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Big Look Task Force
If you would like to dig into the details on this issue, just click here to view the task force proposals and click here to view 1000 Friends of Oregon's policy response. If you have any questions or concerns, and most of us do, feel free to send us an email.
The Oregon Task Force on Land Use Planning (the "Big Look Task Force") has been reviewing the Oregon's land use planning program and will recommend policy changes to the 2009 Legislature.
Thanks to our groundbreaking land use planning system, Oregon leads the nation in creating livable communities and containing urban sprawl while protecting our farms, forests, and natural resources. But our legacy is in serious jeopardy.
To meet the challenges of the future, our land use program must deal with population growth, the impacts of global warming and increased pressure to develop valuable farmland. Our planning system must be strengthened to meet these challenges, not weakened
And yet, the Task Force's recommendations include proposals to weaken Oregon 's land use planning system.
We're most concerned about a proposal to give local governments greater power to develop rural lands without following existing statewide protections. Development outside of urban growth boundaries will result in loss of farm and forest lands, increased sprawl, conflicts with ranchers and farmers for scarce water resources, and interference with wildlife habitat.
In addition, the 2007 Oregon Legislature adopted ambitious goals to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming pollution. We can't achieve these goals without a strong commitment to building efficient, compact communities that give residents options to walk, bike or take transit. Land use planning is a necessary tool to fight global warming, but the Big Look Task Force is not addressing global warming.
Send a message to the task force.
Let the Big Look Task Force know:
- We need to strengthen our planning system, not weaken it. Increased development on rural lands without existing state protections is a bad idea and unacceptable.
- We must continue to protect all of Oregon's valuable farms, forests, and natural resources, not just a small subset of lands designated as "important."
- To achieve permanent reductions in global warming pollution from cars and trucks, the land use program must ensure that we build livable communities that give residents options to walk, bike, and take transit.
Send a message to the task force.
