News

ARTICLE
Date ArticleType
2/14/2023 Member News

Metro Approves River Terrace 2.0 UGB Exchange


After more than a year of HBA’s advocacy and support, the Metro Council voted to formally approve the River Terrace 2.0 Land Exchange, which will clear the way for thousands more homes in Tigard. On Thursday, February 2nd, Metro’s Council voted 7-0 in favor of the proposal that was presented by staff and requested by the City of Tigard. This is a big win for the region and HBA’s members who’ve worked with our Government Affairs team to develop policies that foster the creation of new housing in our region. This is the first time a land-swap has been used in our area, with Metro identifying roughly 350 acres of land in Damascus and Oregon City that met several layers of criteria including being contiguously adjacent to the current boundary while not having been zoned for urban use, incorporation, or concept planning in the past 20 years. The lands identified meet all of these conditions. Although the Clackamas County Commission did oppose this exchange, we believe that the end result (more housing, sooner) justifies the devices used.

More importantly, what’s going into the UGB is two portions of land formerly known as Roy Rogers East and West urban reserves. These areas total 500 acres near Tigard between SW Scholls Ferry Road and SW Roy Rogers/SW Beef Bend. In early concept planning, the city identified between 3,000 and 4,500 new housing units to be built, in addition to other commercial and public use spaces. Construction could begin as soon as 2026. HBA and our partners who testified in support of this exchange will now begin working with Tigard going forward on their future planning to ensure they use effective and flexible policies geared towards maximizing housing output. See Pamplin’s coverage of the swap here. Click here to view HBA testimony supporting the UGB exchange.