The proposal would expand Hillsboro’s city limits to include a half-square mile of new land for a new research center.
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is proposing rural areas for semiconductor factories using new land-use laws as officials seek to attract more of the multi-billion-dollar semiconductor industry to the state.
Kotek has proposed expanding the city limits of Hillsboro, a suburb west of Portland that’s home to semiconductor giant Intel, to include a half-square mile of new land for industrial development, which would provide space for a new, large research center, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Oregon, a hub of semiconductor research and production for decades, is competing with other states to attract multi-billion-dollar microchip factories.
The CHIPS and Science Act, passed by Congress in 2022, would provide $39 billion to companies building or expanding facilities that manufacture semiconductors or assemble, test and package chips.
A state law passed last year allowed the governor to designate up to eight locations where city boundaries could be expanded to offer land to microchip companies, creating exceptions to the state’s signature land-use policy, enacted in the 1970s to prevent urban sprawl and protect nature and agriculture.
Friends of Smart Growth, a group that supports Oregon’s landmark land-use policies, said in a news release that it opposes Kotek’s proposal, OPB reported.
“While the Governor hopes this will be a quick and relatively painless way to reverse the planning and local community engagement that is the hallmark of Oregon’s land use system, local and statewide watchdog groups promise a long and hard fight to protect the zoning protections that have enabled walkable cities, farmland close to cities, and the outdoor recreation for which Oregon is famous,” the release said.
Under a 2023 state law, Kotec must hold public hearings on proposed expansions of so-called “urban growth boundaries” and provide a 20-day comment period before issuing an enforcement order formally expanding the boundaries. That enforcement authority expires at the end of this year.
A public hearing on the proposed expansion is scheduled to be held in three weeks at the Hillsboro Civic Center, according to Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency.
Oregon lawmakers also rolled back the state’s land-use policies earlier this year to address a severe housing shortage. The legislation included temporary exemptions for cities looking to acquire new land to build housing, among other things.
