Click to view this email in a browser http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/310797/67562010d0/29/51bc1e230f/ Dear friends, This morning, a coalition of Oregon conservation and farming organizations gathered on the steps of Metro to provide their proposal for protecting farm lands and natural resources in the Portland metro region. And this evening, I will be testifying at Metro to share my recommendations on urban and rural reserve designations. As we make crucial decisions about which lands stay rural and which lands become urbanized, I am proud to support the coalition’s approach and I want to share with you my reasons why. Our region’s leadership on sustainability is built on a long tradition of excellence in planning and a heritage of conservation and stewardship of our natural environment. Bold decisions made decades ago – to create an urban growth boundary, to invest in light rail rather than additional highways, to acquire our green spaces as a region rather than piecemeal – have given this region a head start over other cities and regions. Keep in mind – our region has used just 5 percent of the 28,000 acres added to the UGB in the past decade or more. As we plan for the next forty years, we have to consider how the lifestyle of future generations will undoubtedly be very different from the lives we lead today. The coming decades will bring: • Higher energy costs; • Carbon taxes or cap-and-trade regulations; • An aging population with needs for advanced health-care and increased services that are accessible by walking or taking transit. The constraints facing future generations will demand more centralized development, better public transit, and stronger neighborhood economies. As we talk about in the Portland Plan process underway right now—our city’s blueprint for the next 25 years—the future is not in sprawl but in 20-minute neighborhoods. For these reasons, I urge the Metro council, and Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties to listen to our region’s planners, farmers and conservationists and recognize that 15,000 acres of urban reserves is the right number to meet our economic needs while safeguarding precious rural land. To continue building the prosperous and sustainable economy we want, it is far more cost-effective and strategic to make investments in our many existing centers, corridors and employment areas than trying to pay for services and build new roads in relatively small, lower density residential enclaves. The legacy we have inherited from those who preceded us is our region’s greatest asset. Building on that asset to plan for our region’s green future is the legacy we leave for the generations to follow. Best regards, Mayor Sam Adams Follow me on Twitter: @mayorsamadams (www.twitter.com/mayorsamadams) Follow me on Facebook: www.tinyurl.com/samfacebookfan Visit me online: www.mayorsamadams.com ______________________________________________________________________ If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: http://cts.vresp.com/u?67562010d0/51bc1e230f/ ______________________________________________________________________ This message was sent by Mayor Sam Adams using VerticalResponse Mayor Sam Adams 1221 SW Fourth Ave Room 340 Portland, Oregon 97204 Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy: http://www.verticalresponse.com/content/pm_policy.html