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On the heels of Metro’s vote approving urban reserves for Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties, some smaller communities around the state are making similar efforts to create long-term land use strategies.

This is the case in Medford where the to send its recommendation for urban and rural reserves to Jackson County planners. The recommended urban reserves will be considered for expansion into the urban growth boundary over the next 50 years, while rural reserves can only be used for the purpose of agriculture or natural sanctuaries.

Jackson County is taking on the process of much like the Portland metro region. But the predicament the procedure brings up is much different. In the Portland metro area, rural reserve designations are often meant to preserve a natural buffer between urban areas. This allows ecosystems to function properly while urbanization and expanded growth continue to take place.

In Jackson County there is more of an economic incentive to maintain ample rural reserves due to the community’s large agricultural and farming population.  So where industry groups are trying to get acreage moved out of rural reserves in the Portland metro area, industry groups in Jackson County are trying to get acreage added into them.

Medford and the surrounding towns have proposed adding 8,500 acres of land to the urban reserves, 1,200 acres of which is considered prime farmland.

As reported in the Medford Mail Tribune, Nancy Vaughn, whose family farms a 155-acre plot of land outside of Medford, said the plan could impinge on the area’s growing market for locally produced food.

“If we lose our good farmland, we can’t get it back,” she said in the article. “Our first choices to build on shouldn’t have the soil most conducive to farming.”

While Jackson County officials will have the final say on the designations, I thought it would be interesting to note how different the process is unfolding down south. I think it begs the question, in a state that has such a distinction between urban and rural areas, is it appropriate to have a one-size-fits all reserves designation process?