Two Washington County cities have asked Metro to expand on its 2010 review of potential urban growth boundary expansions, with one of the proposals surprising land conservation advocates in the Tualatin Valley.
"They've got a lot of chutzpah," said Cherry Amabisca, chair of conservation group Save Helvetia, of Hillsboro's proposed 404 acre study area north of U.S. 26. "It's very interesting that they're so intent on taking that."
UGB study letters
Here are the letters about potential urban growth boundary expansion studies.
In a letter dated May 5, Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said the area north of the Sunset Highway is "better suited for industrial large sites," based on the recent changes to the region's urban reserves map.
The so-called Groveland Road area, which Hillsboro is requesting that Metro study, was added to the urban reserves just two months ago, as part of an agreement between Metro and Washington County to finalize the region's 50-year growth plan.
In 2010, Metro staff studied most of the area south of U.S. 26 for a possible urban growth boundary expansion. Then-Metro Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan recommended a 310-acre area near Meek Road for an urban growth boundary expansion in 2010; Willey said even more land is needed for industrial expansion.
Studies confirm "the Portland region needs a steady, development-ready large industrial site land supply of 1,200 acres to become and stay competitive with other US regions seeking to attract new anchor industries," Willey wrote.
But Amabisca said such comparisons may run counter to Oregon land use law.
"There's nothing in the rules that say you have to be competitive with Singapore or Austin or Seattle and the rest of the world," she said. "You have to have enough land to have balance in the rest of the region. That does not mean you have to offer huge land inventories of other cities five times your size."
Save Helvetia fought to keep any land north of U.S. 26 from being added into the urban reserves, which were designated in 2010. They were mostly successful, with just a sliver near the U.S. 26 interchange at Helvetia Road included in urban reserves.
But when the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission remanded some urban reserve designations elsewhere in Washington County, county and Metro officials began working on making up some of that lost urban reserve inventory; the 400 acres between Groveland and Helvetia roads, south of West Union Road and north of the Sunset Highway were added to the urban reserves.
Save Helvetia representatives have been adamant that urbanization north of U.S. 26 represents a threat to the rural lifestyle of the community nestled in the rolling hills of the northern Tualatin Valley.
Hillsboro planning director Pat Ribellia said the city was asking for a study now, as opposed to in five or 10 years, because the region needs large lots for industrial expansion. The Groveland area has five lots that are at least 40 acres.
"It's right next to the boundary and it's really close to the infrastructure services across the street," Ribellia said. In fact, he said, of Hillsboro's northern expansion areas for employment land, it would be the cheapest to develop.
But development could be difficult. Save Helvetia's package for Metro included a letter from property owner DeLoris Grossen, who owns more than a quarter of the Groveland area and said her family has been farming the land for a century.
"I remain opposed to any UGB expansion in this area," she wrote. "I do not want my properties to be annexed to the city of Hillsboro."
Annexations into the city of Hillsboro must be voluntary, so the city or developers would have to convince Grossen to develop for the area to be brought into Hillsboro's city limits.
Ribellia said Hillsboro's request to study the suitability of an area for an urban growth boundary expansion is not the same as requesting the land be added into the boundary this year, a point that was underlined in Willey's letter.
"Studying it and actually considering it for UGB expansion are two different things," Ribellia said. "Let's look at the study and look at it on the merits."
Also requesting a study for this year's urban growth boundary review was Tigard, which asked for nearly 400 acres to be studied, including 140 acres near the intersection of Roy Rogers and Scholls Ferry roads, and 255 acres near Bull Mountain. An e-mail to Tigard's planning department wasn't immediately returned.
Clackamas County requested that Metro begin studying parts of the Stafford area for inclusion of the urban growth boundary, but a letter from Clackamas County Chair Charlotte Lehan said "the county recognizes that such a study cannot be completed… for a staff recommendation on a reserves decision for 2011."
The Metro Council was set to discuss the requests for urban growth boundary expansion studies at its Tuesday afternoon work session.