New urban growth boundary expansion criteria helps Woodburn, statewide affordable housing efforts

City officials and developers are eying a 120-acre former farming property just outside of Woodburn city limits for a housing complex to meet the needs of the small Marion County city’s growing population. 

However, the city ran into a problem. The land is outside the urban growth boundary, or the invisible state-approved line around cities that determines where and how they can grow. While a 2024 state law intended to allow severely rent-burdened cities like…