Council Oks urban growth boundary change

ROSEBURG, Ore. – The Roseburg City Council on Monday, Aug. 12, approved adjusting the urban growth boundary to facilitate more housing construction.

In a first ordinance reading Monday, the Council amended the urban growth boundary to bring easier-to-develop land inside the boundary, which lies outside city limits and provides plans for what the community can look like. State law requires all cities to maintain a UGB identifying where city growth may occur within the next 20 years.

The Council approved trading two undeveloped residential properties with significant development constraints totaling about 290 acres inside the current boundary for 220 acres of flat residential land in the Charter Oaks area outside the boundary.

The Council held a public hearing on the matter Monday, July 22, before asking staff to return with written findings of fact on behalf of the Council approving the swap. Nine people representing local businesses, the housing construction industry, economic development, schools and real estate sales told the Council they supported the UGB swap and six Charter Oaks area residents opposed, while three others spoke out but declared themselves neutral. Roseburg Public Schools hires about 50 employees a year, but about 30 to 40 percent can’t find housing here.

“We do lose people because of the lack of housing,” schools Superintendent Jared Cordon told the Council at the public hearing. “The lack of housing has a profound impact on people’s ability to come and to stay.”

On Monday, Aug. 12, the Council approved written findings of fact and proceeded with the first ordinance reading.

The Council’s approval is tentative pending a second ordinance reading scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26, and is conditional in that it will take effect only after winning approval from the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. In May, the City and County planning commissions held a joint public hearing in Roseburg City Council Chambers and recommended the City Council and Board of Commissioners approve the UGB swap.

“Know that this ordinance has a clause in here that makes your approval contingent upon the Douglas County Board of Commissioners approving their portions, of which they have jurisdiction in regards to the UGB swap as well,”

Roseburg Community Development Department Director Stuart Cowie told the Council on Aug. 12.

Properties inside the urban growth boundary can be served by urban water and sewer services. The two sections proposed to be withdrawn from within the UGB are the 91.5-acre Atkinson property and 198.5-acre Serafin property, which aren’t practical for developing at urban densities but could possibly be developed with less-dense housing on larger parcels with well water or septic systems meeting rural housing standards.

Roseburg’s urban growth boundary currently slices through the edge of the Charter Oaks neighborhood. A small number of Charter Oaks residents live inside the current urban growth boundary, but their properties haven’t been annexed into the city yet. The majority of Charter Oaks residents live outside the current boundary.

Moving the Charter Oaks property into the urban growth boundary is required before that land could be annexed into Roseburg city limits and later developed. Under this swap, some properties would remain outside, while others would be brought within the new boundaries.

The Council approved these land-use actions:

• Amend the urban growth boundary by removing Serafin and Atkinson properties and adding Charter Oaks property;

• De-annex Serafin and Atkinson properties that lie inside City limits;

• Annex Troost Street right-of-way to the edge of the new boundary;

• Amend the City’s Comprehensive Plan to designate most of the Charter Oaks property as low-density residential and the Roseburg Public School District’s 17.5 acres as public/semi-public;

• Amend the Urban Growth Management Agreement to reflect the changes.

The Roseburg Community Development Department notified the County Planning Department about the ordinance’s first reading before the City Council on Monday, Aug. 12, and requested the proposed UGB swap be considered by the County Board.

Learn more about the Urban Growth Boundary swap on a project webpage and in the UGB Exchange Proposal application.