Planning commission recommends approval of Ordinance 908 to adopt Metro 2040 center boundaries; 7-0 vote

Suzanne Savin, senior planner in Washington County community planning, presented Ordinance 908 to the Washington County Planning Commission on Oct. 1, asking the commission to recommend that the Board of Commissioners adopt boundaries for three Metro 2040-designated centers and make a conforming policy change.

The ordinance would: adopt a specific Raleigh Hills Town Center boundary and a Sunset Town Center boundary that include both unincorporated county land and some city parcels; update the county’s portion of the Washington Square Regional Center boundary to match the boundary Tigard adopted in 2024 for the same area; and amend Comprehensive Framework Plan (CFP) policy 15 to remove implementing strategy j. Savin said the proposed deletion of implementing strategy j is to reflect that the county and adjacent cities already have the urban planning agreements the strategy once required.

Savin described coordination with neighboring cities during map development: the City of Portland asked removal of two properties that lie within Portland’s urban planning area; the City of Beaverton agreed that annexed city parcels should remain in the Raleigh Hills boundary and is preparing its own ordinance; and Tigard led a 2021–2024 process to update the Washington Square Regional Center boundary that county staff propose to match for the unincorporated area.

Savin also reported that Metro staff flagged legend and depiction inconsistencies for the Washington Square map and recommended that the county’s exhibit show only unincorporated-area extents (consistent with other CFP policy 40 maps). Staff recommended engrossment of the filed ordinance to remove depiction of city extents for Beaverton and Tigard as shown in Attachment A to the staff report.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about map accuracy and annexations. Commissioner Frey characterized the ordinance as a procedural compliance action that does not change land-use designations or infrastructure burdens and said any future changes affecting property or development would require separate public processes; Savin agreed: “We are simply adopting boundaries. We’re not making any other changes. And if there were any changes in the future to something like land use designations, for example, there would have to be a separate public process.”

No members of the public testified. After concluding deliberations, Vice Chair Monty Blanco moved to recommend approval of Ordinance 908 to the Board of Commissioners with engrossment to include the staff-proposed changes in Attachment A; Commissioner Just seconded. The roll-call vote was 7–0 in favor: Commissioners Frey, Just, Peterson, Whipps, Will, Vice Chair Monty Blanco and Chair Maury Bideaux voted yes; Commissioners Carlson and Rosenberry were not present for the vote. The commission recorded the motion as approved and will forward the recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.

Ending: Staff noted the ordinance is intended to meet Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rule timelines requiring jurisdictions in the Metro region to adopt defined center boundaries; adopting the boundaries does not itself change county or city land-use designations or infrastructure requirements but may affect future grant eligibility and transportation planning work.