Metro Council Mulling Industrial Additions to UGB

PORTLAND-Over the next few months, the Metro Council will hold a series of public meetings about bringing an additional 1,600 acres of industrial land inside the Urban Growth Boundary. A final vote is scheduled for June 24.The council voted in December 2002 to bring about 2,317 acres of industrial land inside the UGB, which encloses Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. Albeit a significant number, it was still about 2,000 acres below the region’s projected 20-year need. The proposed 2003 expansion would in large part remedy that deficiency.The council hearings will focus on the land recommended for inclusion by Metro chief operating officer Michael Jordan. Jordan’s proposal calls for adding industrial land in nine areas. The list was culled from 28,000 acres of potential industrial land.The proposed additions include: 460 acres north and east of Wilsonville, on the Washington-Clackamas County line; 339 acres west of Interstate 5 in Tualatin, on both sides of Boones Ferry Road; 236 acres in the Sherwood area, on the south side of Tualatin-Sherwood Road; 164 acres between Interstate 205 and the Tualatin River, near Borland Road North; 149 acres north of US Highway 26 in Helvetia; 97 acres near the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, west of Wilsonville; and 91 acres in Cornelius near Oregon Highway 8; 69 acres west of Damascus; and, 30 acres south and east of Oregon City, near Beavercreek.About 70% of the land proposed for inclusion in the UGB is expected to accommodate warehouse and distribution space. As such, the properties generally have a slope of less than 10%, are located within two minutes of a major freeway and are close to other industrial uses.