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> Issues > Urban Growth and
Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part
1 > Urban Containment Boundaries >
Oregon
Smart Bylaws Guide – Urban Containment Boundaries – Oregon
The most famous UCB in North America contains Metropolitan
Portland, Oregon. Required by strong state planning legislation
adopted in the late 1970's, Metro Portland's UCB was established in
1980. It involves the coordination of three counties, 24 cities and
more than 60 special service districts, in which live 1.3 million
people on 100,000 hectares in the fertile Willamette Valley. Rural
parcel sizes are a 20 acre minimum, and buildings may only be
constructed on resource lands for farm or forestry uses.
In over 20 years, the land area of the UGB has expanded by only
two percent, while the population of the City of Portland has
increase by 50 percent, and Metropolitan Portland by 17 percent. The
most recent expansion in December 2002 was the largest to date -
18,638 acres were added with 2,851 acres dedicated to employment
purposes. With this expansion the Metro government also implemented
new policies to protect existing neighbourhoods, provide additional
land for jobs, and improve local commercial centres and main streets.
The great successes of this UCB are the vibrant agricultural
industry in the Valley and the revitalization of the City of
Portland.
Oregon's 15 years of experience have shown urban growth
boundaries to be highly effective. UGBs have helped to hold down the
costs of public services and facilities. They have saved a great
deal of farmland from urban sprawl. They have led to better
coordination of city and county land-use planning. And they have
brought greater certainty for those who own, use, or invest in land
at the city's edge.
Oregon Department of Land Conservation and
Development, "What is an Urban Growth Boundary?"
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