Title: Urban growth boundary | Metro
Headings: Urban growth boundary
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Urban growth boundary

Content: If the urban growth report indicates that the existing urban growth boundary provides sufficient capacity to accommodate the growth that is forecast for the next 20 years, no urban growth boundary expansion is needed. If the urban growth report indicates that the existing urban growth boundary does not have sufficient capacity to accommodate the 20-year growth that is forecast, the Metro Council will first work with local governments to determine whether steps can be taken to enhance the efficiency of land inside the existing boundary to accommodate more growth. These steps may include upzoning, increased investments in transportation or other public infrastructure, redevelopment of brownfields, and other measures that can be expected to result in new development within the boundary to accommodate more housing and jobs over the next 20 years. If these additional steps are sufficient to accommodate all of the housing and employment growth that is expected for the next 20 years, no urban growth boundary expansion is needed. If, after these efficiency measures are taken, there remains a need for additional capacity within the boundary to meet the forecast growth, the Metro Council will consider boundary expansions, following the priorities outlined above. Urban reserve lands will be the first lands studied and considered for possible expansion. Lower priority lands will be considered only if certain growth needs cannot be met by expanding the urban growth boundary into urban reserves. Once an urban growth report is completed, the Metro Council has up to two years to consider a possible expansion of the urban growth boundary. Can Metro add land to the urban growth boundary at any time? The Metro Council can, under certain circumstances, expand the urban growth boundary to meet immediate needs to provide lands for specific purposes that cannot be accommodated within the existing urban growth boundary and cannot wait until the completion of the next urban growth report.