Werdinger

JOSEPH — As most Wallowa County residents know only too well, our communities are seeing out-of-control growth that is having negative impacts on our rural way of life. Local workers are struggling to find affordable housing. Local businesses (from restaurants to the hospital) can’t keep employees because new hires can’t find a place to rent or buy (properties are priced high and sell within hours of being listed).

And just this week, the city of Joseph announced its intent to add another 74 acres to the city’s current Urban Growth Boundary, much of it along the riparian zone of the Wallowa River on the west side of town, which currently provides open space and protects fish habitat. The city is calling this a “UGB swap” because it plans to add the parcels at the same time it removes the 70 acres of the Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site from the UGB.

But this swap, which Joseph is not required to do, does not address the most pressing issues that our town faces. We need to hit pause and embark on innovative, careful, strategic planning so that we can protect the rural nature of Joseph. If we don’t, we will wind up becoming a smaller version of Bend or Bozeman — cities that have been inundated with an influx of new residents and are now dealing with the fallout of unplanned growth.

In Joseph, there has not been a survey of existing buildable land in the city since 1996. Shouldn’t we prioritize infill of existing vacant lots within the current UGB, instead of just expanding the UGB into open space at the edge of town?

The city also has no functioning Planning Commission (it is working to establish one), so how can we propose a UGB expansion without a group of citizens focused on the actual long-term planning that can help us address the shortage of affordable housing? In addition, do we know the percentage of houses that are vacation homes, used only a month or two a year by their owners, and therefore not available to locals?

Even if the city expands the UGB that does not mean that any of the housing eventually developed within it will be affordable. We might well wind up with McMansions and even more vacation homes, while our local workers continue to struggle to find housing.

And who ultimately benefits from all this growth? The real estate industry and some local businesses. We, the average residents of Joseph and the surrounding area, do not benefit at all from the increased traffic, noise and shortage of housing.

Joseph is soliciting written comments and concerns about this UGB expansion (submit to: City Administrator, P.O. Box 15, Joseph, OR 978467), as well as in-person testimony at the July 7 City Council meeting to be held at the Joseph Community Events Center at 7 p.m.

This is our chance as local residents to let the city and county know that we’re very concerned about the accelerating rate of growth, that we don’t want to become the next Bend, and that the proposed UGB swap isn’t a well-thought-out solution. We need to hit pause, put our heads together, get creative and strategic and come up with an innovative approach to ensure that Joseph retains the small-town charm and character that make this place so special to us.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the July 7 City Council meeting.