Oregon is moving closer to opening a new permitting program intended to accelerate major industrial and infrastructure developments through coordinated state review, with the first applications expected later this year.
The Joint Permitting Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday to establish the readiness standards that will govern FastTrack, the economic-development program created under House Bill 4084. The council will consider the financial, engineering, environmental and local-government preparations that developers must complete before competing for one of 15 available positions.
FastTrack was created to address a state permitting system in which large developments can require separate approvals from multiple agencies operating under different procedures and schedules. Rather than moving from one department to another, selected projects will receive a coordinated plan assigning responsibilities, deadlines and a lead agency to oversee progress.
The council held its first organizational meeting August 31. Tuesday’s agenda includes approval of its charter, adoption of project-readiness criteria and development of the assessment process that applicants will undergo. Those standards must be completed by October 1. The state expects to solicit projects this fall, evaluate applications through the winter and begin negotiating coordinated permitting agreements next year.
Qualification begins with the amount invested. A project inside the Portland metropolitan urban growth boundary must exceed $100 million. The minimum falls to $50 million in most other areas and to $25 million in counties classified as nonurban under state law.
That structure divides Southern Oregon into two categories. Douglas, Curry and Klamath counties receive the $25 million threshold. Josephine and Jackson counties do not carry the statutory nonurban designation, placing projects in Grants Pass, Medford and surrounding communities under the higher $50 million requirement.
Capital investment will not secure admission by itself. A project also must require multiple state regulatory approvals, support job creation or economic growth within a Business Oregon targeted industry and comply with existing land-use requirements. Applications involving ordinary permit renewals are excluded.
The standards scheduled for consideration Tuesday would require developers to arrive with preliminary engineering completed, control of the property secured and environmental requirements identified. Financing for the entire project must be committed or conditionally committed. Applicants also must demonstrate that the development is economically viable and capable of becoming operational within 24 months after permits are issued.
Cities, counties and utility providers will become part of that preparation. Local governments would document their support, identify a contact person and establish schedules for their own approvals. Developers must account for water, electrical service, transportation access and other infrastructure before a project advances into FastTrack.
Those requirements carry particular importance in Southern Oregon, where a proposed development may encounter limited utility capacity, water constraints, transportation expenses, wildfire hazards or substantial site-preparation costs. Faster decisions from state agencies will not resolve an inadequate power supply, unfinished engineering or a financing gap. Projects must overcome those obstacles before receiving accelerated treatment.
The council includes representatives from the departments overseeing transportation, land conservation, energy, state lands, environmental quality, water, agriculture, business development, wildlife, administration and geology. Its two economic-development members represent Eastern Oregon and Albany. No seat is expressly reserved for Southern Oregon or the Rogue Valley.
After the council determines that an application is eligible, the Regional Solutions Program will examine whether the project aligns with regional economic-development priorities. That review may also identify local conditions for the governor’s consideration. Gov. Tina Kotek will make the final decision on each application, and no additional project can enter the program while 15 remain active.
Every approved project will receive a cooperative plan establishing intermediate deadlines and a final schedule for state decisions. One agency will supervise coordination and provide monthly reports. Reviews may proceed concurrently, allowing agencies to identify conflicts, incomplete applications and duplicated requirements before they produce extended delays.
FastTrack does not automatically approve a development or exempt it from Oregon law. Agencies retain authority over pollution, water rights, wetlands, wildlife habitat, transportation and land use. The program changes how those reviews are organized and how quickly decisions are pursued, while the underlying regulatory standards remain in force.
The council also is considering whether projects with environmental, cultural or infrastructure complications should qualify. Its working materials recognize that restricting FastTrack to uncomplicated properties would avoid many of the regulatory difficulties the program was created to address. More complex developments could provide a stronger test of interagency coordination, although they also would place greater pressure on accelerated schedules.
House Bill 4084 directs another $40 million into Oregon’s Industrial Site Loan Fund for infrastructure, environmental mitigation, property assembly and other site-preparation expenses. That money could become essential in communities where industrial land exists but cannot support a major employer without extensive public and private investment.
Southern Oregon is not excluded from FastTrack, but its ability to compete will depend upon more than eligibility. The first 15 selections will reveal whether the program reaches communities still assembling infrastructure and investment or concentrates accelerated development in regions where large, construction-ready industrial sites already exist.