The solicitation will open on June 1, 2026 and the application deadline will be July 31, 2026. Applications can be submitted online through the City's OpenGov online permitting platform.
Please submit any questions on the solicitation or application materials no later than June 30, 2026. The City will publish a list of responses after this date.
BackgroundThe state legislature passed SB 1537 in 2024 which included an expedited process for a city to expand its urban growth boundary (UGB) and include land for affordable housing development. The UGB is a planning boundary that separates urban development from rural and agricultural land. The typical process to expand a city's UGB can take many years and are based on updates to the city's long range planning of housing and employment growth. Newberg recently adopted its 2021 Economic Opportunities Analysis (evaluating employment growth between 2021-2041), and is currently updating its Housing Capacity Analysis, which will study future population growth.
The SB 1537 "one-time" UGB expansion is specifically intended to create affordable housing in Newberg. Any site added to the city through the process will require 30% of the housing units to be affordable for at least 60 years. Affordable in this context means households making 80% or less than the area median income for units available for rent, or households making 130% or less than the area median income for units available for purchase. The development will also be required to provide a diversity of housing types, including middle and accessible housing, as well as recreation and open space land and small commercial uses to serve the site.
ProcessOn May 6, 2026, the Newberg City Council directed staff to conduct a formal solicitation for SB 1537 sites that could be selected for inclusion in the UGB. The SB 1537 process has two steps - Site Selection and Concept Plan Refinement & Adoption.
- Step 1: Site Selection
- The City will accept site applications between June 1, 2026 and July 31, 2026, and conduct a completeness review to ensure submitted applications meet the minimum requirements. Any application that is found to be incomplete will be disqualified and the applicant will be notified.
- In September - October 2026, the City Council will conduct a review of the submitted sites to evaluate the proposed concept plans. This review will include multiple opportunities for community input, including a formal public comment period, a City Council work session, and a City Council public hearing. (If the City Council determines that no sites meet the city's needs for affordable housing, it may choose not to select a site and issue a new solicitation in the future.)
- Step 2: Concept Plan Refinement & Adoption
- The selected concept plan will undergo a refinement review process, providing additional detail on the proposed development. This process will include coordination with City staff (Planning, Engineering, Public Works, and Building Divisions), Yamhill County, and special districts serving the site. Public engagement will include an open house and City Council work session on the proposed concept plan.
- Once a site is selected, the Applicant will be required to apply for the comprehensive plan and UGB amendment within one year of site selection by City Council.
- The comprehensive plan and UGB amendments will be considered by City Council and if approved, sent to the Department of Land Conservation and Development for final approval.
- Fees: The City Council has established SB 1537 fees in Resolution No. 2026-4023. These fees reflect the costs for site review and selection and the Comprehensive Plan and Urban Growth Boundary amendments required for the selected site.
- Site submittal: $214 (plus the 5% technology fee)
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- Concept plan/site refinement: $5,275 (plus the 5% technology fee)
- Adoption: $3,311 (plus the 5% technology fee)
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These fees will be due at the time of site selection and that if the selected site is withdrawn or no application for a Comprehensive Plan and Urban Growth Boundary amendment is made within one year of site selection, only the "adoption" fee will be refunded.
What Sites are Eligible for inclusion in the UGB?HB 4035, adopted by the legislature, increased the total size of a site that can be added to the city's UGB through the SB 1537 process. Newberg can select a site that includes up to 150 buildable acres. (A buildable acres means an acre of designated buildable land, including for residential uses or other uses designated in the concept plan, but not including rights of way for streets, road, or utilities or areas not designated for development due to natural resource protections or environmental constraints.) The site must be:
- Adjacent to the UGB of the city, or separated from the existing UGB by only a street or a road;
- Designated as an urban reserve, non-resource land, or subject to an acknowledged exception to a statewide land use planning goal relating to farmland or forestland.
Sites must also include a conceptual plan for the proposed development. (Sites less than 15 acres are not required to adopt a binding conceptual plan if they provide agreements to provide the required affordable housing and urban services to the site). The application must include a proposed concept site plan/layout and written information on:
- Housing types and affordability;
- Recreation and open space lands;
- Lands for commercial uses that primarily serve the immediate surrounding housing, provide goods and services at a smaller scale than provided on typical lands zoned for commercial uses;
- A transportation network that provides diverse transportation options, including walking, bicycling, and transit use if public transit services are available; and
- Demonstrate that protective measures will be applied to the site consistent with statewide land use planning goals.
What is required for an application?
For a site application to be deemed complete, the online application must be submitted through the City's OpenGov permitting platform. The required application materials include:
- A scaled concept site map with proposed site configuration and location of residential, open space and recreation, commercial areas, and proposed transportation network.
- A written narrative including descriptions of residential, recreation and open space, commercial, areas, and the proposed transportation network. Once a site is selected, a complete concept plan including all of the elements required by SB 1537 will be required, except as provided for sites under 15 acres. Applicants are encouraged to provide as much information on the concept plan elements as possible to assist City Council in selecting a site. See the Application Materials PDF for the list of concept plan elements.
- Signed letter of consent for each property owner or group of property owners that are proposing a site for includion in the UGB.
- Signed consent to annexation of the properties if the site it added to the UGB.
- Current Title Reports (within 60 days of the application) for each parcel in the proposed site.
How is Newberg Eligible for the SB 1537 "one-time" UGB expansion?
SB 1537 (2024), SB 49 (2025), and HB 4035 (2026) require a city to demonstrate need for additional land and for affordable housing.
Cities that have adopted UGB expansion areas for residential use over the previous 20 years are required to demonstrate that 75 percent of the lands are developed. On February 11, 2026, DLCD issued a departmental interpretation of the term “Developed”, determining that rural residential lands brought into the UGB in the last 20 years, even if they have not developed further, are to be considered “developed for purposes of the “one-time” UGB expansions allowed under SB 1537. Between 2006 and 2026, Newberg has adopted six UGB expansion areas for residential use, totaling approximately 271 acres, of which, approximately 252 acres are developed. Approximately 93.1 percent of Newberg’s UGB expansion areas for residential use over the previous 20 years are developed, demonstrating a need for additional land.
Cities demonstrate a need for affordable housing if at least 25 percent of the renter households in the city are severely rent burdened (spend more than 50 percent of income on housing) as indicated under the most recent American Community Survey five-year estimate data from the United States Census Bureau. The 2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate data from the United States Census Bureau indicates that 31.8 percent of Newberg households spend more than 50 percent of income on rent, demonstrating a need for affordable housing.
See Exhibit A, Resolution No. 2026-4023, attached below, for additional details on Newberg's eligible criteria.How to Stay InformedThe City will be continuing public outreach as the site selection process occurs. To be added to the Interested parties list, email planning@newbergoregon.gov.
For other questions or to learn more, contact James Dingwall at (971) 281-9450 or james.dingwall@newbergoregon.gov
Attachments
Legislation
DLCD "Developed Land" Interpretation
City of Newberg Resolution No. 2026-4023 - Directing staff to issue a formal solicitation for the SB 1537 "one-time" UGB amendment process.
