Planning for the past

In mid-July, Intel announced plans to build a research facility at its Hillsboro campus. The company expects to spend more than $400 million on construction, and expand its workforce by at least 1,500.

While economic development advocates are happy with the prospects of new jobs paying an average of $64,000, this is bad news for many Oregon planners. If Intel hires 1,500 new employees, that will drive the demand for a similar number of new housing units. Since most of Washington county is zoned for exclusive farm use, the Intel decision will place greater political pressure on Metro to expand the urban growth boundary to allow some farmland to be converted to other uses.

Oregon planners have a 1960's vision of the world, in which commercial timber and agriculture are dominant sectors of the economy. Unfortunately for the planners, Oregon's actual economy no longer resembles their vision; wood products and agriculture contribute only about 4% of the gross state product of the Portland tri-county region. Yet 87% of all land in the metro region is zoned for commercial farming or forestry.

One Washington County landowner, the Sisters of Saint Mary, has been trying to convert a 463-acre parcel of farmland into a residential development for nearly a decade. The land is currently being used to grow low-value wheat and clover. A Canadian development company, Genstar, has negotiated an option to buy the land and hopes to build a master-planned, 4,000 home community.

As envisioned by Genstar, the community would include virtually everything that many urban planners desire. The site is adjacent to existing urban neighborhoods, near growing job centers such as Intel and Tektronix, and is easy to serve with sewer and water. It will include a mixture of single-family and multi-family housing, and offer a full range of transportation options, including proximity to the westside light-rail line.

Unlike some suburban developments, this one is already more than half-surrounded by the urban growth boundary, and will be developed at a density of approximately 10 units per usable acre - higher density than many inner-city Portland neighborhoods.

Yet year after year, the land lies vacant, as required by Oregon's farmland zoning laws.

To their credit, some Metro councilors are trying to figure out a way to bring in the St. Mary's property for development. They hope that by promising some form of "super-protection" for other nearby farmlands, they can persuade various advocacy groups to not oppose such expansion. But it seems doubtful that any agreement will be reached. Under current law, farmland use trumps most other uses, regardless of market conditions or landowner preferences. There's no practical reason why pro-planning organizations should trade away this advantage.

Eventually the legislature itself will be forced to change the law. Timber and agriculture are no longer dominant sectors of the economy, and are becoming proportionately less important all the time. Hillsboro needs more land for houses, and high-income workers are not going to settle for crowded apartments or homes on 4,000 square foot lots.

But change won't come easily. You'll have to pry the cold, dead hands of some planners off those zoning maps. They've planned for the past, and they're not about to give it up.