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Jackson County approves 85.9-acre expansion of Eagle Point urban growth boundary with conditions
Summary
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners approved a Major Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment to add 85.9 acres to the City of Eagle Point urban growth boundary under Oregon Senate Bill 1537, voting 3–0 to adopt staff-recommended conditions and scheduling ordinance readings on June 3 and June 17, 2026.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners on May 13 approved, by a 3–0 vote, a staff-recommended Major Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment to add 85.9 acres to the City of Eagle Point urban growth boundary under Oregon Senate Bill 1537.
The approved amendment (File No. 439-26-00002-LRP) covers land described as Township 36 South, Range 1 West, Section 10, Tax Lots 1202 and 1203, and Township 36 South, Range 1 West, Section 11C, Tax Lot 300, located at Bigham Brown Road and Alta Vista Road. Commissioner Colleen Roberts moved to approve the application with the conditions recommended by Planning staff; Commissioner Randy Sparacino seconded and the motion passed with Commissioners Roberts, Sparacino and Chair Rick Dyer voting aye.
Planning staff presented the application and the applicable SB 1537 criteria. Planner Charles Bennett summarized the staff report and recommended conditions for approval. Commissioners questioned whether nearby roads were on the County’s Nexus list; Bennett said Alta Vista Road was listed but Bigham Brown Road was not. Mr. Lambert, who provided additional information for staff, said the Nexus designations dated from a Regional Problem Solving process about 15 years ago and warned that development would likely create significant impacts on Alta Vista Road.
Dan O’Connor, agent for applicant Eagle Point Bigham Development LLC, told the board that, because Bigham Brown Road was not named in the County’s findings, he believed the County should not require its jurisdictional transfer as a condition for UGB approval. He said the City of Eagle Point had indicated willingness to discuss transfer once development is underway, and he told the board the applicant would accept a condition requiring jurisdictional transfer of Bigham Brown Road at the time of subdivision to avoid delays in the application process.
Staff and commissioners discussed whether conditioning a jurisdictional transfer at the time of UGB approval provided the County adequate enforcement authority or whether a transfer should be required earlier. Matt Brinkly of Green Top Planning and Development Research said the proposed subdivision adjacent to Bigham Brown Road would trigger road improvements and argued that requiring those improvements before development would create a stronger enforcement mechanism for the County and the City.
No members of the public offered additional testimony. Commissioners admitted Exhibits 1–22 into the record and closed the hearing. Deputy County Counsel Pete Philbrick asked for confirmation that the approval motion included the staff-recommended conditions; Commissioner Roberts confirmed that it did.
Chair Dyer instructed staff to prepare the implementing ordinance and scheduled the first reading for June 3, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., in the Courthouse Auditorium and by audio/videoconference, and the second reading and public hearing for June 17, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. The board adjourned at 2:43 p.m.
What this means: the county has approved an SB 1537–enabled UGB expansion that will move forward to ordinance readings. Disagreements at the hearing centered on whether the County should require the jurisdictional transfer of Bigham Brown Road now or allow transfer at subdivision, and how the County and the City would ensure required road improvements are completed.
