Area 93:
Urban Growth expansion on Cedar
Mill’s northeast margin
By Virginia Bruce
 In 2002 Metro, our regional agency responsible for setting
the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), added a 159 acres of land adjacent
to Bonny Slope, but just over the Multnomah County line, into the “urban” area
(see map). It was among 20 parcels added in the unprecedented
18,867-acre expansion.
The land cannot be developed until it has been “planned,” meaning
that the governmental agencies that will eventually serve the new
urban area have to decide on questions such as placement of land
uses, transportation routes, provision of infrastructure (sewer, power, water
etc.) and more.
Planning for this parcel is problematic, however, because Multnomah
County has adopted a policy of staying out of “urban” planning;
they deal mainly with the rural/agricultural areas of unincorporated
Multnomah County. This area is not adjacent to Portland city limits either,
so the City of Portland isn’t responsible for it. And although sewers,
schools, and most of the roads will come from Washington County providers,
it’s
not in Washington County either.
Property owners and developers are
anxious to see the planning process get underway, so they can sell or
develop their property, or at least plan for their future. However,
it’s not
likely that anything will happen soon. Ray Valone, Metro’s Principal
Regional Planner, explains it this way. “Area 93 is just one of the
pieces of a larger puzzle. This area, along with land outside the UGB to the
north and northwest, needs to be studied as a whole. It just doesn’t
make sense to plan Area 93 in isolation.”
The New Look
Metro has initiated a study they call the “New Look at
Regional Choices” to
get a better idea of the future of the entire region. One part
of the study, often referred to as the “Ag-Urban study,” will
answer questions such as, ‘What is the proper relationship of agricultural,
urban and natural resource lands in this area? Which agencies will
provide services to the area? Where should the roads go?”
The New Look
will also consider the 800-acre North Bethany area, another 2002
UGB expansion that Washington County is just beginning to do the
planning for. This New Look study will help inform Metro for its next review
and possible further expansion of the UGB in 2007/2008. Sometimes referred
to as Big Bethany, this could include everything from the Washington County
line all the way up to Forest Park.
“We should be getting good information
from the New Look by the end of summer or the fall,” says Valone. “The
study will be completed by the end of the year.“ In the meantime, Metro
is working to coordinate the planning approach for this Big Bethany
area on an inter-staff level, bringing together key players from the responsible
entities including Washington and Multnomah counties and the City
of Portland. “We
are trying to get together a few people to hammer out the roles and
responsibilities as well as a timeline for this planning,” Valone says.
For
more information on the UGB: www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleID=277.
For more information on the New Look study: www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleid=16386
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