Washington County Limited Goal 5 Program Update

Washington County, Oregon (County) requests proposals for an experienced multi-disciplinary team to assist with making changes to its Significant Natural Resource (SNR) comprehensive plan policies and regulations for the County’s urban unincorporated area. This project is in response to a Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) remand of A-Engrossed Ordinance No. 869, Significant Natural Resource regulations, and County interest in updating information on wildlife habitat. The project is anticipated to take 18 months. Goal 5 Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 660-023 establish procedures and criteria for inventorying and evaluating Goal 5 resources and for developing land use programs to conserve and protect significant resources. To address the remand, the County will follow this process and be compliant with these rules and Metro Title 13 of the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan (UGMFP). The project scope includes: An inventory update process for wildlife habitat, using mapped sites identified on the current County and Metro inventories within the County’s urban unincorporated area, and limited work to merge the County and Metro water-related resource inventories. An Economic, Social, Environmental and Energy (ESEE) analysis of the County’s updated significant wildlife habitat resources and a limited ESEE for the County’s water related SNRs, as needed. Preparation of Goal 5 program recommendations supported by the ESEE analysis, including changes to existing policies and clear and objective standards to address significant natural resources. The County also seeks guidance and expertise from the consultant team in determining and undertaking an appropriate level of public engagement for this project, taking into consideration the requirements of OAR 660-023 for notice and public comment during the Goal 5 process and the degree of interest from some community members on this topic. The County budget for this project is $265,000. If the proposed budget exceeds the County budget, consultant should note items that could be removed, reduced, or considered as potential additional services, to assist in aligning the budgets. The distribution of tasks between the consultant and County, or making some subtasks additional services or contingencies, can be determined through negotiations. At the end of the project, the County will have developed comprehensive plan policies and clear and objective regulatory standards for its significant natural resources that appropriately balance statewide planning goals and withstand legal scrutiny. The Board of Commissioners is the decision-making authority and will vote on whether or not to adopt the new policies and regulatory standards.