McMinnville starts land‑use efficiency review as state deadlines approach

McMINNVILLE, Ore. — City staff and consultants briefed the McMinnville City Council and Planning Commission on the second step of the city’s sequential urban growth boundary (UGB) process and the land‑use efficiency measures the city could adopt to help meet state growth requirements.

The presentation, led by Heather Richards, McMinnville’s community development director, outlined a compressed timetable set by the state and the city’s internal schedule for completing land‑use efficiency work and, if needed, a UGB amendment. Richards said the housing production strategy is due under a grant by June 30, 2025, the city is aiming to complete the land‑use efficiencies by September 2025, and that a formal public‑hearing process on any UGB amendment could begin January 1, 2026. She told the council the work is being done under a sequential UGB work plan and noted the city’s housing needs analysis was remanded on parkland earlier in the review process.

Why it matters: The state requires cities in the UGB amendment sequence to show how they will meet projected housing, employment and public‑land needs. McMinnville’s recent analyses identified a residential land deficit and smaller deficits for industrial and commercial land; staff said some acres previously assigned to parkland have been reallocated and that the city currently shows a surplus of 44 acres of public or institutional land that can be reassigned.

“What you’re going to find is we’ll give you a list of different efficiencies to consider and evaluate. You do not have to do all those land‑use efficiencies. You can decide what’s best for McMinnville,”…