Planning and conservation › Land and development › Urban and rural reserves › County proposals
What makes a piece of ground suitable for urban development? What keeps working farms or forests in business? Which rivers, wetlands and buttes define our region? Learn which lands each county has determined are suitable for urban and rural reserves.
A regional map showing the reserves recommendations from Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties is now available. Download (1.7M PDF)
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Clackamas County suitability proposal
Multnomah County suitability proposal
Washington County suitability proposal
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A suitability analysis is a study of land to determine how it can be used. Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties have each conducted extensive suitability analyses of their respective lands that are outside the current metro area urban growth boundary to decide which should be considered for designation as either an urban or rural reserve.
In designating reserves, the three counties and Metro must base their decisions on a set of prescribed factors. The factors were set out in the legislation that created the reserves process. They are common sense criteria for determining the suitability of land for one use or another.
For urban reserves, the land must be suitable for building a city. It must have enough capacity to support a healthy local economy, provide a range of housing and employment and support enough density to make efficient use of infrastructure. It must have connections to existing and future roads, sewer service and water; and it must have a local provider of these services along with parks and schools.
For rural reserves, the area must be subject to urbanization (and thus warrant protection) and must be capable of sustaining long-term agricultural or forestry operations or must include significant natural features like wetlands, rivers, or buttes.
Each of the three counties considered lands within the 400,000-acre study area surrounding the current urban growth boundary. Each worked with their county reserves advisory committee and with technical experts from across the region. They consulted maps of natural features, a regional assessment of current agriculture and wildland forests and a study of the attributes of great communities. They considered current aerial photos, zoning, water and sewer serviceability and transportation concerns. They also brought in local experts on economic development, heard public testimony, applied their own knowledge of the land and considered the future plans of the cities located within their boundaries. Review the technical materials
Urban and rural reserves will be determined based on factors that focus on the land's suitability for urban or rural uses. These factors were defined in Senate Bill 1011, the legislation that created the reserves designation process.
Marcia Sinclair
503-797-1814
reserves@oregonmetro.gov
To view PDF files, download free Adobe Reader. To translate PDF files into text to assist visually-impaired users, visit Access.Adobe.com.
Download technical materials submitted by members of the Core 4 technical team to the Reserves Steering Committee.
Download reference materials presented at steering committee meetings.
The Metro Council is working with local leaders and people throughout the region to create sustainable and prosperous communities for present and future generations. Learn about key decisions that will be made in 2009 and 2010.
Find out more about the 27 target areas where Metro is acquiring natural areas and trails to safeguard water quality, protect fish and wildlife habitat, and ensure access to nature for future generations.