The City of Coos Bay (“City”), in coordination with Coos County, seeks to contract for consultant services to undertake technical analysis of long-range planning options available for regulatory management of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and the Urban Unincorporated Communities of Charleston, Barview, Bay Park/Bunker Hill, Libby, and Millington. The technical analysis will be the basis of findings for ORS 197.652 Regional problem-solving process.
Coos County and its incorporated cities first collaborated on the establishment of local Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs) and Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) in the late 1970s after the initial adoption of Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 14 in 1974. The City of Coos Bay and Coos County first formalized their shared commitment to the orderly and sustainable development of these areas in 1981. In 1987, a new joint management agreement covering the multiple UGBs/UGAs was adopted to replace the original 1981 intergovernmental agreement. The 1987 agreement remains in full force to this day. Coos County maintains the official UGB/UGA map. The UGBs/UGAs include Urban Unincorporated Communities (UUCs) that are planned for urban uses, treated as urbanizable lands reserved for the growth of the City of Coos Bay, and serviced with public sewer, water, and transportation facilities.
The City of Coos Bay and Coos County now desire to amend the shared UGB pursuant to the 1987 joint-management agreement. However, there are many questions and uncertainties in doing so. Over the years State laws have changed and, while City of Coos Bay and Coos County comprehensive plan policies have been updated consistent with periodic review requirements, with the exception of the Urban Growth Boundary and Urban Growth Areas that were reserved for Coos Bay to expand, there remains a knowledge gap related to how these areas and the joint-management agreement were intended to be implemented. Through this project, the City and the County will embark on a regional problem-solving process. This project is Phase 1 of the regional-problem solving effort, and the result will be a set of long range planning options for the City and the County to consider for coordination of further planning and provision of water, sewer, and transportation facilities with the intent of meeting other regional goals for housing and economic development in the region.
The primary goals for this project are:
- to complete an audit of City and County comprehensive plans and implementing codes that are applicable to the urban growth area boundaries for Charleston, Barview, Bay Park/Bunker Hill, Libby, and Millington;
- to gain a clear understanding of the challenges and opportunities of- shared UGBs/UGAs for the project areas with input from the Project Advisory Committee and inclusive community engagement efforts; and
- to provide long-range planning options and outline steps needed for the County and the City to complete, and to take action on, a UGB amendment; and to complete an audit of City and County comprehensive plans and implementing codes that will result in the amendments necessary to ensure project success.
This project is funded by Oregon general fund dollars through the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the State of Oregon.
