Natural Resources Protection

Riparian Corridor in McMinnville

INTERACTIVE MAP FOUND HERE.

On April 2^nd, 2026, at 6:30 PM, the McMinnville Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the adoption of the following proposal.

Docket G 2-23 - Proposed amendments to the McMinnville Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance, adopting standards for Natural Features within the City of McMinnville.

Goal 5 of the Oregon Land Use system requires cities to conduct natural resource planning to protect the most important natural resources within city limits. The City started this planning effort in 2020.

The proposal would adopt new standards for areas identified as tree groves, riparian corridors, and scenic viewpoints and viewsheds by adopting the following:

The McMinnville Riparian Corridor Inventory
The McMinnville Tree Grove Inventory
The McMinnville Scenic Viewpoints and Viewshed Inventory
Comprehensive Plan text amendments (Chapter IX Urbanization and Chapter VII Community Facilities)
Zoning Ordinance text amendments (Chapter 17.47, Natural Resources Protection Overlay Zones)
Zoning Map Natural Features and Protection Overlays

The meeting will be held in person at McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE Second Street and via ZOOM at the link below, or by using Meeting ID: 847 5600 6380 and Passcode: 455691. You can also join the ZOOM meeting by phone at +1 719 359 4580.

https://mcminnvilleoregon.zoom.us/j/84756006380?pwd=Rf8NNCXIlwMl45OOKMvreb6MgbBI6T.1

Background

In 2020, the City of McMinnville adopted Ordinance No. 5098, approving the McMinnville Growth Management and Urbanization Plan (MGMUP) 2020 UGB Update. This resulted in an expansion of the McMinnville urban growth boundary (UGB) by 662.40 gross buildable acres (862.40 gross acres) of additional land to the UGB to meet identified residential, commercial, industrial, and other public and semi-public land needs for a targeted population forecast of 44,055 people.

In the course of evaluating land for the UGB expansion, the City discovered natural hazards and natural resources in the expansion areas that needed to be studied and addressed.

The City hired Winterbrook Planning in 2021 to help with the Natural Hazards (Oregon Land Use Goal #7) and Natural Resources (Oregon Land Use Goal #5) planning work.

Maps and Draft Code Amendments

Data was collected and evaluated. Inventories and maps were created of the natural hazards and natural resources within the City of McMinnville’s urban growth boundary, and a report was delivered to the City of McMinnville.

Below are all of the documents associated with the 2021 data collection and evaluation:

Riparian Corridors

Tree Groves

Scenic Views

Maps

For any further questions regarding Natural Resources information, feel free to reach out to the Community Development Director, Heather Richards, directly at Heather.Richards@mcminnvilleoregon.gov