MAYOR'S MESSAGE

This last Tuesday, the Coos Bay City Council held a joint work session with the Coos County Commissioners to review and discuss a proposal to modify the City of Coos Bay’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). Urban Growth Boundaries help establish a ‘line’ between urbanized area and rural area, both crucial elements for overall livability of a community and the surrounding area. Traditionally, urbanized areas are where development (housing, businesses, infrastructure) is denser, whereas, rural areas generally are more open with farm or forest land, with less density and/or no development. Cities contemplate changes to their UGB when the urbanized area can no longer support development and growth, due to such things as limited or no buildable land remaining within the UGB but a need exists for more dense housing and industrial development.

A change to a city’s UGB is a prescribed process. Several steps are necessary when working through the process. The first step begins with the meeting on Tuesday, where an intentional partnership is established between Coos County and Coos Bay with the identification of the need to review the UGB. The City of Coos Bay has already undertaken a buildable lands inventory, a crucial step in the evaluation process.

Oregon’s statewide planning Goal 14, outlines the process for prioritizing these areas outside the city’s UGB that have the highest potential for development, using factors such as proximity to existing development and access to roads, utilities, and other services. The process involves an extensive public input campaign to gather feedback from the community. Support from the community, prompts the partners (Coos County and Coos Bay) to adopt a proposed UGB change which is then forwarded to Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to confirm alignment with Oregon land use laws.

This process can take a number of months and even years. It does not automatically result in annexation, an action that requires additional processes and public input. With an expanded UGB, there is then possibility for additional development opportunities, providing for more urbanized growth and development.

Stay tuned for next steps and to follow along in this interesting and intensive process.

-Joe Benetti, Mayor of Coos Bay

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