City of The Dalles delays Buildable Land Inventory

According to the current BLI, which follows state requirements, there are considered to be 175 acres available for development. This indicates a surplus of employment land, which would make it difficult to justify a UGB expansion.

However, of those 175 acres, 127, or 72.5%, are owned by Google. Because the land has not yet been built on, it is still considered buildable according to state standards, despite the fact that it is owned by a company and not actively marketable. If Google’s land was removed from the inventory, only 48 acres would be considered buildable, which would make a more compelling case for UGB expansion.

Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege was in attendance at the meeting and voiced concerns about the inclusion of the Google land in the BLI.

“If you pass (the BLI), you’re telling the world that the City of The Dalles has a 20-plus year supply of employment lands,” Hege said. “I’d ask you the question: Do you really believe that the City of The Dalles has a more than 20-year supply of employment lands?”

Hege said that though the state would classify the Google lands as buildable, they aren’t able to be used that way, which leaves the city struggling to find land to build on.

“I think many of you, perhaps most of you, will agree that our community has a tremendous challenge in finding land for just about anything, whether we’re talking about schools, parks, hospitals, public buildings, or whatever the community really needs or desires,” Hege said. “It’s always been a challenge. We do not, in my opinion, have a tremendous supply of land. In fact, I would say we have a pretty woefully inadequate supply of land today and definitely not a 20-year or more supply of employment lands.”

Hege suggested contacting the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), as this situation is unique to The Dalles and is likely something that hasn’t been seen before. He informed the council that he was working with Oregon State Representative Daniel Bonham to help the matter, but asked that the council put off the decision until the BLI could be adjusted.

Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas also spoke in opposition to the adoption of the BLI. Klaas said she believed the city is missing out on economic development and employment opportunities with having such a small amount of available land.

“If I get a call from a business looking for 10 acres, we don’t have a 10-acre site,” Klaas said. “The most we have right now that is not Google-owned property is about a five-acre site.”

Other members of the community also spoke in opposition to the adoption of the BLI, including Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Farquharson and Gorge Commissioner Rodger Nichols.

As of now, there is no deadline to submit the BLI. With this in mind and the concerns about the inclusion of Google land, the city decided to delay any decision to a future meeting, potentially after the DLCD had been contacted or Google had begun to build on lands, thus making them no longer buildable.