Urban and Rural Land Reserves

This bill is important because it allows for active consideration of fish and wildlife values while considering urban growth boundary expansions in the future. It specifically does two things. First it creates a new process for designating “urban reserves” based on the suitability of the land generally for urban development. The second thing it does is create an entirely new designation called rural reserves which are lands outside urban growth boundaries that will not be able to be brought into the boundary for a period of 40-50 years. This bill provides more flexibility for providing greater protections for lands important for agriculture, forestry or fish and wildlife.