West Linn recall is about many different things

By Ken Pryor

, Dec 10, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

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While West Linn elders and politicos scramble to theorize who/what is at the root of the recall of three city councilors, permit me to offer a plausible explanation.

First, the recall is not a result of any single transgression, but a systematic accumulation of misdeeds and misadventures over the years.

If you’ve a pulse and live in West Linn you’re probably baffled as to why Metro persists in cramming urbanization down our throats, every study ever commissioned states 70 percent of residents do not want to change the small-town character of West Linn and reject urbanization.

The wastewater treatment agreement is the most recent link in a chain designed to urbanize and develop our region. Without wastewater treatment there is no development, zero. I believe Metro and Clackamas County seek to commandeer the Tri-Cities wastewater treatment facilities serving West Linn, Oregon City and Gladstone as a platform to build a bigger regional facility to additionally serve Milwaukie, Happy Valley, Damascus and North Clackamas County, thus spreading the cost.

A great deal for everyone except West Linn, Oregon City and Gladstone, whose needs for growth are marginal; without Tri-Cities the cost for the regional treatment plant is exorbitantly prohibitive.

Oregon’s population increased to 3.8 million in 2009, but the annual gain of 32,390 people marked the slowest growth of the decade. In spite of PSU’s announcement of an increase of 0.9 percent (less than one percent) growth, the fourth consecutive year of slowing population growth, suggesting a recalibration of the region’s growth.

The three councilors (Burgess, Carson, Kovash) are committed to cooperate with Clackamas County and Metro. The gang of three has virtually ignored citizen input, surreptitiously circumvented city development code and zoning to become an integral link in the overall regional plan for development.

Some believe in unlimited resources, ever-expanding growth and the myth municipalities can develop themselves out of debt. The hard realities are, when system development charges assessed developers don’t cover the cost of schools, roads, sewer, etc., taxpayers pick up the bill.

Given the instability of the economy, the plan will be sold to us with the watchwords being “regional” and “greater good.” We should all be “neighborly and helpful to the cities of Damascus and Happy Valley,” after all, it is the right thing to do.

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