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Category: Opinion

Opinion: Reform Betrayed – Portland’s Strategy to Dodge LD2003 Will Prolong Our Housing Crisis

Has the city of Portland’s planning staff betrayed the statewide progressive movement to promote housing growth? Amy Oberlin and Todd Morse, of the Urbanist Coalition of Portland, argue that they have, and that in doing so they may have put the future of thousands of Portlanders at risk.

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A Wasted Opportunity – Portland’s LD2003 Response

Data analyst and urban policy advocate Todd Morse explains the crucial opportunity being squandered by an opaque staff process, using interactive maps and detailed breakdowns of the data. Planning staff are using a convoluted tactic to undermine LD2003 and change as little as possible in complying with the state’s housing law. Make your voice heard to push for more before it is too late.

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The Loophole Behind Double-Header Council Meetings (and its Consequences)

If the City Council is supposed to meet at least twice each month, why does it sometimes only meet on one night? In this column, learn more about the interesting loophole behind double-meetings, and the potentially deleterious effects it can have on an overstretched council.

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Town Voices ~ Policy Machers

Town Voices – While elected officials in Portland and other municipal and state governments are generally thought of as the policy leaders. City Managers and other civil service heads exert inordinate influence on policy in the realms of area expertise, policy direction and implementation, administrative discretion, executive orders, internal policies, hiring of consultants, bureaucratic procedure, and police enforcement. As a result, those elected to public office can find themselves beholden to the person they appoint as the City Manager.

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