Area 93 update, April 2 meeting

Updated 3/9/13

Area 93, a relatively small parcel (160 acres) of land that was added to the Urban Growth Boundary by Metro in 2002, may become part of Washington County as a result of an effort now underway (see article in the February issue).

On April 2, Washington County Board Chair Andy Duyck and our County Commissioner Greg Malinowski will visit Citizens’ Participation Organization #1 to provide an update on the process. CPO 1 meets every month on the second Tuesday, 7 pm at the Leedy Grange Hall, 835 NW Saltzman.

Duyck and Malinowski attended a meeting on February 12 with Area 93 landowners to provide a status update on the potential boundary change. State Senator Johnson, Representative Witt, Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith, and staff from both counties and Metro also attended.

Area 93 map, from the county's website

Washington County has launched an Area 93 page on the Land Use & Transportation website at www.co.washington.or.us/area93. LUT staff will continue to add content to this page over time, beginning with additional information in response to questions raised by the property owners.

State Representative Mitch Greenlick introduced HB 2347, a simple bill calling for the county-line boundary change, early in the 2013 legislative session. The counties and Metro are backing a different bill, House Bill 3067, sponsored by Representative Tobias Read and Senator Betsey Johnson, which sets up conditions for the transfer. Greenlick’s office says he has “no opinion on that bill. Our office is not involved in the issue anymore, as it is not our district and now not our bill.”

On March 7, 2013, the House Committee on Land Use voted unanimously to move House Bill 3067 to the House floor with a “Do Pass” recommendation. The bill is expected to be scheduled on the House floor during the week of March 11. As additional information is available, it will be posted on the county web page.

HB 3067 states, “... neither Multnomah County nor the City of Portland can effectively deliver urban services within “Area 93.” This situation is without precedent and is unlikely to be repeated.”

The bill would create a working group comprised of two members of the governing bodies of each county “to meet for the purpose of establishing the terms of a plan for the transfer of “Area 93,” including “the assumption of liabilities and the division of assets made necessary by the proposed transfer of territory” and a schedule for the transfer of records and assets.

Once the working group generates a plan, a majority vote of both bodies must approve the agreement on or before January 1, 2014. The governor would then issue a proclamation changing the county line.

The earliest that any development could occur would be 2016 or 2017. Following the transfer, if it is approved, citizen input will be sought over a one-to-three-year period, in a process similiar to that used for the North Bethany and Bull Mountain expansion areas. Developers will then submit applications, and county planners will attach necessary conditions of approval that will include building roads and other infrastructure.

Chair Duyck and Commissioner Malinowski have repeated their pledge to make the transfer and subsequent development as close as possible to “revenue-neutral” for Washington County taxpayers. They want to see those who benefit most from the transfer—landowners, developers and eventual home buyers, to pay for the cost of planning, road and other infrastructure involved in development.

Duyck has pointed out that the area will undoubtedly be developed at some point, and that most of the burden of that would fall on Washington County, so at least this solution will allow the county to reap the property taxes. “Moving the county line will allow us to control our own destiny,” he said.

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