City requests
On June 14, 2005, cities presented their requests for urban growth boundary expansion to the Board of County Commissioners. The land will accommodate their planned 20 years of housing and job growth.
Commissioner Betty Sue Morris described the cities' requests as "aggressive".
Battle Ground is asking for an additional 1,370 acres or 2 square miles. (This is the same area they requested, and were denied, last year.)
Camas is asking for an additional 2,870 acres or 5 square miles.
La Center is asking for an additional 1,923 acres, or 2.5 square miles.
Ridgefield is asking for 4,080 more acres in addition to the 795 acres they were granted under the last plan.
Both La Center and Ridgefield want to claim the land sought by the Cowlitz tribe for their mega-casino.
Washougal is asking for an additional 1,800 acres, or 3 square miles.
The city of Vancouver does not want to add any more land while they work on using land already within their UGB.
Yacolt did not ask for more land.
All together, the cities requested a total of 12,043 acres for growth.
The cities that have requested land beyond the scope of the last update will have to prepare a Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) that will demonstrate how they will pay for growth.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will also be required. That study will determine how any adverse environmental impacts will be mitigated.
Ultimately, the BoCC makes the decision about where a city's UGB lies. The county commissioners will blend city and county plans so that the growth plan is internally consistent.
When those reports are available, FoCC will scrutinize the city proposals and provide our analysis. We will keep you advised.
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