Urban Reserves
Planning for the Next Two Generations
Urban Reserves are a special designation, allowed by state law, for lands outside the urban growth boundary (UGB) that can be considered a first priority if and when Eugene needs to expand for its growing population. Land designated as Urban Reserves will remain rural, and cannot be urbanized, unless it is brought into the city’s UGB through a formal process for expansion.
Eugene’s UGB is currently projected to have enough land for our population through 2032. Since population and development trends can change, Urban Reserves allows us to plan beyond 2032. Urban Reserves planning identifies enough land for the housing, parks, schools, and jobs needed by Eugene’s population in the long-term future (between 2032 and 2062) while implementing the area’s regional open space vision, including preservation of significant farm and forest land, waterways, and natural resources.
Moving into the Adoption Phase
With the help of many stakeholders, a range of Urban Reserve options were under review since June 2020--by the public, the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee, Eugene Planning Commission, Lane County Planning Commission, Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners.
In November 2020, staff received direction to proceed with Option 3, the 27-Year Urban Reserve area, from City and County decision-makers, and are currently working on the formal adoption materials, with the goal of beginning public hearings later this year. To view a map of the proposed Urban Reserve Area click here. To review the work preceding it, see the Urban Reserve Options Story Map.
Lane County Board of Commissioners DirectionOn November 10, 2020, the Lane County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a motion to support the Eugene City Council’s initiation of a public review and adoption process to consider the establishment of Urban Reserves as described in Option 3, the 27-Year Option. Option 3 includes almost 6,000 acres of land, enough to meet approximately 27 years of growth beyond 2032, and strives to protect our highest value soils by removing from consideration all agricultural properties with predominant Class 1 land and directly adjacent agricultural properties with predominant Class 2 land. |
Eugene City Council DirectionOn October 21, 2020, the Eugene City Council passed a motion, in a 7 - 1 vote, to support Urban Reserve Option 3, which includes enough land to meet approximately 27 years of growth beyond 2032. The City Council’s direction is consistent with the recommendation made by the Eugene Planning Commission, the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee’s recommendation to staff, the majority of public input, and the City Manager’s recommendation. Prior to passing the motion, the City Council held a work session on October 12, 2020, to allow for additional time to ask questions and receive information. You can watch the work session here. |
City Council and County Board of Commissioners Joint Work SessionOn September 21, 2020, staff presented four Urban Reserves Options to the Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners at a joint work session. Staff also shared recommendations from the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee (EETAC), Eugene Planning Commission, Lane County Planning Commission, and the results of our Virtual Open House survey. |
Planning Commission RecommendationsThe Eugene and Lane County Planning Commissions each recommended an Urban Reserve option for the City Council and the Lane Board of County Commissioners to consider before making a final decision.
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Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee RecommendationOn July 16, 2020, after seventeen meetings over the course of 22 months, the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee (EETAC) provided their final input and recommendation to staff on the Urban Reserve Options under consideration. Two motions were passed. The first supports the urban reserves analysis as technically sound. The second motion supports the recommendation of Option 3, the 27-year option, that preserves Class 1 and adjacent Class 2 land, with the acknowledgement that the year-range is an estimate based on current population forecasts and existing land use code. |
Option Areas
After completing the project’s technical and suitability analysis, a range of Urban Reserve Options were developed. These options were then taken—with the input we received from our Virtual Open House, Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee, Eugene Planning Commission, and Lane County Planning Commission—to City and County decision-makers for their direction on a preferred option.
The options, and the work that led us there, are described in the interactive Urban Reserve Options Story Map. It gives project background and explains the high-level pros and cons of each option.
Check Out the Four Urban Reserves Options
Click on the thumbnails below for a downloadable PDF.
The 10-Year Option | The 27-Year Option | The 29-Year Option | The 30-Year Option |
Suitability AnalysisAfter completing our technical analysis, we developed suitability criteria to further evaluate our study area. These suitability criteria were based on the state-directed outline of analysis and reflect the City’s Triple Bottom Line Framework. We subdivided the study area into 18 subareas and structured the analysis to explicitly address the suitability criteria. The suitability analysis evaluates all the developable land in the study area by considering it in terms of the following four factors (dictated by state rules), then dismisses land that, on balance, would be unsuitable for Urban Reserves based on this evaluation:
The Urban Reserves Draft Suitability Map shows the results of our suitability analysis. Land that is ‘suitable’ was moved forward for further consideration; it will not necessarily become Urban Reserves. The amount of suitable land in the study area is slightly more than the amount of land needed for the largest Urban Reserve option, so additional land was removed from consideration as the Urban Reserve options were developed. |
Suitable Lands Web Map
The Urban Reserves Suitable Lands Web Map is an interactive map that shows the results of the suitability analysis. Search for your property and see detailed tax lot-level information. This webmap is part of our preliminary analysis – it does not show Urban Reserve Options – see the Options Story Map for more on that.
Technical Analysis
The Technical Analysis Story Map is an interactive visual essay of the Urban Reserves technical analysis, which includes four major parts:
- Establishing a study area
- Estimating future land need (how much land do we need for homes and jobs over the next 50 years?)
- Estimating the land supply (how much developable land do we have for these future neighborhoods?)
- Conducting a capacity analysis (how many homes and jobs can be accommodated on this land?)
The Land Need Infographic has more details on the preliminary estimate of the land needed for Urban Reserves.
Please note that the story map works best in Chrome.
Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee
In August 2018, the City Manager appointed 13 community volunteers to serve on the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee (EETAC), a new department-level advisory committee that has been playing a key role in both the Urban Reserves and Growth Monitoring projects. Members have a wide variety of interests and come from around the City, with one representative living outside the UGB.
The EETAC has been guiding Urban Reserves Planning by reviewing technical information that will be used to inform policy decisions, providing feedback to staff on technical-related issues, and reviewing assumptions and analysis related to long-term growth management-related efforts. You can keep up to date on their work at the EETAC project webpage, which includes the member roster and meeting materials.
Way to Share Your Input!
Thank you to the 1,300+ visitors to our month long Virtual Open House in July 2020! The Urban Reserves Options Survey is now closed. Here is a downloadable PDF of survey results. If you missed the virtual open house, it is not too late to share your input! Feel free to contact staff or ask questions using the Q&A feature on the Urban Reserves Engage Eugene page.
January 2020 Public Open HousesThree meetings were held for Urban Reserve-area residents and interested parties, with over 125 attendees. Review the information provided at the Open Houses on the right. | Open House Materials |
To view or download a PDF of the above FAQs please click on the links below:
Stay Informed
Interested in getting notified about urban reserves planning work? Sign up to be on our interested parties list! We will send you monthly project updates through the EUG Planning newsletter and notify you of upcoming meetings and opportunities.
Interested in learning more?
The Urban Reserves Engage Eugene Page includes project updates and an interactive Q&A section.
Upcoming Public Meetings
- Lane County Board of Commissioners, November 10 2020
- Eugene City Council, October 21 2020
- Eugene City Council Work Session, October 12 2020
- Joint Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners Work Session, September 21, 2020
- Lane County Planning Commission, August 18 2020
- Eugene Planning Commission, August 17 2020
- Lane County Planning Commission, August 4 2020
- Eugene Planning Commission, August 3 2020
- Urban Reserves Virtual Open House, June 26-July 26 2020
- Eugene City Council, January 29 2020
Contact Us
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Planning Division
Rebecca Gershow
Senior Planner Urban Reserves
99 W. 10th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401
Ph: 541-682-8816
Email