CLF critiques Damascus Concept Plan
The Coalition for a Livable Future submitted 20 pages of recommendations, noting room for improvement and positive aspects of the plan for the Metro area's largest Urban Growth Boundary expansion.
In our comments, CLF urges Clackamas County and the City of Damascus to
do development differently than it has been done in the past. We should
create a complete community, where natural areas are protected, green
building practices limit environmental impacts, vital neighborhoods
provide healthy transportation choices and a range of housing types for
people of all incomes, employment and commercial areas are integrated
parts of town centers, and there continues to be a place for small
farms. Download CLF's recommendations on the Damascus Concept Plan.
In 2002, CLF and 1000 Friends of Oregon hosted a design workshop to demonstrate how things could be done differently to create complete communities in Damascus. See CLF's design for Damascus.
Learn about the draft Damascus Concept Plan at Clackamas County's website.
An advisory committee will be finalizing the Damascus Concept Plan this winter. They meet on November 8 to review comments on the draft plan, and they are expected to finalize the plan on December 13. Once the Concept Plan is finalized, it is up to Clackamas County and the cities of Damascus and Happy Valley to implement it by developing comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances.