Community Development: Planning

City Hall
1924 Council Street
P.O. Box 326
Forest Grove, Oregon 97116-0326

Community Development Director: Jon R. Holan
Phone: 503.992.3227
Fax: 503.992.3202
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Planning Division oversees future preparations and current plans for the City's development.

The Current Planning program applies and enforces the City's ordinances and the City Code for land use proposals (i.e. subdivisions, partitions, etc.) and handles code enforcement.

The Division's Long-Range Planning program City assists the City in developing its goals and strategies to achieve its vision for the future. It's responsible for developing a comprehensive plan, transportation system plan and area plans, and oversees land annexation into the City.

Urban and Rural Reserves

Identification of urban and rural reserves is required under state law. Designation of the urban reserve will provide certainty to property owners regarding where urban development could occur in the next 50 years. Identifying urban land needs for a 50-year period is without precedent and unique to Oregon.

The City is working with Washington County and Metro to designate a 300+ acre area north of Gales Creek Road and immediately west of the Forest Grove urban growth boundary as a potential urban reserve. This area is known as the David Hill Urban Reserve Area.

Land within urban reserves will have priority for inclusion within the urban growth boundary (UGB) to meet land development needs during the next 50 years. Land brought into the UGB must be annexed into the City prior to receiving water and sewer services. No development will occur until such time that the UGB is extend and property owners decide to request annexation into the City and begin the development process. It is unlikely land within the David Hill Urban Reserve will be needed for development for at least 20 years.

A concept plan for the David Hill Urban Reserve area is being prepared by a group of Portland State University planning students in cooperation with the City of Forest Grove Community Development Department. This land use concept will include ideas for future development including possible locations for residential development along with areas to protect from urban development. It is expected that residential development will be the predominate form of development with in the David Hill Reserve. For more information on the David Hill Urban Reserve Concept Plan, please visit www.davidhillconceptplan.com.

For more information on urban and rural reserves or the David Hill Urban Reserve area, please contact Community Develoment Department at 503-992.3227 or see Metro's website.

Transit-Oriented Development

The City of Forest Grove, in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Transportation and Parametrix, are embarking on a planning project to evaluate the feasibility of transit supportive development in Forest Grove. The area being evaluated is vacant land on either side of Oak Street south of Highway 47 and north of Pacific Avenue. The planning area is adjacent to the Portland and Western Railroad corridor connecting Forest Grove with Hillsboro. The planning area is approximately 135 acres.

Transit-Oriented Development, sometimes referred to as TOD, includes a mixture of uses such as apartment, townhouses, single family residences, retail and offices. The uses could be mixed vertically in the same building or placed close together. Hallmarks of TOD include wide sidewalks linking uses together, pleasant areas for bicycling, and streets providing auto access to residences, shopping and employment areas.

Several documents have been completed and are available for review:

Transit Oriented Development Primer

Existing Conditions

Real Estate Market Overview

Needs and Opportunities

Best Practices Report

Draft Alternatives Report

Draft Evaluation Report

Final TOD Plan and Implementation Strategy

This project is partially funded by a grant from the Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) Program, a joint program of the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. This TGM grant is financed, in part, by federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), local government, and the State of Oregon funds.