South of the Washington County neighborhood of Reedville is a rare piece of Oregon land, a parcel of top-tier farmland that just about everybody agrees is a good fit for development.
But land use decisions in Oregon are seldom straightforward, and the land, known as South Hillsboro or the St. Mary's property, is no shoo-in for being brought into the urban growth boundary.
Metro Councilors are beginning to tackle this year's urban growth boundary analysis, the council's first comprehensive look at the boundary since 2002. The agency's chief operating officer, Michael Jordan, recommended South Hillsboro in August as the top candidate for a boundary expansion for residential land.
The council moved closer to agreeing with Jordan at a worksession Tuesday, with at least four of the six councilors saying they felt like the region needed to add room for about 15,000 new units of residential development.
On the surface, it's a good fit. South Hillsboro, about 1,000 acres located south of the Tualatin Valley Highway near where it intersects with Cornelius Pass Road, is surrounded by urbanization on two sides. Hillsboro's planning department has already developed a master plan for the development, with an average density of about 12 units per acre forecast for the area.
But that would only give the region about 80 percent of that 15,000 unit need, and that's where the concerns kick in.
City officials in Hillsboro have expressed reluctance to see the density hiked in South Hillsboro. Already, the plan calls for development at about 22 units per acre (think four-story apartment complexes along Portland's arterials) and mixed-use commercial (like Orenco Station) on the northern edge of the site.
The east and west parts of the development would have about eight homes per acre, similar to densities in typical Portland single-family neighborhoods (which are slightly less than 1/8 of an acre). The central corridor, along a Cornelius Pass Road extension, would have homes at 13 units per acre.
In a September letter to the Metro Council, Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said his city council is concerned about the 15 unit per acre goal.
"We believe such a requirement is more appropriately applied to planned 2040 main streets and town and regional centers," Willey wrote.
Robert Liberty is one councilor who thinks Hillsboro should plan for the higher number.
"South Hillsboro is probably the most desirable greenfield development area in the region," he said. "Because it's such an important, valuable piece of land, my expectations are very high and they're not satisfied."
Hillsboro planners say they're trying to put larger lots near the edge of South Hillsboro, to provide a buffer between Tualatin Valley farmland and the new developments.
"We're determined to have housing diversity down there," said Hillsboro Planning Manager Pat Ribellia. "We'll achieve (15 units per acre) in significant parts of South Hillsboro. Let us do it in a way that maintains the integrity of the plan."
Some don't even want to see St. Mary's used as residential. Land conservation advocates say Hillsboro should use South Hillsboro as an industrial site, and preserve farmland near Evergreen Parkway north of the city.
"It's fabulous flat farmland, and it should be industrial," said Clackamas County Commissioner Charlotte Lehan. "To bring in fabulous flat farmland for big subdivisions is such a waste of the region's assets."
Lehan rejects the notion that developing industrial sites on the southern edge of Hillsboro would force freight traffic bound for U.S. 26 through the city.
"You might be able to make a case that we've got this fabulous industry that needs to locate on flat farmland, but you can’t make it for apartment buildings and houses," said Lehan, the former mayor of Wilsonville. "This region has a lot of lumpy ground that’s not very usable for farming or industrial and residential, and we can always adapt. Look at San Francisco. They all can adapt."
Acting Council President Carlotta Collette said in an interview last month that she wasn't going to go on record saying whether she supports expansion of the boundary in South Hillsboro. But she said she understands the site has great potential.
But, she and other councilors have said the marketplace is also a factor. They don't want to see South Hillsboro have a negative impact on other ambitious development plans in the Hillsboro area, like AmberGlen and the city's downtown urban renewal district.
"I'm concerned about diverting what little funds we have from Tanasbourne and AmberGlen, because I think even Hillsboro can only do so much," she said. "I want to see AmberGlen happen… That's a level of density we need to see and I want to feed that."
Liberty had similar concerns.
"How do you fund all that?" he said. "Those are all good things, but before we add land, the question is about what are your priorities, and how is this going to work?"
This story was not subject to the approval of Metro staff or elected officials.