Tigard City Council and Local Contract Review Board Meeting - March 24, 2026

The Tigard City Council and Local Contract Review Board met on March 24, 2026, to address routine approvals, a recreational immunity ordinance, adoption of a three-year economic development strategic plan, and receive a detailed update on the River Terrace 2.0 transportation and equitable finance strategy. The meeting included public comments from developers, a city manager report, and extensive council deliberation on street designs and funding mechanisms.

Consent Calendar

• The council unanimously approved three consent items: a resolution granting property tax exemptions for four nonprofit low-income housing projects under Tigard Municipal Code Section 3.50; approval of city council minutes; and a contract award for mechanical HVAC preventative maintenance, service, repair, and inspection services.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Mark Farr (Metropolitan Land Group) spoke on agenda item 7 (River Terrace 2.0). He expressed appreciation for staff’s incorporation of developer feedback leading to right-of-way reductions but urged the council to ask staff where River Terrace 1.0 standards were expanded for River Terrace 2.0 and to further rightsize those cross-sections. He requested that the council ask Eco Northwest or staff to provide specific SDC (system development charge) numbers for different design choices so the council can understand the fee impact on home prices (e.g., $80,000, $100,000, $120,000). He also noted that a developer forum scheduled for the following week was canceled and hoped it would be rescheduled.
• Pam Verdadero (Risewell Homes) commented on the transportation plan, suggesting modifications on Collector A (commercial collector) to modify parallel parking areas to allow wider sidewalks for enhanced pedestrian experience, citing a similar successful design in Beaverton. She also suggested reducing the eight-foot landscape area to create larger sidewalks.
• No other public comments were received in person, by phone, or video.

Legislative Public Hearing – Recreation Immunity Ordinance

• City Attorney Rihala presented the staff report on Ordinance 26-07, which would allow Tigard to opt into statutory recreational immunity protections available to cities with a population under 500,000. The ordinance limits city liability for claims arising from use of trails in public easements or unimproved rights-of-way.
• No written or oral testimony was received.
• The council deliberated briefly; Councilor Godusi noted he could not think of a negative. The ordinance was adopted by unanimous roll-call vote (all councilors and the mayor voted aye).

Economic Development Strategic Plan Adoption

• Economic Development Manager Danielle Hodder presented the final three-year Economic Development Strategic Plan, developed over nine months with community engagement, workshops, and work sessions. She highlighted how feedback from the March 3, 2026 council work session was incorporated, including data analysis tools, council role clarification, one point of contact for development, storytelling, leveraging existing data sources, target industry identification, and a fast-pass checklist for desirable projects.
• Council President Wolf asked about adding measures of success and goals for tracking. Councilors expressed strong appreciation for the efficient process and community collaboration.
• The resolution to adopt the plan was approved unanimously.

River Terrace 2.0 Update – Transportation and Equitable Finance Strategy

Discussion Items

• Street Designs (Part 1): Senior Planner Brittany Gata presented recommended street designs for River Terrace 2.0. The designs were the result of multiple iterations balancing policy goals for vehicle, pedestrian, and bike safety. Key designs include:
  • Commercial Collector (108 ft wide): Angled parking, bike lanes behind curb (rear-loaded), 8-ft tree wells, 12-ft drive lanes. This segment is 2 ft narrower than River Terrace Boulevard and limited to about 3 city blocks.
  • Mountainside Way (main artery): 72 ft wide (38 ft narrower than River Terrace Boulevard), with an enhanced multi-use path and alternating on-street parking.
  • Other collectors and neighborhood routes: Varying widths, most with multi-use paths on both sides (12-13 ft wide) or constrained cross-sections near stream crossings.
  • Local streets: Standard 32 ft wide with parking on both sides and shared bike/car travel.
• Council discussed the 14% increase in construction costs over standard Tigard streets. Some councilors (Anderson, Shaw, Godusi, Wolf) expressed concern about costs passed to homebuyers and maintenance burdens. There was debate about narrowing bike lanes, using multi-use paths on one side vs. both sides, and the width of the commercial collector. No final decision was reached; staff will provide additional cost breakdowns and analysis for the commercial collector (Collector A) and Collector B, and return in May 2026 with more information.
• Finance Strategy (Part 2): Gata presented the equitable finance strategy, which aims to identify funding sources and responsibilities for infrastructure. Key points:
  • Funding sources include Washington County transportation development tax, Clean Water Services fees, city SDCs (transportation and parks), supplemental SDCs, developer contributions, and potential additional sources.
  • A tiered SDC structure is being explored to lower fees for smaller units (e.g., middle housing) to promote affordability. The tiering may be applied citywide, not just in River Terrace 2.0.
  • Staff is still analyzing stormwater strategy (super-regional approach with Clean Water Services and King City may not be timely) and finalizing cost estimates.
• Council provided high-level direction on balancing development feasibility, affordability, and city budget impacts. Councilors leaned toward reduced development costs (to incentivize building), but many noted the need for more detailed information on budget impacts, maintenance costs, and SDC amounts. Interest was expressed in supplemental fees (e.g., transportation use fee, park fee) and tiered SDCs.

Key Outcomes

• Street Designs: No final approval. Staff will return in May 2026 with additional cost estimates and analysis for Collector A and B, including impacts of narrowing bike lanes and potential reductions to the commercial collector width. The council indicated willingness to keep both-side multi-use paths and angled parking on collector A, but wanted more data on costs.
• Finance Strategy: Council provided initial guidance: prioritize understanding of full budget impacts, explore tiered SDCs (potentially citywide), consider supplemental fees for ongoing maintenance, and lean toward reducing development costs to encourage timely development. Staff will present refined options and analysis in May 2026.
• Next Steps: A developer forum on the finance strategy, originally scheduled for March 30, 2026, has been postponed to late April or early May. Staff will also submit preliminary transportation and park system plan amendments to meet Metro grant deadlines.

The meeting adjourned at an unspecified time after the River Terrace 2.0 discussion.