Document text
Berryman tapped for state land-use board Would be second Southern Oregonian ever on LCDC By PETER WONG Medford Mayor Lindsay Berryman is Gov. John Kitzhaber's choice for a seat on the state Land Conservation and Development Commission, which oversees Oregon's land-use planning program. Berryman The seven-member commission is the policy-making arm of the state Department of Land Conservation and Development, which oversees how land-use plans in Oregon's 36 counties and 240 cities comply with statewide planning requirements. The program has been controversial, particularly outside the Willamette Valley, since its birth in 1973. Among its goals are to direct most development within the urban growth boundaries of cities and protect most rural lands for farming and forestry. "I believe in a balanced philosophy," Berryman said Tuesday. "I think we need to look at the economics of a situation and the social perspective as well as land use. "In Southern Oregon, it's been 50-50. It seems half of the population appreciates development, and the other half appreciates conservation. It is the Land Conservation and Development Commission, and we often forget that development is part of the package." But Berryman also said she prefers in-fill development within cities before expansion outside cities. Berryman, who was elected mayor 11 months ago, was a council member from 1980 to 1986 and was council president twice. She also was on the board of the Medford Urban Renewal Agency. Earlier this year, Kitzhaber named Berryman to the Oregon Progress Board, which sets indicators for state and local agencies to measure Oregon's economic, environmental and social well-being. If the Senate confirms her latest appointment, Berryman will become only the second person from Southern Oregon to be on the seven-member commission in its quarter-century of existence. The other was D. Lorin Jacobs of Medford, a former mayor and council member who was appointed in 1976 and served on the commission through the mid-1980s. Berryman said she did not seek the appointment to LCDC. She said someone from the governor's staff called her last summer just before the Legislature ended its 1999 session. "I told him I had an interest," she said. "I think we need representation for Southern Oregon, so I was happy to step up. Who can say no to the governor?" The Senate, which has a Republican majority, will have to say yes to Berryman's nomination by the Democratic governor before she can take her seat on the commission. Although the Senate met last week to act on nominations, its Rules and Executive Appointments Committee put off hearings on Berryman and others until its next meeting in December. Berryman is a registered Republican. Berryman would succeed Bill Blosser of Dayton, whose term ended in mid-1998 but who has remained on the commission. The Senate also has not acted on Kitzhaber's earlier nomination of John Van Landingham of Eugene to another vacancy on LCDC. Berryman would join two former mayors on LCDC, Gussie McRobert of Gresham and Charles Vars of Corvallis, although Vars' term ended June 30. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA