I'd like to call to order this meeting of the Planning Commission on Monday, April 27th.

Christina, can you please call roll?

Chair Najok.

Here.

Vice Chair Bruce.

Commissioner Modeno is absent today.

Commissioner Mitchell?

Here.

Commissioner Guinea?

Here.

And Commissioner Sly is also absent today.

And have Commissioner Tweing has not arrived yet.

And Council Liaison, Rachel Verdick is also here.

Thank you.

Speaking of, uh, that brings us to item number three, City Council update.

Uh, Councillor Verdick.

Pleasure to see you.

Great to be here.

Uh, so we've had a few updates since I last saw you.

And uh last council meeting, we had an update from our uh fire department who discussed um the progress they've made on a grant that they received to work with um prevention and education within our uh senior care facility.

So they're going in and helping train them a little bit, helping with if there's an emergency how to evacuate.

Um so they're making great strides in that.

So that was a great update to hear, and just a really wonderful program.

It's helping to decrease the number of number of calls that they are receiving for things like falls and so forth.

So they're about halfway through that program.

So we had that update.

Um we also um heard about uh foothills, which you're gonna hear tonight, which is great.

Um we approved our council goals and initiatives work plans.

We also had an update from our police department.

So if you want to know any statistics or anything, you can look back at the council meetings um and the notes on that.

But bottom line is they're doing I think a fantastic job.

And we're seeing though we've had some increases of calls to local, we're still getting out there, we're getting where we need to be.

Um thefts are down, burglaries are down, uh, stolen vehicles are down.

So, you know, a lot of good things going on with our police as well.

And I will there is a library survey out.

So if you want to have any input on the future of the library and the needs of what a new library might look at, I strongly encourage you to go ahead and um take that survey.

And also in terms of fire, um, if you would like to see the South Shore fire station and the conditions that it currently is in, we're having tours and this Saturday, the second from one to three.

And we also have some um kind of fireside chats with uh Chief Artman, who she's going to be kind of explaining the conditions in the potential future if we can get the bond passed.

So that's gonna be, I believe there's one at Lorac on the second, and then I think there's another one on I want to say the sixth.

So those are also opportunities if you want to go learn about that.

And then just as a heads up, that there could be some closures on South Shore because they're doing work on the Blue Heron Bridge.

So you might have some flagging going on on South Shore in addition to uh Stafford, of course.

Keep your eye out on the work going on that's causing um detours and whatnot.

So I think those are the highlights.

Oh, and farmers market starts on the 9th.

So enjoy.

Any questions for me?

Let me know if you need anything.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Yeah, really, really appreciate the work the fire department is doing as well.

It's very important.

Um moving on, uh Christina.

Do we have anyone signed up for public comment for items that are not on tonight's agenda?

No.

Um, item number six, commission for citizen involvement general updates.

I do not believe that we have any uh updates for this meeting.

That brings us to number seven, our work session.

Point of order.

Do we need to approve the meeting minutes?

Oh, I'm so sorry, I skipped that.

Thank you.

Um back to item number four approval of minutes.

Do we have any amendments to the minutes from April 13th, 2026, or any motion to approve the minutes is written?

I make a motion to approve the minutes as written.

Second.

All right, motion to approve as written, April 13th, 2026.

April 13th, 2026.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Motion passes.

Thank you, Councilor Giddy.

Item number seven, our work session.

I believe we have one person signed up for public comment.

You can come forward and uh I believe you get uh two minutes, three minutes.

Okay, perfect.

Please uh state your name as well for the record.

I'm just gonna read from a statement.

Oh, there we go.

Does that work?

Everyone can hear me.

Um I'm Micah McNerney.

And um first I just want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak for taking the time in the evening, as you all always are working and serving our city.

So thanks for that.

Um, I am a volunteer with Lake Us We go Sustainability Network, and I also am a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Foothills District.

But tonight I'm here to speak on behalf of LOS.

So just you know.

Um, and so I just wanted to say that as LOSN, we support the staff's draft Foothills Vision and Guiding Principles.

And we encourage you to do so as well.

We would like to thank the city staff and the consulting team for considering our input in crafting the vision and the principles.

In particular, we're pleased to see sustainability explicitly called out in um in the guiding principles, and um we're happy to see the balance of development and the river environment, supporting inclusive and economically vital um community and integrating sustainability, climate resilience, and including clean energy and resilient infrastructure.

Um so we're excited to collaboratively explore the opportunity for a clean energy district in the foothills, looking toward the future, thinking about city goals, you know, for the future and planning for that now.

And to that end, we'd like to invite you to our June 8th Clean Energy panel that LOSN has put together.

I have some flyers that I brought for you all so you can take them home.

Um it includes the Oregon Department of Energy, Eco Smart, which is a national developer and manager of thermal energy networks, which you sometimes might hear us refer to as tens, but that's an idea we have for clean energy in the foothills district.

And also PAE, which is a Portland-based sustainable architecture engineering firm.

Um I have these flyers for everybody, and that was kind of what I came here to say.

Can you let the commission know what time it's at?

Because I'm so sorry.

I'm I'm so sorry.

Oh, now it's not working.

Oh, now it is working.

It is um from 3 30 to 5 on June the 8th, and it's at Lorac.

So I'm just leave those there.

That's probably the easiest way.

Yeah, okay.

Now it turn off.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

All right, that takes us on to today's work session, the Foothills District Plan Update, PP 22-0005, work session number five.

And it uh says presenting is uh staff coordinator Eric Olson.

Is Eric online or no?

Unfortunately, Mr.

Olson is not um feeling well today, so he will not be uh but um Mr.

Graf here from first 40 feet will be presenting.

All right, thank you.

Good to see you.

Yeah, you too.

Um we have you should have in front of you a piece of paper with QR code, and part of the update today will be uh engaging you on some thoughts about the vision and the guiding principles.

And this is an exercise that we went through with City Council last week.

And so we're gonna sort of walk through what led to the vision and guiding principles, part of our CAC are behind us here, and of course, Rachel is one of those members as well.

So we'll cover a little bit of that process, and then we want to share with you what we heard from council is in terms of direction, and most of it's really positive about the vision and guiding principles, but there are some adjustments and clarifications that council have asked us to look at.

And so this is an opportunity to pass the same information through you all and get your sense in terms of direction as well about the vision to guiding principles.

So we'll that's kind of the core of the work session today, but we'll also do some update on the engagement work that we've been doing.

So good evening.

Thanks for having me, Jason Graf.

I'm with First 40 Feet.

We're leading the Foothills District plan update project.

And this is I seem feel like this is the third meeting with you all, so it's great to see you again.

Our agenda today, as I mentioned, is to give you an update on our project progress and engagement.

Some of that includes a technical advisory committee.

As I mentioned, we'll share the CAC visioning process and outcomes.

And then we're going to present the draft statements and guiding principles for you all to weigh in on as well as to look at what council has identified as potential direction and adjustments to that plan.

So the project schedule just sort of orients you to where we are in the process here.

We're, you know, well into what we call visioning and goal setting.

We we did the first few months here of gathering opportunities and constraints.

We created a story map, which is an online existing conditions report that also allows for engagement from the community around opportunities, challenges, and values, what you'd like to see in the district.

So that's kind of an ongoing tool that we're using to gather input.

So we'll push out that that is available to the community, and it's always a place for people to sort of check in and learn quite a bit about the project, which is good.

There's also a project website which provides immediate information about upcoming meetings and events.

And we've had about 50 hits or so on that story map, and we're compiling that information as it sort of backfills our understanding about opportunities and challenges.

So that's a great thing that we'll continue throughout the process.

And we also have had a series of engagement sessions with a variety of different groups, and I'll hit that here in a minute.

But we're now moving into the point where we're starting to gather what people value in terms of future development.

We're starting to understand where the opportunities and challenges are, ownerships, topography, all kinds of things.

And we're now ready to step into the realm of developing preliminary concepts.

And there's sort of a process for doing that.

So I want to kind of couch this before we get into things.

We're not like jumping into full development scenarios with buildings and typologies and 2500 housing units and 30,000 square feet of retail.

What we're looking at is what is the basic framework that is going to stimulate investment.

So access into the district is key.

So we want to identify what's that, what are those key primary circulation routes that are going to get people into and out of the district in the redevelopment area, which isn't the whole district, but that area where the concrete batch plant is and where some of the vacant uses, but also active car repair, auto rental, those types of spaces are.

That's really where we see redevelopment opportunity in terms of creating a new street network and establishing blocks for development.

So we're going to figure out how to get into the district, connect it north to south, and then establish that road network in the interior, which will lay out a series of development blocks and parcels that we can then look at a variety of scenarios for backfilling development within those spaces.

That's kind of the rude, crude process we'll be going through.

Once we've established that, we can learn about what might be amenable from a development perspective.

But sort of the look and feel and how much is affordable, how much is it market rate?

That's kind of another step beyond where we're we're heading into.

Now we're trying to establish the basic framework, the assembly of land uses that might be market acceptable and community supported.

And then from there we'll sort of get in into the details.

And so we're we're approaching that moment where we'll be developing uh three or four concepts for access and potential development areas in the district.

Some of the work that we've been doing in terms of process and engagement is the story map that I mentioned.

Uh 50 responses to date, you see those there.

And then our engagement, we had an open house at the adult uh community center just about a I think about a month and a half ago.

Um we've had two citizen advisory committee meetings specific to visioning and guiding principles.

So we sort of introduced the topic.

We talked a bit about the 2012 vision and guiding principles, and then we worked into our next session.

We were actually identifying values in terms of a vision statement and guiding principles.

We went through an exercise with Mentimeter where folks were inputting information and we we spun that out into actual draft uh guiding principle statements.

So those are generally what you're gonna see tonight was the outcome of that second meeting.

Um we've also met with the technical advisory committee, and that's um been focused on the intersection of Twiliger Boulevard and State Street.

That is in terms of the North Portal 2012 plan looked at access to the district from an at-grade existing crossing at the public storage building.

And to Williger is another opportunity we want to explore as a part of this effort.

It was it was not chosen as a preferred in 2012, but I think given the reboot of the project, I think now we're really seeing that as a real opportunity to explore that intersection.

And to do that, we wanted to bring the Oregon Department of Transportation in.

We wanted to bring in Oregon Department of Transportation Rail, so we'd understand what the implications are of impacting the rail line.

We brought in the Trion Creek Watershed Council, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, because both of those agencies have been working on a fish culvert project.

And the idea being if we can align a number of interests at that intersection, I think we can explore not only access improvements to the district, but also think about say fish passage, try to build together a coalition of interests that can help us move forward versus just saying this is a road project for the Foothills district.

So that TAC has helped us to understand who our partners might be and some of the processes we would need to go through to get you know a connection where the rail line intersects and talking to Oregon Department of Transportation in terms of you know viability or you know their interest in adding that additional leg to that intersection.

So that was a good meeting.

We've met with others, affinity groups at Lake Oswego High School, Friends of Tryon Creek, the Youth Action Council has been another group.

We've been tapping into the high school students in particular to get sort of their perspective.

Same things.

What would you value in the district?

What are the things that are missing?

What would you like to see there?

A lot of great questions about challenges.

All of them tend to be how the heck would we pay for this?

So it's really interesting across the spectrum.

Folks are trying to figure out who's got the checkbook.

We've also met with the Oswego Point condominiums because they're affected stakeholders right next to the site.

The Stanford Road HOA is another group that we've talked to.

They're certainly they love Foothills Park.

Uh, you know, as long as the development's on the other side of the creek, they're they're generally pretty excited about it.

Um, and then of course, we recently had a city council work session, and um, we're meeting with you.

And I think later on here, I'll be telling you about some upcoming meetings.

You'll see these here.

So let's get into the CAC visioning process.

I mentioned it was two parts.

Um, we're really focused on long-term outcomes as part of this project.

I think everyone knows that.

Um, there is going to be change, but it it's a long arc, I would say, in terms of the change in the district.

And we walked away with um a vision and six guiding principles, and um we'll be confirming those with the Citizens Advisory Committee on May 12th.

So the outcome of this meeting we'll share with them the direction we've received from City Council, direction we've received from the planning commission, and we'll be um providing some modifications to those based on what we heard from council and what we hear from you today.

So they'll have another opportunity to to weigh in and give their feedback.

What we heard from them in terms of what what do you value in the future of the Foothills District, it's that it continues to be a public facing waterfront.

I mean, this is Foothills Park is a the community space on the Willamette River, much as Rogers Park is.

But this is really important that it continue to be fully accessible and a part of the community with future development coming online.

I think folks are excited about the idea of a neighborhood and more activity being down there.

We all know sort of the outback and behind nature of the site today.

Some people like that calm factor, others would like to see improved access and visibility and better connections with downtown.

So an active lived-in neighborhood was important to people, and obviously balancing livability with economic vitality.

I think the community understands that this is an opportunity to build housing and some additional development, but what people don't want to lose is access and the enjoyment they have of Foothills Park today.

Um so you know, they just want to make sure that that stays intact.

The other is being distinctly like uswego.

You know, the development along First Street really established kind of a new datum line.

That was controversial when it was happening.

And the anchor project at B Avenue is gonna be an addition to that revitalization of downtown.

And I think generally that character has been accepted by the community, and as they see new development progressing into the district, I think that quality and and that feeling of development is what folks would like to see moving forward.

So they're asking us to be aware of who you are as Lake Oswegoans and what you would like to see in terms of future development.

There's also non-negotiables, and I think it all comes back to Foothills Park in terms of that public access to the rivers and parks and those connections, for instance, between Rogers Park and Foothills Park is really important, and that future extension over Tryon Creek, if that were to happen with the bridge, I think that is something that the community wants to continue to see.

So have that access and continue to link those public spaces are really important.

So that connection to nature just keeps coming up over and over again.

That includes probably the curly Q trail that extends down into the district and is definitely a happy thing for a lot of people.

High quality design, I think that leads into the last bullet from the previous.

I think this community benefit first, they don't want to lose this great asset that they have in terms of access to the waterfront, and this being a project that's at the front door of downtown as well.

So you've got two ends of the coin, and we'll hear a little bit more about how important that was from city council's perspective.

So identity is really kind of couched in just the beauty of this place.

One of the interesting things we found as we studied Lake Oswego as a tree canopy, 53% of the of this city is under tree canopy.

It's probably in the top five of cities in Oregon.

And so it is a unique, distinct feature of the community.

The lake, the river, the tree canopy.

So this blending of nature and urban life is expected to continue with the redevelopment of this district.

This is kind of a hole in that tree canopy.

The redevelopment area that we're looking at now generally doesn't have that characteristic of Lake Oswego Point apartments or Trion Creek.

So that's an opportunity to blend those together.

And you know, building a memorable and authentic district isn't is important to folks.

I think that leads into quality of development and making sure that we're you know similar in scale and style to the rest of the community and not being overcommercialized.

I think that's obvious one.

People don't want to see chain businesses and something that feels non-Lake Oswego in this location.

Now I think trade-offs are they're challenging, but they were acknowledged.

What I mean by that is I think generally folks will support growth if access and public spaces continue to be a priority.

Foothills Park is continue to be that community asset and access to the park and to downtown back and forth maintain, you know, is continued in the plan or enhanced in the plan is important.

Um, that development should have some affordability components so that there is an inclusive community and there's a variety of opportunities for folks to live in the district.

Um certainly, you know, with congestion, I mean, there's concerns, obviously, about congestion and potential loss of character as a result of new development.

But folks know this may be an opportunity to manage some of those issues, but it's they're clear-eyed that those elements may be a part of future development.

So let's land here on the draft vision statement, and this is what was um created by um the citizen advisory committee.

If you haven't already scanned the QR code on your phone, you should do that now.

I should have mentioned that prior, because we're going to start moving into some direct questions for you all, where you're able to use your phone to respond to those.

So I'll I'll read the draft vision statement as prepared by the CAC.

Um, the Foothills District, and let me preface that that much of this language started with the 2012 vision.

So we didn't scrap that.

We brought that forward in slightly different form, but that's to be expected given the change in where we are today versus 2012.

But in any case, the draft vision statement, the Foothills District is Lake Oswego's greatest opportunity to provide the community with a significant riverfront presence.

That's for Batum from 2012.

Building upon the recent success of downtown Lake Oswego, the district will redevelop in a manner that knits downtown, Tryon Creek, Old Town, the Willamette River, and Oswego Lake together.

And in the process, we'll establish Lake Oswego's next great residential neighborhood.

The Foothills District will become a welcoming, inclusive neighborhood that strengthens the existing community and deepens Lake Oswego's connection to the Bullamet River through clear multimodal access, vibrant public spaces, restored natural systems, and a diverse range of housing and options that support community life for all.

Guided by the site's topography, its downtown context, and a commitment to long-term adaptability, future development of Foothills will be rooted in sustainability, honoring the land history and stories of Lake Oswego while embracing new residents, cultures, and futures.

Um generally supported the vision in its direction.

And I think we asked them do you support outright?

Do you support with conditions or do you not support?

And so there were three votes, yes, as is, and there were three votes with conditions.

And generally, those conditions had to revolve around this idea of the district not being separate from the downtown, that it's actually the connective tissue that we've between the downtown and the riverfront.

So this idea of connection was utterly important, that the district should be complementing downtown, not competing with the downtown.

So this idea of a competing retail center or pulling energy away from the downtown is not needs to be clearly stated that this is complementary.

And so reinforcing also Foothills Park as that key downtown asset and linked to the to the river.

So ensuring that we're getting Foothills Park in that description, too, that that's one of the key amenities with downtown.

This idea of neighborhood felt a little too maybe exclusive.

It was felt more residential.

There may be a component of commercial oriented to state street.

There's likely to be some type of commercial near the waterfront as a destination.

These aren't like we're not talking about creating a continuous retail string from one end to the other, but there is opportunities for a mix of uses, not only housing, but things that address the park and waterfront activity.

And so just wanted to build a little more clarity in terms of terminology.

So neighborhood was less supported than maybe mixed use and leaning into that term.

And then multimodal access, just kind of defining what that means with a little more clarity.

Being that this is kind of an edged location and is not sort of a core area for a transit center or other locations, but that walking and biking are kind of the primary ways that we can get into the district as well as auto traffic, of course.

A little bit of aspirational tone was asked for, so maybe a little more compelling and aspirational was asked for.

Design and character is another thing, is expressing the quality.

We've we've seen a lot about the quality of design and the comments from the CAC and others, but having that embedded in the vision was important as well, thinking about this idea of that visual connection between downtown and the waterfront, and the fact that new development will be oriented to that connection.

That's what creates an active vital environment.

So there was a need to sort of try to express that language a little bit more.

Thanks for your patience.

First question here is from your perspective, given that vision statement, your support.

And folks with conditions, yeah, we'd love to hear those too.

Please please identify any conditions that you think would be important to include.

Um, I I voted yes with conditions.

And I I support city council's uh thoughts about having conditions about uh design emphasized as well as the aspirational tone of it, and definitely having it be a connector and not a competition to the businesses and housing that are currently provided.

Um, additionally, I would like to see the diversity equity inclusion lens that um has been adopted and implemented widely in many ways by the city of Lake Oswego, just a bit more clearly defined.

We don't know at what future city councils and future administrations are going to say or think.

Um, so having it really um inarguably defined in public records, I think is a benefit.

Great.

Do you mind just typing a little bit of that in into the description here?

That would be perfect because you're saying yes, I I support that there should be some conditions that we've heard from the city council.

So thanks for acknowledging some of those, and then yeah, please add uh diversity, equity, inclusion as another condition.

I think that's a new one.

Thanks, Rachel.

That's great.

Six guiding principles evolved from the citizens advisory committee, and you'll see those here.

We'll go through them sort of groups of two.

Um, and I'll just jump right into it.

But um the first is creating a walkable mixed-use waterfront district.

And so, you know, the design of foothills is as a human-scaled um uh development is really important where housing is a key component as well as civic spaces, and that that echoes the fact that you've got Foothills Park here, but there's opportunities for redevelopment to expand on that and create amenities for development.

Recreation continues to be important, supporting uh opportunities for local business and creating an active waterfront uh environment for residents and visitors.

That was that first principle, create a walkable mixed-use waterfront district and those components then support that.

The second was balanced development with the natural river environment.

So ensuring that we're respecting this location along the Willamette River, the fact that we're in a floodplain, for instance, and that's going to be seminal in terms of redevelopment potential, but also Tryon Creek and the and the convergence of those two on the north end is really important.

Of course, this is a site for the wastewater treatment plant, which is going to be necessary for this community to continue to function, and the tree canopy we mentioned, these are real opportunities to knit together those natural aspects with redevelopment.

And so bringing those in to the project area, sort of connecting where landscape already exists on the south and weaving that through the redevelopment area is part of number two.

Um what we heard from from council and seeing this here is small town character, but um yes, sorry, the second one here in that phrase while maintaining Lake Oswego's small town character.

I think that was one of the elements that felt unclear about these that guiding principle in particular, in that we aren't necessarily creating a small town in downtown.

We have a downtown.

This is that redevelopment area between downtown and the waterfront, and it felt that the small town character may not be the best lens with which to look at future development or to develop uh concepts on the on those terms.

Um so you know, one of the one of the comments is to remove that um from the uh guiding principles.

And we've mentioned about emphasizing foothills as complimentary, not competing with downtown.

Um strengthening language around the connection really between downtown and the waterfront, the strength of it being a pedestrian connection, that that's really important.

So this downtown to waterfront access needs to be um I think more overt in the language here, and then reaffir reinforcing quality design and sustainability considerations.

So for you all principles one and two, your thoughts.

And like before, go ahead and put your conditions.

If if some of your conditions are like, yeah, we're affirming what city council has stated as conditions, that's great.

That's helpful if you're able to input that.

And then if there are additional conditions that you you feel we need to consider, please add those as well.

And thanks for doing all the hard work today.

Sorry, type on my end.

That should say strike small town character.

Oh, we don't want to pet and all right, got it.

I think you can go back, maybe not, maybe not after you've entered.

Nope, can't go back.

I'll make a note of that.

I mean, I think the public trans, I'll start with the last one.

I think public transportation, yes, would be a would certainly be a part of that.

They're on our advisory committee, and you know, whether that stop continues, TriMed access continues to be on State Street is you know to be determined, I think, as terms as ridership increases and and the develop and the district evolves.

That yeah, I think TriMet would certainly be interested in looking at routing configurations that include the district.

Um, another thing to think about, you know, TriMed is is obviously a major transit provider, but um a lot of communities are using their existing um ride share to they're sorry, they're using their existing um sort of small vehicle bus as a ride share.

So those vehicles that typically took people to doctor visits and they have the lift chair in the back, they usually support about maybe 15 to 20 passengers.

Um the city of Battleground, the city of Anna Cortis, and both in Washington are using those vehicles and their drivers with an Uber app essentially, and anyone with the app can use the vehicle to go anywhere in town.

And I think that might be an interesting add-on to Lake Oswego, where you have something that's that's really here for this town, and it's really a way to get in around between Lake Grove and here, and it's great for students and it's great for you know, older people who need to get to an appointment or even to see friends.

So it doesn't, it's not restricted by anything other than having the app and and their enough capacity because drivers are here.

So I think that's an interesting thing.

We want to we want to bring it as a part of this process.

So I sorry for going off track here, but I was just noticing the TriMet piece here.

And thanks for your the the affirmation of small town, appreciate that.

Um, and striking that that piece and complimentary.

So, yeah, it sounds like you're you're in alignment with what we're hearing from city council.

The next is uh reconnecting Lake Asuita to the Willamette River and Waterfront.

That's number three, creating a safe, welcoming and visible connections between downtown Foothills Park and the river through trail, streets, and public spaces.

Um I think everyone loves that one.

And four, support an inclusive and economically vital community.

So providing for a mix of housing is important if there's some opportunity for jobs, civic amenities are going to be an important aspect.

Um local businesses as well.

I mean, there's the edge of State Street, for instance.

Um, that's could support long-term economic vitality and make foothills accessible to people of different ages, incomes, and backgrounds.

What we heard from the council is they they unanimously unanimously supported these um guiding principles with no conditions.

Um they were definitely aligned with improving public access to the river, extremely important, inclusive community development and uh you know, long-term economic vitality that this district can help offer, primarily by providing housing for the community, if not some other things.

Can you talk a little more specifically about what people mean or what your impression of what they mean by access to the Willamette River and the waterfront?

I mean, don't we already have that through the Foothills Park?

What more do they want to see?

Overt.

They want imagine uh Avenue A being a visual connection to the waterfront, that the development and the street network is oriented perpendicular to State Street, such that those new streets and that that access in the district is visible from this side of State Street.

So that today we have a wall of commercial at the end of A.

Down at the entrance, the the foundry entrance, we have a sea of Douglas First, and really not much of an inclination that there's even a district here.

And in the future, they'd like to see the that front door entry be more overt.

So the north portal really feeling like a front door into the district, and Avenue A and Avenue Beeling like these are they they flow into the district, and some of that is visual, and the other will be you know, crossing state street and being able to move right into the district, sort of like an extension of the street grid to a certain degree.

In practical terms, that can't happen in that trajectory because we have a wastewater treatment plant that's generally going to be in the location of where Avenue B is.

So the North Portal really feeling like a front door into the district and Avenue A and Avenue Beeling like these are they they flow into the district and some of that is visual and the other will be you know crossing state street and being able to move right into the district sort of like an extension of the street grid to a certain degree in practical terms that can't happen in that trajectory because we have a wastewater treatment plant that's generally going to be in the location of where Avenue B is Avenue A, we've got you know some transformers and some things in the way, but you know, over time we can begin to create that aperture and that opening and certainly internal district, that east-west connection in the district is an opportunity to connect into A and B wherever that crossing will be over the tracks, but that there is a clear visual connection through the district with development that brings you to the river with buildings oriented to that connection.

Um and there's really kind of two streets to do that given our development area.

It's not like we have multiple streets and blocks.

Like preventing people's access.

So it's sort of like you're orienting perpendicular to the water.

You still create value properties that are on the waterfront because those will always be high value.

But by bringing the amenity in towards State Street, now you create value on that aperture coming into the district.

Those are the kind of things that can add value to the district.

So then you've got value on that amenity as well as the edges along the water that are you know, obviously high value.

So we're gonna explore those opportunities.

And I think they align well with this idea of connecting downtown to the water.

Thank you.

Yep.

I had a follow-up on that point, actually.

I know these are guiding guiding principles, so using the word non-committal is kind of kind of funny, but I'll I'll use it.

Um I think when I read them, it seems a little non-committal about that connection between downtown and well and what the water uh what the Foothills district will be, right?

Uh we use it as we use the words like complimentary and city council said they they want that to be conditioned.

Um, but to truly make it like an extension, we also need to be focusing on the the middle part.

And I'm not quite sure that that clearly comes out as a guiding principle based on the way it's read, in my opinion.

Um is that I I'm I I'm hearing you on that, and I think we we've heard that from council too.

Um I'm not recalling if it's directly attributed to one or one of these two.

So where you can best express that would be great.

You got it.

And please add your conditions.

Kind of peaceful.

And then let me know if you all are are still working or not.

We're good.

Okay.

Great.

Awesome.

If you let us go too long, we'll start tucking our email, so okay, yeah.

I didn't know if you were typing away, so I was um great.

Thanks for these conditions.

Um, thinking about affordable housing is, you know, certainly one of those pieces, right?

And I mentioned kind of the process where we'll establish the framework and the development blocks and then we'll we'll look at sort of what you what you fit in there and what the opportunities might be.

Um and and I think, you know, some of that language is in there, but it it is important to continue to affirm that.

Um if you're not sure.

We're not there yet.

We're not you know I can tell you just, you know, anecdotally working the housing that working across communities i in the northwest and up in Alaska that you know the housing that's g getting built tends to be affordable.

And so if that's an early development opportunity, that's what we're seeing.

The Heights district in Vancouver, three sites are up for redevelopment, two of those are affordable, one's market rate with a with a certain amount of affordability because that's where the grants are.

And that's where it's easiest to to leverage money now.

So I it's definitely I think on the table from an economic perspective.

Um then it's just you know a matter of of of where and and how much land that would fit.

Um, but it it does tend to be an early implementer because it's you can finance it.

So yeah.

Um the UR some URA funding was um used to be.

What type of funding, sorry?

Uh urban renewal area, sorry, didn't mean to use the drug and uh so the TIFF district here downtown, some of that money was used towards um assuring of affordable housing units in the multifamily portion of the new anchor.

New um North Anchor.

Sorry.

North anchor development here on the corner.

Thank you.

Um design foothills is a model sustainable district that restores natural systems, um, protects habitat, um, reduces carbon emissions and incorporates clean energy and resilient infrastructure.

We heard from LOSN that that's a supported aspect of the district.

And there is a variety of different ways that they think we can we can meet those goals.

And then plan for adaptability over time, create a flexible framework that allows foothills to evolve over decades while maintaining its core values of community nature and public access.

Some of that has to deal with establishing the street network and framework that isn't overly prescribed, but has room for interpretation, blocks that are smaller versus blocks that are larger, those sort of change the metrics in terms of types of development that can go in there, or the type of developer who, in some instances, small blocks are great for small communities and small investors.

In some instances where a larger investor wants to build multiple housing units, having a more a larger block face allows you to space your buildings out and create access in a different way versus just built street um built streets.

So there's that that is a flexibility that can be put in into the plan that we want to focus on that primary access in and out of the district.

I think we want to focus on what that key connection is or type of connection, where that key connection lands ultimately I think can be flexible, but I think this you know the idea of this great connection between the downtown and the waterfront.

Um those are the kind of things that are important, and then they can adapt over time.

So there was a question from council like what the heck does adaptability mean?

What is uh how do you describe that?

Um so again, this was received unanimous support with no conditions.

Um, and so the council and affirmed the importance of this climate responsive design that we should be thinking of those terms and that flexibility uh and phase development is is obvious in terms of what we would anticipate in this area, given the infrastructure improvements that are necessary and the the life of the urban renewal area, which will help fund infrastructure.

So I think uh we're definitely in the long term here.

We also talk a little bit about what a what a city can do to promote climate resilience in a development like this.

I mean, basic infrastructure is the at the core of you know, as you're establishing streets, um, and you're thinking about stormwater management, as you're adding um tree canopy, so now you can help reduce carbon, you can address heat island.

These are all things that don't that aren't complex infrastructure solutions.

They can easily be embedded in street standards, for instance, ensuring that you can walk and bike into the district, that there's options and choice versus having to drive everywhere.

Um that's critically important.

Um the floodplain, managing the floodplain cut and fill so that if there is fill, because we want to encourage development.

How are we, you know, ensuring that the Willamette and Tryon Creek can still get to where they need to go during peak flood periods?

And you know, those are kind of engineering pieces.

District energy is another one that just adds another layer that without sort of the economics behind that.

I think we can we can talk about it and try not to preclude it, but we probably don't have a direct path to to embed that right now into the district.

But there are ways through just the way you set up your infrastructure in streets, like where your water goes, where your power goes.

You can build in trenches that allow for other things to go in there as well.

So in logical connections to the wastewater treatment plan or others, if that became a system.

So there's things that you can do that just don't preclude other great advances in technology or um, but some of them are as I mentioned, more overt and can be embedded in in standards for the design of streets and other things.

You know, you just try to create a place for it, but you may not know how to implement it in the near term.

Uh so it looks like there, yeah, there was one condition on this one.

So please uh give us your thoughts on cyber six.

There we go.

We just I think we just hit this topic.

And you know, there's a I've I've had conversations uh, you know, about sort of advancing different technologies here.

You know, the the wastewater treatment plant in itself is a major investment.

I mean, that is going to be one of the largest investments in the district.

And it has a short time frame.

Like this thing has got to get nailed.

And so I know that the city staff are really focused in the Jacobs team and figuring out what that facility is so they can they can fund it and build it.

And I you know we may not get at the most awesome outcomes of what that wastewater treatment plant could be, but I think it is an essential infrastructure piece that is in the works.

And so it it's going to need to move forward and I think with that you know we're we're we're gonna work around that.

I mean that's what we're seeing and it's it's critically important infrastructure and uh it and it's kind of on a path that's a little different than than ours.

So I think it's just good that we're all wide eyed people are working really hard to get that facility up and running.

It's gonna be a transfer from the city of Portland to the city of Lake Oswego so the responsibility around that and the infrastructure is really big.

And so we are looking at a long-term project here but there are some things that are in the works here that I think we need to also support and move those forward because they are going to advance the district um they may not be ideal in terms of uh you know district energy or other things but it's an important piece of the puzzle here so we're we're trying to work with with that sorry that was a side note um I think we had no no's uh so I mean let's open it up a little bit if if there's something missing um we didn't actually cover additional topics or um guiding principles that that from the city council perspective that should be added but I certainly want to open that up for this group um if you want to discuss that if there's something missing or we can just chat okay I could jump in again on I'm still I'm still hung up on the the connection thing and maybe we could talk through it if everyone doesn't mind.

We're saying we're 10 years in the future and we've built a great down water waterfront district this plan has come to fruition we've done a really great job of like connecting them however it works out and we're here or somebody's visiting and we're like we want to go to downtown or like we say today for downtown or are we going to say do we want to go to the foothills or the waterfront district?

Are we going to use that terminology?

And I'm I'm asking this question because it's like are we really thinking of them as two separate ones with just like a thread or are we really trying to think of as like it's all one district.

And I'm not trying to take away districts or rename districts but that's where I keep getting stuck over like we say complimentary but do we really want to people to just be like go downtown but now downtown is both downtown and what used to be the foothills foothills you want people to go downtown.

I I have no I I'm throwing it out exactly what this though this is about bringing people downtown think about I'll I'll couch it in other terms.

It's all downtown it is downtown is where I want to be but it's not but this this it this is like the are we going to downtown Portland or are we going to South Waterfront?

That's where it comes up in my mind.

I I think as live nation potentially gets built out and stuff like that like they're gonna be grappling with the same conversations and some of the examples you were providing about building in for sustainability I think like the newest street in Portland Bond Avenue like it was it was planned so as development proceeded in blocks that they could say like oh we need we actually need a new street here and we built room to do that but it's it's geographically diverse enough where there isn't that like do we go to Southwaterfront or we but this is all right here.

This will be an extension of downtown this will feel like downtown that that's what it's gonna be.

I mean I I don't there isn't enough land area over there to be a competing district to the foothills is foothills park it is getting to the Willamette River.

And right now we've got a bottleneck in that and we've got some things that are blocking that and it's almost like the downtown is just pushing to get that little get over the rail line open that door because once that happens it's just going to feel like a natural extension of downtown if it's done right if this east-west connection because you keep asking about that and you're right if it is laid out in a way it 100% will affirm and confirm the connection between downtown and the waterfront and foothills will feel like an extension and expansion of downtown that you finally made it to the river that finally when we're walking down Avenue there's something there so I think it's gonna it's just you've already got a great park that everyone knows about and they do their curly cue ways to get there but in the future it should be really overt and stupid simple and exciting like when you come down Strait Street there should be a window to the river in Foothills Park and I think that's what that's what we're aspiring to here.

Like when you come down Strait Street, there should be a window to the river in Foothills Park.

And I think that's what that's what we're aspiring to here.

So if if we're if that's the aspiration, isn't it?

Should the framing be more because right now to me, the framing is we're building a separate district over here.

But should the framing be more we're expanding downtown?

This is part like that should be the framing of the entire project if that's the aspiration.

Yeah.

And I'm sure there's a whole host of issues that go along with framing that way.

But if that's what what we're thinking, then our is it being framed that way?

Because to me, the way I read it, it's not being framed that way.

I think that's been that's been the rub where we are now.

That it it feels like it could potentially be something separate.

Oh, it's saying it's connected to downtown, it's gonna have streets, but and that was the same thing echoed from city council that we need to be more overt about the connection, about what the district is that is the bridge between downtown and the waterfront.

And it's a good thing.

Like number one, well, says create a walkable mixed-use waterfront district.

I would change that be anywhere.

Yeah, we'll change that, right?

If that's what we want to go for, yeah.

Yeah.

So again, I'm just throwing it out there, but a walkable mixed-use waterfront downtown.

Maybe a walkable mixed-use waterfront connection.

I'm not the branding person here, I'm just just throwing it out there.

You're helping somewhere.

Yeah, I'm already kind of crafting from city council, but it it's moving in the direction that you're expressing.

I think we're all trying to find that.

Yeah, like what is that you know, the these things are are are difficult.

We tried to get the vision statement as freaking narrow as we could, but you know, it's someone's always like, but we're missing this and we're missing that.

Yeah.

Um, and the guiding principles kind of back that up.

So you don't have to nail everything in the vision statement, but it's it's it's hard.

Where you know, you get better at it this the more you do it, and that's part of why we're having these conversations.

So thanks for introduced.

And the word yeah, yeah.

And you have to wordsmith it.

Um, but again, I think at the end of the day, if that's truly what what city council wants, and that's the direction that I'd probably come out and say, this isn't a we're expanding downtown into this district.

And like that's how I'd start framing it.

Yeah.

It's a lot easier to talk about it when there's clarity around purpose.

Yeah.

So thank you.

Um, this is just a summary um of what we talked about from the council's perspective, strengthening connectivity coming up, clarifying the relationship to downtown.

I think you're you're touching on that, Don, and in a pretty overt way here.

And adding these elements of design quality.

I think those are important things that weren't that weren't really daylighted in in the previous attempt.

So moving forward, I'm gonna take the our feedback today from you all and continue to kind of run that through the grinder of what I heard from City Council.

And I think I'm I'm in a pretty good place.

I wish I could show you, sort of, where I'm at now with the update to the vision and guiding principles.

We're gonna share that with the citizens advisory committee, and then we'll we'll bring it back to you all because we want to give them you know another pass at what the revisions are so they can get comfortable with it.

Um, but thank you for I think affirming what your city council members are saying, and and I like hearing your voices too, because you're sort of saying it in a different way than what I've heard from them.

So it helps us to translate hearing it a couple different times in a couple of different ways, but sort of the same intent.

So I think that's good news that you I feel like council and planning commission are generally kind of on the same level and seeing seeing this in a similar way.

So I ask you a question.

Um we we talked about the wastewater treatment plant as the closest alligator to the boat.

Got it gotta get that that how that is built out and you know is gonna determine options or lack of options for the future.

What's the second most outside of the wastewater treatment plant is you're looking at all of these pieces and all of these stakeholder groups and all of these interests in what people want.

What's the second biggest thing that's gonna determine is an extension of downtown or is it a separate district, or do we only 10 years from now achieve half of what we set out next to the water treatment plant in your opinion?

I mean, for me from a development perspective, it's the north portal.

How do you create that additional access point into the district?

And I'll frame that because it isn't just for development, that's gonna be an another way to come into Foothills Park.

So you can come in from the north, you can come in from the south.

And just opening that door is gonna change the dynamic dramatically because this idea of access from north or south is gonna totally change what feels like the opportunities, what feels like the experience of coming into the district.

It's gonna open the door for more people to have access to the park, and it it's gonna be good for development.

And it might be good for getting wastewater trucks out quicker out of the district versus driving through the district to the current location down on the lower end of state street.

So I think there's so many benefits, but it felt like an it feels like an astronomical project, building a new bridge, connecting to State Street, crossing Tryon Creek.

These aren't these aren't easy uh things to do.

Either is a wastewater treatment plant.

It's kind of sucks that the two biggest things that are leveraging future development are the most expensive.

So we wouldn't go with alone, as you mentioned.

There's Army Corps of Engineers, there's fish ladders, there's ODOT, there's rail, there's potential Brownfields funding.

Yeah, there's all this.

If we can get the partners together, then I think that that's another opportunity that we can lean in hard because there's people who have a variety of interests in that geographic location.

So if we can we can connect those dots, that'll be huge.

And so this this project, if anything, if it finds those leaders both internally in Lake Usuego and the partners, I think that that's gonna do a lot.

That's gonna be, I mean, developers want to be in Lake Oswego.

It's not that's pretty easy.

Um, but how do you get them there?

Um let's see what we have here.

I just wanted to mention, I guess closing next steps.

May 12th is our citizens advisory committee.

I mentioned we'll we'll go through uh a summary and update of the vision and guiding principles with them as well as share those preliminary concepts.

So those initial streets and roadways and types of development that might fit in there.

The connection is gonna be huge.

What is that seam that uh weaves through the district and becomes an organizer for development as well as that stupid simple connection back into downtown on the waterfront?

And then May 19th, we'll have a city council study session.

So they'll be able to get some of the feedback from our citizens advisory committee, get a preliminary look at those concepts, and then we'd be coming to you.

I think May is it 28th, I feel like uh June.

June 8th, okay.

And June, sort of June 1st is when we have to have these preliminary concepts and a really good place so that we can go out into the community, have another community workshop.

So um it's an iterative process, and folks are getting their hands on it early, but it's really in June when we're gonna start daylighting preliminary concepts to the broader community and stakeholders.

So thank you.

You're very patient today.

And you did most of the work.

Great presentation.

Thanks.

Yeah, thank you.

This interactive format was uh was fun.

Oh, good.

Yeah, good.

I like I like the QR code, save some paper.

So moving on to item number eight, other business.

Do we have any?

Okay.

Seeing none.

Item nine, schedule a review.

Okay, so for the planning commission's next meeting, it will be on May 11th.

And you have um one item, and that is a work session on the rezoning for housing project.

And then the meeting on May 28th uh has been canceled.

That's the week of uh Memorial Day.

So we're May 25th.

Well, I have it here as May 28th, but I don't have a calendar.

I think the 28th is Thursday.

Unless I'm looking at my calendar wrong.

Yes, it is Thursday.

I think 25th is the Monday.

Oh, but normally um it because that's a holiday, we would um it would fall on a Thursday.

So yeah, it would normally have been on the May 28th, but we um that meeting is going to be canceled.

Double canceled.

Yeah.

So that means your next meeting after that will be on June 8th.

And you have two items on that evening.

One is the uh actual public hearing on the tree regulation amendments, which I'm very much looking forward to.

And the uh uh then of course another study session on foothills.

And yeah, I think that brings us far enough ahead on the schedule.

But if you have any questions, happy to answer them.

All right.

Hearing none, this meeting is adjourned.