Regardless of how you feel about Oregon’s land-use planning system, the announcement last night that Metro envisions no expansion of Portland’s urban growth boundary to accommodate an anticipated one million additional people by 2030 is probably surprising. But Metro has done its homework, and development interests will need to marshal all their resources to counter it. As reported in this morning’s Oregonian, Metro says Portland has room to grow inside the current urban growth boundary.

Metro’s announcement and report formally opens a 30-day public comment period featuring seven open houses and five public hearings. Metro is scheduled to adopt a regional transportation plan and an urban growth report, which will formalize population and job projections, by the end of the year. Designations of urban and rural reserves are scheduled for next summer. A Guide to Making the Greatest Place is a concise, downloadable summary with timelines and meeting schedules prepared by Metro.

The “takeaway” for those of us in the close-in neighborhoods: good homes in convenient locations will become more valuable and outperform the general market.