Today Metro Council President Tom Hughes and Washington County Chair Andy Duyck released a new urban and rural reserves proposal for Washington County that responds to the direction provided by the Land Conservation and Development Commission in October.
The proposed reserves map removes an urban reserve north of Cornelius that was rejected by LCDC last October. It also modifies an urban reserve north of Forest Grove to address concerns raised by LCDC, and it adds to an existing urban reserve north of Highway 26. It also creates new undesignated land in a previous rural reserve south of Hillsboro.
In total, the proposed map includes 151,574 acres of rural reserves and 13,817 acres of urban reserves in Washington County, an increase of 38 acres of rural reserves and a decrease of 67 acres of urban reserves from the proposal submitted to LCDC last year.
“Our first commitment is always to the people of our region and their desire to provide long-term protection for valuable farm and forestlands, while also providing land for good jobs and homes now and in the future,” said Duyck and Hughes in a joint statement. “Equally important, we believe this proposal thoroughly addresses all of the concerns raised by the Commission while providing certainty to farmers, businesses and working families.”
A public hearing on the new urban and rural reserves proposal will be held March 15 in Hillsboro.