Jay Humphrey is worried about Spring Creek, a year-round creek that runs through his 5.7 acre forested property outside Estacada. Spring Creek feeds into the Clackamas River and a neighbor has filed a Meaure 37 claim to build as many as 100 homes at the head waters of the pretty little stream.

Jay supports Measure 49 as a way to moderate just such excesses of development under Measure 37 claims. "Measure 37 development is terrible for the neighbors here and it is terrible for Oregon," he says.

"My main concern about this development is that it will be right on the head waters of Spring Creek. I'm not sure, but Spring Creek would probably just dry up. Who knows exactly what effect it would have on the creek?" The Clackamas River was once teeming with salmon and steelhead but development over many years curtailed the runs. Loss of one more tributary, no matter how small, Jay figures, could not be good for the future of the Clackamas.

In addition to his concern about Spring Creek and the Clackamas River, Jay says 100 new wells would surely push the water table down, causing everyone to have to drill farther and farther into the water table.
Not only is drilling costly, perhaps not affordable for some residents, but it also is a sign that the supply of water is on the verge of disappearing. If their water supply disappears, who will compensate Jay and his neighbors for their lost property values.

He and his neighbors are also concerned about the traffic that 100 homes would generate "on these little, hilly country roads."

Jay sees Measure 49 as a good compromise and a way to fix Measure 37. Says Jay: "Measure 37 is bad for Oregon. The state has always been held up as a model of land use laws. People from around the world have come to study how Oregon plans and looks at land use. To dismantle that seems just crazy."