Oregon governor uses new land use law to propose rural land for semiconductor facility

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is using a new land use law to propose a rural area for a semiconductor facility, as officials seek to lure more of the multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry to the state.

Kotek has proposed expanding the city boundaries of Hillsboro, a suburb west of Portland that’s home to chip giant Intel, to incorporate half a square mile of new land for industrial development, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The land would provide space for a major new research center.

Oregon, which has been a center of semiconductor research and production for decades, is competing against other states to host multibillion-dollar microchip factories.

The CHIPS and Science Act passed by Congress in 2022 provided $39 billion for companies building or expanding facilities that will manufacture semiconductors and those that will assemble, test and package the chips.

A state law passed last year allowed the governor to designate up to eight sites where city boundaries could be expanded to provide land for microchip companies. The law created an exemption to the state’s hallmark land use policy, which was passed in the 1970s to prevent urban sprawl and protect nature and agriculture.

A group that supports Oregon’s landmark land use policy, Friends of Smart Growth, said in a news release that it would oppose Kotek’s proposal, OPB reported.

“While the governor hopes this will prove a quick and relatively painless way to subvert the planning and community engagement that Oregon’s land use system is famous for,” the release said, “local and statewide watchdog groups promise a long and difficult fight to preserve the zoning protections that have allowed walkable cities, farmland close to cities, and the outdoor recreation Oregon is famous for.”

Under the 2023 state law, Kotek must hold a public hearing on proposed expansions of so-called “urban growth boundaries” and allow a 20-day period for public comment before issuing an executive order to formally expand such boundaries. This executive power expires at the end of the year.

The public hearing on the proposed expansion will be held in three weeks at the Hillsboro Civic Center, according to Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency.

The Oregon Legislature also chipped away at the state’s land use policy earlier this year in a bid to address its critical housing shortage. That law, among other things, granted a one-time exemption to cities looking to acquire new land for the purpose of building housing.