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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2007)
ing. But, he said, with so much power behind it, “there was no way that bill would have not come out of that committee.” At a later Senate hearing, Piercy offered to compromise by backing a lands study if the UGB split provision were dropped, but proponents didn’t respond. Bill sponsor Terry Beyer “really wasn’t interested in compromise,” Cuyler said. In May, the Oregon House voted 50-5 for HB 3337. On June 1, the Senate voted 25- 2 for the sprawl measure. Rep. Chris Edwards, a west Eugene Democrat, and Sen. Vicki Walker, a north Eugene Democrat, voted for the developer bill. The four other legisla- tors representing Eugene were opposed as were Lane County, Friends of Eugene, the League of Oregon Cities, 1000 Friends of Oregon, the city of Salem and the state Department of Land Conservation and Development. Piercy said she plans to make a last-ditch plea for a veto. But Cuyler said he has heard from the governor’s staff that Ted Kulongoski will sign the bill. Lee Beyer, a Kulongoski associate whom the governor appointed to chair the state Public Utility Commission, helped his wife, Rep. Terry Beyer, push the bill. EUGENE WEEKLY CAMP GUIDE Longacres Farm Arguments Was the bill so convincing that it merited such a legislative landslide? A key argument made by developers and their allies was that opening the UGB to sprawl would reduce housing costs. “We’re clearly driving young families out of the marketplace,” said Springfield’s Republican Mayor Sid Leiken at a hearing. “My concern is for affordability for young families,” said PUC Chair Lee Beyer. ‘Whereas I see cooperation as being good for the success of this region, others may see fueling the flames of supposed dispute as serving their purposes.’ — Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy Summer Camps 2007 Have fun and learn to ride and communicate with horses. Our camps are exclusive camps limited to just 12 campers and a high staff to camper ratio. Quality Education - Lifetime Memories -Fun! 344-7320 31365 Fox Hollow Rd. Eugene www.longacresfarm.com/school Nearby Nature Summer Daycamps in Local Parks Experienced Naturalist Educators Small groups, Hands-on Learning Ages 3-11, Weekly Sessions To register call 687-9699 or visit www.nearbynature.org Developers have long made the argument that regulation hurts affordable housing. The Home Builders’ PAC is officially called not “Developers for Higher Profits” but “Oregonians for Affordable Housing.” That may be little more than spin. Numerous studies have shown that sprawl does not reduce housing costs but increases them. The state land-use watchdog 1000 Friends points to studies by a professor of economics at Lewis and Clark College and by the American Planning Association showing that UGBs don’t increase housing prices. Los Angeles and Orange County have far higher housing prices than cities in Oregon despite their uncontrolled sprawl, 1000 Friends points out. Rising home prices are due less to rising land costs than to increased demand from booming population and developer choices to build more profitable, expensive homes, according to 1000 Friends and other planning advocates. In addition, planning advocates point to studies demonstrating that inefficient sprawl increases city infrastructure costs, raising property taxes to pay for it and subsequently increasing housing costs. Sprawl victims also face the high cost (not only in gas but in wasted time) of long commutes, planning advocates say. The affordable housing argument also raises the question that if Springfield officials and the Home Builders Association were so concerned about dwindling residential land, why didn’t they oppose PeaceHealth’s massive rezoning of residential land to commer- cial for its new hospital at RiverBend? In that recent decision, Springfield officials backed the hospital’s argument that the residential land wasn’t needed. Bettman also wonders why the Home Builders earlier fought a regulation prohibit- ing big house lots if they really wanted affordable housing. “They want unlimited land to build low-density expensive housing,” she said. Proponents of the sprawl measure also argued that failure to expand the UGB was EWEB Sponsored Scholarships available EARLY DEADLINE Due to the 4th of July Springfield vs. Eugene Holiday, the ad Springfield Eugene reservation deadline 57,065 148,595 for the July 5 issue is Median Family Income $38,399 $48,527 Families Below Poverty 15% 9% Violent Crimes per 100,000 267 104 Property Crimes per 100,000 8,714 6,851 Passing School Reading Test 73% 82% Passing School Writing Test 43% 62% Bachelor’s degree or higher 14% 37% Voted for John Kerry 53% 67% Population Thursday, June 28 at 5pm. Sources: 2000 Census, FBI, Oregon Dept. of Education, County Elections JUNE 21, 2007 15
