What is a UGB?
An Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) is a General Plan amendment that gives citizens the right to vote before a city can expand its borders. It ensures that proposals to grow outward are debated in an open forum, rather than in backrooms, after which a city’s voters decide on the size and shape of their community. The final decision rests with the people, not the developers and politicians. . A UGB changes the burden of responsibility so that proponents of growth must persuade the community as a whole—not just the government officials—that their proposal has merit. The public does not bear the burden of showing why development should not occur—on steep slopes, in floodplains or fire prone areas, on agricultural land or where it will increase traffic congestion or sprawl—which requires a great deal of time and technical expertise to refute biased, government-funded, and developer-supported studies. Instead, advocates of expansion must first show the public why their proposal will be good for
