Metro (Oregon Regional Government) - Areas of Responsibility

Areas of Responsibility

• It provides land use planning and is responsible for maintaining the Portland-area urban growth boundary, a legal boundary which separates urban from rural land, and is designed to reduce urban sprawl. It coordinates with the cities and counties in the area to ensure a 20-year supply of developable land.
• It is the metropolitan planning organization for the area, responsible for the planning of the region's transportation system, though TriMet operates most of the region's buses and the MAX Light Rail system.
• It manages several park facilities, including Blue Lake Regional Park, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Graham Oaks Nature Park, and Oxbow Regional Park, Howell Territorial Park, Glendoveer golf course, the Sauvie Island and Gleason Memorial Boat Ramps, Chinook Landing Marine Park, the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, Government Island, Beggars-tick Wildlife Refuge, and 14 pioneer cemeteries in Multnomah County, including Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery, Lone Fir Cemetery and Gresham Pioneer Cemetery.
• It is responsible for maintaining a closed landfill, St. Johns Landfill, and owns and operates two garbage, hazardous waste and recycling transfer stations.
• It owns and operates the Oregon Convention Center, Oregon Zoo, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, and Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center.
• It is responsible for planning for regional fish and wildlife habitat protection.
• It has the authority (so far, un-exercised) to take over operation of the regional transportation authority, known as TriMet.
• It is responsible for the region's Geographic Information System (GIS) and maintains the Regional Land Information System (RLIS).