Planning for industrial land

Planning and conservation › Land and development › Urban growth boundary › Industrial land

Learn how the Metro Council ensures a 20-year supply of industrial land as it plans the urban growth boundary.

Under state law, Metro is required to provide a 20-year supply of land within the urban growth boundary for residential, commercial and industrial uses. The supply is reviewed every five years. The most recent review was completed in 2002, when the Metro Council forecast a need for an additional 38,700 residential units, 140 acres of commercial land and 4,285 acres of industrial land.

In December 2002, the Metro Council added 18,638 acres of land to the urban growth boundary. This expansion satisfied the need for residential and commercial land and a portion of the need for industrial land. However, projections showed that a shortfall of an estimated 3,000 acres remained. Metro was required to provide for that shortage by June 30, 2004.

Action to address this shortfall was taken at the Metro Council meeting on June 24, 2004, when 1,956 acres were added to the boundary. Metro was able to reduce the need for expansion by including land already inside the UGB but not yet zoned as industrial, and by recalculating the efficiency with which land within the boundary is redeveloped for industrial use.

On July 22, 2005, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) approved most of this decision, but remanded (sent back) part of the decision to Metro with instructions to consider further expansion of the boundary for industrial use. To address the LCDC remand, the Metro Council approved the inclusion of 345 acres in the Evergreen Study Area near Hillsboro, and land north of Cornelius.

Activity timeline

On July 10, 2003, the Metro Council directed staff to begin a study of land located outside the UGB to determine if it was suitable for industrial use. The study included a total of approximately 68,000 acres of land, which included the remaining 59,000 acres from the 2002 Alternatives Analysis study plus an additional 9,000 acres.
In December 2003, the Metro Council voted to reduce the number of acres being studied to 28,331 acres. Lands were evaluated on such factors as slope; whether acreage was located in a floodplain; proximity to the urban growth boundary; proximity to other industrial uses and access to a road or freeway interchange.
On April 15, 2004, Metro’s chief operating officer released his recommendation on which of the 28,331 acres should be added to the urban growth boundary for industrial jobs. Approximately 3,100 acres were identified for inclusion in the boundary.
On June 24, 2004, after identifying additional available lands within the existing UGB and taking other efficiency measures, the Metro Council took final action and brought 1,956 acres into the boundary for industrial purposes.
Following the Metro Council’s action, 11 local governments, organizations and persons filed “objections” with LCDC, contending that Metro’s UGB expansion violated state land use laws. LCDC held a public hearing on Nov. 3, 2004 to consider Metro’s UGB decision.
On July 22, 2005, LCDC issued a partial approval and remand order that approved most of Metro’s UGB expansion but sent back part of the decision to Metro for consideration of additional expansion of the boundary. Specifically, in addition to other technical elements of the order, LCDC approved the inclusion of industrial land in the areas known as Damascus West, Beavercreek (south of Oregon City), Quarry (between Tualatin and Sherwood), Coffee Creek (west of Wilsonville), Tualatin (between Tualatin and Wilsonville) and Helvetia (north of Hillsboro). In remanding part of the decision, LCDC said additional acreage is needed, in part to compensate for the amount of lands that will be taken up by roads and other infrastructure.
On November 10 and 17, 2005, the Metro Council held public hearings to consider further expansion of the UGB in response to the LCDC remand. On November 17, the Metro Council voted to include the Evergreen site (near Hillsboro) and land north of Cornelius as industrial land in response to the LCDC remand.
As of January 25, 2006 Metro and LCDC have received eight objections to the 2005 UGB amendment decision. LCDC will consider those objections in late March 2006.

Criteria for analysis

Metro analyzed potential industrial land based on certain suitability factors. Interviews with industry professionals specializing in industrial land acquisition, site development and facility management helped Metro identify three primary suitability factors:

access to transportation facilities (within two miles of a major interchange)
proximity to other industrial uses (within one mile)
less than ten percent slope

To further refine the study and ensure the feasibility of the land under consideration, Metro added two suitability factors:

sites primarily comprised of five acres or less were excluded
sites less than 300 acres and not next to the UGB, an industrial or employment area were excluded

In making a final decision on whether or not an area is suitable for industrial use, the Metro Council considers additional factors including the ability to provide public facilities such as sewer and water, impacts on agriculture and natural resources, and compatibility with nearby uses.

A copy of the full 26-29 Technical Report is available on Metro’s web site.

State approval process

According to state law, Metro’s boundary expansion cannot go into effect until the Land Conservation and Development Commission reviews and acknowledges Metro’s decision and until both agencies’ actions have passed legal challenges.

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Planning for industrial land

Activity timeline

Criteria for analysis

State approval process

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