What I found most interesting in our discussion with the PSU REC was the Oregon land-use planning system and the fact that there is no unzoned land in Oregon. Land-use planning is a top-down system, so each level of zoning (local up to state-wide) has to jive with what was intended by the larger proposed land use. The goal was to keep rural areas separate from cities. Each urbanized area has a growth boundary controlled by the state that must accommodate 20 years of employment growth and is re-evaluated every five years. Established in the late 70s, original guidelines were very lenient - likened to a man being given a size 50 belt (many people can fit easily into a belt that large), but those have evolved over time to ensure cohesive development across the state and to protect the existing landscape while allowing cities to grow efficiently. This becomes a popular topic in many of our site visits.
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