The Slant column in the latest Eugene Weekly opines:

Isn’t “smart growth” an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms? After all, even at 1 percent growth, population will double in one lifetime (72 years) and quadruple in two lifetimes, and how can that be sustainable? So when we heard about the “Moving Forward Together” conference on “smart growth” coming up Wednesday, June 11, at the Hilton downtown, we were skeptical. A few years ago we would have expected the same old line of thinking from a gathering of real estate brokers, local officials and state transportation “experts.” But today’s realities of climate change, peak oil, pollution and changing traffic patterns are gradually altering conventional attitudes.

This conference will still hear advocates for unfettered growth and sprawl, but it will also give a voice to people like economist Joe Cortright, who makes the connection between stringent land-use laws and a healthy economy. Oregon planning consultant John Fregonese is a leading voice for public input into innovative regional planning. We will hear about property values going down on the outskirts and up in city centers. Old attitudes die hard in the real estate, transportation and construction industries, but change is afoot, and this conference offers a glimpse into the future. Information on the all-day event is available at movingforwardtogether.net.

Through Friday, June 2, you can still register for Lane County Moving Forward Together™ for only $25.

We want to people to register sooner rather than later so we will have a good count to give to the Hilton Eugene & Conference Center.

But we welcome registrations after June 6, and even walk-in registrations, for the still low price of only $35.

If you are still deciding whether or not to attend, check out our program!

And if you have already registered, thank you and please encourage your friends to sign up, too.

A guest viewpoint in the Register-Guard invites the public to help Lane Transit District Chart its future in the face of rising ridership—and fuel costs and hence operating expenses.

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In a story last year in The Oregonian, reporter Randy Gragg asks if it is time for a new approach to planning. He quotes national planning consultant John Fregonese, who warns that “Vision without action is hallucination.” John Fregonese will be the opening speaker at Lane County Moving Forward Together.

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In the Register-Guard story “$4 gas: Fueling our fears,” Veneta Mayor Tim Brooker says that communities need to “re-think how we repair roads” using materials less dependent on oil and that “our leaders really need to make change” in the face of rising oil prices.

As well as being Mayor of Veneta, Brooker is a grandfather, a businessman and a commuter.

Brooker has been invited to be part of the final “Next Steps” panel of the Lane County Moving Forward Together conference, but has not yet confirmed his availability. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, Springfield Mayor Leiken and Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart are confirmed to be on this panel.

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In a recent guest viewpoint in The Register-Guard, four neighborhood leaders, Paul Conte, Marilyn Milne, Kate Perle And Deborah Healy, responded to the guest viewpoint by Laura Langdon of the Home Builders Association of Lane County:

Representatives of the local Home Builders Association shed a few crocodile tears recently in a Register-Guard guest viewpoint headlined “City’s proposed code changes undermine ‘smart growth.’ ” In that opinion piece and subsequent public testimony, HBA representatives seek to prevent fixes to flawed zoning regulations that allow unbridled infill development to degrade Eugene’s neighborhoods.

HBA representatives have twisted the meaning of “smart growth” to serve their own interests, essentially arguing against any standards that might reduce the potential density of some developments. By this faulty reasoning, standards that keep building heights in scale with surrounding residences, require adequate parking or protect natural storm water drainages all undermine “smart growth.”

The Lane County Moving Forward Togetherâ„¢ conference on June 11, 2008 will feature a panel on housing and “Smart Growth” with Bob McNamara of the National Association of REALTORS® and Robert “Skip” Rotticci of Costa Pacific Communities. The panel will be moderated by local affordable housing advocate John VanLandingham, who also chairs the Oregon Land Conservation & Development Commission.

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In an “Activist Alert” the Eugene Weekly reports:

An all-day “Moving Forward Together” conference on “smart growth” is planned for June 11 at the Eugene Hilton. The event is sponsored by Realtors, the cities of Eugene and Springfield, Lane County, LTD and the Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program. Registration is required and costs $25 before June 6. Visit http://movingforwardtogether.robzako.com. A series of panels with national and state experts will “offer ways in which we can work together to expand our housing, economic and transportation choices.” One of the panels will discuss the West Eugene Collaborative.

Do you wish you lived in Lane County and could attend the Moving Forward Together™ conference on June 11, but somehow find yourself living at the other end of the Willamette Valley?

Then you might be interested in the:

2008 Regional Livability Summit

May 28, 2008 — Portland State University

Keynote by Maya Wiley
Executive Director of the Center for Social Inclusion

Join us at the Summit and help create an agenda for true sustainability in the metro area—one that harnesses our desire for positive change, recognizes our interconnectedness, aspires toward equality and inclusion, and lives up to the promise of our people and our place. Along with Maya Wiley’s keynote address, the Coalition for a Livable Future will unveil preliminary strategies that have emerged from the community in response to the Regional Equity Atlas research. These ideas will provide focus for plenary panels, breakouts, and other activities throughout the day. Click here for additional Summit details.

Disclaimer: Moving Forward Together™ and the 2008 Regional Livability Summit are different events with somewhat different aims in different parts of the state organized by different groups. This notice is for informational purposes only.

A cover story in Willamette Week questions the need for the Columbia River Crossing: a proposed $4.2-billion new Interstate-5 bridge over the Columbia River.

Although this project isn’t in Lane County, it does raise questions about the changing economics of transportation investments throughout Oregon.

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In a recent guest viewpoint in The Register-Guard, Laura Langdon, director of government affairs for the Home Builders Association of Lane County, wrote:

Two amendments proposed by the Eugene City Council would drastically reduce density in neighborhoods near the University of Oregon campus that are currently zoned for high-density housing.These changes would reduce the availability of housing, decrease property values, and force many students to commute by car to campus.

These amendments would contradict Eugene’s expressed growth management policies, as well as the Metro Plan and Oregon land-use law.

The City Council and Mayor Kitty Piercy have taken the stance that Eugene will not expand outward. Long established city policies urge maximizing the use of land within the Urban Growth Boundary by growing up at higher densities. This is known as “smart growth.”

Smart growth is a well-established practice that allows cities to grow while using land more efficiently, creating viable urban neighborhoods, and limiting sprawl to protect wetlands, forests and farm lands.

The Lane County Moving Forward Together™ conference on June 11, 2008 will feature a panel on housing and Smart Growth with Bob McNamara of the National Association of REALTORS® and Robert “Skip” Rotticci of Costa Pacific Communities. The panel will be moderated by local affordable housing advocate John VanLandingham, who also chairs the Oregon Land Conservation & Development Commission.

What do you think about “Smart Growth” and how land use policies should guide growth in Lane County?