Comprehensive Plan

MYRTLE CREEK URBAN AREA
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
INTRODUCTION
The Myrtle Creek Comprehensive Plan is a long-range general policy guide in which the City of
Myrtle Creek and Douglas County jointly set forth major policies concerning desirable future growth
within the Myrtle Creek\Tri City Urban Growth Area. Being comprehensive, its scope
extends to physical, social, economic, administrative and fiscal matters, Being general, it
summarizes policies and proposals rather than prescribes specific locations or detailed
regulations.

The Comprehensive Plan is not intended to provide answers to all the questions which arise from the
growth and development of the urban area. Zoning ordinances, official maps, and subdivision
regulations are designed to provide specific and detailed standards for the implementation of the
Plan's general policies. Capital improvement programs and their accompanying budgets and special
purpose regulations are also tools meant to effectuate the Comprehensive Plan. The Plan indicates
broad categories of land use throughout the urban area, whereas the detailed instruments delineate
boundaries and specify regulations, timing, procedures and costs.

Through the Comprehensive Plan, the City of Myrtle Creek and Douglas County have jointly
considered and agreed upon a coherent, unified set of general long-range policies for the physical,
social and economic development of the community. By focusing on the formulation of general
policies, the Plan provides a framework for the involvement of both the governing body and the
public in the planning process. Thus, an opportunity is created for public discussion of the key
issues facing the community. In this capacity, the Plan facilitates the clarification of ideas, on the
part of both the governing body and the public, with regard to the type of community they are trying
to create by their many specific decisions. Policies, both explicit and implicit, are brought out into
the open to insure their determination through democratic processes.

To help establish such a policy framework throughout the state, the Oregon Legislature has mandated
that a Comprehensive Plan be developed for each city and county in Oregon. The legislative intent is
that the local Comprehensive Plans act as the guiding land use document that ensures each
community will grow in a timely, economical and efficient manner. To ensure this objective is
achieved, the State Legislature has also mandated statewide coordination of all local planning
activities through the establishment of a number of Statewide Planning Goals. These Goals, which
were first adopted by the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) in 1977, serve
as the primary framework for all local government land use plans in Oregon. The Statewide Goals
presently in effect are listed below; although only Goals 1 through 14 are applicable to the Myrtle
Creek Comprehensive Plan.

The Myrtle Creek Comprehensive Plan can be accessed here.