March 28, 2024 3:40 a.m.
The City of Roseburg is entering a key phase in a proposed urban growth boundary swap process to bring easier to develop land within an area expected to grow over the next 20 years and encourage more housing construction.
A City release said the current urban growth boundary swap proposal would trade two underdeveloped properties with severe slopes and significant development constraints for flat residential land in the Charter Oaks area that would be easier to develop for housing.
Urban growth boundaries, which extend outside a city’s limit, provide plans for what a community can look like.
The release said moving the 220-acre Charter Oaks property into the urban growth boundary is required before that land could be annexed into Roseburg city limits and then developed. Under state law, all cities must maintain a UGB identifying where city growth may occur within the next 20 years. Properties inside that growth boundary can be served by urban services. The two sections that are proposed to be withdrawn from the UGB are the 91.5-acre Atkinson property and the 198.5-acre Serafin property.
Roseburg Community Development Director Stuart Cowie said, “We don’t have enough housing”. Cowie said, “Our largest employers are having challenges with being able to attract and retain employees because there isn’t enough housing available. The UGB swap will be one way the City can help tackle that”.
Notices were mailed out this week to 304 property owners that will be impacted. Those property owners are invited to an open house at 7:00 p.m. on April 16th in the Ford Room of the Roseburg Public Library. Community Development Department staff will provide detailed information and answer questions about the proposed swap and how that could impact owners.
A public hearing will be held at a joint meeting of the Roseburg and county planning commissions, tentatively set for May 6th in the Roseburg City Council Chambers. No other meetings have been scheduled yet.
Cowie said, “The city of Roseburg needs housing across the board. Every type of housing is needed”. Cowie said, “The decisions that we make regarding where housing can go in the future will impact not only our 20-year planning horizon, but future generations – well beyond 20 years”.
Complete information on the proposed UGB swap is available at a link at: www.cityofroseburg.org
Stuart Cowie will talk more about swap process on Inside Douglas County next Tuesday, April 2nd, on News Radio 93-9 FM and 1240 KQEN.