restrictions on sales, such as minimum prices. Today, these states retain much of their original acreage, and generate money primarily by leasing parcels to developers and the extractive industry. There are 46 million acres of state trust land in the U.S., most of it in the West. Here’s a look at the different approaches Western state take to these lands.

To access the full story, click here.

2. Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals Blocks Jordan Cove Permit COOS BAY — The Jordan Cove permit was blocked Monday by the state's Land Use Board of Appeals.

Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals on Monday ruled in favor of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition’s appeal of Coos County’s land use approval for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas) export terminal. The facility, planned for Coos Bay’s North Spit, has been opposed by a large coalition of conservation groups, landowners, and tribes.

LUBA agreed with Oregon Shores on six of the seven arguments Oregon Shores made against Jordan Cove’s application as approved by the county. The decision was “remanded” back to the county for further consideration.

To access the full story, click here.

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3. Solar Developments Could Prompt New Land Regulations PORTLAND — Solar power development on farmland is increasingly raising alarm, potentially leading to new land use restrictions in two Oregon counties.

A growing “cluster” of solar energy sites in Oregon’s Willamette Valley has prompted Yamhill and Marion county governments to consider barring such development on several higher-quality farmland soil classes, said Jim Johnson, land use specialist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Such restrictions would go beyond the current rules established by Oregon’s Land Conservation and Development Commission, which limit solar development on prime farmland to 12 acres.

“We’ve got enough concern for two counties to take this on their own and not wait for LCDC,” Johnson said during a Nov. 28 meeting of the Oregon Board of Agriculture, which advises ODA. To access the full story, click here.

4. Region Plan Calls For Connectivity of Non-Motorized Trails A diverse group of stakeholders in the Walla Walla Valley — including Umatilla County and the city of Milton-Freewater — is nearly ready to unveil its master plan for developing new hiking, biking and other non-motorized trails across the region.

After three rounds of public outreach, project leaders expect to release a draft version of the Blue Mountain Region Trails plan later this winter, striving to boost outdoor recreation and connectivity between local communities.

The project area is limited to northeast Umatilla County, along with neighboring Walla Walla and Columbia counties in Washington. Planning is focused exclusively on public lands and existing public right-of-ways, but may also consider easements with willing landowners.

Bob Waldher, Umatilla County planning director, said the plan also takes into account sidewalks and bike lanes within city limits. The goal, he said, is to adopt a region-wide blueprint that will lay the groundwork for future trails projects and make it easier for municipalities to apply for grant funding.

To access the full story, click here.

5. A Town Well Planned: Universal Form Codes Form codes and plans are relatively new regulatory tools in the civic planning toolbox intended to better control the design of developed land. In regulating the form of land, planners primarily seek to control building heights, footprints, frontage, and setbacks. Note that form codes and form plans are not the same thing. A form code defines the terms by which the design of land will be regulated, such as: “the city’s building height limits will be divided into three 30, 50, and 70 foot increments.” A form plan applies that form code to specific blocks or parcels, such as: “the city will apply 30 foot height limits along Oak Street, and 50 foot height limits along Spring Street.”

In this article, a foundational form code and form plan will be developed for this series’ case study: the Auburn Mall site. These codes and plans will be universally applicable to all parcels in the site. In the next article, we’ll dig a little deeper into form plans and use some geographic context to apply more specific regulations on individual parcels.

To access the full story, click here.

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6. Creating Streets People Can Identify With Constrained by an existing infrastructure of arterials and freeways, suburban municipalities are turning to private developers to create Main Street–style developments that emulate the qualities of traditional cities, mixing shops, housing, and offices along a pedestrian-oriented street. But while many of these developments capture the look of Main Street, they lack the larger connection to the city that makes traditional main streets feel authentic and naturally draw a wide variety of people to spend time there.

The popularity of urban living, the rise of car sharing, lower parking ratios, the demand for walkable urbanism, and millennials’ preference for places that offer a local and idiosyncratic feel all suggest that demand exists for developments that take their cues from classic, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use downtown streets. While this can be accomplished by incorporating urban materials and by providing architectural and programmatic variety, it is the connectivity to the surrounding urban fabric that really determines the difference between an outdoor shopping center and an urban core.

To access the full story, click here.

7. Lizard Brains on Planning As a fresh-faced twentysomething in Corvallis, I watched a smart plan to create a safer, more vibrant, and more walkable space get destroyed at a public hearing.

The benefits seemed clear. But the plan would have realigned a street, making the area more walkable. Business owners were uncertain; drivers were worried. And the collective nervousness caused the city council to skip the plan.

It’s a familiar scenario to planners – months or years of work are thrown out, because people are afraid of the unknown, or simply don’t understand what plans propose.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In planning, like most professions, we talk too much among ourselves. We create acronyms and use technical terms, we submerge ourselves in a common base of knowledge and understanding of the world — and we forget how average people see our work. And yet we’re surprised when we present strong plans, and see them shot down by decision-makers and the public.

To access the full story, click here.

8. In East Portland, Trying To Build Community In A Planner's Nightmare Rosaline Hui moved to the United States from China 25 years ago, so she knows that new arrivals have a lot to learn.

The challenges include mastering basic skills, such as how to get an identification card or find a bank.

But Hui recently taught a class on another important skill for newcomers in outer East Portland: simply crossing the street safely.

“A lot of these immigrants, they came from the village, and they told me they’d never seen traffic lights before,” Hui said. “They knew when they came here they had to learn what does red light mean, what does green light mean, but they don’t think about how important it is to follow the signs.”

To access the full story, click here.

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9. The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design Residents in America’s small towns and rural communities care deeply about the future of their towns and value their uniqueness, strong sense of community, and special places. However, they increasingly face urgent challenges: How can they add jobs and support local businesses? How do they create a positive future for their kids? How can they honor and protect local character and history? How do they use limited financial, human, and natural resources wisely?

Developing locally-driven solutions to these challenges is critical to the long-term vitality of these communities, and the arts and design can play a powerful role in this process. Across the country, community leaders and residents are coming together to tackle these challenges and to find creative strategies that address:    

How to build strong economies and grow jobs; Where to locate new growth or redevelop older areas; How to design efficient transportation systems; How to protect the community’s historic and culturally significant resources.

Rural design is an important tool for rural communities to build upon existing assets and improve the way a community looks, its quality of life, and its economic viability. However, few rural communities have access to design assistance or the expertise to tackle these challenges on their own.

The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ (CIRD) provides communities access to the resources they need to convert their own good ideas into reality. CIRD works with communities with populations of 50,000 or less, and offers annual competitive funding to as many as six small towns or rural communities to host a two-and-a-half day community design workshop. With support from a wide range of design, planning and creative placemaking professionals, the workshops bring together local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to the community's pressing design challenges. The community receives additional support through webinars, conference calls, and web-based resources.

To access CIRD’s website, click here.

10. Northeast Oregon Arts Trail While many travel to Eastern Oregon for its alpine trails and live-action rodeos, the region’s vast arts scene offers an adventure of the imagination. Summertime brings festivals, musical events and other outdoor spectacles to Baker, Union and Wallowa counties.

But the arts don’t hibernate once the leaves turn crimson. Arts centers, galleries, theaters — and even the sidewalks — spotlight a vibrant range of artworks and cultural events year-round. It’s easy to find them via the Northeast Oregon Arts Trail. You can cover the entire 225-mile scenic route in less than five hours and discover first-hand the newest art forms in the Old West. Or, make it an overnight to fully immerse yourself.

To access the full story, click here.

11. Webinar: Citizen Engagement Strategies for the Digital Era – December 12th, 10am PST 77% of Americans now have a smartphone and 70% are on social media1. This rapid rise in online connectivity is dramatically altering citizen expectations of governments while giving rise to exciting new ways for agencies to engage with their constituents.

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But not all approaches to citizen engagement are equal and effective. A modern approach to citizen engagement requires an agency to take a dual-approach: publish accurate, up-to-date, information for public consumption and pull feedback and insights from the public to get a pulse of the community’s needs. This dual approach to citizen engagement is most achievable when you combine digital strategies with traditional public meetings and information publishing.

Join us for a free webinar to learn:   

How to assess your agency’s readiness for digital citizen engagement The 5 pitfalls to online citizen engagement you must avoid (and how) Why digital citizen engagement should be a priority for your agency

To register for this webinar, click here.

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