Portland: Fodder for thought

Straight talk from Kay Semion

When you come to Portland September 14-17, come prepared to take notes. This will be an issue-oriented convention. Among the hot topics: land-use and property rights, gay rights, religion in politics, the state of international humanitarian aid, and more.

As an enticement, let me share what I observed about land-use issues when visiting the Rose City in April for the NCEW spring board meeting:

Downtown Portland is an urban planners dream: walkable streets, relatively light auto traffic, accessible mass transportation, parks, good restaurants and coffee shops, plentiful and varied shopping. The vista is magnificent-the eye takes you up the green foothills, dotted with houses, and beyond to the mountains in the background. It makes you want to linger a while, sipping Oregon coffee or chai in the crisp air.

Yet in the twenty or so minutes it takes to drive to the suburbs, the scenery changes dramatically. Congested roads snake around chain-store shopping centers, where giant paved lots are half full and trees stand lonely in encased concrete every twenty feet or so. The multi-lane, auto-choke intersections are testaments to the fact that planning can be inconsistent in the state known for its foresight in planning.

Foresight, though, is in the eyes of the beholder. There are those in Oregon who so adamantly oppose land-use laws that they twice led statewide campaigns to persuade voters to restrict planning regulations. Twice voters agreed, but the first effort was struck down in court. The second-known as Measure 37-was passed in November 2004. While far more complicated than can be explained here, it basically allows long-term property owners to seek monetary claims from local governments when they believe a land-use regulation has reduced the value of their property. Governments can pay up or change the land-use regulation. Hundreds of claims have been filed, ranging from a couple hundred dollars to tens of thousands. Most are in the higher range, which could have the potential of crippling local governments. The effects of Measure 37, which is under legal challenge, are still being sorted out. (For comprehensive details, see The Oregonian's coverage at oregonlive.com/special/measures37.)

Two panels at the conference will examine both planning issues and Measure 37.

On Thursday, we'll hear from a trio who will talk about what it has taken to make Portland a popular and livable city. Urban planning expert Ethan Seltzer, former mayor Vera Katz, and political commentator Tim Hibbitts will lead that discussion.

On Friday, Lane Shetterly, Bob Stacey, and Dave Hunnicutt will offer three different perspectives on sprawl and Measure 37. Shetterly is the director of the state commission that must deal with implementation; Stacey is head of 1000 Friends of Oregon, which opposed the ballot issue; Hunnicutt heads Oregonians in Action, which led the initiative.

You may be wondering what Measure 37 has to do with your local land-use coverage. Since last fall, property-rights advocacy groups across the nation have been inviting Hunnicutt and others to offer advice on how to run a successful campaign to limit or pull back land-use regulations. The property rights issue is brewing everywhere.

Learning more about hot topics is but one reason that you'll find the Portland convention valuable. We will also be talking shop (about topics such as liability on the editorial pages, provocative writing, and the effect of newspaper corporations on editorials). And we will learn about the legacy of Lewis and Clark, including a trip to Multnomah Falls. And the ultimate value is in the convention's heart and soul-critique sessions in which peers not only evaluate your work but also provide you with great ideas.

See you soon.

Kay Semion, president of NCEW, is associate editorial page editor of The Daytona Beach News-Journal. E-mail kay.semion@news-jrnl. com

Copyright MASTHEAD National Conference of Editorial Writers Autumn 2005
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