http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5CpjaWN1g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYLpjN8yYPQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiWC5FMjHv8

House passes bill to protect Molalla River

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/house_passes_bill_to_protect_m.html

John Atkins,

Although the paper was willing to print your “bait and switch” statement about it “not having an impact on operating revenue”.    I know this is true.

You go on to say that “SDCs are specifically designated to cover future impacts on the city’s facilities” is a double cross.  This is deceit and you know it.  Those “Impacts” are the problem I have with your crazy plan. These “impacts” are what are going to cost us citizen’s money.  $1 million in fact!

Your plans stink and I will continue to show the public what you are!  Deceptive

You can put all the lipstick you want on it, it’s still a pig!

Ok, I think the city manager has lost his mind.  I said that John Atkins should fix the SDC’s, not do away with them.  The city just got done increasing your water bill, not because they needed to. Just because they could. 

Our city streets are failing all over the city and our city manager wants to forego SDC’s for a year.  I understand trying to bring a little more activity to commercial and industrial development but this is going to far and is at the expense of the rest of the citizens of Molalla.  $1,000,000 in needed repairs around the city will now “not be done” because of this adventure.  How is that you might ask?, well infrastructure is not free and if the developer doesn’t pay their share that means you and I are picking up the bill.

Which one of the ”Good Old Boy” land owners has a project to kick off at the taxpayers expense? 

We have incentives to bring in businesses:

1. We already offer tax abatement too — http://www.clackamas.us/docs/business/ezonemolalla.pdf

2. I also seem to remember the city council passing something that allows developers to finance the SDC’s over time not to long ago.

Get to the council meeting on the 18th at the adult center at 7:30 pm and tell your councilor’s — NO!

Subject: RE: ADD TO COMP PLAN FILES — 11/7/09

Mr. Citizen,

I would like to point out that the city is currently in the process of a legislative review not a quasi-judicial review as shown and discussed below.  For that fact it was not only the Planning Commissions responsibility but their duty to hear those proceedings.  The fact that they are hearing these proceedings as councilors is irrelevant at this point.  I would also point out that two of the planning commission members that you have pointed out in this email served many years ago when the plan was young.  Many changes to the plan have occurred since that time.  A planning commission represents the citizens and are the primary citizen advisory committee for the city.  For that reason they listen to all the people in the community and make decisions which incorporate all the comments heard.  For instance there are usually conflicts such as the desires of citizens for large amounts of landscaping and the desires of business to have reduced landscaping standards.  There has to be a common ground which may not be exactly what both parties want but a meeting in the middle that addresses the needs and desires of the community while also working with the business community.  This is what the group did for the past years working with the citizens of Molalla while at the same time holding numerous work sessions with TEAM to address their concerns.

As discussed numerous times before the Comprehensive Plan was in need of updating.  As part of that update the plans triggered land use goals which include Goal 14 addressing the cities 20 year requirement for a buildable land supply.  while comments have been made in the past that if we had been updating this all along that we would not be at this point of needing an expansion line are simply not correct.  First Molalla did not take over its own planning department until 1996.  At that time the planners were looking at numerous outdated plans and began working on many of the long range plans.  This continued after I started the job and we finally got to the point of updating our comprehensive plan.  I actually think most people would find it impressive the amount of plans the city has undertaken and completed since it took over its planning in 1996 (13 years ago) which is a short period of time in the planning world.  Some may say that we took five years but I would challenge you to find plans that your citizen involvement committee created entirely on their own as compared to most cities which have a consultant come hold a series of public comment periods, meet with the Planning Commission a few times and create a plan.  I can tell you from the years of work we have had this -planning commission better understands the reasoning of every single piece of all of these plans including the code compared to a lot of other communities which understand the overall intent of their plans but may not necessarily understand the specifics of each portion of all the planning documents that they have.

As a long term responsibility to the citizens the Planning Commission looked out over the next 50 years in order to better plan for the future public services such as water and sewer line extensions and sizing and parks just to mention a few.  If you are truly opposed to note how to better the plans rather than state the errors.  Simply stating don’t do it is not planning.  Since the code drives densities, how the community will look over the planning period, and the uses allowed in all zones I would suggest some concentration n this area to provide direction and solutions for the community.  You can continue to oppose the growth numbers and that will be resolved in one way or another at the end of this process.  Having said that failure to provide constructive observations of the code and alternative directions ultimately drives the way the community will look over the planning period.

Sincerely,

Shane Potter, Planning Director

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Add to comp Plan files 11-9-09

Mr. Potter

In response to your letter,

I’m glad I was able to get you to “publicly state” what form of “Process” we are in.  Leg. vs. Jud.

The planning commission does not represent the Citizens of Molalla, they represent the “PLAN”.  You quote “listening to the people”, what a joke; hardly anyone ever came to the planning meetings.  I attended many, as a councilor and a citizen.  For the most part only land developers and a few people objecting to the plans ever went to the planning hearings.  What kind of “listening to the community” is that?

Mr. Miller time and again talks about how the commissioners spent one day 5 years ago going out and walking the streets to talk to the businesses in the community.   Do you really consider this an adequate  effort to gather real citizen input?  How many homeowners did they talk too?  How many of those businesses still exist?

If you did so much work with TEAM how come they are the still objecting loudly to the plan?  Obviously you did not listen to well to them in the process.

Who came up with the equestrian estate idea?  A developer or a planning commissioner?

Many objected to the whole “sports complex” idea at Bohlander Field when you where trying to kick that off the ground and it landed with a thud and it’s still in the plan.  I have not heard one community member come and say, “I want a Bohlander Sports Complex”.  Again not listening.

Molalla is not that unique. The majority of the work that you and your planning commission have done could have been “copy and pasted” from comp plans of cities comparable to ours with the same result and taking only a fraction of the time and expense.

“As a long term responsibility to the citizens the Planning Commission looked out over the next 50 years in order to better plan for the future public services such as water and sewer line extensions and sizing and parks just to mention a few.”  This is your quote and you talk about future public services which I have questioned many times personally only to be dismissed.  Quote “we will worry about it later”. You can plan all the sewer and water lines you want but that won’t do any good if you don’t have water to put in them.  The last meeting it was stated by the city, that it’s assumed that we have enough water for 12,000 people. Please tell me HOW you are going to provide water with a “Real Plan”, data and all, for the other 13,000 people your plan “plans” for and I will back off that issue. A “plan” that doesn’t require the city taxing the citizens with some huge bond.   You talk about providing for parks and yet you have the worst SDC rates in the state that cater to residential developers. You also continue to ignore this issue (SDC’s) as well.  If you’re planning for Parks, where will the next one be?

For over 2 years citizens and community residents, DLCD and County argued that the city MUST use “safe harbor”, ignored by the planning commission and the “Planner”.  How much money and time was wasted with that? Lots!   Showing that the “Planning Commission” was not listening to anyone, once again.

I will never forget the very first Public Hearing, the one that followed sending out the letter I think in the water bill that stated “your property values may be affected”, which I think should have been done again because you have taken so long, but you had standing room only in the Adult center.  That could have been a GREAT day for community input. But instead you tell the audience that their property values would not be affected, the notice was only a formality, and made the whole night into a joke and you turned everyone OFF to wanting to participate. Half the people left before the end of the meeting.   The truth is that your plan WILL affect property values. If it’s a bad plan property values will go down, if it’s a good plan they will go up.  This was when I feel you failed at “goal one”.

In regards to your last comment on, “providing constructive observation of the code”. From past experiences with you I feel making any further effort to help in the process would be a complete waste of my time.

As far as allowing the same councilors who were once on the planning commission to be the deciding voters for approval just reeks of the back room policy of this current city staff, and elected officials.

I want a new code. The city needs a new code. It just doesn’t need to be the “Potter Plan”.  It doesn’t need to plan for more than 20 years because we don’t have the ability to sustain that many people. 20 years is too long to predict anything for a town with no economic base.

I want a new code done by someone who has some “Real Planning Credentials” rather than someone I can’t believe.

Concerned Citizen of Molalla

http://docs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf

Just so everyone knows the ONLY power over city hall the city councilors have is with the city manager.  To hire and fire.  We did this poll before, lets see how he rates now.  If you have been following the latest problems with the Comp Plan and UGB you might have a different take on our hired official.