Wednesday night's meeting of the Metro Policy Advisory Committee was supposed to resemble a game of musical chairs – slowly, candidate areas for a planned urban growth boundary expansion would be whittled down.
After all, the Metro Council doesn't seem inclined to add more than about 1,500 acres of new residential land to the UGB this year, and must soon send out notices to homes within a mile of any proposed boundary expansion areas – at a cost of 70 cents per notice.
But the committee didn't take away chairs from the party. Instead, it added seats at the table.
MPAC voted 15-1 Wednesday to recommend that the Metro Council consider more than 2,600 acres for an urban growth boundary expansion. The Metro Council is scheduled to vote on the urban growth boundary adjustment this October.
The committee wasn't saying the Metro Council necessarily should expand the boundary into all 2,600 of those acres. In fact, MPAC Chair Charlotte Lehan lamented the lopsided nature of the expansion proposals, nearly all of which were in Washington County. Lehan voted to support the large recommendation, but only because the meeting was running past its scheduled 7 p.m. end time, a time when committee members have a tendency to head home, jeopardizing quorum.
But because of the large consideration area approved by committee members, Metro estimates close to 40,000 homes will receive notices that the urban growth boundary could be expanded in their vicinity. MPAC's recommendation has not yet been adopted by the Metro Council.
Based on the rough estimates of Metro staff, the additional notices will cost the agency more than $15,000.
Where will the notices be going?
In addition to the 1,500 acres already eyed by the Metro Council, MPAC voted to recommend review of 256 acres west of Tigard, 276 acres west of Sherwood, 316 acres near Wilsonville and 272 acres south and east of Cornelius.
The sudden influx of seating in the game of UGB musical chairs doesn't mean everyone is going to end up with a place to sit. MPAC, ultimately, will have to decide which areas to recommend for addition to the urban growth boundary, a decision the committee is expected to make in two weeks. Ultimately, the Metro Council will probably start taking chairs away.
MPAC already whittled down its recommendations for an industrial urban growth boundary expansion, telling the Metro Council it should add about 500 acres to the boundary for employment land. The committee voted in August to suggest adding land north of Hillsboro.
On Wednesday night, MPAC voted to recommend the addition of about 100 acres north of Hillsboro; representatives from Multnomah County, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Portland and Gresham, as well as the citizens' representative from Washington County, voted to oppose the expansion.
The committee also recommended approval of a 117-acre industrial expansion southeast of Tualatin. Representatives from Multnomah County, Oregon City, West Linn and Gresham, and the Multnomah County citizens' representative voted to oppose that request.