On Wednesday evening, a committee of regional leaders will discuss recommendations of its own subcommittee tasked with evaluating how the region can best provide sites of 50 acres or larger to support industrial jobs now and for the next 20 years.
In 2009, Metro issued an Urban Growth Report that evaluated whether there was enough capacity in the existing urban growth boundary to meet the needs of population and employment growth that is forecast for the next 20 years. The report determined there is a need to provide between 200 and 1,500 additional acres of large-lot (sites of 50 acres or more) industrial land to support expected growth in manufacturing and other employment sectors.
The Metro Policy Advisory Committee appointed a subcommittee of local elected officials and economic development officials to make recommendations to the Metro Council on how best to address the anticipated demand for large-lot employment sites within the urban growth boundary. Among the recommendations are the prioritization of cleaning brownfield sites to make better use of industrial land already inside the UGB and the creation of a "metering" system whereby new large-lot industrial sites could be made available as others are developed.
MPAC will discuss the subcommittee's recommendations at its meeting on Wednesday, May 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the council chamber at Metro Regional Center. The recommendations will inform decisions by the Metro Council to be made later this year on whether and if so, how to expand the UGB.