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Madras Attempts to Bring Airport In To UGB

MADRAS, OR -- Madras City Councilors voted Tuesday to expand its Urban Growth Boundary. Community Development Director Nick Snead says it includes a key piece of industrial land, "[It would] Bring all the city-owned airport property that’s under the Federal Aviation Administration restrictions into the Urban Growth Boundary and city limits. It will allow us to certainly preserve and enhance all the airport-related uses, and then, where there are circumstances that will allow, we can use that land for industrial purposes." He says bringing the land into the city limits has two major benefits, "It allows the city to lease land and develop that revenue to support airport operations. Secondly, it allows the city to more effectively meet the federal grant requirements for airport improvements."

 

Snead tells KBND News Madras is trying to take advantage of a law passed by the Legislature in 2017 that allows "A qualifying city to expand its Urban Growth Boundary if the airport was directly adjacent to the existing Urban Growth Boundary, to bring in the rest of that airport." The project has been in the Council’s strategic plan for over two years, "We see the airport as really an economic advantage for Madras and we’ve invested over $20 million in infrastructure improvements at the airport, in the last decade."


If the proposal receives state approval, it still must meet transportation planning rules, showing the change won’t substantially impact traffic in the area. Snead believes they will easily meet that burden. 

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