STOP THE SPRAWL
NORTH PLAINS: Vote NO on Measure 34-327
We are a group of North Plains residents and neighbors working to make sure that North Plains grows smart, not huge!
WE SUPPORT:
• A NO vote on Measure 34-327, to prevent a huge expansion of the city’s Urban Growth Boundary by 855 acres. This expansion would more than double the size of North Plains without a plan for what kind of businesses will come, or who will pay for it.
• A smaller, more targeted expansion that first improves conditions inside North Plains. A NO vote on the city’s excessive, poorly-planned expansion helps get us there.
ELECTION RESULTS (May 22):
Early May 2024 update:
• City Planner, Ron Bunch, contacted the state agency, Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), who gives the final stamp of approval on Urban Growth Boundary expansions, and this is what he said based off that conversation.
“The state is not making the city expand its Urban Growth Boundary. North Plains volunteered to do so. Cities under 10,000 are not required to change their existing plans to allow more housing or employment growth. North Plains is certainly not required to request the state to approve four times more new commercial and industrial land than is proposed in its own 2022 Comprehensive Plan.”
A city with a population below 10,000 outside of Portland Metro is not required to update their comprehensive plan, housing needs analysis, or economic opportunity analysis on a regular schedule. Cities with populations above 10,000 outside of Portland Metro need to update every 8 years, but cities below 10,000 are not obliged to update those plans – it is voluntary. This is due to HB 2003 of 2019. For confirmation, see that North Plains is not listed on the Housing Capacity Analysis Update Schedule for Oregon Cities attachment to OAR 660-008-0045.
April 2024 update:
• Read a retired city planner’s Order of Magnitude report on the infrastructure costs for the city’s current expansion plan, along with its effects on traffic, water, and sewer. Click HERE to read it.
• Watch a video of the informational, North Plains UGB Community Forum, from April 20th, HERE.
March 22, 2024 update:
• Washington County Circuit Court, judge Andrew Erwin, granted a temporary restraining order on March 21 that allows our North Plains referendum, Measure 34-327, to remain on the printed ballot this May. This is our first legal challenge of House Bill 4026-A that Governor Tina Kotek signed, which retroactively bans referendums on Urban Growth Boundary issues. Please read more about what’s been legally happening on our Media page.
• Although North Plains citizens will be able to vote No on Measure 34-327 in May, we need to win our court case in order to have the votes legally count. This may mean we won’t know if the votes will count until after the election happens, if that’s when our court case ends.
• Please see our GoFundMe fundraiser to help not only our lawyer fees, but also with campaign costs, as we continue to campaign in April and May.
LOCAL CITIZENS SPEAK OUT:
Please view and share our recent YouTube video, interviewing North Plains citizens on why they are going to VOTE NO in May.
SUNDAY, MAY 5TH EVENT IN NORTH PLAINS
To see full event details, please visit our Events page.
WHY THE CURRENT PLAN WOULD BE BAD FOR THE CITY AND YOUR POCKETBOOK
• Doubling the city and adding massive industrial areas for three miles along the highway will turn the city into a lesser Hillsboro, not the rural community it has always been.
• This type of expansion is very expensive! The city has no estimate for how much it will cost, but said the 700 acres of industrial land will “look like North Hillsboro.” A recent expansion of 200 acres in Hillsboro required $370 million just for infrastructure. Who will foot the bill for North Plains?
• The city wants to expand onto some of the state’s (and the world’s) best farmland. Losing this land forever and encouraging land speculation will put farmers out of business and sacrifice food security—all in exchange for delivering huge profits for a few developers and landowners.
• The city did very little outreach outside the usual circles. Doubling the city’s size is not a small decision and should be made and informed by all of us—not a select few.
• The city has no detailed plan and gives conflicting statements on how the industrial land will be used. Although city staff and counselors often distance themselves from it, the document the city uses to justify its massive expansion calls for huge data centers north of Sunset Ridge and semiconductor manufacturing at the Dersham exit. Without a plan, and with well-funded Hillsboro expanding just across the highway, North Plains will likely receive projects that aren’t good enough for Hillsboro.
• The plan does very little to address the acknowledged lack of affordable housing.
If we want a smaller expansion—one that is inclusive and better uses our limited land—we first have to vote NO on Measure 34-327 in May 2024.
DEVELOPED VS. UNDEVELOPED FARMLAND
BELOW LEFT: Developed farmland on Meek Road in North Hillsboro—North Plains’ fate with the city’s current expansion plan.
BELOW RIGHT: Undeveloped farmland in North Plains. Let’s try to save as much as this area’s natural beauty and world-class soils as possible!
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
In September 2023, the City Council passed ordinance 490, which proposed adding 855 acres to the city’s Urban Growth Boundary. Over the next two decades or less, North Plains would more than double the size of the city. This would grow North Plains by far more in two decades than it has since it was founded, and would be 10 times larger than the median expansion outside of Metro in the tri-county area. This ordinance passed the council with very little discussion, despite many people coming forward who asked for more time and engagement on this issue, a flood of testimony opposing this ordinance, and even advice from state agencies that the city was relying on “incorrect facts.”
To bring the city back to the negotiating table and meaningfully involve all residents and surrounding businesses that will be affected, instead of just the developers and landowners who stand to make millions, the citizens of North Plains referred this decision to the voters on the May 2024 ballot. Our group knocked on hundreds of doors in North Plains and collected signatures from well over 10% of the electorate. Despite the city’s efforts to delay and obstruct this vote, the question “Shall the city expand its Urban Growth Boundary” will be on ballots in the city in May.
WHAT IS A “UGB?”
The UGB, or Urban Growth Boundary, is the outer limit of growth for a city. By setting these limits, and by involving the public in their creation, Oregon has kept its cities efficient and dense and protected thousands of acres of working and recreational lands from sprawl. The reason the Willamette Valley doesn’t look like Orange County—and North Plains isn’t just the name of a Hillsboro suburb—is Oregon’s 50-year-old system of Urban Growth Boundaries.
HOW CAN I HELP?
Click the orange button below to:
• Get a free yard sign
• Sign up for our email notices
• Volunteer with our entirely volunteer-run organization
• Submit testimony to the county and/or state in opposition to this expansion
DONATE TO THE CAMPAIGN
To donate to the campaign, please visit our donation page for online donations, as well as for the address to send a physical check. As a 501(c)(4), donations to Friends of North Plains Smart Growth are not tax deductible, but help us provide free yard signs, flyers, postcards, and more to the citizens of North Plains and the surrounding areas.
DOWNLOAD OUR INFORMATIONAL FLYER
To view and download an online PDF version of our informational flyer, please click here or the image below.
FREE YARD SIGNS
To request a free yard sign, please click on the orange button above, in the “How Can I Help” section. Signs are free and are available through the generation donations of others.
