A powerful home builders lobby in Oregon helped push a bill through the state legislature that some say threatens the urban growth boundary for the city of Eugene, and essentially opens the flood gates for sprawl in the area.
"Local developers have been fighting for years to expand Eugene/Springfield's joint UGB to allow more urban sprawl. Developers tried legal action to force the city to update its buildable lands inventory, the first step toward a UGB expansion, but lost. They convinced Springfield to let developers pay $40,000 for a new land study for their side of the UGB, but Eugene refused to go along and held potential veto power over any big Springfield UGB expansion. In January the council voted 5-4, with Piercy breaking the tie, to follow a staff recommendation to not conduct a new land inventory."
"Undaunted, the developers took the local fight to Salem. HB 3337, 'at the request of Oregon Home Builders Association,' the Legislature's official bill ledger read, was quickly scheduled for an April hearing. The bill would split the local UGB and force Eugene to do the land study in two years."
This is "a move developers think will hasten UGB expansion in Eugene."
FULL STORY: Developers' bill divides and conquers
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
Improving Indoor Air Quality, One Block at a Time
A movement to switch to electric appliances at the neighborhood scale is taking off in California.
Opinion: How to Rebuild the ‘Starter Home’ Market
Large minimum lot sizes and restrictions on multi-unit housing put an artificial floor under home costs. Is it time to eliminate them?
How Understanding Near-Misses Can Improve Road Safety
Most road safety efforts are based on data about crashes that have already occurred. But important information can be gleaned from incidents when something almost went wrong, but didn’t.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)