By Sam Diaz | 5-minute read
An unprecedented use of a governor’s executive authority is in the works to expand an Oregon urban growth boundary, bypassing normal processes that safeguard Oregon’s lands and land use system.
This controversial move, allowed under last year’s Senate Bill 4, is not guaranteed, but Oregonians’ only opportunity to influence this decision will be a public hearing on October 10. You can also use our quick pre-filled form to send in your comments to Governor Kotek now.
A possible SB 4 use announced by Governor Tina Kotek
Right now, Governor Tina Kotek is proposing her first use of this executive authority to expand 373 acres north of Hillsboro. The land borders US-Hwy 26 and is home to some of the world’s most fertile soils.
SB 4 is Oregon’s mechanism to take advantage of the federal 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which offers $280 billion in federal dollars to sway private semiconductor chip companies to bring some of their facilities and jobs inside America’s borders. Among other functions, Oregon’s SB 4 allows the governor a one-time UGB expansion via executive order only after exhausting all other facility-placement options inside existing boundaries.
Governor Kotek has announced a public meeting for October 10, from 6:00-9:00 p.m., at the Hillsboro Civic Center and over Zoom to hear public testimony on bringing these 373 acres, which are currently zoned as exclusive farm use, into the city of Hillsboro.
Why we oppose the 373-acre expansion
We have a talented, hardworking workforce across the state, competing in the global tech economy. Oregon deserves an approach that builds a strong economy for everyone – across all parts of the state. This 373-acre expansion threatens our ability to deliver this promise for all Oregonians.
We have some of the world’s most fertile soils, thanks in part to the Missoula floods but also thanks to the incredible stewardship of our lands. This 373-acre expansion threatens the livelihoods of our farmers and farmworkers by converting farmland to industrial use. It also takes away the ability of future farmers – who we know are more racially and economically diverse – to steward this land, provide for themselves and their families, and help feed our communities.
This choice to sprawl will add more pollution to the air we breathe and the water we drink, and add to our greenhouse-gas emissions as the state fails to hit critical reduction targets.
We owe it to Oregon cities and towns to fix our crumbling infrastructure and catch up on our backlog of maintenance by investing within our UGBs. This 373-acre expansion slows down our progress by choosing to pave over our farmland with precious, limited infrastructure dollars instead of revitalizing the thousands of acres of existing vacant industrial lands and converting empty buildings. (Did we mention we’re at 23 percent vacancy rate in the greater metro region alone?)
We need to protect the health, well-being, and livelihoods of our future generations. This 373-acre expansion is nowhere near mass-transit options, active transportation routes, or diverse housing choices, especially compared to areas within our existing UGBs. It is safe to assume this choice to sprawl will add more pollution to the air we breathe and the water we drink, and add to our greenhouse-gas emissions as the state fails to hit critical reduction targets. We also lose the ability for our farmers and farmworkers to capture and store carbon and clean and protect our water as they steward the land.
What does Oregon’s Senate Bill 4 say?
The final version of SB 4 does not automatically carve away our natural and working lands for sprawling urbanized uses. Instead, SB 4 grants the Oregon governor one-time authority to expand urban growth boundaries.
The final form of SB 4 was shaped as 1000 Friends of Oregon, along with thousands of Oregonians, refused to pit tech against other important pillars of our economy (agriculture, forestry, and tourism). We focused on protecting our farms, forests, and watersheds and the stewardship of these areas that bring environmental, economic, and cultural benefits to Oregon. Partly in response, certain legislators pushed for a compromise, leading to the bill we have now.
The final version of SB 4 does not automatically carve away our natural and working lands for sprawling urbanized uses.
As is, SB 4 requires the governor to meet certain conditions in order to make urban growth boundary expansions outside of the regular process. Two of these conditions:
- The expansion authority must be a tool of last resort. This means all other site options inside existing urban growth boundaries must have been exhausted. The governor’s office is responsible for making this determination (but we have to help them know about all of their options because we do not have a statewide inventory of available industrial lands).
- The land in the expansion must be part of a successful award of federal funding from the CHIPS and Science Act. As of October 7, 2024, there has been no information about whether any private company has applied for this particular federal funding opportunity (and we’ve submitted public records requests). After all, we don’t want to give away our amazing farmland and take away the livelihoods of our farmers and farmworkers without creating high-quality jobs and securing federal funds.
Raise your voice directly to the governor
In-person in Hillsboro on October 10
Join us at the hearing and follow the instructions for in-person testimony. The hearing starts at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 10, at the Hillsboro Civic Center. You can sign up to testify starting at 5:30 that day. If you want to submit written comments, bring a separate copy to hand in (you can also submit comments now).
Virtually
Register to speak by contacting Sarah Means at sarah.means@oregon.gov before noon on Thursday, October 10. Provide your name, phone number, address, email, and position (support, oppose, or neutral). After registering, follow their instructions for virtual testimony.
In writing now
Can’t make the hearing? Submit comments now using our easy online form that’s pre-filled (and editable) with talking points. And feel free to share this form with anyone you think would want to speak up too!