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Hillsboro city officials are eager to identify more potential industrial sites, even on land not yet officially designated able to accommodate urban growth boundary expansion.

The Groveland Road area’s 404 acres 鈥� farmland north of U.S. Route 26 near Hillsboro 鈥� were some of 9,800 acres selected by Metro to be studied for potential UGB expansion. But some property owners and land-use advocates say that is like a slap in the face of Oregon’s land-use planning process, because the state has not approved the acreage’s designation as an urban reserve.

Metro will perform the study over the next month and a half and decide in October whether to include any of the acreage in a potential UGB expansion.

The problem is that although Metro and Washington County designated the land as an urban reserve, the state Land Conservation and Development Commission has not approved that decision. The LCDC on Aug. 18 will hold a public hearing on the entire revised Washington County reserves map, and then issue an order sometime thereafter.

鈥淲e have been fighting all along to keep development off properties north of (U.S. Route 26) because it’s some of the state’s most productive farmland,鈥� said Cherry Amabisca, chairwoman of advocacy group Save Helvetia. 鈥淏ut what bugs me the most is that the ink hasn’t even dried on the urban reserves issue and they are already looking to push this. They’re stacking battles on top of each other.鈥�

The designation of urban reserves in Washington County is one-third of the process Metro went through over the last several years to adopt new growth maps across the tri-county area. In October 2010, the LCDC approved both the Clackamas County and Multnomah County reserve maps, but remanded the Washington County map to officials.

The county opted to replace most of a 624-acre parcel north of Cornelius designated for a 585-acre urban reserve north of U.S. Route 26 at Helvetia. The 404-acre UGB expansion study area is within the Helvetia area urban reserve.

In a letter sent to Metro Chief Operating Officer Dan Cooper asking for the Groveland Road area to be studied, Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said the land would be the least costly to serve with infrastructure. Also, CH2M HILL has reported that the land is able to compete nationally in efforts to attract industrial companies in high tech, solar energy manufacturing and biopharmaceutical business because there are five flat sites that are at least 40 acres.

The 404-acre area is only a portion of 1,200 acres Willey would like to see added to the UGB north of Hillsboro, although the rest is south of U.S. Route 26. If all 1,200 acres were included, 8 percent of potential UGB expansion land would be absorbed in the first year of the 50-year designation.

Willey also noted that a studied area would not necessarily be expanded into right away.

And even if the UGB were expanded, the land would not necessarily be developed, or even annexed into the city of Hillsboro. City policy is to not force annexation, meaning land would have to be brought into the city voluntarily by the property owner.

Three property owners, who own nearly half of the 404 acres, have already said they not only disagree with the urban reserve designation, but also would not support either a UGB expansion or annexation.

鈥淚 own three tax lots that total 125 acres inside this area,鈥� DeLoris Green said. 鈥淭his land has been farmed by my family for over 100 years, producing high-value grass seed, clover and wheat.

鈥淚 remain opposed to any UGB expansion in this area. I do not want my properties to be annexed to the city of Hillsboro.鈥�

Metro staffers are expected to issue a report on the study in July, when the public is expected to discuss a potential UGB expansion with the Metro Council. A final decision will be made by the council in October.