Letters in Support - Sha Spady, Oregon City Resident

A Different Kind of Annexation

Like many of you, I have watched with dismay as the City of Oregon City has annexed parcel after parcel of land into its grip of thoughtless expansion. I’ve watched with disbelief as parcel after parcel of bucolic farm and forest land have been bulldozed into flat, lifeless quadrants of brown dirt and filled with rows of houses, streets, traffic signals and traffic. A five minute drive to the bottom of the hill now takes 15 minutes.

Our library is in shambles. There are no new parks or open spaces for the children to play or the adults to roam. Many claim our quality of life is rapidly deteriorating with each new subdivision, each new annexation – while developers walk away with the profits and our community is left holding the bag. Finally voters have said, “Enough!” and annexations are being voted down altogether.

So what makes this annexation different and one worthy of your consideration for approval?

The applicants are third generation land owners and members of the community – not in-and-out developers looking to make a fast buck. They are deeply committed to creating a 21st century model for sustainable living that will be sensitive to the needs of the human community, the natural environment as well as growing the economic base of our area with green, long-term, family-wage jobs.

For the past four years, Rose Holden has tirelessly and thoughtfully represented her family’s dream of leaving a living legacy on their land with state-or-the-art, energy efficient, user-friendly designs for living that integrate the natural environmental into our work, home and community spaces.

So you have before you an opportunity to give a member of your community a chance to create something better for Oregon City. This is not a vote for just another cookie-cutter annexation of land into the City of Oregon City. This is a one-time opportunity for this family to share with the community their innovative, thoughtful and economically sustainable dream…or not.

The choice is yours.

--Sha Spady