“I’d like a house on a 1/2 an acre,” says the buyer on the phone. I have had this conversation with several people that want to relocate out to this area. I often find myself explaining that in Oregon, all cities are required to have an urban growth boundary per state law. I seem to be talking about it a lot these days so might as well blog about it…
Urban growth boundaries define Oregon cities. Anyone who has relocated here from another part of the country know that our cities are compact and sometimes people feel claustrophobic here. Having a neighbor “towering” over their house is a big deal to many home buyers and there is a lot of arborvitae here in Oregon yards as people try to create more privacy.
What is an urban growth boundary?
In 1973 the Oregon legislature passed legislation that all Oregon cities will have an urban growth boundary. The boundary is a line created locally that defines where the growth will occur in a city. Once the line is drawn, development needs to occur in the boundary and not out of it.
What is the point?
In short it is an effort to prevent sprawl. Anyone who has been to Chicago or LA knows what sprawl looks like. The point of the UGB is to control where the growth occurs. This helps to preserve farmland, watersheds, and makes city services more compact.
What are the consequences?
With anything there are positive and negative consequences for anything. Here, we have small lots. I am constantly telling people that a 1/2 acre lot with a new construction home is a long shot. For people moving to Salem Oregon, this can be a big surprise and often people feel constrained here. Developers put as many homes as possible on the smallest lot possible since development is limited. In the boom, this was a problem as land prices skyrocketed out here. Now…we have around a 25 year inventory of lots. Plenty of home lots to go around.
A positive aspect is that areas that are starting to get run down tend to get revitalized faster as investors go in and starting fixing those areas. Since they are limited about where development can occur, areas tend to get redeveloped faster…I think anyway. One of the things that was glaring to me when I came out to Oregon 20 years ago was that the cities had bad areas, but nothing like the cities I had seen in Illinois. It seemed like in Illinois that developers would just buy some new farmland and create new rather than recycling the older parts of cities.
So, for those of you considering moving to the Salem Oregon area, keep in mind that we have UGB’s here that impact the size of our lots. So if you want 1/2 acre, 1/4 acre…just know that large lots are typically with older homes out here. If it’s any consolation, I think you’ll find that you are spending too much time hanging out at Silverfalls State Park or heading to the coast to worry about who is going to mow that large lot.

Everyone has their holiday traditions. My family and I celebrate Christmas and so our traditions revolve around that holiday. Our family tradition for this holiday actually starts in the summer. I know, kind of weird folks that we are, but here’s why.
we would stop into the store and each pick out one new ornament for our Christmas tree that year. When we were first married we had no ornaments but we have slowly over time amassed some really beautiful ones from this store.
the ornaments are inexpensive, which was nice when the kids were small and tended to break their ornaments. This year my son picked a stunning glass dragon as his choice, and I felt confident that he could handle it without breaking it.
photos are just a sample of some of the ornaments we have gotten at the store over the years. From whimsical to beautiful, I guarantee this small little store on the Oregon coast will have an ornament that you’d love to have on your tree.
People that relocate here come from all parts of the country. Some will be more expensive that Salem and some of you will think we are really expensive here. So…how far will your money get you here, compared to where you are?
I love fall because I think of warm potato soup with homemade french bread, apple muffins, and pear bread. Fall is that perfect time when you get some cool weather, have a steaming cup of hot cider, and feel your body warm to the touch. I have
For the past four years we have taken the kids to Bauman Farms. I got the official count down from my kids…only 6 more days ’till it opens! It typically opens Oct 1, but they are open starting this weekend (unbeknown to my kids)…
The zip lines and jumping pillow are huge hits with my kids. The irrigation tube slides are totally fun…I don’t care how “grown up” you are. Last year they had a ship that was a maze that my kids went in numerous times. Every year the Baumans create something new to keep us all entertained. I thought they couldn’t beat the zip lines, until they added the jumping pillow.
One of the great things about living in the Willamette Valley is our local produce. The Willamette Valley used to be a lake (
Either way, between our local CSA’s, farmer’s markets, and your own garden, if you are
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