Urban Reserves

Eugene is continually growing and changing, and preparing for this growth and change over the longer term requires the deep involvement of our community and a new level of collaboration with our County partners. Because our future population growth is uncertain and our best predictions are likely to be wrong, we need to be prepared with a plan to grow in the best places and in the ways that best align with our community values. 


The goal of urban reserve planning is to identify where Eugene may grow beyond our current Urban Growth Boundary to accommodate up to 50 years of projected population growth. The plan will support the pillars of Envision Eugene, advance the community vision beyond 2032, and reflect deep collaboration among the City, County, community, and service providers. 


Urban reserves will identify lands for the housing, parks, schools, and jobs needed by Eugene’s population in the long term future, while implementing the area’s regional open space vision, including preservation of significant farmland, waterways, natural resources and landscapes.


For More information, read the Frequently Asked Questions.

What's New with Urban Reserves?

Come learn about Urban Reserves at the Planning Project Fair!


'Making It Happen' is a one-stop project fair where you can learn about the City of Eugene's ongoing planning projects. Urban Reserves staff will be there to present the progress of our technical analysis and answer questions about the Study Area. 


Details: June 5th from 4:00-7:00 pm, at the Downtown Library, 100 W 10th Ave. Bascom-Tykeson Room. We hope to see you there!

Urban Reserves display at Planning Division Project Fair

Study Area Property Owners Notified


This week a postcard was mailed to property owners within the study area—almost 1,500 addresses! It included a brief project update, and an invitation to the upcoming Planning Division project fair on June 5th. If you received a postcard and have specific questions about your property, come to the project fair or reach out to project staff!



Urban Reserves wordmark

Study Area


The Study Area generally includes all land within at least a one-mile radius of the urban growth boundary, with a few exceptions. All the land in the Study Area will be analyzed to see how suitable it is for potential urban uses. Use the map to see if your property is in the Study Area, or click the "interactive web map" button below for a full screen version. This web map has recently been updated and now shows development potential, which is described in the Technical Analysis section below. Please note that it may be slow to load because of the large file sizes.

Want to learn more about the study area? Use the buttons below to read Frequently Asked Questions, open the interactive web map in a new window, or check out a fact sheet showing differences between being within Urban Reserves, the Urban Growth Boundary, and city limits. 

Technical Analysis


Urban Reserves is currently in the technical analysis phase. The first key step was establishing the Study Area, which is described above. Another early step in the technical analysis was identifying our land need so we have a rough idea of the amount of land required to accommodate future jobs and population growth. 


Figuring out where it makes sense for those future jobs and homes to go is an iterative, multi-step process. Staff developed a Land Supply Model that classified all the land within the Study Area to determine whether it is developable or not. This removed land that is not well suited to future development, such as land with protected natural resources or land that is committed to a public use. We have divided the Study Area into smaller subareas to make it easier to analyze during the suitability analysis and the capacity analysis, which staff are currently working on.


Want to see some of the preliminary results from the Land Supply Model? Click on the thumbnails below to download the full maps or check out the interactive map above. Note that file sizes are large and may be slow to load.

Development Potential by Subarea

Thumbnail image of development potential map

Priority Land Classification

Priority Land Thumbnail

Outreach Timeline

This graphic outlines the key phases of the urban reserves project and public engagement opportunities. 

Urban Reserves Timeline Final

Guiding Documents


Two important documents will guide Urban Reserves planning. The Public Involvement Plan outlines the outreach process, key stakeholders, and how various groups can help shape the project. The Draft Project Charter is an internal document that outlines scope of the project and key milestones. 

Engagement Opportunities


Technical Advisory Committee

Members of the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee were appointed by the City Manager in August 2018. The EETAC provides technical-related feedback to staff on City-wide growth management initiatives, starting with urban reserves. The EETAC members represent a wide range of backgrounds and areas of expertise, and serve as liaisons connecting the community to growth management projects and encouraging participation.


Upcoming EETAC Meetings

  • June 20 2019, 5:30-7:30 pm, Atrium Building, 99 W 10th Ave., Saul Room, 3rd Floor. (Visit the EETAC webpage for a complete list of EETAC meeting dates and meeting materials.)

Stay Informed

Interested in keeping tabs on the urban reserves planning work? If you sign up to be on our interested parties list we will send you monthly project updates through the Envision Eugene newsletter, and notify you of upcoming meetings and opportunities.

Upcoming Public Meetings

  • Planning Division Project Fair, June 5 2019, 4:00-7:00 pm, Downtown Library, 100 W 10th Ave., Bascom-Tykeson Room
  • Lane County Board of Commissioners, June 11 2019, 1:00-3:00 pm, Public Service Building, 125 E 8th Ave., Harris Hall.
  • Eugene City Council, June 24 2019, 5:30-7:00 pm, Public Service Building, 125 E 8th Ave., Harris Hall.

Past Public Meetings

Contact Us

  1. Planning Division


    Rebecca Gershow
    Senior Planner Urban Reserves
    99 W. 10th Avenue
    Eugene, OR 97401
    Ph: 541-682-8816

    Email
Urban Reserves Logo