Tigard City Council Workshop Meeting - January 29, 2026: River Terrace 2.0 Policy Discussions

The Tigard City Council held a workshop on January 29, 2026, at 6:30 PM to deliberate key policy issues for the River Terrace 2.0 community plan. Four topic areas—parking, housing density, housing options, parks, and natural resources—were addressed. The council provided direction on each, generally supporting staff's current policy proposals with modifications on housing density.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Gabriel Velasquez (Chair of Tigard Town Center Price Commission, speaking personally) expressed full support for denser housing, specifically the 20-unit-per-acre option, citing the need for affordable homeownership. He stated that as a lifelong Tigard resident, he wants to buy a home for his family but cannot afford an $800,000 house.
• Mark Farr (Metropolitan Land Group, property owner in River Terrace 2.0) urged the council to consider positive impacts of not choosing staff's recommended options, describing the current plan as "bloated" and likening community input to an "all-you-can-eat buffet" where everyone said yes to everything.
• Lady Get Mutler (River Terrace 1.0 resident and Community Advisory Committee member) encouraged the city to pursue denser housing options due to an "emergency level housing shortage" and suggested exploring social housing models used in Europe.

Discussion Items

• Parking Policy: Staff presented analysis showing that design standards—such as maximizing on-street parking and spacing driveways—can provide more parking than minimum requirements. The council unanimously voted to retain the current citywide policy of no minimum parking requirements for development.
• Housing Density: The current proposal was an average of 20 units per net acre (≈4,600 units). Alternatives were 18 units (≈4,100 units) and 16 units (≈3,700 units). Staff noted that reducing density would minimally affect traffic on surrounding arterials (2-5% reduction) and could reduce commercial viability and transit ridership. The council debated extensively. Though initial tallies showed four councilors supporting 20 units, the mayor confirmed a majority decision to move forward with 18 units per net acre, with an emphasis on middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, row houses). The council also declined to fund an additional revenue-vs.-city-services study (cost $8,000–$10,000), with the mayor stating the majority did not want it.
• Undersupplied Housing Options: The current policy uses a point system requiring 10-15% of units to be undersupplied options (e.g., smaller units, family-sized apartments, accessible units). The council voted 6-1 to retain the point system, with one councilor preferring to remove the requirement and rely on incentives. Staff committed to creating a development handbook to reduce complexity.
• Parks: The council discussed level of service (5.3 acres per 1,000 residents, targeting 59 acres of usable parkland). Key findings: River Terrace 1.0 has only 22 acres of publicly accessible parks built to date. The council unanimously supported the proposed parks level of service. On sports fields, the majority opposed regulation-sized fields but supported short-sided (non-regulation) fields to serve neighborhood needs. For community parks, the council voted (5-1) to include one community park in River Terrace 2.0, with the minority preferring none, citing future development at Losich Park. Staff noted that a community park would be purchased at fair market value.
• Natural Resources: The current policy uses a customized Title 13-compliant approach with tiered protection (prioritizing high-value habitat, allowing more development in lower-quality areas). The council unanimously supported this approach over the alternative Metro Model Code (80% protection) or further reduction. Staff emphasized that the customized approach already protects slightly more than the 50% minimum Metro requires (about 90 acres of the 160 acres inventoried).

Key Outcomes

• Parking: Retain current citywide policy (no minimum parking requirements) – unanimous.
• Housing Density: Move forward with 18 units per net acre, emphasizing middle housing – majority direction (4-3 in original count, but mayor confirmed consensus for 18). No revenue study funded.
• Undersupplied Housing Options: Retain current point system (6-1 vote).
• Parks: Retain proposed level of service (unanimous); include short-sided fields but no regulation-sized sports fields; include one community park (5-1).
• Natural Resources: Retain current customized Title 13 approach (unanimous).
• Next Steps: Staff will proceed with zoning map adjustments based on 18-unit density, develop a developer handbook, and continue community engagement. Adoption process remains on schedule for November/December 2026.