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You may apply for a city business license at Florence City Hall, 250 Hwy 101 during regular business hours (Monday – Friday 8-12 & 1-5). You may also obtain a business license application on the City of Florence website and mail or fax your completed form and licensing fee information.

Each Oregon city is surrounded by an urban growth boundary (UGB); a line drawn on planning maps to designate where a city expects to grow over a 20-year period. This growth can occur with new houses, industrial facilities, businesses, or public facilities such as parks and utilities. Restrictions in areas outside of a UGB protect farm and forest resource land and prohibit urban development. Generally speaking, it’s where the city ends and the farms and forests begin.

A UGB is expanded through a joint effort involving the city and county, in coordination with special districts that provide important services in the urban area. Once land is included in a UGB, it is eligible for annexation to a city.

The City of Florence last adjusted the Florence UGB in 2002. In 2017-2018, the City of Florence underwent a Housing Needs and Economic Opportunities Analysis. These analyses contributed towards the update of the Buildable Lands Inventory which looks at the land availability to accommodate projected demand for housing and economic needs for the next 20 years of growth. These studies demonstrated that the current land available within the UGB is adequate to address the projected growth needs for the next 20 years.

View the full sized City of Florence Zoning Map here. The UGB is outlined on the map in red. 

The application process can take up to 30 days from the date you apply, but will often be completed in 1-2 weeks. If the application indicates any problem areas, the city department concerned will contact the business owner/applicant for more information.

The Florence City Council must approve all annexations in Florence. Applications for annexation are submitted by property owners to the City of Florence’s Community Development Department. Staff review applications per the Florence City Code and present the applications to the Florence Planning Commission. After a public hearing, the Planning Commission deliberates and makes their recommendation to the Florence City Council based on the findings of facts. The City Council then makes a final decision after another public hearing. 

Yes, the contractor has coordinated with the Siuslaw School District to ensure that school bus access remains available. They will work to ensure the busses can make it through the project area in an efficient and timely manner. 

All permanent business licensees are valid through the end of the calendar year from the application date. In November of every year the City Recorder’s office will issue business license renewals for each permanent business within the City of Florence. These business license renewals are due by January 1st of each year in order to maintain your legal business status and not incur any penalty fees. These renewals will be issued via the mailing address on file with the City Recorder’s office so please be sure to keep the City updated on any changes to your mailing address.

Properties in the City’s jurisdiction are eligible to propose development under the City’s codes. A property owner can only propose development to the City after the land has been brought into the City’s jurisdiction. Determining whether a proposed development complies with City regulations is done through a different process from annexation, however, and annexation does not represent approval for development. Just like properties that are already in the City, a property proposed for annexation will have to file new applications and go through development review before anything can be built. Proposals such as subdivisions or non-residential development can expect new public hearings, design review, and other consideration.

Annexation is ultimately a legal change involving redrawing maps and handing off responsibility for services and regulation between public agencies. On its own, annexation does not represent an approval for development. When a property owner proposes development that could impact the transportation system, the City’s transportation codes will be applied; when a proposal could impact stormwater runoff, the City’s stormwater codes will be applied, etc.

No. The City does not require connection to sanitary sewer upon annexation. Reasons for this include the lack of gravity sewers in the area; direct connection to a pressure sewer main which requires the home service line to be pressurized, and individual sewer connections are not practical because of the need for a sewer pump within the home. If a request to annex into the City is approved by the City Council and the desire is to connect to City sewer, coordination with the City’s Public Works Department will occur to develop a plan to for connection.

Every effort is made to pose questions as neutrally as possible. The team of survey scientists put a tremendous amount of thought into this when developing the main survey. Because all opinions are welcome, the questions need to be a blend of easy to understand, simple to respond to, and neutral in the way they are asked. There are many methods with which this is accomplished, but one of the more noticeable ones are questions with "if at all" contained in the question.

For example: "How much of a priority, if at all, should it be for Exampleville to focus on the following initiatives?" is a neutral way of presenting the question, making it as easy to answer positively as it is negatively.

No. The City does not require connection to water service upon annexation. Properties that are currently served by Heceta Water People’s Utility District (PUD) will continue that service after annexation. The City and Heceta Water PUD work together to ensure that properties are provided with appropriate domestic water and fire service within our two service area boundaries.

Properties that are annexed and are within the Heceta Water PUD service area, but do not currently have service or service infrastructure to the property, will remain within the Heceta Water PUD service area. Those property owners will need to work with Heceta Water PUD to determine service to their property. Properties owners that annex into the City of Florence that are currently outside both the City’s and Heceta Water PUD’s service districts will need to work with the City of Florence Public Works Department to determine how and when water service can be provided to those properties.