From:  Pam Girtman, Clackamas County Department of Transportation & Development, 503-353-4274 or pamelagir@co.clackamas.or.us

Date:  9-13-07

Media and Interested Parties 

Clackamas County Board approves recommendations to build a "green" economy

The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners today approved recommendations from the County's Green Ribbon Committee to build a sustainable economy by strengthening rural agricultural and natural resource industries and linking them to urban business. 

The 17-member committee, appointed by the Board in August 2006, analyzed growth opportunities for the County's agriculture, natural resources and sustainable development industries.   

Board Chair Martha Schrader was impressed by "the report's strong, forward-looking vision and its focus on strengthening the farm and forest economy by focusing on the jobs of the future."

Vice Chair Lynn Peterson noted, "The committee's work addresses the critical link between the rural economy and urban development by focusing on how our vital urban economy can be strengthened by protecting rural lands."

Commissioner Bill Kennemer said, "The committee's work points the way to forging a strong partnership between the green building industry and the value-added wood products industry to create new local jobs."

During the past year the committee held eight work sessions and coordinated five industry-specific forums.  The resulting report includes nine major recommendations, including:

• Explore developing a self-sustaining Green Economy Center to support growth of the agriculture, natural resources and sustainability clusters. 
•  Focus economic strategies on industry cluster targets to develop local products and services in the agriculture, forest products, and renewable energy sectors.
• Support model sustainable developments.
• Establish the Clackamas County Office of Sustainability.
• Evaluate land use policies in light of long- term protection of agriculture and timber lands.
• Evaluate incentives to promote green building and related economic development opportunities.
• Develop a plan for sustainable management of national forest lands in cooperation with Hood River County and the US Forest Service. 

Committee Chair Rick Gruen, Executive Director of the Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District, said the County now has the toolkit to strengthen the vitality of the rural economy.  "While much work remains to be done," he added, "Clackamas County has taken a strong step to capitalize on the sustainable development and the green economy of the future."

NOTE:  Following are some key findings and all nine recommendations of the Green Ribbon Committee.  The full report can be found at//www.clackamas.us/business/grc.htm.  For more information, contact Renate Mengelberg, 503.353.4327 or renatem@co.clackamas.or.us. 

Clackamas County Green Ribbon Committee Findings

Agriculture

• Clackamas County's agricultural industry is ranked second in the state in all farm sales with $400 million in annual revenue.
• The County is ranked first in Oregon for
•      the sale of nursery crops and Christmas trees;
•      the number of farms (3,700);
•      the number of farms in certified organic production (63), and 
•      the number of horses (9,300), a $32 million industry that is ranked 9th nationally.
• Most Clackamas County farms are small - 50 percent are less than 10 acres, and only 25 percent are larger than 21 acres.  
• The economic impact of the County's agriculture industry includes creating 24,085 jobs that pay an average annual wage of $23,785 with $573+ million in annual payroll. 
• Land use-related issues are a major concern, including possible Measure 37-related development in traditional agriculture areas and the expansion of the urban growth boundary onto agriculture and natural resource land.

Natural Resources

• The forestry and wood products industries account for 4,368 jobs at an average annual wage of $38,751 totaling over $169.3 million in payroll per year.
• Construction and green building industries provide 25,352 jobs at an average annual wage of $45,102 and $1.14 billion in total payroll per year.

Clackamas County Green Ribbon Committee Recommendations

• Green Economy Center. Explore the feasibility of developing a self sustaining Green Economy Center to support the growth of the agriculture, natural resources and sustainability clusters. The center would provide a place where businesses, technical experts, resources, services and programs come together to collaborate and support existing and emerging businesses in these Clackamas County industry clusters.
• Industry Cluster Targets. Focus economic strategies on opportunities to develop local products and services to serve the local market and for export. Targets include metropolitan foodshed agriculture; metropolitan woodshed value-added wood products; and renewable energy and energy conservation (hydro, solar, geothermal, biofuels, wood waste, and energy conservation).
• Model Sustainable Developments. Work collaboratively with cities, villages, hamlets, special districts, and other partners to share information and skills to advance the art and science of green building at the building and community scales emphasizing incentives and non-regulatory approaches.
• Establish the Clackamas County Office of Sustainability to support internal sustainability operations, share tools and techniques with other agencies and organizations and provide leadership, advocacy and education on broader countywide sustainability initiatives.
• Expand the Portland/Multnomah Food Policy Council to the entire region or at least to Clackamas County. The Food Policy Council brings citizens and professionals together from the region to address issues regarding food access, land use planning issues, local food purchasing plans and many other policy initiatives affecting the current regional food system. 
• Evaluate land use policies to assess their ability to provide long term protection of agriculture and timber lands relating to Metro's "New Look" strategy of urban and rural reserves.
• Evaluate incentives to promote green building and related economic development opportunities and update zoning and building policies, regulations and permitting processes.
• Promote and participate in partnerships to develop joint industry cluster targets and the sustainability industry cluster within the region to leverage resources and efforts.
• Develop a joint plan for sustainable management of national forest lands in cooperation with Hood River County and the US Forest Service. 

For more information, contact Renate Mengelberg, 503.353.4327 or renatem@co.clackamas.or.us.