Regional mayors, planners and other members of the Metro Policy Advisory Committee are sold on the region needing more land for industrial growth.
But a request from Hillsboro to add more than the 310 acres recommended by Metro staff caused committee members to turn their eyes west to Forest Grove.
The committee was being asked whether it supported the staff recommendation of adding 310 acres north of Hillsboro to the urban growth boundary. The area is envisioned as a tool to recruit companies who need more than 50 acres to set up shop or expand in Oregon.
But Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said the 310 acres wouldn't be enough to lure new companies to the Silicon Forest.
"We are looking at a 20-year need in a region that is only willing to put 310 industrial employment acres up for opportunity," Willey said.
He said Hillsboro has nearly 700 acres that are ready to be turned over to developers, if a company were ready to relocate to the Portland region.
"We need to have the opportunity to provide those kinds of large lots, so that companies will have at least allowed us to be on the list for consideration," Willey said. "There isn't a downside to bringing this in at this point in time."
Clackamas County Chair Charlotte Lehan wasn't thinking about this moment in her rebuttal to Willey's ask. She pointed out that if the region's going to grow, its future residents will need food.
"We can't be cavalier about letting loose prime farmland," Lehan said.
She also questioned the wisdom of adding more jobs near Hillsboro, pointing out crowding on the Sunset Highway and the 217 freeway and saying the region needed equitable growth.
"If we have a regional need for industrial land, it needs to be distributed regionally and not all out in western Washington County," she said.
Willey, identified himself as "an old farm kid from Kansas," pointed out that the region has nearly 200,000 acres of farmland.
"It's not like we're cutting off our throat here," Willey said. "Most of the farmland we're talking about is industrially grown grass seed. We need farmland for food production, no question about it."
Portland Mayor Sam Adams said a smaller industrial expansion could help spur redevelopment of industrial sites.
"It gives a chance for the market to clean up the hundreds and hundreds of brownfield sites in a variety of cities," Adams said.
With the meeting already extending past its regularly-scheduled 7 p.m. conclusion, the committee voted on whether to support adding the 310 acres recommended by Metro staff. Only two MPAC members, Willey and Sherwood Mayor Keith Mays, voted against the proposed urban growth boundary expansion.
In response to the suggestion that the region needed more industrial land, and following up on a presentation by Forest Grove City Manager Mike Sykes, Mays then moved to add another 115 acres near Forest Grove for an industrial expansion. That motion passed 8-5.
Clarification 8/17: According to MPAC bylaws, a majority of voting members must support a motion for it to pass. In the case of the Forest Grove vote, nine votes were needed for the vote to have passed; according to a memo from Metro interim planning director John Williams, the vote is considered advisory.
The recommendations from MPAC are advisory only, and will be used by the Metro Council as it makes its final decision on the urban growth boundary this October.