Urban Reserves

Planning for the Next Two Generations


Planning for growth in line with local values is a long-standing tradition in Oregon and Eugene. The goal of Urban Reserve planning is to identify where Eugene may grow beyond our current urban growth boundary (UGB) to accommodate up to 50 years of projected population growth. 


Urban Reserves are a special designation, allowed by state law, for lands outside the UGB that can be considered a first priority if and when a city needs to expand for a growing population. Land designated as Urban Reserves will remain rural, and cannot be urbanized, unless it is brought into the city’s UGB through a formal process for expansion.


Urban Reserves will support the pillars of Envision Eugene, and reflect deep collaboration among the City, County, community, and service providers. Urban reserves will identify lands for the housing, parks, schools, and jobs needed by Eugene’s population in the long-term future (between 2032 and 2062) while implementing the area’s regional open space vision, including preservation of significant farm and forest land, waterways, and natural resources.

Urban Reserves Open Houses 

Thank you for coming! We held three meetings for residents in January with over 125 attendees. It was an opportunity to get updated on urban reserves, hear about next steps, and have questions answered.


Couldn’t make the open houses? We still want to hear from you!


See what open house attendees shared in the Open House FAQ and Open House Summary, below. After reading through our Open House materials, visit our online survey to share your input.

Urban Reserves Open House

Open House Materials


Technical Analysis


Check out the story map below for an interactive visual essay of the Urban Reserves technical analysis, which includes four major parts:


  • Establishing a study area
  • Estimating future land need (how much land do we need for homes and jobs over the next 50 years?)
  • Estimating the land supply (how much developable land do we have for these future neighborhoods?)
  • Conducting a capacity analysis (how many homes and jobs can be accommodated on this land?)

The Land Need Infographic has more details on the estimate of land needed for Urban Reserves.


Please note that the story map works best in Chrome.


Story map thumbnail

Suitability Analysis


After completing our technical analysis, we developed suitability criteria to further evaluate our study area. These suitability criteria were based on the state-directed outline of analysis and reflect the City’s Triple Bottom Line Framework. We subdivided the study area into 18 subareas and structured the analysis to explicitly address the suitability criteria.


The suitability analysis evaluates all the developable land in the study area by considering it in terms of the following four factors (dictated by state rules), then dismisses land that, on balance, would be unsuitable for Urban Reserves based on this evaluation:


  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
  4. Compatibility of the proposed urban uses with nearby agricultural and forest activities occurring on farm and forest land outside the UGB

The Urban Reserves Draft Suitability Map shows the draft results of our suitability analysis. This is an iterative process and our results may change as we refine the analysis. Land that is ‘suitable’ is moving forward for further consideration; it will not necessarily become Urban Reserves. Currently, the amount of suitable land in the study area is slightly more than the amount of land needed for a 30-year Urban Reserve option, so land will continue to be removed from consideration as the analysis progresses.

Draft Suitability Map

Urban Reserves Draft Suitability Map

To review our draft analysis by subarea:


Some analysis is still being updated. Check back soon. File sizes are large and may take time to download.


Study Area Expansion & Updated Web Map


The Urban Reserves Study Area generally includes all land within at least a one-mile radius of the urban growth boundary, with a few exceptions. During the suitability analysis it became clear that there was not enough suitable land within the study area for a 30-year Urban Reserve.


At the advice of our technical advisory committee, service providers, and the project management team, the study area was expanded farther west of Eugene near Fisher Road. About 900 acres of land have been added to the study area and are included in the suitability analysis.


The next step is outreach to property owners in this newly-added area to let them know that that their land is being studied and make sure they have a chance to provide input.


The study area interactive web map has been updated to include this new land. Go to the map below to see if your property is included in the study area. Please note that it may be slow to load because of the large file sizes.

Link to Interactive Web Map

Identifying Urban Reserves Options


After the suitability analysis is complete, land found suitable for urban reserves may be included for final consideration according to the following priorities:


Priority 1: Exception Areas/Non-Resource land

Priority 2: Marginal Lands

Priority 3: Farm and Forest Lands (poorest soils first)


A range of options showing different alternatives will be brought to decision makers in 2020. Once urban reserves are adopted, they become the first land to consider if and when a UGB expansion is necessary.

Outreach Timeline

Urban Reserves Timeline Final Opens in new window


A variety of groups are lending their time and expertise to this process. Check out the full list of committee and team members, including a Triple Bottom Line Sounding Board, a service provider working group, a technical advisory committee, and the project management team.

Guiding Documents


Two important documents guide Urban Reserves planning. The Public Involvement Plan outlines the outreach process, key stakeholders, and how various groups can help shape the project. The Draft Project Charter is an internal document that outlines scope of the project and key milestones. 

Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee


In August 2018, the City Manager appointed 13 community volunteers to serve on the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee (EETAC), a new department-level advisory committee that has been playing a key role in both the Urban Reserves and Growth Monitoring projects. Members have a wide variety of interests and come from around the City, with one representative living outside the UGB.


The EETAC been guiding Urban Reserves Planning by reviewing technical information that will be used to inform policy decisions, providing feedback to staff on technical-related issues, and reviewing assumptions and analysis related to long-term growth management-related efforts. 


You can keep up to date on their work at the EETAC project webpage, which includes the member roster and meeting materials. 

Stay Informed

Interested in keeping tabs on the urban reserves planning work? Sign up to be on our interested parties list! We will send you monthly project updates through the Envision Eugene newsletter and notify you of upcoming meetings and opportunities.

Upcoming Public Meetings

  • Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee, February 20 2020, 5:30-7:30 pm, Atrium Building, 99 W 10th Ave., Saul Room.

Past Public Meetings

Contact Us

  1. Planning Division


    Rebecca Gershow
    Senior Planner Urban Reserves
    99 W. 10th Avenue
    Eugene, OR 97401
    Ph: 541-682-8816

    Email
Urban Reserves Logo