Next Up at City Council, January 23- 24, 2008

The Agenda for Portland City Council this coming week says that two Commissioners will be absent on Wednesday, so the Consent Agenda will be passed on Thursday afternoon. There is no Wednesday afternoon session, and the Wednesday morning list is unusually brief. The vote on the Safe, Sound, and Green Streets fee is the most important item on Wednesday. No public testimony will be taken, unless there are more changes.

On Thursday afternoon, it doesn’t get much more exciting. The two Time Certain items are:

120 TIME CERTAIN: 2:00 PM – Safety Recognition Day Awards (Presentation introduced by Mayor Potter)

*121 TIME CERTAIN: 3:00 PM – Authorize agreement with The Trust for Public Land for acquisition of 26.85 acres of land in southeast Portland for park purposes (Ordinance introduced by Commissioners Adams and Saltzman)

The Safety Recognition Day Awards are mostly internal accolades for City staff, highlighting effective risk-management practices.

The Trust for Public Land is “a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. … Since 1972, TPL has worked with willing landowners, community groups, and national, state, and local agencies to complete more than 3,500 land conservation projects in 47 states, protecting more than 2 million acres. Since 1994, TPL has helped states and communities craft and pass over 330 ballot measures, generating almost $25 billion in new conservation-related funding.”

The park land acquisition sounds terrific. In my experience, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) has provided crucial intermediary services between governments, private landowners, and citizens. When Metro purchased the forest at the headwaters of Arnold Creek (the project that changed my life), TPL gave advice, and as a neutral third party helped with shuttle diplomacy. And in the sale of the land for the Holly Farm Park, TPL held the option to buy from the landowners, until the City and Parks Foundation patched together the funding for the purchase. I am very glad to see the City working with TPL to save almost 27 acres of land in Southeast Portland for a park. The ordinance says it’s on Clatsop Butte, near SE Foster Road and SE 162nd Avenue. Yay!