The Hillsboro Herald has covered the proposed massive land expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary in Hillsboro, Oregon, for 2 years now. Over 20 stories were researched and posted, covering every aspect of this story. Our latest story, posted on December 19th, 2024, covered that Governor Tina Kotek was running out of time to expand Hillsboro’s Urban Growth Boundary under extraordinary powers granted to her by Senate Bill 4 . In addition, she had no right nor the legal authority to expand onto the 373 acres on NW Meek Road and NW Jackson School unless a major tech employer was coming to Hillsboro.
Here are the details about how we got to this point.
Future Of Oregon’s Silicon Forest Awaits Kotek’s & Biden’s Final Decisions
Today, we heard the news that she will not expand the Hillsboro Urban Growth boundary with the stroke of a pen.
Weeks after a public meeting sparked strong support and opposition regarding the fate of hundreds of acres of rural farmland north of Hillsboro, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has decided that she will not use her executive authority to expand the city’s urban growth boundary. Hundreds came to the meeting in Hillsboro, and most of those in attendance protested outside before the meeting started. Not everyone was allowed to speak, including this writer, having signed up early but not being allowed to talk by the Governor’s staff.
Earlier this year, Kotek initiated steps to incorporate 373 acres of rural reserves into Hillsboro’s urban growth boundary, utilizing a temporary power granted to her by lawmakers during the 2023 state legislative session. This authority is set to expire at the end of 2024. Our last article covered that she was backed into a corner. She publicly announced that she would expand the boundary onto precious farmland. Still, Intel’s failures and the Biden Administration’s cooling off on the company appear to mean that Oregon will not get a massive National research facility funded by the CHIPS ACT…