Urban Growth Boundary Amendment FAQs

Updated May 14, 2024

Each Oregon city is surrounded by an urban growth boundary (UGB); a line drawn on planning maps to designate the area within which a city expects to grow over a 20-year period. The purpose of UGBs in Oregon is to protect the state’s farmland and forests from the pressures of urbanization and sprawl - the UGB is where the city ends and the farms and forests begin. Within a city’s UGB, growth can occur in the form of new houses, industrial facilities, businesses, or public facilities such as parks and utilities. Restrictions on land outside of a UGB protect farmland and forests and prohibit urban development.

Generally speaking, city limits are the municipal boundaries where city zoning applies and where city services are provided. The UGB is typically an area larger than the city limits that is designated for future urban uses and is intended to provide a 20-year supply of land to accommodate future growth. Land in the UGB remains in Deschutes County until such time that the property owner petitions the city for annexation of the land into the city.

Currently, the Sisters UGB is the same as the Sisters City Limits – meaning that there is no unannexed land inside the Sisters UGB that can be brought into the City for urban uses.

How and when do Cities change the UGB?

In Oregon, cities may expand or amend their UGB if it can be shown that existing land within the existing UGB is not sufficient to support new homes, businesses, and other development projected over the next 20 years. Most cities in Oregon are required to rely on population forecasts conducted by Portland State University’s Population Research Center (PRC) to estimate how much future growth is anticipated to occur within the city. As described in the latest report for communities in Deschutes County, the City of Sisters is expected to experience significant growth over the next 20 years.[1] Recent technical analysis conducted by the City shows that there is insufficient land to meet future housing demand within the existing UGB.[2] This is true even when accounting for zone changes enacted in 2021 intended to increase the efficiency of land to help accommodate growth in the City.

The process for changing the UGB is governed by State statute and administrative rules. Any proposed UGB amendment will be coordinated with the County government and ultimately must be reviewed and acknowledged by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD).

How is this work being paid for?

The process of amending the UGB will require technical analysis and a robust community conversation. The City of Sisters has received a $100,000 grant from DLCD that will fund part of this effort. The remainder will be paid for from the City’s general fund budgeted for this purpose. The City has hired the consulting firm MIG to assist with this work, which benefits from and builds on previous planning work that first started in 2019. The City also will use its own resources to dedicate City staff time to support this effort.

What work has been done so far?

The City regularly updates adopted and City-council acknowledged long-range planning documents to reflect changing conditions and new regulatory requirements. For the past five years Sisters has been systematically studying the impacts of growth on the City’s economy, housing supply, utilities, and community.  The findings from this work are found in the following documents (which can be accessed via https://www.ci.sisters.or.us/community-development/page/comprehensive-plan):

• 2019 – Sisters Housing Needs Analysis
• 2021 – Sisters 2040 Comprehensive Plan
• 2021 – Updated Housing Needs Analysis
• 2021 – Economic Opportunities Analysis
• 2021 – Buildable Lands Inventory
• 2021 – Urban Growth Boundary Sufficiency Analysis
• 2023 – Land Use Efficiency Measures Report
• 2023 – Updated Sisters Housing Plan
• 2023 – Updated Urban Growth Boundary Sufficiency Analysis

The current UGB Expansion process is a direct outgrowth of these past planning efforts, and these documents will comprise much of the factual base for an eventual UGB decision.

Communities in Oregon often accommodate growth by expanding into their UGBs through annexation. However, Sisters does not have any additional land outside of its city limits that is part of its UGB. Now that the Sisters City Council has directed staff to pursue an amendment to the Sisters UGB, we are required to study land in the vicinity of the existing UGB to identify new areas of growth. Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 660, Division 24 provides direction about establishing a study area and evaluating UGB alternatives which the City is required to follow.

Cities must prioritize land within the study area, as follows: 

First Priority: Urban reserves,[3] exception land,[4] and non-resource land.[5]

Second Priority: “Marginal land” (an outdated term, not applicable to Sisters).

Third Priority: Forest land or farm land that is not predominantly high-value.

Fourth Priority: Agricultural land that is predominantly high-value.

Once these areas have been identified, the City will determine if there is enough land in a higher priority category to meet the total expansion need before considering lands in a lower priority category. If there is insufficient land in the “First Priority” category to meet the needs of future growth, the evaluation can move on to “Second Priority,” and so on. In looking at these lands, the City is allowed to discount areas that are considered unbuildable or incompatible with future urban development.

Once the City has identified potential expansion areas, given the categories of lands described above, it must evaluate the relative suitability of each alternative expansion area based on the following criteria:

1. Efficient accommodation of identified land needs;
2. Orderly and economic provision of public facilities and services;
3. Comparative environmental, energy, economic and social consequences; and
4. Compatibility of the proposed urban uses with nearby agricultural and forest activities occurring on farm and forest land outside the UGB.

In conducting this evaluation, the City must show that all the factors were considered and balanced. The process of identifying and evaluating land for inclusion in a UGB expansion is a relatively complex undertaking; it typically does not hinge on a single characteristic or factor but involves consideration of multiple issues.

The City of Sisters will facilitate a community conversation about these factors as part of this project.

Any future proposal to expand the UGB will be jointly reviewed and decided upon by the City of Sisters and Deschutes County based on an application prepared by the City. This process is defined in an existing agreement between the City and the County. If the City and County support the proposed expansion and it is approved by the County Board of Commissioners, the next step is review by DLCD for their review. Upon receipt of the proposal, DLCD will 1) approve the local decision; 2) deny the decision and return it to the local government for revision; or 3) refer it to the Land Conservation and Development Commission for their review and decision.

There will be many opportunities to get involved in the project. To keep up to date with the latest, please sign up for the project email list. For more information, contact Scott Woodford, swoodford@ci.sisters.or.us

Members and representatives of the following groups and organizations are also expected to be involved and play a significant role in guiding the project:

• The UGB Steering Committee
• Sisters Planning Commission
• Sisters City Council
• City of Sisters residents and businessowners
• Sisters Country residents and businessowners
• Central Oregon Land Watch and 1,000 Friends of Oregon
• Oregon Homebuilders Association

At the outset of this project, the City will prepare a detailed Community Engagement Plan which will describe how these and other groups will be engaged in and comment on the planning process. Please continue to check this Website for more information about this Plan and specific engagement activities.

How does this relate to Senate Bill 1537 (2024) and provisions for “One Time Site Additions to Urban Growth Boundaries?”

This UGB expansion is based on the process and requirements of OAR (Oregon Administrative Rules) 660 Division 24, which is separate from the new process outlined in Senate Bill 1537. Subsequent to the current expansion process, the City may consider such a one-time addition under this new legislation if it meets the eligibility requirements associated with the new rule.

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