Committee adopts amendment and advances Monmouth urban‑growth boundary bill to the floor

Chair Pham opened a work session on House Bill 26 47 a on May 14, 2025. Kya (committee staff) summarized the bill: it would allow the City of Monmouth to amend its urban growth boundary (UGB) by adding up to 75 acres and removing up to 90 acres under a specified statutory process; fiscal staff summarized the measure as having minimal fiscal impact and no revenue impact.

The committee considered a dash‑a5 amendment. Under the amendment the maximum area of flood hazard or wetland within the land to be added to the UGB would increase from 20% to 25% of the site and the amendment removed some previously proposed requirements that the city update its comprehensive plan and land‑use regulations to allow a minimum residential density of seven units per acre and that the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) must acknowledge the city’s amendments.

Vice Chair Anderson moved to adopt the dash‑a5 amendment; committee members raised concerns and questions but ultimately signaled comfort with a due‑process path. A brief exchange among senators noted this was an “unusual circumstance” that the state is stepping into, and several members said they supported a due‑pass recommendation while expressing discomfort with “one‑off” land‑use decisions. Senator Broadman, Senator Nash, Senator Patterson, Vice Chair Anderson and Chair Pham all recorded aye votes when the clerk called the roll and the motion to send the engrossed bill as amended to the floor with a due pass recommendation passed.

Sponsor duties were assigned when Senator Patterson agreed to carry the bill to the floor. Several senators said they would pursue longer‑term legislative work on land‑swap processes and similar UGB exceptions in the interim.