Measure 37 mega-claims coming up

This Thursday afternoon, 4/26/07 at 2 p.m., the Portland City Council will vote on the Measure 37 claim of William Lobdell (pdf). He’s asking for $1,405,000 or waiver of environmental and tree-cutting restrictions on his property in the Linnton neighborhood of NW Portland. It’s unfortunate PortlandOnLine’s staff has chosen to take the direct link to Measure 37 services off the front page, right when Measure 37 claims in Portland look set to become hot and heavy. There are seven dates in May when a total of 18 claims will be considered, including one for $8,842,680 next week. Click the Planning Bureau under Agencies in the left sidebar on PortlandOnLine, then it’s plain surfing from there – or come back here and use the handy-dandy link I just put in my left sidebar. I’ll preview each week’s claims here, as they appear on the Council’s agenda.

For Mr. Lobdell’s claim, the Staff Report states, “All the challenged land use regulations are exempt under Section 3(B) of Measure 37 because they restrict or prohibit activities for the protection of public health and safety.” Staff recommends Council deny the claim. The 3.7 acre site is entirely within Landslide Hazard and Wildfire Hazard zones, and traversed by a ravine with a stream covered by an environmental protection zone. The majority of the site exceeds 100% slope, or 1:1, 45% angle. It’s not served by sewer; staff asserts one home might be approved with a septic system, although the soils aren’t suitable for septic. The existing right-of-way to the site has a 70% slope and is “not physically constructable” according to the Portland Office of Transportation, plus “it is unlikely a vehicle would have the horsepower to negotiate this kind of slope.” It sounds like your basic undevelopable forested site, not even amenable to logging without increasing landslide potential.

Mr. Lobdell has owned this land since 1966, and according to the Staff Report believes government regulation is responsible for decreasing its value. It sounds like a perfect case to counter the Dorothy English example given to persuade voters to approve Measure 37. I’m more than a little resentful that my tax dollars are being spent on employing experts to review claims like this one. Even though no public money has yet been allocated in Portland to pay a claim rather than waive regulations, Measure 37 is costing us hundreds of thousands of dollars in staff time.