The Portland Development Commission has taken a lot of criticism lately, and some of it justifiably so. But after a proposal by Commissioner Randy Leonard to abolish PDC as we know it, I find myself taking a defensive posture with regard to the commission.
Many have begun to question the independence with which PDC operates, a privilege enjoyed by no other city agency. The Burnside Bridgehead verdict is cited as an example of how PDC can go against the wishes of a majority of citizens as well as (seemingly) the city council, and get away with it. But we can't evaluate the merits of PDC's independence based on one project.
Ironically, PDC is independent so politics can be kept out of decision making about urban renewal. In the case of Burnside Bridgehead, it didn't work out that way. But what if the reverse had happened? What if the PDC board wanted to pick Beam and the city council had the power to take that decision away and pick Opus?
The current debate over PDC reminds me of a debate about Affirmative Action during the Clinton administration. Certain members of the Republican party wanted to abolish this crucial civil rights law, but President Clinton had a more measured and thoughtful plan: "Mend it, don't end it," he said.
Even Randy Leonard has admitted that his proposal to abolish PDC as we know it really is more a case of hyperbole intended to stir debate than a serious fatal threat against the agency. Because that proposal is now genuinely on the table, however, it's cause to stop criticizing what PDC has done wrong for a moment and defend the far greater array of right moves the agency has made.
There are neighborhoods all over the city whose residents, businesses are better off thanks to the improvements PDC spearheaded, from downtown to Northeast to outer Southeast and elsewhere. Along the way came tough decisions made relatively safe from city politics. Maybe a little more oversight is needed in the future, but we should not be so hasty in closing down a path that has until very recently been deemed very successful.
Excellent points. Without the independence, competent people have very little opportunity to do their job well.
Posted by: Keith | May 10, 2005 at 02:58 PM