Comprehensive Plan Update
The Happy Valley Comprehensive Plan is intended to guide the City’s future growth and development.
The City of Happy Valley is proposing minor updates to the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is the City’s long-term vision that guides future development within the city. The plan complies with state requirements and contains specific goals and policies for the developed and undeveloped areas that are intended to improve the quality of existing areas and ensure that new areas are built out in a manner compatible with the established character and long-term vision of Happy Valley.
Adopted in 1984, the document has been incrementally updated over the years. The Comprehensive Plan was redesigned to be more user-friendly in 2017 and the City adopted a number of “subarea” plans such as the East Happy Valley Comprehensive Plan and the Pleasant Valley/North Carver Comprehensive Plan to plan for urbanization of land as required by law. The purpose of this project is to modernize the document language and consolidate the goals and policies from the subarea plans.
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Updates and Next Steps
On August 25, 2026, City staff held a public open house at City Hall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The open house was an informal drop-in event where community members had the opportunity to learn more about the comprehensive plan, hear about the plan update, ask questions and provide comments. You can view the poster boards from the open house here.
City staff have completed the first draft of updates to the plan goals and policies, which will be discussed at a City Council work session on October 20, 2026 and a Planning Commission work session on October 27, 2026. The general topics in the Comprehensive Plan document have not changed, but the existing 197 goals and policies have been consolidated to the attached draft 95 goals and policies. No new major themes or priorities were removed or added not previously in adopted plans nor are any changes to the Comprehensive Plan/zoning map proposed.
Draft Consolidated Goals and Policies
The final draft will be presented to the Planning Commission at a public hearing on November 10, 2026. Planning Commission will make a recommendation to City Council, who will consider adopting the plan at a public hearing on December 1, 2026. Community members will have an opportunity to provide comments at and before both hearings. Meeting and hearing notices and agendas will be posted prior to each meeting/hearing on the City’s meetings calendar.
What is a “comprehensive plan” and why do we use it?
The Happy Valley Comprehensive Plan is the City’s long-term vision that guides future development within the City. The plan complies with state requirements and contains specific goals and policies for the developed and undeveloped areas of the City that are intended to improve the quality of existing areas and assure that new areas are built out in a manner compatible with the established character and long-term vision of the City.
The goals and policies in the plan help ensure that public facilities, services, housing, park areas, economic development, natural resource management, and transportation systems are sufficient to accommodate projected growth over the next 20 years. It does not require land to be developed, but facilitates growth and development if property owners choose to either develop land themselves, or more commonly, sell land to developers.
Additionally, the comprehensive plan provides an opportunity for community members to participate in the update, share their thoughts on future growth and development, and plan for a future community with the housing, jobs, parks, public facilities and services, and transportation options that are consistent with the community’s vision.
What is required?
Oregon state law requires that Happy Valley adopt a comprehensive plan that is consistent with 19 Statewide Planning Goals, established by the Oregon State Legislature. These statewide goals cover topics such as citizen involvement, housing, and natural resources, and were initially created to address concerns over the impact of growth on natural resources and the livability of communities. The state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission is responsible for reviewing comprehensive plans for statewide goal consistency and will “acknowledge” the plan for official approval.
In addition to the adoption of a comprehensive plan, other requirements include updating the plan to ensure land use regulations are consistent with statewide planning goals. Local jurisdictions are also required under state law to maintain consistency between the comprehensive plan and any subarea and community plans, zoning codes, permits, and public involvement.
A final requirement is that comprehensive plans must comply with the requirements of Metro, the regional government agency responsible for managing the Portland Urban Growth Boundary. Plans must be consistent with strategies and policies set forth by Metro, including policies related to land use, transportation, parks and green spaces, water and air quality, natural hazards planning and management, and implementation issues.
Who is it for and how do we use it?
Comprehensive plans are used by anyone who participates in the land use planning process. This can include community members, state and regional government agencies, utility districts, developers, and local government officials. Goals and policies in the adopted comprehensive plan help guide land use planning in Happy Valley and are implemented through the City’s zoning map and land use regulations. The comprehensive plan is referenced when we update those items, create plans for urbanization of new land, or update associated studies.
What are subareas and how do they relate to the Comprehensive Plan?
Comprehensive Plans help guide land use planning for an entire city whereas subarea plans guide land use planning for smaller areas of a city. Subarea plans tend to focus on undeveloped or underdeveloped areas and often include their own planning documents with goals and policies tied to the area’s future transportation system, public facilities and services, parks and open spaces, and water and sewer infrastructure. These goals and policies are also referenced in the Comprehensive Plan. Examples of subarea plans in Happy Valley include East Happy Valley, Pleasant Valley/North Carver, Rock Creek, and Happy Valley Town Center. More information on subareas in the city is available under Project Documents.