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Viewpoint:
Slick Maneuvers The devil's in the details at county land management.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
Slick
Maneuvers
The
devil's in the details at county land management.
I certainly agree with Commissioner Anna Morrison
in that land use in Lane County is controversial. I would like
to take this opportunity to revisit some of Anna's items in "setting
the record straight" (12/5 Viewpoint).
Yes, our Land Management Division (LMD) budget is
supposed to be entirely derived from fees from customers seeking to
build more structures on the same amount of land. When the LMD exceeds
its budget, money is taken from the general fund to make up the difference.
While I may be in error as to property taxes filling the gap, rest
assured that the taxpayers will make up the difference one way or
another.
As for the LMD not putting out sound legal decisions
conforming to Oregon law, the fact that the zoning at the end of Fire
Road reverted to its original 10-acre lot size after Maxwell vs. Lane
County visited Oregon's Court of Appeals supports my thesis. In Lane
County, lot line adjustments are not even considered land use decisions
or actions, and are used to move and shrink lots so that no part of
their new, improved position touches any part of their original location.
As for LMD land use decisions costing the taxpayers
money: Again, when the LMD budget is exhausted, the general fund fills
the gap. The real point here is the LMD coming to the rescue of developers
with a county staff attorney — and losing. I don't think the
LMD should have the right to appeal its own land use decisions as
it did at Fire Road. I think county staff attorneys should be invited
to look over proposed land use attempts before they see the light
of day.
The LMD does provide notice of actual hearings
to people living around the affected area. The LMD did not
provide notice of all the slick maneuvers that went into breaking
the zoning at the end of Fire Road before the actual hearings.
Anna is right about the up-front cost of an appeal
not being $3,000. I have been down this road and but have forgotten
some of the details. In my experience, the initial hearings are not
going to buy you much since the developer and the LMD will keep appealing
until you lose, run out of money, or your case is beyond their influence.
I think it was only $2,450 to take Fire Road before the commissioners.
I spent about $15,000 on Maxwell vs. LC and developer. About $10,000
came out of my own pocket to take it through the county process, Oregon's
Land Use Board of Appeals and finally to Oregon's Court of Appeals.
As for the hearings official being a contractor rather
than a permanent full-time employee of Lane County, I discern little
practical difference. He receives a check one way or the other from
the county. Maybe challengers of LMD decisions should be allowed to
provide their own hearings officials in the future?
The county staff lawyer is paid through the LMD budget.
OK, when the budget is exhausted, it's back to the general fund. The
LMD shouldn't defend a developer's program like on Fire Road with
a staff lawyer anyway. By the way, did the LMD ever recover the $40,000
it lost a year or two ago through poor cash handling practices?
I must admit to confusion on the 2001 audit. It is
a very hefty document. Its title page reads: "Internal Audit Report.
Public Works Department Land Management Division." Recommendation
1.1 reads: "The Board of County Commissioners should establish a comprehensive
land use and development policy for Lane County." This document should
be available to anyone who wants to read it. As for $90,000 or $77,230,
it is still a lot of money to me.
As Anna rightly point out, land use issues by nature
are high-charged issues. People's livelihoods, finances, and homes
are on the line. Let's commit to an accurate public discussion.
Norm Maxwell serves on the LMD Task Force and is co-president
of LandWatch, Lane County, hopsbran@aol.com
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STANDARD
BEARERS
Oregon lost another giant from it's golden
era with the recent death of Lane County's own Bob Straub. Governors
Straub and Tom McCall were lightning rods for a civic advocacy that
marked Oregonians as citizens who cared for and acted on their vision
for livable communities that might sustain the souls and values of
future generations.
Straub was responsible for shepherding maverick ideas
that many latter-day Oregonians take for granted today: the Bottle
Bill, public access to Oregon's Pacific coastline, land use laws that
once protected us from California-type sprawl, and the establishing
of the Willamette River Greenway.
The late Mel Jackson(who taught many folks in these
parts their outdoor skills) patrolled the Willamette River in his
canoe when not boondocking in the Cascade forest. Jackson became disturbed
with the way reckless development was encroaching on the sanctity
of the river. Jackson took Straub out on the river for him to see
what was happening to the Willamette watershed. Soon, Jackson and
Straub were taking out onto the river any local, state, and federal
officials they could enlist to see for themselves the degradation
facing the Willamette.
During one of Straub's campaigns for governor he stumped
the state in a beat-up car with a canoe tied to the top, advocating
establishment of a Willamette River Greenway as a key plank of his
platform. The idea gained so much traction, that McCall snared the
idea for his own, helping McCall to win election.
Despite being opponents for governor, Straub and McCall
were united in their advocacy for the public interest, resisting shortsighted
arm-twisting by vested interests, to create an Oregon legacy on which
we rest today.
A friend tells me we all get what we deserve. If true,
another generation of civic minded Oregonians got what they deserved
in selfless figures like Straub and McCall, public servants to great
ideas and policy.
Today, our public forum is driven by the likes of
John Musumeci and Jim Torrey. Perhaps many folks have retreated from
the responsibility of civic participation, the hallmark of a great
society. Perhaps they figure Oregon's legacy remains secure without
their civic involvement. Meanwhile, land speculators and elected officials
who do the bidding for pork feeders undermine the life's work of a
Straub, while we watch the commonwealth being subdivided and sold.
If, as my friend says, another generation deserved
a Straub and a McCall, does our generation deserve to have Torrey
and Musumeci as our standard bearers?
Rob Handy
Eugene
WYDEN
WAS THERE
I guess it's easy to make assumptions without
all the facts (EW Slant, 11/7). While I appreciate EW's
opinion pieces, your comment about Sen. Ron Wyden's apparent lack
of interest and commitment to the Bradbury for Senate campaign was
inaccurate. Wyden played an important role in that campaign as well
as many others across the state. In fact, in his concession speech
on election night Bill Bradbury first thanked his family and then
the senator! I have found Wyden to consistently be there in support
of Democrats, both financially as well as with appearances, photo
opportunities and campaign assistance. And I have to believe that
those who were grousing that Wyden was not present at the Clinton
event in Eugene on Oct. 31 certainly did not know the senator's brother
had passed away two days earlier.
Vicki L. Walker
Senator-Elect, District 7
RIGGING
THE SYSTEM
Here we go again. Every time big malpractice
insurance companies see their profits dip, they gouge doctors and
blame it on lawyers and patients injured by medical malpractice. It
happened before in the recession of the '80s; it's happening again
and the wild claims of greedy insurance companies are the same.
Every day we read about another big corporation that's
in trouble because their greed and arrogance trumped good judgment.
That's exactly what's happening with the insurance industry. They
want us to believe they're the victims, but what they really want
is to hamstring the juries and to rig the system so they're guaranteed
profits, no matter how badly they manage their money. These companies
might do better if they worried more about protecting patients and
less about protecting their own rears.
The insurance companies' and HMOs' call for tort reform
is just a way to make it even tougher for average people who work
hard and pay bills to get their day in court. The teams of lawyers
hired by the big corporations already put the average injured person
at a big disadvantage. The insurance companies just want to make it
even harder.
Scott Lucas
Eugene
NO
REAL SOLUTIONS
John. Zerzan (Letters, 11/27) does not offer
us a solution in violent uprising. Such uprising appears to be little
more than an expression of deep-seeded anger against a very real problem.
It appears naive to think that a relatively small, armed resistance
will be successful against the largest and most violent military in
world history. Even if successful, you have still achieved victory
only through force, which would do little but create another system
requiring force for its sustainability, automatically making it illegitimate.
True, lasting peace can only be created by those whose
heart is at peace. For a country to be peaceful, each individual must
not wait to embrace freedom and peace. Zerzan likens non-violent resistance
to children seeking permission from the parents. However, it is Zerzan
who seeks permission, because he is waiting for an entire world paradigm
to change before he will embrace peace for his own self.
It's no good scolding others for choosing a peaceful
and less raging path. This is a path of consciousness, taken so that
fewer innocent people will have to endure violence in a world suffering
deeply from it. Violence is chosen because it is an easy path, requiring
little by way of critical thinking. It is the philosophical path of
desperate men who have lost all hope in the goodness of the human
race, or who cannot fathom not returning violence with violence.
The world is on a very dangerous precipice. Now is
the best time to question every assumption and never be satisfied
with any particular point of view.
David Caruso
Eugene
SACRIFICING
THE FUTURE
Our state is in a bind. Due to our troubling
economic times, not many are ready to embrace a temporary income tax
increase to fund our state's needs. A tough choice is in front of
us. Many will be tempted to vote down the temporary tax increase to
help their family in the short term. I urge you not to do this. By
doing this, you will sell out the future of your children and state
in the long run. If Measure 28 fails to pass, needed programs will
be cut or under-funded. These cuts will come in areas such as: education
(increase in class size and shorter school year at K-12 level), public
safety (closure of eight prisons and releasing of 4,346 inmates),
and health services (health care for 11,000 senior citizens). This
is just scratching the surface.
We can stop the deterioration of our state and give
our children a much brighter future by sacrificing an average temporary
tax increase of $133. Your children's future is at stake on Jan. 28,
please vote "yes" on Measure 28.
Kevin Curtin
Eugene
DOUBLE
DANGER
With regard to Doak Roberts' complaint (11/27)
against rude and/or dangerous cyclists, I agree to the extent that
it would be nice if we could be more civil to one another. It would
be nice, that is, if pedestrians on bike paths could learn to walk
to the right, leaving a clear, safe passage to cyclists, and it would
be nice if passing cyclists would learn to warn pedestrians in the
way Roberts says he does. But we might be a little more tolerant of
one another in the meantime.
As a frequent cyclist, Roberts undoubtedly has noticed
what a hostile, dangerous environment for cyclists exists in much
of Eugene. Add inclement weather and city workers who happily leave
three-foot mounds of wet, slippery leaves along the sides and bike
lanes of most streets, and the picture worsens still. It is hardly
surprising that many cyclists try to avoid the worst of this by taking
to sidewalks. In doing so, they risk arguing with, bumping or even
bruising a pedestrian. However, in not doing so, they risk getting
killed. Hmmm.
Frequent cyclist Roberts has undoubtedly also noticed
how much the Eugene police loathe cyclists and how much they would
love to have cause to harass cyclists even more than they already
do. To issue the police such an open invitation to harass us further
is worse than irresponsible, it promises — by increasing the
existing negative perspective that cyclists exist only to "get in
the way" of "real" traffic — to make the situation Roberts describes
actually worsen rather than improve.
I promise I will try to be nicer next time I pass
you, Doak, if you promise to be easier to pass. But for the sake of
cycling in Eugene, you might sic your attack dogs on someone more
deserving.
Mark Post
Eugene
HELP
THE HELPERS
The recent articles (11/27) about homelessness
in Eugene were heartwrenching. For the first time I was able to get
a shocking glimpse of the challenges the homeless face, and the agencies
that struggle to serve them. Could you imagine how much more could
be done if every person in Eugene contributed one measly dollar
to one of the agencies that help the homeless? Please print the mailing
addresses of the agencies that aid the homeless so I can mail a donation
this week. Thank you for some great articles!
Tamara Merrick
Eugene
EDITOR'S NOTE: Good idea. Donations can be made directly
to Eugene Mission, 1542 W. 1st Ave., Eugene 97402; White Bird Clinic,
341 E. 12th Ave., Eugene 97401; St. Vincent de Paul, 705 S. Seneca,
Eugene 97402.
ATOMIC
GRINCHES
From the romance of covered wagons to the
environmentally destabilizing farts of SUVs and flying aluminum tubes,
Americans have had a long love affair with transportation. But do
we really want to go down in history as the Atomic Grinch who stole
life from Mother Earth?
The window of caring that advanced life depends upon
lies tiny and crushed beneath huge blocks of greed, war, terror, pollution,
landfills, narrowmindedness, superstition, revenge, weapons of mass
destruction, fascism, corporate conspiracies, dominions, nationalism,
brainwashing, lies, propaganda and false superiorities. Be caring,
clearminded and just, else the ghastly weight of accumulated human
error kills us all.
Now that we know that a warmongering, narrowminded
fascist fool like George W. Bush can take over the most powerful nation
on earth merely by repeating a bunch of lies, some fundamentalist
religious codes, some corporate greed codes, some patriotic codes
and by manipulating a deeply-flawed legal, electoral, intelligence
and financial system: It is time to get serious about neutralizing
every nation's stock of weapons of mass destruction before we destabilize
the survival ability of all of earth's advanced species including
ourselves.
No more weapons of mass death and mass environmental
destruction in the hands of booby-brained nut hatches who drive SUV
death vehicles. Free the critters of the world!
Bob Saxton
Eugene
BOYCOTT
TYRANNY
If you oppose the Bush Administration's
pro-war, pro-corporate welfare (aka corruption), and anti environmental
agenda, then I implore you to resolve to withhold unnecessary purchases
and enact a personal economic boycott of the corporate/Bush tyranny
over the next two years or until a non-Republican Congress and president
are sworn in.
Using your dollars as a political tool is one of the
most powerful tools available to us as U.S. citizens. The great social
change movements of the 20th century, India's independence, civil
rights, and antiapartheid, used this tactic of withholding monetary
support of industries and governments extensively to win independence
and human rights.
In the current political moonscape it is imperative
for democracy and justice here in the U.S. and abroad for us to exercise
this economic power. We must send a loud and clear political/social
change message to our corporate controlled government.
The resolution could include very simple things that
can be adopted into everyday life: carpooling, bicycling, or using
public transit a few times a week, brown bagging lunch often, working
less overtime, curtailing travel, dining more at home, energy conservation,
and putting off purchases of nonessential items especially large durable
goods like new cars, appliances, and recreational vehicles.
If the economy is portrayed in a good light by 2004,
GW and a Republican Congress may continue their reign. For democracy,
justice and your own peace of mind join this boycott against corporate
tyranny and bring family & friends.
Shannon Wilson
Eugene
HUBBA-HUBBA
If you butt-kissing PATTI-ROTS at the Weakly
want to call it the HUBBA-HUBBA-HU-SS-A PATRIOT act on your own time,
that's your prerogative, but keep your filthy ass-kissing garbage
out of my letters (12/5).
I wrote "u.s.a.p.a.t.r.i.o.t. act" because that is
correct (unless you want to be write "u. s. a. p. a. t. r. i. o. t."
with spaces between all the letters), and because the Weakly complained
about all the capital letters. No matter how you slice it, it is not
two words. Nothing in its name refers to any U.S.A. or U. S. A. or
USA.
If you want to call it the HUP-HUP-GLORY-GLORY-HALLELUJAH-AMERIKKKAN
PATRIOTS LOVE THE GESTAPO act in your own articles, fine. But let
my letters alone.
Ann Tattersall
Eugene
EDITOR'S NOTE: We edit all letters for spelling,
grammar and conventional newspaper style — except of course
this one. So what's conventional style on the USAPA? Congress and
the ACLU capitalize it, but most newspapers and AlterNet run it lower
case. The more important issue is what's in HR 3162.
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words,
keep submissions to once a month, and include your address and phone
number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com,
fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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