Board of County Commissioners

Coordinating Committee Agenda

Urban and Rural Reserves in Clackamas County SB 1011 Rulemaking Update

Prepared by

 

Planning Division

Department of Transportation & Development

Clackamas County

August 2007

Background

Under Oregon law, each city or metropolitan area in the state is required to have an urban growth boundary (UGB) that is large enough to accommodate 20 years of population and employment growth.    The UGB is the separation between urban and rural land uses and is one of the tools used in Oregon to protect farms and forests from urban sprawl.  The UGB around the Portland metropolitan area is delineated and managed by Metro, the area’s regional governing body.

Every five to seven years, state law requires that local governments review and expand, if necessary, their urban growth boundaries.  The current UGB around the Portland metropolitan area is intended to accommodate growth through 2022.  When last reviewed in 2002, over 18,000 acres were added to the UGB, the vast majority of which were in Clackamas County, and more specifically, Damascus.  The next potential expansion will occur in 2009, when Metro will look at projected population and employment growth and the capacity of the UGB through 2029.  

In an effort to create more long-term certainty for lands just outside the UGB, the state legislature approved Senate Bill SB 1011 in July 2007.  The Bill authorizes counties and metropolitan service districts to create a process for designating rural reserves and modifies the process for designating urban reserves.   SB 1011 also directs the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to adopt administrative rules by January 2008, which will determine the process and criteria to be followed when designating the urban and rural reserve areas.

SB 1011 was developed after a year of work by policy-makers in the region, including efforts by Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah Counties and Metro.  Characteristics of other great communities were examined.  Officials of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, working in concert with representatives of the local soil and water conservation agencies, developed a detailed assessment of the agriculture industry. Experts on significant natural features worked to identify major natural features that are important in shaping the character of the area.  All of this information formed the basis for SB 1011.

SB 1011 defines urban reserves as lands outside an urban growth boundary that will provide for future expansion over a long-term period and the cost-effective provision of public facilities and services within the area when the lands are included within the urban growth boundary. 

Urban reserve areas are intended to have the capacity to accommodate growth for a 40- to 50-year horizon).  Areas designated as urban reserves would be considered first when additional land needs to be brought into the UGB for residential, commercial and industrial development or other urban needs.   

SB 1011 defines rural reserves as land reserved to provide long-term protection for agriculture, forestry or important natural landscape features that limit urban development or help define appropriate natural boundaries of urbanization, including plant, fish and wildlife habitat, steep slopes and floodplains.  Rural reserves would be protected from urbanization for the same 40- to 50-year period.   There will be no additional restrictions on the use of property resulting from the designation as a rural reserve.

Process

Ultimately, urban reserves will be designated by Metro and rural reserves will be designated by the individual counties.  Neither rural nor urban reserves can be established under SB 1011 in this region, however, unless Metro and each county enter into an agreement about both.

It is important to note that not all lands outside the UGB will be designated as either an urban or rural reserve.  These designations are intended for lands adjacent to or near the UGB that may feel development pressure as the region continues to grow.

General steps in the process and initial timelines follow:

• The first step in the process will be for Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) to create the administrative rules (OARs) that each jurisdiction will need to follow when determining urban and rural reserves.   The OARs are expected to be complete by January 2008.
• At the same time, County staff will create a work program to identify priorities and evaluation criteria for areas in Clackamas County to be designated as urban or rural reserves.   This work program will be approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and should be ready to implement by the time the OARs are complete in early 2008. The County’s work will involve opportunity for public input and coordination with the cities within the county.  Recommendations will be presented to Metro (urban reserves) and to the BCC (rural reserves) for approval.  These tasks are slated to be complete by the end of 2008.
• The final step for the County will be to amend the Comprehensive Plan and Map and Zoning and Development Ordinance (ZDO) to be consistent with the approved designations.  This task will likely be completed in 2009.

Priorities

Urban and rural reserve designations will be based on:

• Factors outlined in the  OARs that will be developed by LCDC;
• Factors identified in SB 1011;
• Priorities and evaluation criteria identified by the County; and
• Priorities and evaluation criteria identified by Metro.

Priorities for designating land as an urban reserve may include, but are not limited to, its ability to:

• Support urban densities and good urban form;
• Make efficient use of existing and future public infrastructure investments;
• Be served by public schools and other urban-level public facilities;
• Provide for a range of housing types; and
• Be developed to support a healthy urban economy.

Rural reserves would consist of land that is critical to the agricultural economy or to the protection of important natural resources, including water quality and wildlife habitat. 

SB 1011 indicates that land designated as a rural reserve:

• Must be outside an urban growth boundary.
• May not be designated as an urban reserve during the [40-50 year period] urban reserve planning period.
• May not be included within an urban growth boundary during the period of time.
• Be situated in an area that is otherwise potentially subject to urbanization during the [40-50 year period], as indicated by proximity to the urban growth boundary and to properties with fair market values that significantly exceed agricultural values.

Factors for consideration for designating land as a rural reserve may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The ability to sustain long-term agricultural operations, including whether the area has suitable soils and available water, where needed;
• Whether the area is within a large block of agricultural or other resource land with a concentration or cluster of farms;
• The adjacent land use pattern, including non-farm uses and the existence of buffers between agricultural operations and nonfarm uses;
• The agricultural land use pattern, including parcelization, tenure and ownership patterns;
• Maintaining the separation between the metro urban area and outlying cities; and
• Maintaining wildlife habitats and other natural resource areas – wetlands, rivers/streams, floodplains, etc.

For more information about urban and rural reserves, SB 1011, and the process by which SB 1011 will be implemented, please contact: Doug McClain at (503) 353-4502 or dougm@co.clackamas.or.us

Reserved for Future Sections

This white paper will be updated throughout the urban and rural reserves designation process.  Future sections may include a summary of completed background studies and reports, announcements of public meetings, decisions to include links to maps that display proposed and/or adopted urban and rural reserves and electronic surveys and bulletin board for posting public comments and recommendations.