In his most recent video, CityNerd's Ray Delahanty dives into the wonky magic of urban growth boundaries. Washington and Oregon are some of the states to most embrace urban growth boundaries, with statewide laws implementing them in the 1990s. Delahanty, however, dives into the case study of Lexington, Kentucky, which also was an early adopter of an urban growth boundary almost 70 years ago. These boundaries help contain suburban development sprawling out into the hinterlands and protect farmland, forests, and other natural resource lands.
Washington's urban growth management policies are not perfect, with some counties and cities implementing them half-heartedly or purposefully undermining the intent of the law. While in most cases, Washington's urban growth boundaries have slowed exurban sprawl, historically counties and cities haven't always paired their boundaries with policies promoting robust urban growth in built-up areas. Recent reforms like the middle housing law (HB 1110) and requiring jurisdictions to actually plan for housing for working people making low and moderate incomes (HB 1220) have tightened up growth management policy to be about saying "yes" to urban growth, and not just "no" to sprawl.
Ryan Packer
