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Around 10 years after the urban growth boundary was expanded to include Damascus, its citizens are still wondering why.

鈥淲e don’t have any of the infrastructure needed to urbanize, nor do we have the money, nor are we getting the money from anyone,鈥� City Council President Diana Helm said. 鈥淲e have a topography that I’m not sure Metro looked at when they added us to UGB, so it’s kind of nuts.鈥�

In addition, a recent Metro population forecast predicts that Damascus in 20 years will have approximately 30,000 residents 鈥� nearly 8,000 fewer than Metro expected in 2002, when the city was pulled inside the UGB.

That led to the creation of Measure 3-411, which will go before Clackamas County voters next month. If the measure were to pass, Clackamas County would ask Metro to consider retracting the UGB boundary in light of the recent population projection.

City officials considered simply asking Metro to change the boundaries, but they decided to let residents weigh in on the issue, Helm said.

鈥淲e feel it needs to come from the citizens,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it’s very important to ask the citizens what they would like to do.鈥�

Damascus has approximately 10,300 acres. City officials believe only about half of those are needed to accommodate the projected population of 30,000.

Residents pay higher property taxes because their land is inside the UGB. If the boundary were scaled back (the council has not recommended an exact location for a new boundary line), citizens’ taxes would be lower and their 鈥渁ngst鈥� would be relieved, Helm said.

The portion of the city likely to see significant growth soon would be left inside the UGB, Helm added. The area east of 172nd Avenue, close to Happy Valley, has developed the most since the UGB boundary was expanded, she said.

Based on what citizens have told City Council, there is a good chance the measure will pass, according to councilor Randy Shannon, who proposed it.

鈥淲hat I’ve heard from citizens the last eight or 10 years I’ve been doing this is that a strong majority of them don’t want (Damascus) to change,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nder state rules, the only way that can happen is to not be in the urban growth boundary.鈥�

However, even if the measure were to pass, the UGB may not be retracted. Metro will not consider adjusting boundaries until it performs a comprehensive study of the entire UGB at the end of 2014, according to Metro principal planner Ray Valone.

The measure would not persuade Metro to look at the boundaries any sooner, he said.

鈥淭he city has decided to ask their citizens whether they should try to ask Metro; that’s what it purely is,鈥� Valone said. 鈥淲e’re going to look at it in a year and a half because that’s our schedule.鈥�

Metro believes the recent population forecast merely reflects Damascus’ failure to establish adequate infrastructure and zoning to accommodate the previous projection, Valone said.

鈥淲hen we looked at Damascus and what has happened in these 10 years 鈥� they haven’t advanced very far in their planning,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s the reason that the numbers are different now.鈥�

The city may never have the infrastructure and zoning needed for urbanization, Helm said. And the city already has too many amendments in place that would prohibit such change, she added.

Despite Metro’s stance, city officials still believe the measure could convince Metro to retract the UGB in the future, Helm said.

鈥淧eople told us they don’t want to urbanize; they want Damascus to stay rural,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are so many charter amendments that would prevent it from urbanizing in any way that Metro was envisioning.鈥�