Roseburg’s UGB Expansion Moves Forward After New State Law Clears Path

ROSEBURG, Ore. — After years of delays, Roseburg’s long-planned Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion into the Charter Oaks area is finally moving forward, thanks to new legislation. House Bill 3921, signed by the governor last week, officially approves the city’s UGB land swap — trading roughly 290 acres of hard-to-develop land for 220 acres of flat, buildable property on the city’s northwest edge. The change is expected to open the door to hundreds of future housing units. We reached out to Stuart Cowie, Community Development Director for the City of Roseburg, and he shared the following statement: “The City is very excited about HB 3921 being signed by the Governor last week. This new law approves the City’s UGB Swap proposal. The City has been working on this specific project for the last 7 years, but has ultimately been trying to expand its UGB to the Charter Oaks area for more than 30+ years. It’s been a long time coming! The passage of HB 3921 now makes it possible. Without the approval of HB 3921, the UGB Swap application would continue to be stuck in a cycle of remands and appeals for years to come. The passage of HB 3921 puts that possibility to rest and paves the way for future development within the Charter Oaks area. We are now waiting for the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to issue an order acknowledging the proposed UGB Swap amendments, approving the City’s Oct. 22, 2024, submission and rescinding its prior order remanding the application back to the City. These are requirements of DLCD identified within the bill. This order must be issued within 30-days of the signing of the bill. Meanwhile, the City is working on finalizing the new boundaries on its official maps with internal departments, the County and State agencies. We have a ways to go before we will actually see new housing units being constructed. The sewer utility needs to be designed, funded and built in order to serve the new homes that will be constructed, but the good news is that this work can now finally begin. The Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority (RUSA) has recently begun working on a wastewater collection system master plan amendment for the area and discussing preliminary designs. We would like to thank all those individuals and organizations who helped to provide support as we have worked on this project over the last several years. Nice to be over this hurdle and one step closer to helping create additional housing opportunities in Roseburg!” More updates will follow as DLCD completes its next steps and infrastructure planning continues.