Scappoose advisory committee debates rezoning 51 acres as part of 50‑year plan

The Scappoose Stakeholder Advisory Committee on May 19, 2025 reviewed a proposal to rezone about 51 acres from industrial to expanded commercial as part of the city’s draft 50‑year plan and an associated Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion.

The rezoning is part of a broader proposal that staff said would add roughly 43 acres to the UGB and designate about 314 acres as urban reserves. Laurie (city staff) told the committee the city’s analysis shows a continuing surplus of industrial land — roughly 140 acres even after the proposed rezones — and that the rezoning is intended to address a shortfall of commercially zoned land in the planning horizon.

Why it matters: The choice to concentrate a large block of commercial zoning on two parcels north of Crown Zellerbach Road would shape where future employers, retailers and potentially housing locate in Scappoose, affecting traffic on U.S. 30, city tax revenues and public‑safety service needs.

Staff presentation and technical findings Laurie, the city’s project lead, summarized three years of work that began in 2022 and included a housing needs analysis, an economic opportunities analysis (EOA), development‑code updates and a transportation planning rule (TPR) analysis. Laurie said code edits to Chapter 17.74 (the airport employment overlay) are mostly wording updates but would reduce the minimum site size in the…