YARD SIGNS! And the City Council Takes on Zombie Ordinances and Data Centers
We’re getting excited as we roll into the 37th day before election day! Here’s how you can be part of of shaping North Plains future and preparing to vote by November 3, 2026.
Yard Signs: Order your yard sign(s) through this form or by emailing us.
Attend Strong Towns North Plains’ Candidate Forum for all City Council candidates on Sunday, 10/11 from 4-6pm, FREE at Eagle’s Nest Reserve Winery (12995 NW Bishop Rd, Hillsboro, OR 97124). RSVP here.
Donate to the campaigns of our North Plains City Council Candidates here. Candidates Anna Warrington, Melody Axe, and Don Weber are ready and eager to support good governance, wise finances, smart growth, and good community services.
Our City Council continues its forward thinking and cleaning up old North Plains’ business including three big topics at Monday’s City Council Meeting last week:
1) Data Centers: Council heard a presentation by Ana Warrington introducing a discussion on a data center ban. Councilors directed the Interim City Manager to research the topic. This was City Council’s first step in a responsible process that could will result in a legally defensible, city-wide data center ban.
2) “Zombie” Ordinances: City Council began taking the first important steps of rescinding old ordinances that were based on outdated or incorrect information. That includes North Plains’:
Housing Needs Analysis, which was based on a 2020 population forecast that projected a doubling of the city’s population to over 7,000 over 20 years. This projection was downgraded significantly in 2025 to 5,500 inhabitants, but former City Councilors including Russ Sheldon and Teri Lenahan retained the out-of-date figures. This benefitted land speculators and developers at the expense of residents who would have had to pay for additional infrastructure for housing the city didn’t need.
Economic Opportunity Analysis, which claimed the city needed 688-acres of industrial land for things including data centers (which residents don’t want) and a 500-acre semiconductor factory to the west of town (which is extremely unrealistic).
Comprehensive Plan, which was updated to include these overblown requests for acreage for housing that’s not needed and industry that’s not desirable or reasonable.
Russ Sheldon and Teri Lenahan’s City Council and former City Manager Bill Reid engineered these growth mandates despite there being no state mandate to write these plans for a city with a population under 10,000, like North Plains.
It is now the responsibility of the current City Council to rescind these plans. Then they will analyze the finances once we’ve completed our long overdue audits, and begin conversations about why, where, and how to grow.
Friends of Smart Growth believes that any growth should occur in a way that utilizes existing land first, meets community needs, generates tax revenue rather than welcoming businesses that receive huge tax breaks, and that we can afford to service with infrastructure long-term.
3) A New Councilor: City Council appointed Mike Shurts to fill the seat of Mandy Hagedorn, who left City Council due to “ongoing threats and harassment,” likely at the hands of people affiliated with a group calling itself the “real friends” of North Plains. Councilor Shurts is a community volunteer, a strong proponent of completing city audits, and a thoughtful builder who is familiar with implementing regulations. We believe he will be a great and stabilizing addition to the City Council.
Lastly, get ready to vote by November 3.
If you’re not yet registered to vote, go here through October 13, 2026 to vote in the November 3, 2026 election.
If you’re not sure if you’re registered to vote, or to update your registration information, go to the Secretary of State’s MyVote website. You can also track your ballot through IWillVote.com part of Voter Protection. Any voting questions, issues, or incidents, call the Non-partisan Democratic Voter Protection Hotline at 833 336-8683.
Your ballots will arrive in the mail around October 15. You can mail in your ballot, but the safest way is to drop it off at our blue Ballot Box located outside the Library/Annex on Commercial Street. Find other drop boxes here.
In community,
All of us at Friends of Smart Growth
