Some Portland Residents Aren't Happy With Smart Growth

"Craig Flynn has stormed out of more city land-use meetings than most Portland residents have attended. Flynn, 47, who ran unsuccessfully for the Metro Council last fall, is among a growing group of east Portland activists who are spitting mad about how their once-suburban neighborhoods are urbanizing. City zoning, enacted since 1996, allows back yards and odd-shaped parcels to be developed with housing. It also allows for houses along arterials to be replaced with apartment buildings and row houses. The policies guiding redevelopment are rooted in state land-use policy established in the 1970s and a series of Metro and city decisions in the years since. Metro's long-range goals call for Portland to add 70,704 houses, condominiums and apartments by 2017."Flynn contends "We've gotten away from neighbors deciding how a neighborhood should change."