Washington County planners briefed on Metros 2024 urban growth management decision and conditional Sherwood West expansion

At its Jan. 15 meeting, the Washington County Planning Commission heard a presentation from Todd Borkiewicz, senior planner in community planning for the Department of Land Use and Transportation, on urban growth boundaries and Metros 2024 urban growth management decision, including a conditional expansion of the Metro urban growth boundary for the Sherwood West Urban Reserve Area.

The presentation outlined Metros regional findings that the Portland region is projected to add about 315,000 residents over the next 20 years and will need additional housing and employment land to meet forecasted demand. "Metro approved a conditional UGB expansion for Sherwood West, the Sherwood West Urban Reserve Area, to accommodate the housing and employment needs for the next 20 years," Borkiewicz said during the presentation.

Why it matters: Metros decision affects how and where the region can site housing and large industrial parcels sought by high-tech manufacturers. The countys planning processes and any local ordinance to apply urban zoning to the area will be held until state review and any appeals are exhausted, delaying annexation and development until those processes are resolved.

Key details from the presentation: - Metro's 2024 assessment estimates about 315,000 additional people and roughly 82,000 jobs in the Metro urban growth boundary over 20 years. Metros analysis translated those forecasts into a need for middle-housing types and a reported need for approximately 3,100 middle and attached housing units and roughly 320 buildable acres for commercial and industrial uses. Borkiewicz attributed these figures to Metro's analysis. - Sherwood submitted the sole regional letter of interest for this cycle, proposing a mixed-use plan on about 1,291 acres in the Sherwood West Urban Reserve Area. Sherwood's proposal included an infrastructure funding strategy, habitat and open-space protection measures, and a housing plan the staff described as between 3,005 and 3,582 homes, plus two industrial sites of 250+ acres. - Metro approved the Sherwood West expansion conditionally on Dec. 5, 2024, with conditions that include developing new strategies and incentives for affordable housing (including exploring regulated affordable housing in specific areas), protecting habitat by updating fish and wildlife inventories, and completing Sherwoods comprehensive planning within four years to achieve an average residential density of at least 9.2 units per acre. - The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) received multiple objections to the Sherwood West action before DLCD's Jan. 9 deadline. The DLCD director has until April 18 to act on the Metro decision; the director could approve, remand, or refer the matter to the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). Borkiewicz said the county will not file its typical ordinance to transfer the Sherwood West area to urban FD-20 designation until appeals are resolved.

Commission questions and discussion focused on differences between Metro-managed expansions and city-led or county-involved processes, the concept-plan requirement Metro now emphasizes to show infrastructure and "land readiness," and public engagement. Commissioner Monty Blanco asked how residents learn about UGB processes and "whose responsibility is it to make sure people understand this?" Borkiewicz and other staff noted Metro conducts outreach but acknowledged it can be technical and may not reach the general public beyond stakeholders already engaged on land-use issues.

Next steps and procedural timeline: if appealed or referred, the LCDC could hear the matter (staff noted a possible June window for LCDC consideration). Any county ordinance to re-designate the land and apply urban zoning will follow that state review and, if needed, local hearings, including at least one Planning Commission hearing before the county adopts a legislative ordinance allowing annexation and urban development.

The presentation also contrasted the Sherwood Metro process with the North Plains situation, where the county board earlier rejected an ordinance related to a city-proposed UGB expansion; staff emphasized the two processes follow different legal paths depending on whether Metro, a city, or the county is the decision-making body.