Planning Commission Staff Report
Ordinance No. 780
February 26, 2014
Page 2 of 5
On January 7, 2014, the Board of County Commissioners authorized staff to file this land use
ordinance in order for public hearings to be held in March 2014.
III.
BACKGROUND
In April 2013, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 760, which amended the 2020 Transportation
Plan and the Sunset West Community Plan to reflect the current ownership of the campus,
amending a number of street designations and amending text for the Area of Special Concern
#11. The changes to the ASC language included:
1. Expanding ASC #11 to include the property owner’s existing world headquarters campus.
2. Replacing the existing ASC #11 text relating to the Sequent master plan with text
reflecting the current property owner’s interest in preserving the ability to develop a
unified and cohesive campus-style development that incorporates the former Sequent
properties. The amended ASC allowed for additional height for buildings and campus
wayfinding elements that are not within close proximity to residential districts as well as
flexibility for placement of required street trees.
Ordinance No. 760 also amended the Community Development Code (CDC) to allow flexibility
for greater building heights in the Transit Oriented Employment (TO:EMP) District when
authorized by a community plan [Section 375, Table B (Dimensional Requirements for Transit
Oriented Districts)].
Proposed Ordinance No. 780 would increase the height limits on a 32.9-acre portion of the
campus in order to allow development of up to four buildings of up to 160 feet in height to assist
in the efficient development of this major corporate campus site.
Ordinance Notification
Ordinance No. 780 and an accompanying summary were mailed to Citizen Participation
Organizations (CPOs) and interested parties on January 24, 2014. A display advertisement
regarding the proposed ordinance was published in The Oregonian and The Hillsboro Argus
newspapers on February 14, 2014. Individual Notice 2014-1 describing proposed Ordinance
No. 780 was mailed to 433 people on the General Notification List on February 19, 2014. A
copy of this notice was also mailed to the Planning Commission at that time. On February 19,
2014, a courtesy notice was also mailed to 106 people owning property within 500 feet of the
ASC#11a area.
Planning Commission Staff Report
Ordinance No. 780
February 26, 2014
Page 3 of 5
Proposed Area of Special Concern #11 subareas, with surrounding land uses IV.
ANALYSIS
Height
The maximum building height in the Transit Oriented Employment (TO:EMP) District is 80 feet,
except where a community plan specifies a higher maximum height. The Sunset West
Community Plan was modified by Ordinance No. 760, which allowed building heights of up to
110 feet within ASC #11, on portions of the property that were 500 feet or more from the nearest
Planning Commission Staff Report
Ordinance No. 780
February 26, 2014
Page 4 of 5
residentially designated property. It also allowed up to five signature wayfinding elements
having a maximum height of 160 feet.
In some unique cases, the 80-foot height limit in the TO:EMP District may hinder the
development of a high density employment area. As noted above, the additional building height
is proposed to facilitate efficient development of this corporate campus. Staff recommends
amending the Sunset West Community Plan to allow for up to four buildings of up to 160 feet in
height in the 32.9 acre portion of the site designated as ASC #11a.
Increased building height is consistent with the concept of encouraging high density employment
that is supportive of transit, as envisioned in the TO:EMP District. The Transit Oriented (TO)
districts are intended to provide a sufficient density of employees to be supportive of transit and
generate a high percentage of trips serviceable by transit. The additional building height would
also provide the flexibility for increased floor-to-floor heights, which would allow natural light
to penetrate farther into the building, reducing electrical consumption.
There are significant natural features on the site, including Cedar Mill Creek, wetland/riparian
areas, and wooded areas. The owner has indicated their intention to retain as many of these
features as possible while maximizing the development potential of the campus. Additional
building height may also assist with the retention of a significant amount of natural resources and
open space on the campus through more efficient use of areas best suited for development.
The increased building heights may slightly alter where development would occur on the
campus, however it would be unlikely to impact the employment capacity of the campus.
Transportation
The entire site will remain as a TO: EMP (Transit Oriented Employment) District. While some
additional density may occur within subarea 11a, the overall development capacity of the site
(and resultant vehicle trips) would not be significantly affected. Given the nature of the site, the
overall developable floor area and/or employee capacity is anticipated to be similar with or
without the proposed change in permitted building height. Expected total future trips to and from
the site are not expected to be affected by the proposed ordinance.
A reasonable worst case analysis for the total development capacity of ASC #11, prior to the
proposed building height change, would exceed the regional employment allocation used in
forecasts for the year 2040. As noted above, a reasonable worst case with and without the
proposed ordinance would retain the same employee, development, and total daily trip potential.
Therefore, a reasonable worst case analysis with or without the proposed building height increase
would have no significant effect on the transportation system.
Planning Commission Staff Report
Ordinance No. 780
February 26, 2014
Page 5 of 5
Summary of Proposed Changes
Ordinance No. 780 proposes the following changes:
 Amends the Area of Special Concern #11 as shown in the Areas of Special Concern Map in
the Sunset West Community Plan by creating new subareas 11a and 11b (see Exhibit 1).
 Amends the text describing Area of Special Concern #11 in the Sunset West Community
Plan to reflect the division of the ASC into two subareas - #11a and #11b (see Exhibit 2).
Within subarea 11b, regulations remain the same. Within subarea 11a, building heights of up
to 160 feet would be permitted for four buildings.
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