Gov. Tina Kotek plans to use new executive powers this year to literally pave the way for a major new research center near Hillsboro.
The governor on Wednesday kickstarted the process of expanding the urban growth boundary that dictates where development can occur around the state’s fifth-largest city. With such a unilateral order, Kotek would side-step land use laws, using a temporary and controversial power lawmakers conveyed on her last year.
Intel has been urging an expansion of Hillsboro's urban growth boundary to make room for an expansion to its operations there. The company spent $3 billion a few years ago on another expansion of its D1X facility shown in this April 11, 2022 file photo provided by Intel.
Courtesy of Intel Corporation
A proposal posted online by Business Oregon, the state’s economic development arm, shows that Kotek has zeroed in on roughly 373 acres north of Hillsboro for the planned expansion. The state did not release a map or detailed description of the property the governor has in mind, saying it would release more details in October.
Owners of farmland north of the city have long pressed for their plots to be brought within the growth boundary — a change that could make the land far more valuable.
But proponents of the state’s land-use laws have been critical of expansions like the one Kotek has in mind, saying there is plenty of untapped land within existing boundaries. Not long after the state posted notice of the possible expansion, a recently formed group, Friends of Smart Growth, issued a release pledging to fight the move.
“While the governor hopes this will prove a quick and relatively painless way to subvert the planning and community engagement that Oregon’s land use system is famous for,” the release said, “local and statewide watchdog groups promise a long and difficult fight to preserve the zoning protections that have allowed walkable cities, farmland close to cities, and the outdoor recreation Oregon is famous for.”
Wednesday’s move comes after increasing pressure on Kotek to act on a rare power lawmakers created as part of 2023′s Senate Bill 4, a major push to grow the state’s semiconductor industry.
Under the bill, Kotek has the ability to expand urban growth boundaries within the state in order to make room for a major semiconductor or advanced manufacturing project, if she determines that adequate land doesn’t exist.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported earlier this month that Intel and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden had been urging Kotek to bring up to 1,700 acres within Hillsboro’s UGB to make room for a major new research center the company hopes to win federal funding for.
Under the bill passed last year, Kotek needs to hold a public hearing on the proposed expansion and leave room for boosters and critics to submit comments for 20 days. Only after considering that testimony can she issue an executive order formally expanding the UGB. Kotek’s power to reshape land-use boundaries in this fashion expires at the end of the year.
According to Business Oregon, the public hearing on the proposed expansion will take place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the Hillsboro Civic Center.
This story will be updated.