City officials and developers are eying a 120-acre former farming property just outside of Woodburn city limits for a housing complex to meet the needs of the small Marion County city’s growing population.
However, the city ran into a problem. The land is outside the urban growth boundary, or the invisible state-approved line around cities that determines where and how they can grow. While a 2024 state law intended to allow severely rent-burdened cities like Woodburn to have a one-time boundary expansion for affordable housing development, Woodburn could not meet certain standards to use the opportunity outlined in the bill, despite its housing need.
This session, two bills passed that allowed for more cities to use the one-time boundary expansion process outlined in the 2024 law. Gov. Tina Kotek requested House Bill 4082, which expanded this process to allow for the development of manufactured homes for older adults. The other, House Bill 4035, fixed and added to criteria in SB 1537, including an amendment to further expedite the process for Woodburn…