Print Version
Email this story
Comment
Bike tour focuses on urban rural split
 |
| H&N photo by Todd E. Swenson Portland State graduate students George Zaninovich, 31, left, and Mathew Berkow, 31, are riding their bikes around Oregon talking with people about land-use issues. |
July 14, 2007
Oregonians often refer to the state’s rural and urban divide.
Two Portland State University graduate students are experiencing it first-hand by bicycling more than 1,000 miles to talk with as many people as they can. They’ll visit 24 counties in 40 days.
Their goal is to learn how folks feel about the state’s land-use regulations, including Measure 37, the property compensation law voters passed in 2004. They’re learning that where people live and what they do for a living colors their attitudes about land-use policies.
Matt Berkow and George Zaninovich met with Klamath County Planning Director Alwin Turiel on Friday, and she didn’t mince words. Turiel told them the county’s rural dwellers are independent sorts who think government works best when it stays out of their business.
“We had a lively discussion about how different regions of the state are different as far as people’s vision, and how much government control and involvement they want,” Turiel said.
She acknowledged government “is not particularly a popular thing out in the county. People believe they can make their own decisions. It certainly is different in town than it is in Sprague River.”
Similar comments
That didn’t surprise the two researchers. They’ve heard similar comments from officials in Coos County and other rural enclaves.
They’ve also heard stories about wealthy out-of-state residents moving to rural communities, setting off an explosion of real estate prices. They heard it in Jackson County, and got a similar refrain Friday morning from customers they spoke with at the Klamath Grill.
Berkow said many communities have shifted away from a natural resource-based economy with some apprehension about new directions and newcomers.
“There’s an ambivalence about the influx of money,” he said. “There are no easy answers.”
Measure 37 requires governments to financially compensate property owners if land-use guidelines reduce their property’s value, or else to allow desired development to take place.
Zaninovich said even those who support Measure 37 are unsure how it will play out in the long run. The controversial law has reportedly spawned more than 150 lawsuits and more than $15 billion in claims against governments throughout Oregon.
Hot topic
With a rewrite of Measure 37 on the ballot in the November election, land use issues will be a hot topic for the next few months. That gives the PSU students’ research an added degree of prominence.
“We got lucky,” Zaninovich said of the timing.
He and Berkow are pursuing master’s degrees in urban and regional planning. Their biking odyssey began June 30 in Portland, heading south through Salem and Eugene, then west to Florence and Coos Bay. They depart Klamath Falls today for Lakeview, followed by stops in Bend, Baker City, Joseph, La Grande, The Dalles and Hood River.
Berkow is a long-time bicyclist, having pedaled 5,000 miles through seven countries in Asia. Zaninovich never biked until a couple of months ago, after they hatched the idea for their urban-rural study over a few beers.
“It’s definitely a beer project,” Zaninovich said with a laugh.
” Steve Kadel
Oregonians often refer to the state’s rural and urban divide.
Two Portland State University graduate students are experiencing it first-hand by bicycling more than 1,000 miles to talk with as many people as they can. They’ll visit 24 counties in 40 days.
Their goal is to learn how folks feel about the state’s land-use regulations, including Measure 37, the property compensation law voters passed in 2004. They’re learning that where people live and what they do for a living colors their attitudes about land-use policies.
Matt Berkow and George Zaninovich met with Klamath County Planning Director Alwin Turiel on Friday, and she didn’t mince words. Turiel told them the county’s rural dwellers are independent sorts who think government works best when it stays out of their business.
“We had a lively discussion about how different regions of the state are different as far as people’s vision, and how much government control and involvement they want,” Turiel said.
She acknowledged government “is not particularly a popular thing out in the county. People believe they can make their own decisions. It certainly is different in town than it is in Sprague River.”
Similar comments
That didn’t surprise the two researchers. They’ve heard similar comments from officials in Coos County and other rural enclaves.
They’ve also heard stories about wealthy out-of-state residents moving to rural communities, setting off an explosion of real estate prices. They heard it in Jackson County, and got a similar refrain Friday morning from customers they spoke with at the Klamath Grill.
Berkow said many communities have shifted away from a natural resource-based economy with some apprehension about new directions and newcomers.
“There’s an ambivalence about the influx of money,” he said. “There are no easy answers.”
Measure 37 requires governments to financially compensate property owners if land-use guidelines reduce their property’s value, or else to allow desired development to take place.
Zaninovich said even those who support Measure 37 are unsure how it will play out in the long run. The controversial law has reportedly spawned more than 150 lawsuits and more than $15 billion in claims against governments throughout Oregon.
Hot topic
With a rewrite of Measure 37 on the ballot in the November election, land use issues will be a hot topic for the next few months. That gives the PSU students’ research an added degree of prominence.
“We got lucky,” Zaninovich said of the timing.
He and Berkow are pursuing master’s degrees in urban and regional planning. Their biking odyssey began June 30 in Portland, heading south through Salem and Eugene, then west to Florence and Coos Bay. They depart Klamath Falls today for Lakeview, followed by stops in Bend, Baker City, Joseph, La Grande, The Dalles and Hood River.
Berkow is a long-time bicyclist, having pedaled 5,000 miles through seven countries in Asia. Zaninovich never biked until a couple of months ago, after they hatched the idea for their urban-rural study over a few beers.
“It’s definitely a beer project,” Zaninovich said with a laugh.
” Steve Kadel
 |
 |
|
| Klamath Falls’ appeal varies by location | Water talks could be finished by November |
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of HeraldAndNews.com. Comment Disclaimer: The editors of heraldandnews.com reserve the right to refuse publication of any comment posted for consideration. We may refuse for any reason, including use of profanity, disparaging comments, libelous comments, etc. Any reader who notices a comment they believe is particularly offensive, should notify us at webmaster@heraldandnews.com.
RSS
Tina N. O. wrote on Mar 16, 2009 2:54 AM: