You would have to be living under a log at the bottom of Jackson Bottom to have not heard the drum beats. For two years now, they have been pounding …. first faintly echoing across the Willamette Valley from Salem and then nationally from Washington D.C. to Oregon. Rising in both volume and tempo we could hear them….. intel....Intel...INtel,,,INTel.….INTEl….INTEL!!!! And nowhere did they emanate louder from than Hillsboro City Hall. At this point I feel like the amazing Taiko Drummers are on full blast on this matter of industrial growth.
The big news that Intel has won $8 billion in Federal CHIPS Act grants and another $11 billion in low—or no-interest loans from the US Government is no surprise. Adding to that package is a $25 Billion Dollar Tax Credit the company is being offered. Various media sources have reported that Intel will have a $36 Billion Dollar package just for Oregon. That is not backed by any actual posts by the Company or the White House, but the National package will be at least $52 Billion, and a lot more money will flow. Our digital A I fueled modern world needs chips; the smaller and faster, the better. So here we are at the jumping-off point to the next push for massive growth.
We have all heard this was coming. It’s been coming. I believe that the parties involved in what is happening to Hillsboro for the benefit of the people of Oregon (jobs, tax revenues, power) are coordinated and working in concert at high levels with no interest or concern for what the citizens here want. By now, it is damn near impossible for Intel not to get everything it wants from our community. The company already uses almost 50% of our water, a tremendous amount of our power, and has created a traffic and housing nightmare that can not be unwound. But then there is all that money- and who doesn’t love money more than anything? Not that many people anymore. Left in the dust are the environment, the farmers, the locals (like me), millennials who may never own a home here, wildlife, and the other things that have made the Tualatin Valley so great. So, this colossal announcement is not happening by chance. It is happening to us and decisions are not ours to make. The record is clear, and there can be no doubt that this decision was made by the State, our Federal Senators and Reps, our County and City officials, and the company. Citizens had no seat at the table.
Anyone paying attention to the voter suppression in North Plains, Oregon, which took place last week, knows something is up. The city, its mayor, and the state took emergency actions to pass legislation to deny the people of North Plains the right to vote in a referendum about their future growth, which is set to double the size of the city immediately. A large part of that growth is for industrial development at the intersection of Jackson School and US 26. The unprecedented actions of the City and State back up information the Herald has been given the past few months that this location is a hot target for big planned Industrial Growth.
Meanwhile, the Economic Development Team has been feverishly working on land studies and purchase contracts in Hillsboro. Senate Bill 4, the Oregon CHIPS ACT, allows Hillsboro to acquire 1,700 acres of farmland if a tech firm that builds semiconductors or supplies parts to Intel needs new land. Our sources indicate that the City of Hillsboro has agreements to study some or all of the land shown below for future development and purchase. Look below, and you will see how North Plains and Hillsboro could easily handle the largest tech development in the history of Oregon on the lands shown in the SB-4-B area below and the 300 acres shown above.
All of that land dealing far outside the City of Hillsboro has been the work of Mayor Steve Callaway, some City Council Members, and the man who many insiders to be one of the most powerful public employees in the State, Dan Dias. Dias is the Director of the Hillsboro Economic Development Department and the man executing on plans to spend hundreds of Millions of dollars on real estate transactions in North Hillsboro and these emerging areas. Very little gets done without his guidance and approval. The pressure and pitch he put on before the Oregon Joint Committee On Semiconductors last year helped convince that Committee to give Hillsboro the land expansion ball and lead the State of Oregon onto the mega-billion dollar Biden Chips Act field. And Dias is about to help bring a massive win to Hillsboro and Washington County- if you see more acid scrubbers, chemical gas towers, parking lots, traffic, and yes, jobs, as a win.
Below, you can see Dias pitch the city plan to grow industrial across hundreds of acres of farmland, much of that growth coming adjacent to the Jackson School neighborhood and several schools. I wrote about this proposed growth a year ago and how the North Hillsboro residential areas should be poised for massive change and Industrial Growth- something Dias, Callaway, and the Council want. It’s hard to imagine the good people of that highly revered area wanting that sort of thing next to their homes- but that is, in fact, the plan.
Read: Jackson School Neighborhoods Will Be Flanked By Factories If City Plan Is Approved
Dan Dias was recently promoted to supervise many Hillsboro departments, far beyond his positional powers. This is a nod to his incredible skill set and recognition of his powers. Many departments in the City now report to him, and nothing escapes him. The Herald generally has its questions for City Hall reviewed by Dias before responses are sent.
Community Development Org Chart 
If you talk to any commercial brokers or industrial players working in Hillsboro, they will sing his praises and then curse him for being too heavy-handed with them. Hillsboro does not play games when it comes to real estate deals. A tougher, more savvy group you will not find. Lest you think I have some huge issues with Dan, let me say that on a personal level, I do not. He is very likable and cares very much about Hillsboro’s economic successes and very little about what I think. But it is the way he does things and the policies he is carrying out that I take issues with- and I will state I do not feel those are all things the City Council is aware of nor has positioned our community to do.
Mayor Callaway responded to Intel’s big news yesterday in glowing terms.
“The people of Hillsboro greatly value Intel’s continued local investments in its most advanced semiconductor facilities, including the world’s first High NA EUV lithography equipment.
These investments will continue to drive innovation and expand the semiconductor industry ecosystem throughout the Silicon Forest — solidifying the Gordon Moore Park campus at Ronler Acres as the premier hub, and heart of Intel’s innovation, for leading-edge semiconductor research and development in the United States.” Steve Callaway, City Of Hillsboro Mayor
The news Intel released is being interpreted by many, and the amounts they state are all over the board. They are being gifted many, many Billions. On top of that, the Company itself is investing up to $100 Billion, based on news I read. What does it take to build a new Fab? Maybe $8 Billion as per Intel’s posting, What Does It Take To Build A Fab?
Reading The Tea Leaves – What Does This All Mean?
- Voter Suppression In North Plains – This desperate move by the Mayor of North Plains and the City Council to remove the citizens’ growth referendum tells us one thing. They knew their citizens would vote against their massive growth plans, including the massive Industrial sites. They were unprepared for that referendum and desperately relied on local Senator Janeen Sollman and others to get House Bill 4026 passed to stop the vote. Why? How big would the stakes have to be to risk your political positions and tell your residents to go to Hell effectively? It would have to be something big – like plans for a Fab or significant employer that such a vote would stop. Yes… I think that is likely the situation.
- Hillsboro’s lust for more Industrial- The past few years have taught those of us in Hillsboro that the City and its players are really committed. It has become the county’s largest commercial/industrial land developer, spending tens of millions on land deals in the Data Center Plains and North Hillsboro. As shown above, they are attacking the development of thousands more acres, and there is no end. The lust to have all the jobs and all that money is unbridled- unequaled in Oregon. Jobs create horrible issues for Housing, and now the majority of our citizens are unable to afford a home. We now have more renters than owners in Hillsboro. Maybe we need to stop attracting so many jobs? Gosh, what a stupid idea.
- The State Of Oregon—Turning It’s Back On Tom McCall—Democrats shocked their base and long-time supporters when they collectively turned their backs on Oregon Land Use Laws and issued Governor Kotek executive power to draw a line on the map and bring thousands of acres of land into the Urban Growth Boundary for Chip Fabs. This unprecedented move signaled that Intel and other Chip makers would take precedence over anything and everything, including Oregon’s most time-honored traditions. This, folks, is why California is the way it is. So that is the path that we are on.
- Intel Doubles It DEQ Output – Intel will receive its final approval to double the amount of source Pollution going into the air over Hillsboro and the Tualatin Valley. This was proof that the company planned for this growth and intends to power up and ramp up the off-put from their Fabs- they now have a green light for this.
- Will Anything Big Happen? Despite all the players and money being lined up, nothing big may be coming beyond Intel reinvesting in Ronler Acres and more tools. I will say this: if nothing big happens now, it will. These groundwork pieces have now laid the expectation that the communities and State are all in for Intel and anything else that creates jobs.
Today, the drums are beating loudly, just like the Taiko Drummers in the video above. If you are interested in living in a quiet place, in a city committed to the environment, or in a transparent public process, Hillsboro is probably not the place for you. If jobs are all that matters, this is your Nirvana.
I support Jobs and companies like Intel. I do not support how this is going down because I want our voices heard. As it is right now, we have no say, which is being proven daily. Local voices and concerns are pointless, apparently. But I encourage you all to use them because we are many.
And we can beat our own drums, too.
Excellent article, Dirk. I was born in Hillsboro in 1951 and left in 2006. It was a unique place to live and grow up in. Like you I could see this coming and with the US’s current drive for more chips and the billions being offered by the Federal
Government and with Intel already firmly anchored in Hillsboro it would take a Massive citizen effort to even worry the powers that now rule Hillsboro. Jobs are a heavy narcotic even if those jobs damn Hillsboro and make it nearly impossible to enjoy. I remember hearing about orange groves in Anaheim and then they were plowed under..
The old Hillsboro is gone.
As you know I am a historian and it is time for me to get this down on film. This needs to be documented on film.
Agree!
Wow! Amazing how greed and political power continue to corrupt our elected representatives. That is the key. They are elected, therefore, they can be recalled! We need a major change in our local, state, and federal representatives. It’s bloody ridiculous how much tax dollars and tax forgiveness these mega corporations get and yet their wages and benefits are meager at best. They should be made to pay their fair share in income, property, and other applicable taxes!
If these grand giveaways are so beneficial to the local communities how come people still can’t afford housing, our infrastructure continues to be inadequate, and individual tax rates continue to increase?
Stop balancing the budget on the backs of the working folks!
Agree, Agree, Agree!
25 Billion tax credit! Infuriates me the most–instead they should be pouring money into our local educational system so that they have well prepared local citizens to fill these engineering jobs. Saw a link recently that shows how many employees they bring in from overseas (not begrudging what is perhaps a better life for those who move here–and I meet many in my work, I like everyone). No data to see how many come from other places in our country. Clearly we are building a huge city (active Hillsboro city plan–I saw the report of a year ago: increase population by 50% to 150,000). But our local people need good jobs also–and at least a high percent should be invested in and hired locally. Just reviewed Hillsboro’s school’s last two years “report card” that comes out yearly. My son graduated in 2018, students meeting state 8th grade-level math expectations was then around 38%–not great (I volunteered a lot and believe it is this new math with many ways to do each function–but never learning proficiently). But the last two years are now 22-24%. Our educational system needs to be heavily invested in!
The North Plains issue is particularly gnarled because both sides have a point: the city’s expansion of the UGB was huge and will have massive impacts and that level of expansion should be challenged. Yet, if every land use decision can be put to a vote, it can snarl thoughtful long-term development and further empower homeowners who just don’t want anything near them to change. Really troubling action from the legislature overall though.
We have time honored land use systems that work. Getting a referendum on a ballot is the only way this could have been done and took a tremendous effort by the people in North Plains that would be almost impossible tp replicate. North Plains leaders should not have been so aggressive- peolpe there generally want groeth but smart growth. Doubling the size of the City was not that!
Thanks, Matthew
Unfortunately, this article is very one-sided and doesn’t take into account the massive benefit Hillsboro has had from the industrial expansion starting in the 80s. While I agree that Intel has brought in a lot of change and Hillsboro is not a “quiet place” anymore, the expectation that it should be a quiet and sleepy city is not realistic. The city got sidewalks, improved transit and a lot more budget to work with for the greater good of the citizens. A lot of citizens benefitted from huge increase in their home and land values in the last few decades. Hillsboro is currently known across the world and is rated as one of the best places to live in the country thanks in no small part to the economic growth as a result of the industrial expansion. Intel employs more than 20,000 people in the city and has positively effected the lives of many more indirectly. Intel is the source of high-paying tech jobs for the city and many residents take advantage of this without having to move to California or Seattle. While we should push for less pollution and more housing in the city, the idea that we should stop attracting new jobs is indeed stupid. The expectation that nothing should change from status quo is what many would call NIMBYism.
Andrew;
Thank you for your comments. I do not believe you are from Hillsboro are you? I would be curious where you are from and what sort of work you do? I have never said I do not want jobs, or change, or for Hillsboro to be one of the best places. My work is to magnify our best assets and point out where we can improve. Hillsboro has had a massive spike in crime, one of the highest in the Nation. Homelessness and lack of home ownership are rising at alarming rates. The prosperity and arrival of the “others” have pushed out most of my friends and most locals- and that is not ok. Every road into Hillsboro is full of cars in the AM and ther reverse happens at night. The Countrysides are becoming traffic ladden nightmares. All I ask, and that any good citizen should ask, is for some small margin of transparency and fairness. Votes are being supressed. Our Mayor lobbied Salem last year to deny us the right to use the land use system to testify, comment, and oppose Industrial growth. And our City is acting as the State’s largest developer without the guidance or input of the people. So you can pull the NIMBY card anytime- but in this case it is not going to phase me because that is bullshit. I am a community leader and have been for 45 years. Housing, parks, non-profits, homelessness, education- all things I have worked hard to enhance and support. You know who I am and I am easy to find. You, do not appear to be. Would you want to tell us all more about yourself? Your opinions are welcome, thus I approved your post. But it is easy to be an armchair warrior. Quite a different thing to actually do something in the real world.
All the best and thanks again for commenting!
Dirk
Thanks for all you do to give so many of us who don’t agree with these particular issues a voice. While many of us don’t mind progress, we do mind when it destroys the quality of life residents living here have enjoyed for generations. And sadly, as people pour out of California, instead of retaining our individuality, we are caving to the same voracious greed that prevents families from living near one another or prevents the younger generation from affordable living choices. Oregons natural resources won’t remain great with overgrowth and human density…there should be guidelines on how homes are built, where and protections for wildlife and farming. It’s so disappointing.
Thank you! Because our City won’t engage us and won’t provide a forum, I am trying. And I can say that the people like you and me are waking up. Even if just a little. The most dangerous thing in the world to people in comfy positions of power is an idea and a free voice. If we all remember that, and the fact that one person can change the world, we have a shot!
Clearly you are not from Hillsboro. FOR YEARS, voters say NO and the city leaders do what they damn well please anyways. They robbed the community of their beloved Fairgrounds and kicked the 4H kids to the curb. It is filthy, polluted, and has been a constant drain of community resources. The citizens of Hillsboro should stone cold stop paying property taxes for a couple of years and see if that gets anyone’s attention. The back door deals and secret meetings are an insult to the community. Job growth don’t mean crap when you can’t afford to eat because prices are sky high as a result of corporate tax breaks.
True! And Jackson East residents–lobbied for years to prevent this rural area from being designated Industrial, yet the city–mayor, planner and council approved, likely 100% this appalling land grab! And another comment to Andrew how many of these “jobs” have actually gone to local residents. See my comment above.
I’ve only been a resident of Oregon since 2019 and i see a drastic difference of what hillsboro looks like when driving down tv highway near the dmv and when I’m driving more west. Why is that?
The answer lies in the issues I have raised. Leadership, COVID, rising crime, rising housing costs, homelessnes.
Good points. I think growth is probably necessary, but underhanded tactics are unacceptable
It would also be wise of the city to preserve as much open space as possible so all the new folks have somewhere to enjoy the outdoors.
Been living here for 15 years and have seen a lot of changes, and not all for the good. The home prices in the new South Hillsboro development are out of reach for most, and I don’t see a lot of park space
We need another Jackson Bottom sized park on the north side.
It’s a pity no one listened too the locals, welcome to corporate America
Dirk, I would love to prove you wrong, but I am afraid your comments are right. The massive expansion is sold as jobs. The reality is they squelch small business, which Hillsboro or any community needs. Detroit is a prime example. Another point is that we don’t really know what all the dangerous chemicals we put in the air, and I have trouble believing employees really understand the risks. For example, look at the great jobs in coal mining.
Yes…David I study these things. I read thousands of pages of new codes and policies. I called and got to know and met with the people in New Mexico who lived next to the Fab and got sick. I know people and have whistle-blower who feed me tidbits. And doing this sort of work for 40 years in this City has allowed me a front row seat. Now I am stalled out, gas lit, and blocked from information. But I am undeterred. In fact I am Doubling down and looking for help!!
Saying growth is necessary is about as sensible as saying cancer is necessary. Cancer is uncontrolled growth. Who will begin a recall campaign? Carte blanche for pollution is anti-life for animals, including us, plants, the earth and bodies of water. People like Dias are loved by the big money folks and he will likely become one of them eventually. But the US economy is going down — and pretty fast. But the powers-that-shouldn’t-be will still be on top and deciding how to get more. All of us down below are too busy getting by to put up a serious opposition to them.
I am a log time Forest Grove resident since 1970 and still live with in a mile of where we grew up.
This is Great news for the Local Unions in the area.
I myself am a 26 year member of Local 29 Ironworkers Union and have had the great pleaasure of working at all four Intel sites Ronler Acres, Jones farm, Hawthorne and Aloha since 1998 and have seen first hand all the great paying jobs that our local brothers from the pipe fitters Local 290, Electricians, Sheet metal works, Carpenters, Campbell Crane Co. and all the other local companies that supply the Intel machine including the local food carts and restaurants in the area that thrive from all the high paying Intel jobs. Even when the economy is down like in 2008 when no one was working all over the Country Oregon kept booming with the Fabs we were building at Ronler Acres. So a big Thank you to the big blue machine that is Intel. That’s my two cents on this great Company that Oregon is lucky to have in the area.
Marty G
Marty… you are lucky to be in Forest Grove where your leaders actually care about everyone. You might feel different if your air at night is filled with chemical odors….and the traffic and other impacts ruined your fine town. As it is, I will probably move out there to emjoy the quality of life we once had here.
Thank you for the article. So what do you suggest we do? .Shall we start a protesting campaign? I have for years been offended that our Oregon is being destroyed on all levels. The rape of our forests,, farmlands and wetlands are all what Tom McCall and others fought hard to protect because they saw what we’ve been seeing now, would happen. And to totally disregard public concern to these matters is criminal.
Maybe we should look for a “spotted owl” on marked territory. That seemed to kill an industry pretty quick. 🤔
The biggest item that bothers me is silencing of citizens when it comes to thier property, towns and cities. That’s wrong period and to many backdoor shady deals have and are happening. Shame on the representatives allowing this to happen. Remember thier names folks.
Dirk, it’s not the growth per se, it’s the same methods employed for the last 20 years that think economic development should follow basically a post WW2 model. If the model had a more comprehensive Euro/Asian planning method then it could actually work out, but pretty much guaranteed more people, more traffic, more simple cookie cutter ways to follow.
Past executors of Hillsboro’s growth plans were no better. Diaz is not much different from Southgate, just changing a few names around!, guaranteeing better results. We all know that one!..INSANITY .
And always excuse…Jobs!
Isn’t Intel net positive with its water. Not sure where you got that 50% number.
Intel’s operations in the United States, Costa Rica and India are officially net positive on water use. In those countries, Intel restores and returns more freshwater than it takes in.
Hi Sam–I have deeply studied water department data, of which there are hundreds of pages and I follow monthly meetings–read long agendas, since the fall of 2022, when yet another–but this time 2 year–significant water rate increase was proposed–and passed, despite much public comment. In particular, this increasingly unaffordable water rate increase is hurting our low income residents (also as the whole utility bill increases yearly, as the city is raises all the other parts also: sewer, SWM and now in the past decade has also added 3 new fees: a transportation and 2 local service fees, and 4 if you live in S Hillsboro–a park fee). There is no end in sight of extreme yearly increases-this is primarily due to building a secondary water system from Wilsonville. The water department is simply responsible for and providing for the increased industrial and therefore, residential growth. As for where this 50% number comes from (sorry I digressed to tell the fuller story)–it is directly from water department data. Intel by NO means is net positive (first time I have heard that term, thanks for the details–I do wonder where you heard that, as I don’t see from my Hillsboro knowledge how that could even be possible–keep reading). Dirk did confuse the numbers a bit–Intel’s use is 37% of all of Hillsboro’s water use. This is more than the rest of Industrial (including 9 data centers at the time) and more than 25,000 residential homes. The nearly 50% number is all of Industry–of which Intel uses 78% of. Now these figures are from 2022–so an update is needed. I am putting that on my to-do list to ask the water department for. They are very responsive to answering questions. This is despite Intel putting in a water reuse system, that was about 5 or 6 years ago. I have also seen water dept data that the first year, with this reuse system, usage decreased somewhat–but then the next 3 years returned to the previous baseline. I suspect because of expansion in their operations. Still good for them to make any effort to use less water.
Well done, Dirk, thanks for your big view of the big picture.
It’s sad that the JOBS mantra is so persuasive locally, in light of the fact that we don’t have an unemployment problem.
We do have a problem with continual LOSS OF FARMLAND — equal to the best soils in the world — uniquely excellent deep topsoil,, with no rocks, temperate climate, and available water. (much of which falls from the sky)
Runaway growth is unhealthy and destabilizing on many fronts. Feeding the semiconductor supply stream, as it becomes a more dominant, behemoth industry, is directly destroying our second largest economic sector: agriculture. In this transfer of political and economic power, our whole community is continuing to lose our access to clean air, water, and the healing effects of surrounding greenspaces and natural ecosystems, as you say.
Farms are also businesses. As an added advantage to us, their farming practices have many community benefits, They sequester carbon helping us fight climate change; they feed the people, the animals, and the beauty of the land. And they’re part of a vast agricultural economy of suppliers and customers that thrives only when it’s big enough. Farms and the agriculture economy also provides jobs — at least as many per acre as data centers do — without the unbelievable demand for electricity and water that the technology sector requires.
Since writing this story, you’ve probably learned about the Temporary Restraining that was issued on 3/21 to keep the referendum measure on the May in North Plains. A WIN FOR VOTERS! No doubt he expensive slog through courts will continue, however.
Most of those new jobs at Intel will go to people out of the area or out of state. They will have to move here. More homes for them. less for the people that need them here. It is growth that does not fully benefit the area. Sure Hillsboro will get tax revenues from Intel and new property taxes, once homes are built, but it is a double edged sword. With growth comes pollution, scarcity of resources, crime, traffic. The city of Hillsboro or North Plains will have to expand services to accommodate all the new growth. So there goes all that new tax money. We the people need a voice in the growth process.
Linda- Your comments are simple economics. They are 110% accurate. We are just seeing the replacement of the current tax payers and voters by the “Others” who come with this sort of growth. It is growth for the sake of growth with no concern for the fall out to our people or our enviroment. It is not apathy that has led to this but in fact policies that have been put in place by Sollman, Harrington, Kotek, Linahan, Callway, and others, that in act are denying the voice of the people, supressing it, and then even passing rules to silence those that do speak up. History will judge these people but they will be long gone to greener pastures or staring back at all of us from very cozy digs. We need people in office who are for us first and then these forces second or even third.
You are spot on!
Thank you-
Dirk
Agree also Linda–yet you never hear who the jobs go to–I like your phrasing: “jobs manta”. So, so true. My specific question is: are we even getting full property taxes from Intel? What specific tax breaks are they getting–and what is that taking money from? I know it is a huge amount of money. Shouldn’t it be enough that they are being funded to expand–why ALSO tax breaks. See my previous report on the dismal math scores Hillsboro schools have. We need more investment in our children–to be prepared to have these good jobs when they graduate and simply be able to afford to buy a house!
This Intel story is perhaps the worst example of corporate welfare in the history of our country.
Who remembers Elon Musk and the promises of Solar World?
One question not being asked here is, how invested is the Oregon PERS in Intel and its spin-off subsidiaries?
How much did they (Oregon PERS acting on inside information ) know about the Intel expansion, and when did they know it?
How does this investment affect the decision of “independent” state agencies like DEQ in making decisions on allowed pollution levels?
Oregon’s backbone land use laws and the Urban Growth Boundary are being sacrificed at the altar of Mammon.
Yeah, if you’re not from Oregon, you probably don’t get it.
This is the worst possible type of urban growth and sacrifices every principal of “smart growth”.
Does this expansion also now make Hillsboro a primary national defense “first strike” target for foreign adversaries?
Intel is getting money from the Feds to build state-of-the-art weapon components, that is the main reason the Feds are giving them billions.
I agree, that it may already be too late to save Washington County, but articles like this give the untarnished story without the “good for the economy” mantra we get from the local fake news.
Keep up the pressure Dirk!
“Does this expansion now make Hillsboro a primary national defense “first strike” target for foreign adversaries?”
While living in “Silicon Valley”, during its rapid growth, this was an obvious known feeling.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/05/the-rise-of-defense-tech-is-bringing-silicon-valley-back-to-its-roots/
THANK YOU CHRIS for mentioning this as Hillsboro and the “Silicon Forest” should wake up to this as a reality considering its recent rapid growth!
The “Altar of Mammom” is buttressed by Hillboro’s greed which is in tune with “The Greed of Man will bring him down”.
Thanks guys–adds a whole new negative aspect, I had not considered before.