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
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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