Agenda Item 4 - UGB Rulemaking <br />December 3-4, 2015 - LCDC Meeting <br />Page 45 of 56 <br />Section (2)(a): First Priority - Urban reserve, exception land, and nonresource land. Cities are <br />required to evaluate land in the study area that is such land. Each of the areas described in <br />subsections (a) - (c) (urban reserve, exceptions areas and nonresource land) are of equal priority. <br />This is a change from the previous traditional process, where urban reserve was a higher priority <br />than the other two categories. This raises a question that is not necessarily resolved by the <br />statute. Under OAR chapter 660, division 21, if a city designates land as urban reserve, it must <br />use all of that land before it amends a UGB to include other land. As such, while the other <br />categories listed here (exceptions and non-resource) are given equal priority, a city could not <br />actually consider those until it uses all land in its urban reserve. An alternative interpretation <br />would demand that LCDC amend its urban reserves rules to allow use of this other land in an <br />equal manner as specified in this section. The department has not proposed such a change at this <br />time. <br />Section (2)(b): Second Priority - Marginal Land: If the amount of land appropriate for selection <br />under the first priority (section (2), above) is not sufficient, the city must evaluate the land within <br />the study area that is designated as marginal land. A definition is provided in the law, referenced <br />in this rule. <br />Section (2)(c): Third Priority - If the amount of land appropriate for selection under section (3) <br />is not sufficient to satisfy the amount of land needed, the city must evaluate land within the study <br />area that is designated for agriculture or forest uses in the acknowledged comprehensive plan and <br />that is not predominantly high-value farmland, as defined in ORS 195.300, or that does not <br />consist predominantly of prime or unique soils, and select as much of that land as necessary to <br />satisfy the need for land. The city must select lower capability or cubic site class lands first. <br />Section (2)(d): Fourth Priority - If the amount of land appropriate for selection under section (4) <br />is not sufficient to satisfy the need for land, the city must evaluate land within the study area that <br />is predominantly high-value farmland and select as much of that land as necessary to satisfy the <br />need. A local government may not select land that is predominantly made up of prime or unique <br />farm soils unless there is an insufficient amount of other land to satisfy its land need. In addition, <br />the Oregon Department of Agriculture requests that the rule be amended to provide that a city <br />must select lower capability or cubic site class lands first. Finally, a proposed rule below, in <br />section (4), would define "land" for this purpose. <br />Section (3) allows a city to consider land that would otherwise be excluded in the priorities <br />above if "the land contains a small amount of resource land that is not important to the <br />commercial agricultural enterprise in the area and the land must be included to connect a nearby <br />and significantly larger area of land of higher priority, or if the land contains a small amount of <br />resource land that is not predominantly high-value farmland or predominantly made up of prime <br />or unique farm soils and the land is completely surrounded by land of higher priority land." This <br />proposal repeats wording in the statute. <br />Section (4) is intended as a set of Options for a definition of "land" for purposes of sections <br />(2)(c) and (d), described above, which is necessary because the definition of high value farmland <br />