The Planning Department assists the community with current planning and long range planning.

Current Planning
Current Planning assists the community with land use issues and questions, evaluates all types of development applications and maintains the City's development regulations. It involves the processing of land use applications that vary widely in their scope and complexity for the City's various public review bodies, as well as managing the steady stream of counter and telephone contact with the public. The contact ranges from zoning and land use questions to complaints regarding nuisances on other people's property.

This Planning Department has five major responsibilities:

• Evaluating development applications
• Providing support and assistance to other city departments (such as the Building Division)
• Maintaining development regulations and standards
• Providing public information
• Providing council and advisory body support

Long Range Planning
The purpose of long-range planning is, generally, to insure that the current needs and desires of the community continue to be met by the local planning program. However, long-range planning is also the forum in which the community describes what it wants to become, and how it will get there. Long-range planning in McMinnville prepares and maintains plans the programs to accomplish these purposes. Such plans cover topics that include how much land will be available for various uses, maintaining an adequate supply of housing opportunities, ensuring good and efficient transportation systems, and the use and protection of natural resources.

Please feel free to contact the department staff if you have any questions regarding any of our existing guiding land use plans, or as regard long-range land use issues in general.

Current Topics

Northeast Gateway Project

The City of McMinnville was awarded a grant from Oregon's Transportation Growth Management program for the development of a master plan for a neighborhood described as the "Northeast Gateway."  The study area encompasses an approximately 60-acre neighborhood northeast of downtown McMinnville including the Granary District and properties to the north along Alpine and Lafayette avenues.  This State grant program provides funding for planning projects that ultimately lead to more livable, economically vital, transportation-efficient, sustainable, pedestrian-friendly communities, which are the goals of this planning effort.

Leading this project will be OTAK, a Lake Oswego based firm with an extensive history throughout Oregon, the United States, and internationally in conducting work similar to that called for in the Northeast Gateway Project.  Assisting OTAK in this work will be staff from Kittelson and Associates (transportation), and Leland Consulting Group (economics).

As part of this project, the City Council has appointed an advisory committee to oversee the development of the project.  As interest in the Northeast Gateway Project was and is high, a 15-member Northeast Gateway Advisory Committee (NGAC) was formed and will represent property and business owners within the study area in addition to city-wide committees and organizations.  The master plan for the Northeast Gateway is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2012. 

Schedules, Meetings, and Updates

Initial Advisory Committee Meeting:  
The Northeast Gateway Advisory Committee (NGAC) met on Thursday, May 19, 2011, in the McMinnville Civic Hall to review and discuss the current status of the Northeast Gateway Project. This meeting was led by the project consultants from the firm OTAK, and included a discussion of the project area background information, existing conditions, market analysis, and visions and goals to consider as part of future development plans. For more information specific to meeting details and documents that were discussed as part of this meeting, please follow the links below.

 May 19, 2011 Advisory Committee meeting minutes

 Northeast Gateway existing conditions - Final

 Northeast Gateway Market Conditions - Final

  Northeast Gateway Plan Process and Schedule

Open house:  
At an open house event on August 16, 2011, the consultants for the Northeast Gateway Project unveiled some preliminary plans for the study area (the 60-acre study area includes the neighborhoods north and east of the Granary District, and south to Third Street).  Many of the conceptual ideas presented can be viewed by following the link below to the PowerPoint presentation from that evening.

PowerPoint presentation

The next step in this project includes the preparation and fine-tuning of a Northeast Gateway draft plan, which will then be presented to the public for review and comment.

For more information about this project, contact Jennifer Lynagh at the McMinnville Planning Department by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (503) 434-7311.

Project Resources:

Maps and Graphics

 Northeast Gateway study area

Plan Documents

Advisory Committee, project contact information

 Committee members/contact information  

City of McMinnville Draft Transportation System Plan
McMinnville’s draft Transportation System Plan is available for review by clicking on the links below.  Please note that some of the chapters contain an extensive number of graphics and, for that reason, may take an extended amount of time to load, depending upon the speed of your internet connection. 

McMinnville's Transportation Advisory Committee reviewed the draft plan in a public meeting held on September 30, 2009, and unanimously recommended approval of the plan to the Planning Commission and City Council.  A joint public work session will be held on the evening of November 10, 2009, for the purposes of orienting them to the details and recommendations of the plan and to the Transportation Advisory Committee's recommendation.  Public hearings will be held during the balance of the winter season.

In the meantime, if you should have further questions regarding this project, or upcoming hearing schedule, please contact the McMinnville Planning Department.

   McMinnville Transportation Plan Cover and Table of Contents

   Chapter 1 - Executive Summary

   Chapter 2 - Guiding Goal and Policies

   Chapter 3 - Evaluation of McMinnvilles Transportation System

   Chapter 4 - Street System Plan

   Chapter 5 - Pedestrian System Plan

   Chapter 6 - Bicycle System Plan

   Chapter 7 - Transit and Transportation Demand Management Plans

   Chapter 8 - Freight Mobility Air Rail and Pipeline Plans

   Chapter 9 - Funding_Plan_and_Capital_Improvement_Plan

   Chapter 10 - McMinnville TSP Implementation

   Appendix A - Glossary of Terms

   Appendix B - State Plans and Policy Review

   Appendix C - Transportation System Analysis

   Appendix D - TSP Project Summary

   Appendix E - Comprehensive Plan Policies

   Appendix F - Recommended Access Management Policy

   Appendix G - Recommended Changes to City Street Standards

   Appendix H - TPR Compliance

   Appendix I - Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program

City of McMinnville Third Street Streetscape Plan
In 2004 Seder Architects pc was retained by the City of McMinnville to work with the downtown Streetscape Committee, and to ultimately make recommendations for streetscape improvements on Third Street that could, in fact, become standards for all downtown streetscapes.  Within the downtown length of Third Street, a "Test Block" was identified for streetscape improvement construction and evaluation.  The test block is between and including the intersections of Third and Cowls Streets; and Third and Davis Streets.  The results of this study are contained in the following document.