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Metro Council addresses region's capacity for growth

Planning and conservation  ›  Regional planning and policy  ›  Urban growth boundary  ›  Capacity ordinance

In December 2010 the Metro Council adopted an ordinance that addresses the region's housing and employment needs through the year 2030.

Evaluating the capacity of the urban growth boundary

Oregon law requires the Metro Council to evaluate the capacity of the urban growth boundary every five years to accommodate population and employment growth that is forecast for our region for the next 20 years. That evaluation results in a document called the urban growth report. The most recent urban growth report was accepted by the Metro Council in December 2009.Learn more

The 2009 urban growth report indicated that the Metro Council needs to provide additional capacity within the urban growth boundary for new housing units and for lands that can support industrial employment on sites that are 50 acres or larger. To accommodate this additional need, the Metro Council must first consider whether the existing urban growth boundary can more efficiently contain future growth. The adopted capacity ordinance meets this obligation, accommodating more than half of the anticipated 20-year need for new residential capacity described in the 2009 urban growth report. Only after these efficiency measures are accounted for can the Metro Council consider expansions to the urban growth boundary.

Community Investment Strategy

In a report released on Aug. 10, 2010, Metro’s chief operating officer outlined a set of recommendations for the Metro Council, local governments, state government and residents to consider. The report, entitled “Community Investment Strategy: Building a Sustainable, Prosperous and Equitable Region,” called for a long-term integrated investment strategy that makes the most of existing public resources, provides for good jobs and protects farm and forestland. It also identified new efficiency measures that can accommodate more growth inside the existing urban growth boundary, and it provided the Metro Council with several options to consider if it chooses to expand the urban growth boundary. Learn more

Adopted capacity ordinance

Since the release of the Community Investment Strategy, members of the public, local governments and the Metro Policy Advisory Committee have provided comments and recommended changes to the proposed policy amendments (known as the “capacity ordinance”) that were included in the Aug. 10 report.

On Dec. 16, 2010, the Metro Council adopted various policy amendments contained in the overall capacity ordinance (Metro ordinance no. 10-1244B). These policy amendments strengthen protection of industrial land and increase focus on public investments that can serve growth in town and regional centers, employment areas and transportation corridors.

Read more about the adopted capacity ordinance

Capacity Ordinance and Findings

Metro adopted Ordinance 10-1244B on Dec. 16, 2010, and Ordinance 11-1252A on Jan. 13, 2011, as part of the Making a Great Place initiative. The adopted ordinances identify actions that address at least half of the housing needs identified in the 2009 Urban Growth Report, state an intent to add large-lot industrial capacity in 2011, amend the Regional Framework Plan which states Metro Council policies, and amend Metro Code (Urban Growth Management Functional Plan) Chapter 3.07 to implement regional policy.

Metro submitted material to the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission on March 24, 2011. The commission will review the material in the coming months and may formally acknowledge the ordinance when it also reviews the Metro Council’s October 2011 decision to make adjustments to the urban growth boundary.

Learn more about the Land Conservation and Development Commission's review of the capacity ordinance

Download the adopted capacity ordinance

• Metro ordinance no. 11-1252A, adopted Jan. 13, 2011 (33 pages) 1.8M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published January 13, 2011
• Metro ordinance no. 10-1244B, adopted Dec. 16, 2010 (212 pages) 17.8M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published December 16, 2010
• Metro COO memo on amendments to the Employment and Industrial Areas Map 86K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published January 28, 2011