On Real Estate & More – February 2021

Perhaps no state in our country is cited as often as Oregon in urban planning literature for its progressive transportation and land use policies and purported success in containing urban sprawl. One of the most significant parts of this effort is formation of Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs) around Oregon municipalities that define where urban development stops and where farm fields and forest begin.

Oregon’s rise to planning fame started in 1973, when Governor McCall convinced the Oregon Legislature to adopt the nation’s first set of land-use planning laws. McCall, with the help of a unique coalition of farmers and environmentalists, persuaded the legislature that the state’s natural beauty and easy access to nature would be lost in a rising tide of urban sprawl.

With the adoption of Senate Bill 100 in 1973, each city and county in Oregon was required to adopt and maintain comprehensive plans and land use regulations that meet state standards. The legislature delegated the authority to establish the state standards to the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission. This commission adopted standards called the Statewide Planning Goals.

Local regulations are found in the form of Comprehensive Plans and Development Ordinances. As a general rule, local regulations must be at least as restrictive as those of the state.

Oregon’s land-use planning laws require each town and city in Oregon to maintain a 20-year supply of residential, commercial, and industrial lands inside their UGBs. This ensures an orderly development pattern, working from the core out. Lands outside the boundary receive rural zoning types. However, these boundaries can be periodically extended outward in response to growth pressures, potentially reversing rural zoning in areas adjacent to existing UGBs.

The Rogue Valley faces many challenges in planning for growth as the Region’s population is expected to double by the year 2060. To attempt to address the region’s growth-related challenges and identify lands suitable for long-term urban growth needs, the cities of Central Point, Medford, Talent, Phoenix, Ashland, and Eagle Point (the City of Jacksonville did not take part as a Regional Problem Solving participant), as well as Jackson County and a number of State agencies engaged in a decade-plus-long effort to create a Greater Bear Creek Valley Regional Plan (Regional Plan). Lands that were selected for urban growth were designated as Urban Reserve Areas (URAs). The URAs will be those areas into which cities will eventually expand their UGBs and, ultimately, their city limits.

Oregon’s latest significant planning policy was the passage of House Bill (HB) 2001, which was adopted in 2019 and gained national attention as the first state in the nation to ban the century-old practice of reserving land for a single type of residential development. HB 2001 requires larger cities with populations over 25,000 to allow for middle housing—duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters, and townhouses—on land zoned for single family homes. The bill requires medium-sized cities with a population between 10,000-25,000 to allow for duplexes on single family lots. The law directed the state to develop a model housing ordinance and associated provisions to guide cities in implementation of local codes. Cities such as Ashland and Central Point must update their zoning codes or adopt the model code developed by the State by June 30, 2021 (June 30, 2022 for larger cities such as Medford). Check with the City Planning Departments if you have questions related to HB 2001.