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Washington County’s board of commissioners today will continue to hear testimony on funding strategies for the North Bethany Subarea Plan.

North Bethany, located north of Springville Road between Northwest 185th Avenue and the Washington County line, was added to the county’s urban growth boundary in 2002. The county for the last few years has been developing a comprehensive plan for North Bethany, as well as codes to guide development within the 800-acre area. Future plans for development include parks, open spaces, schools and other neighborhood services.

鈥淣orth Bethany is your typical, rural-edge kind of community,鈥� Washington County senior planner Andrea Vannelli said. 鈥淭here are a lot of farmstead-type houses and a nursery. There’s a range of urban services that need to be provided before the area can move forward. It doesn’t have sewer or water service.鈥�

The county wants to use transportation system development charges, one-time fees that would be charged for new development within the North Bethany area, to close a funding gap for transportation infrastructure. Vannelli says that if adopted, the charges could bridge two-thirds of the gap. The county also has considered making North Bethany a County Service District, which would continually tax residents in the North Bethany area and provide ongoing funding for road maintenance and other projects. However, three Washington County commissioners said at a meeting on Aug. 18 that did not support designating North Bethany a CSD.

鈥淎 CSD requires an extra layer of government,鈥� Vannelli said. 鈥淚t does have the potential to do more than a (system development charge) because it continues to provide funding for ongoing costs. But several board members have asked us to look at other options.鈥�

Today’s meeting will be held in the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building Auditorium, 155 N. First Ave., in Hillsboro, at 10 a.m.