Page 10
The INDEPENDENT, August 3, 2011
Metro seeks citizen ideas and opinions on urban growth boundary
This fall, the Metro Council
will decide whether to expand
the urban growth boundary
and, if so, where. This decision
will affect how the region’s
communities develop and
thrive. It will have an impact on
investments in good jobs and
safe neighborhoods, protection
of farms and forest land and
getting more out of investments
in existing schools, parks, side-
walks, streets and other public
structures.
A proposal has been
released for public comment.
Metro held an open house on
July 28 in downtown Hillsboro.
If you missed the open house
there is still time to learn about
the proposal and offer your
opinions. More information
about this proposal can be
found online at www.oregon
metro.gov/greatplaces.
In October, when a final
urban growth boundary vote is
scheduled, the council will face
two main questions. First, it
must decide if the boundary
has the capacity to accommo-
date housing needs for the next
20 years. It must also deter-
mine whether the boundary
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680 S. Main
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Banks, Oregon
503-324-5858
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Main Street Pizza
680 S. Main
Oak Village Shopping Center
Banks, Oregon
503-324-5858
Receive $1 off
any medium Pizza.
$1 Off
00
Expires 8-31-11. Coupons cannot be sold or duplicated.
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has enough industrial land to
allow for expansion in the same
time period.
The council could decide
that there is adequate land for
more housing, but if it does
determine
expansion
is
needed, it will choose from
seven areas for expansion.
Metro planners have deter-
mined there is a need for
industrial lots over 50 acres.
There is only one area – a 310-
acre parcel of land north of
Hillsboro, south of U.S. 26 –
that staff has recommended for
industrial expansion.
You can send your com-
ments via email to 2040@ore
gonmetro.gov, or letter to the
Metro Council 600 NE Grand
Ave., Portland, OR 97232.
The next formal step for the
Metro Council is an October 6
public hearing. A final public
hearing and council vote is
scheduled to take place Octo-
ber 20.
Fuel saving tips for towing your boat
With fuel prices high, trailer-
ing a boat has become more
expensive. However, there are
some easy ways to stretch that
tank of gas with your tow vehi-
cle. Here are ten tips from Boa-
tUS:
• Basic maintenance: Keep
your tow vehicle’s engine tuned
and replace the engine air filter
S TRASSEL ’ S A UTO R EPAIR
& H YDRAULIC H OSES
2-4-6 S PIRAL W IRE
S UCTION H OSES
A DAPTORS - 3/16” TO 2”
A MERICAN & M ETRIC F ITTINGS
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on a periodic basis.
• Drive ahead: Moderate
your use of the accelerator
pedal by “driving ahead” – by
looking ahead and anticipating
traffic, you will likely brake less
aggressively and reaccelerate
without having to be heavy on
the fuel-hungry accelerator
pedal. Take it easy when start-
ing from a dead stop.
• Stop “cruising”: With auto-
matic transmissions, stay off
the cruise control, especially
when traveling in hills or moun-
tains. Cruise control cannot
anticipate going up or down a
slope, and tends to use more
fuel when the transmission
kicks down to a lower gear to
compensate for speed loss on
a hill.
• Tire tip: Keep tires properly
inflated to the recommended
PSI on both the tow vehicle
and trailer. Check PSI before
every trip.
• Cover up: On long trips,
use a tight-fitting boat cover
when towing, which helps
decrease wind drag and im-
proves fuel economy.
• Lighten up: Lighten the
load by carrying just what you
need for the day or weekend in
the tow vehicle and onboard
your boat. Also, at about six
pounds per gallon of gas, try to
keep the boat’s fuel tank near
empty when trailering long dis-
tances.
• Drain it: Never leave water
in a live well or bait tank. At a
little over eight pounds per gal-
lon, carrying an extra 25 gal-
lons of water in these built-in
tanks can represent 10% of the
boat’s total weight. Filled wake-
board boat ballast tanks or
bags can also add significantly
more weight – from several
See Boat on page 19