‘How do we make the cost affordable?’

Lake Oswego letters to the editor

, Nov 5, 2009

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John Webster (Lake Oswego Review, Letters, Oct 29) asks a good question: Why are our city councilors christening a sewer pipe? It would seem much more inspiring to break the champagne bottle on a new cultural/arts/sports/civic center in the West End Building once we all figure out what it is.

Yet, mundane as it seems, sewage is a big part of a city’s work. All we have to do is mention sewers on the agenda of our neighborhood association meetings, and the threat of hidden costs and city annexation draws residents out of their homes. When I return down Overlook Drive with my teenage son from Lakeridge High, I see the Doug Fir forest fertilized by the septic tanks of our Rosewood neighborhood. Should we get the city sewer? And help pay for the christened floating pipe in the lake?

The answer is not obvious. Failing septic systems in our neighborhood require expensive annexation and sewer costs – $70,000 split between two residents, one of whom was obliged to get the sewer, annex and repave the road at the same time. Other property owners believe that their septic systems will last the rest of their lifetime. If they have water-hungry trees in their backyard they may be right. But septic systems are not built to last forever.

For our neighborhood, the big question is: If we connect to the christened sewer pipe in the lake, how do we make the cost affordable?

Peter Klaebe

Chair, Rosewood Neighborhood Association & CPO, writing his personal opinion and not on behalf of the association/CPO

Lake Oswego

Hope we can find ways for citizens to age in place

To the Editor:

The population of Lake Oswego is aging! Last month that fact was brought to the attention of the city council, its watchers and Lake Oswego Review readers, and I’m pleased that the council again is looking at choices the city has in meeting the changes.

Three cheers for Paul Lyons and his informal committee. Several years ago when he and I worked on the Affordable Housing Task Force and later on the Lake Oswego Community Dialogues we heard valuable information and ideas on how Lake Oswego can meet local demographic challenges.

Now I hope the council will see a sea of support and establish ways for citizens to age in place.

Ardis Stevenson

Lake Oswego

How about: ‘All in the eye of the beholder?’

To the Editor:

In response to Dennis McNish’s letter to the editor (Lake Oswego Review, Nov. 22),

Nice try Dennis but you need to get your facts straight. If you will reread my letter you will see that I did not call Barack Obama a socialist or Marxist, I used these words to describe his policies. Now as to your comments about “over the top political hyperbole” I think in this case it is “all in the eye of the beholder” another old adage.

Clare Forward

Lake Oswego

Economics are what dictate where people live

To the Editor:

In last week’s Review the issue of affordable housing was once more on the docket for discussion.

What a waste of time. Over the last 20 years this issue comes up until reality sets in and it goes away.

First of all Lake Oswego is not a city – we are a town and mainly a bedroom community of Portland. We have some of the most expensive land and consistently rate first or second in home prices statewide and beyond.

And more importantly we are currently limited in the size of developable property. So unless we are going to subsidize and that would man a tax on the rest of us, entry level and affordable is very much a subjective issue.

Economics, not social concerns dictates where people can and will live. Maintaining the current level of services and obligations seems to be more than enough on our plate now and in the future.

Jim Price

Lake Oswego

Some key thoughts about sensitive lands

To the Editor:

Reading Roger Hennagin’s short list of items other than Sensitive Lands on city council’s busy plate (Lake Oswego Review Oct. 29) brought these thoughts to mind.

• Those were indeed worthy items for the city council to consider.

• A quote from Hyman Roth in The Godfather, “this is the business you’ve chosen.” (Apparently you chose to have this job.)

• If you or your predecessors made a bad regulation, first do your business and reverse that regulation. (It took less time to repeal Prohibition)

• None of Mr. Hennagin’s examples affect Lake Oswego’s citizens directly like the sensitive lands issue. Complaints about this issue have been adequately listed in previous letters, notably how it ties our hands to make even minor improvements to our own property, and puts us at a disadvantage to sell our property at its comparable value.

• Here’s an idea to free up city council to do its important work – rescind the well-meaning but ill- conceived notion of applying the sensitive lands code to private citizens.

• Instead, concentrate on protecting the city-owned property on sensitive lands, i.e., Cornell Natural Area, and clear the strangling English Ivy from your own towering trees.

By contrast, I have spent many hours pulling English Ivy and removing backberry bushes from my own property simply because it was the right thing to do (not because of the sensitive lands ordinance).

Larry Latuszek

Lake Oswego

Measure 49 claims could be coming

To the Editor:

Did you see the article on the front page of the Oct. 29 Lake Oswego Review, titled: “WEB restructuring?”

It sounds as though the city council has an interesting issue on its plate, how to refinance and pay for the West End Building (WEB). It wasn’t too long ago that the council had decided to sell the building. And then our mayor did a scientific sampling of public opinion at Farmers’ Market, and behold, Mayor Hoffman found that our citizenry wanted to keep the building. It never ceases to amaze me, what a brilliant mayor we have been blessed with. Apparently now, there remains just one question: how do we pay for the WEB?

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