At its September 18, 2023, meeting, the North Plains City Council adopted an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Expansion area including a full UGB Expansion Report and a Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) recommended by both the North Plains UGB Advisory Committee and the City Planning Commission.

In August and early September 2023, the Planning Commission and City Council held additional public hearings to add supplementary findings that provide additional context to the UGB Expansion report and HNA.

Next Steps

The approved UGB expansion was presented to the Washington County Board of Commissioners in a work session on September 19, and will go to the Washington County Planning Commission and then the Washington County Board of Commissioners for approval over the next several months. It will also go to the State of Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) with the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) for review.

Concept planning for the expansion area is expected to begin in November 2023, funded by a grant from the Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program (TGM), a joint program of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). This planning process will ensure that we have a good balance of housing and economic development, proper zoning, road and street connections, water delivery, parks, and trails consistent with the land needs identified in the UGB expansion process. The City will promote a variety of in-person and online opportunities for community input and will continue communications with affected landowners through this process. For more on concept planning, see the "North Plains Awarded State Grant for UGB Expansion Area Concept Planning" news article here.

North Plains is the fastest-growing city in the Portland area, and the PSU Population Research Center, the state-recognized population forecaster, predicts that North Plains will grow from the current 3,410 residents to 7,076 by 2040. All Oregon cities are required by state law to plan for and accommodate a 20-year supply of land for predicted population growth.

For more details on the UGB expansion study process and next steps, visit www.northplains.org/UGB.