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Urge Governor Kotek: No use of SB 4 executive authority without exhausting all our options

Governor Tina Kotek has proposed a 373-acre urban growth boundary expansion north of Hillsboro, using her executive authority under last year’s Senate Bill 4. The proposed expansion threatens the livelihoods of our farmers and farmworkers, takes out some of the most productive farmland in the world, and undermines our statewide tech workforce and economy.

Bypassing our land use protections and using the executive authority granted under SB 4 is premature right now. SB 4 only grants this option when the state has exhausted all other existing options within Oregon’s urban growth boundaries. It is a tool of last resort only, and we’re not there yet.

Use this form to send a pre-filled but editable message to the governor’s office, telling Governor Kotek to pump the brakes on this premature use of executive authority. The governor needs to hear from Oregonians affected by this decision.

Custom messages are best, so we encourage you to write something special directly from you! You can modify the message below.

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Contacts the governor’s office via email at Oregon.CHIPS@oregon.gov

Subject: Your constituent says SB 4 executive authorization is premature in Hillsboro. We have not exhausted all of our options.

Message:

Dear Governor Kotek, I urge you to choose the sites inside our urban growth boundaries for Oregon’s applications for a National Semiconductor Technology Center. It is premature to use the authority to expand the urban growth boundary outside Hillsboro, because you (all of us) have not exhausted all the options – which SB 4 requires you (and all of us) to do first. We have a talented, hardworking workforce across the state, competing in the global tech economy. Oregonians deserve investment that builds a strong economy for everyone across all parts of the state, which this 373-acre expansion threatens. We have some of the world’s most fertile soils in this area, thanks in part to the Missoula floods but also thanks, in part, to the farmers and farmworkers who work the soil every day. This land is among the most productive farmland in the world. By turning farmland into a barren industrial land, this 373-acre expansion threatens the livelihoods of our farmers and farmworkers and takes away the ability of future farmers and farmworkers – who we know are more racially and economically diverse – to steward this land, provide for themselves and their families, and help feed our communities. We owe it to Oregonians to fix our crumbling infrastructure and catch up on our backlog of maintenance by investing within our UGBs. This 373-acre expansion slows down our progress by ignoring the thousands of acres of vacant industrial lands and available empty buildings that have potential right now. We need to protect the health, well-being, and livelihoods of our future generations. This 373-acre expansion is nowhere near mass-transit options, active transportation routes, or multi-family apartments, especially compared to areas within our existing UGBs. It is safe to predict that the expansion will pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink, and add to our greenhouse-gas emissions as the state fails, again, to hit critical reduction targets. We also lose the ability for our farmers and farmworkers to capture and store carbon and clean and capture our water. Farmland is home to some of our best natural climate solutions. Governor Kotek, in signing SB 4 you pledged to exhaust all options inside Oregon's UGBs; it's time to see that pledge kept. I support you in saying no to the lobbyists and landowners urging you to push for an expansion. This is the type of leadership we need in Oregon for a better today and tomorrow. We are counting on you. Thank you.

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Urge Governor Kotek: No use of SB 4 executive authority without exhausting all our options

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