Laserfiche WebLink
Why Plan for Urban Reserves? <br />future rate of population growth is uncertain, and our best predictions are likely to be wrong. <br />If we do grow faster than anticipated, we need to be prepared with a plan to grow in the best places and <br />in the ways that best align with our community values. Currently, future UGB expansions in Eugene <br />degree. Studies show that most of these lands fall short of important goals and may not meet our <br />such as water and sewer, and offer poor access to neighborhood amenities and public services such as <br />transit. <br />This is an urgent problem because our City Council has directed us to re-examine our UGB three years <br />after our UGB is acknowledged by the state. This direction says we should use the most recent <br />population forecast available at the time, which we anticipate will show a significantly higher 20-year <br />population for Eugene 1 than we are currently considering. If it turns out we have a need to expand at <br />that time and Council chooses to do so, we would most likely have no choice but to expand onto the <br />above-described exception lands. Having an urban reserves designation in place at that time will allow <br />the City to more effectively and efficiently consider a UGB expansion onto urban reserve land that will <br />. <br />In addition, urban reserves can help land owners surrounding the urban growth boundary plan for the <br />future by clarifying which properties will be reserved for possible urban use and which ones will not. <br />Similarly, once urban reserves are established, Eugene and Lane County and service providers like EWEB, <br />LTD, and others will be better able to plan for the costs and coordination needed to serve future <br />neighborhoods with public facilities and services. <br />Any future UGB expansions onto urban reserve lands will still be guided by state law, requiring a <br />rigorous study of 20 year land needs responding to up-to-date population forecasts and growth <br />monitoring reports produced by t <br />Building on Recent Efforts <br />Because of the tremendous amount of work that went into determining the need for and location of the <br />2032 urban growth boundary, a great deal of information has been gathered regardin <br />surrounding land. The project will need to identify lands for the housing, parks, schools, and jobs needed <br />open space and preservation of significant farmland, waterways, natural resources and landscapes. The <br />City and County are now well equipped to build off of recent work to determine future urban reserves. <br />Process <br />The urban reserves process is enabled by state law. The planning process will be a collaborative effort <br />among community members, property owners, stakeholder groups, the City of Eugene, Lane County, <br />and regional utility and service providers. <br />The planning process will answer the following questions: <br />How much land will Eugene need to house and employ new residents between 2032 and 2062? <br />1 <br /> The 2009 Lane County- <br />34,000 new residents in the 20 year period of 2012-2032; the 2015 PSU population forecast shows about 40,000 <br />new residents in the 20-year period of 2015-2035. <br />2 | Page <br /> <br />