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Commission hears why EOA uses target industries, not blanket expansion
Summary
Staff explained the draft shifts to a target-industry approach that would create limited, use-specific large-lot industrial overlays rather than a blanket UGB expansion, requiring selection of NIC codes tied to specific zones.
The draft EOA uses a target-industry approach that ties future expansion to industry types rather than a blanket assumption of new industrial land, Planning staff told commissioners. "You literally have to pick specific, they call NIC codes," the Director said, describing how the city selects manufacturing, data center, energy or waste-management categories and then creates overlay zones with specific restrictions.
Staff said the approach narrows the kinds of uses that can trigger an expansion: expansions must be justified for the selected target industries, which then inform zone additions (likely as overlays) and any required infrastructure. Commissioners asked about consequences for property owners and whether rezoning existing sites could satisfy some demand; staff replied rezoning could shift acreage but stressed that target-industry limits constrain permissible uses and therefore the justification for expansion.
The presentation listed likely target categories including manufacturing and data centers, and retained biomass in the energy category at council request; staff said inclusion does not commit the city to a facility but preserves the option if an appropriate project emerges.
