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Kotek has proposed expanding the city boundaries of Hillsboro, a
suburb west of Portland that's home to chip giant Intel, to
incorporate half a square mile of new land for industrial
development, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The land would
provide space for a major new research center.
Oregon, which has been a center of semiconductor research and
production for decades, is competing against other states to
host multibillion-dollar microchip factories.
The CHIPS and Science Act passed by Congress in 2022 provided
$39 billion for companies building or expanding facilities that
will manufacture semiconductors and those that will assemble,
test and package the chips.
A state law passed last year allowed the governor to designate
up to eight sites where city boundaries could be expanded to
provide land for microchip companies. The law created an
exemption to the state's hallmark land use policy, which was
passed in the 1970s to prevent urban sprawl and protect nature
and agriculture.
A group that supports Oregon's landmark land use policy, Friends
of Smart Growth, said in a news release that it would oppose
Kotek's proposal, OPB reported.
“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.”
Under the 2023 state law, Kotek must hold a public hearing on
proposed expansions of so-called “urban growth boundaries” and
allow a 20-day period for public comment before issuing an
executive order to formally expand such boundaries. This
executive power expires at the end of the year.
The public hearing on the proposed expansion will be held in
three weeks at the Hillsboro Civic Center, according to Business
Oregon, the state's economic development agency.
The Oregon Legislature also chipped away at the state's land use
policy earlier this year in a bid to address its critical
housing shortage. That law, among other things, granted a
one-time exemption to cities looking to acquire new land for the
purpose of building housing.
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