News

City of Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp is scheduled to present the “2018 State of the City Address” at the start of the City Council meeting on Monday, April 2, 7 p.m., at Wilsonville City Hall, 29799 SW Town Center Loop East, Wilsonville, OR 97070.

Serving his 10th year as elected leader of one of Oregon’s most dynamic growing cities, Mayor Knapp is expected to give a recap of recent activity over the past year and provide a preview of upcoming City initiatives, opportunities and challenges that Wilsonville faces in the next 12 months.

The City of Wilsonville and partner organizations of the “Bee Stewards” pollinator-improvement program are sponsoring a workshop designed to teach urban residents to attract and sustain pollinators in a yard or home garden.

This habitat-improvement event, “Attract Pollinators,” is Saturday, March 10, from 9 am to 1 pm. The West Linn-Wilsonville School District’s Center for Research in Environmental Sciences and Technologies (CREST), is hosting. CREST is located at 11265 SW Wilsonville Road (at Boones Ferry Primary School).

Pollinator experts will deliver useful tips, including basics about creating a pollinator-habitat garden, how to identify common native pollinators, what the link is between bee health and pesticides, and how to start a native mason-bee colony. Each participant receives a copy of the City’s new Pollinator Toolkit and a tour of CREST’s pollinator habitat.

The Wilsonville City Council hosted a joint meeting with the West Linn-Wilsonville School District Board of Directors on Feb. 12 at City Hall. The periodic meeting of both community leadership bodies serves as a catalyst for continued collaboration between the two local governments, facilitating cooperation and long-range planning for the benefit of residents and their school-age children.  

At the Feb. 5, 2018, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council  approved on first reading new form-based code standards for businesses locating at the new Coffee Creek Industrial Area. This innovation—believed to be a first in the United States for industrial development—sets clear and objective standards for new development. These standards are designed to allow developers to build connected, campus-like designs and to facilitate efficient, expedited City review of proposals that provide developers with greater certainty and more flexibility. The new form based code standards and review process are subject to a pilot period of three completed development applications or five years to allow the City to evaluate results of using the new code. Developers may still elect to submit custom plans that undergo the standard development-review process.

At the Jan. 18, 2018, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council took three major steps simultaneously to advance preparations for development of the Portland-metro regionally significant Coffee Creek industrial area of high-wage employers in Wilsonville.

The Council approved on second reading the annexation into City limits of 4.9 acres of roadway located in the northwest industrial area of Wilsonville. Approximately one mile of existing rural and unimproved county roads were annexed, including Garden Acres Road, Cahalin Road and Clutter Street.

In conjunction with annexing the existing roadway, the Council adopted a resolution seeking to transfer the road authority from Washington County to the City, which would then take ownership of the roads for improvements.

At the Jan. 4, 2018, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council approved on first reading the annexation into City limits of 4.9 acres of roadway located in the northwest industrial area of Wilsonville. Approximately one mile of existing rural and unimproved county roads were annexed, including SW Garden Acres Road, SW Cahalin Road and SW Clutter Street. The Council’s action is the first step that is to be followed by transfer of the road authority from Washington County to the City in preparation for development of the regionally significant Coffee Creek industrial area.

The Wilsonville Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting applications for three separate and distinct grant programs: the City’s Community Tourism and the Community Opportunity Grant programs, as well as the Clackamas County Tourism Community Partnership Grant program. Each grant program has separate deadlines and distinct criteria.

The City’s Community Tourism Grant Program awards up to $25,000 in funds to organizations that produce projects, programs or events that promote local business and tourism, and for festivals and special events that draw visitors to Wilsonville. The Tourism Promotion Committee reviews requests and awards the grant funds. The deadline for the Tourism Grant is Friday, Feb. 2. Funding for the program comes from the City’s transient room taxes that are assessed on overnight lodging visitors.

The Wilsonville Parks and Recreation Department is welcoming public feedback for an extended period through Jan. 15, 2018, as part of the master-planning process for Boones Ferry Park, which borders the Willamette River in Old Town. [DSC_0649_resized]

Three conceptual plans have been developed with various elements that were suggested as part of the community-engagement process. Community members are asked to share their feedback and preferences for development, which include: greater river access, nature play, a dog park, wooded trail system and a number of other options. To review the concepts and provide input, see www.WilsonvilleParksandRec.com/BoonesFerry.

At the Dec. 18, 2017, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council approved two contracts for road-construction projects estimated at $1 million designed to mitigate traffic congestion in the I-5/Wilsonville Road/Boones Ferry Road intersection area. The Council endorsed a contract to the low bidder, Kerr Contractors Oregon, Inc., in the amount of $562,578 to modify the I-5/Wilsonville Road interchange Exit 283 southbound freeway on-ramp. The project adds a third stacking lane to the metered I-5 on-ramp in order to increase capacity to hold an additional 25 vehicles waiting to enter the freeway during evening rush-hour.

The second traffic-mitigation project was awarded to Brown Contracting, Inc., for $191,649 to reconstruct the southern, signalized entrance/exit to Old Town Square/Fred Meyer shopping center to include a second travel lane on northbound Boones Ferry Road between the exit/entrance and Wilsonville Road.

The City of Wilsonville Parks and Recreation Department seeks public feedback through December as part of the master-planning process for Boones Ferry Park. Based on initial suggestions by community members at two prior workshops held in September and October, three conceptual plans have been developed with various elements. Online feedback is accepted until Dec. 31 at the project website, www.WilsonvilleParksandRec.com/BoonesFerry.

The existing seven-acre park is located adjacent to almost four acres of forested waterfront property to the east, three undeveloped acres to the west between the railroad tracks and Boones Ferry Road and three forested acres to the north. Community members are asked to share their feedback and preferences for development options, which include greater river access, nature play, a dog park, wooded trail system and a number of other options. 

During the months of November and December, contractors are scheduled to conduct survey work and geotechnical drilling during weekday daylight hours in the City of Wilsonville’s Willamette River Water Treatment Plant Park, 10350 SW Arrowhead Creek Lane. Activities are planned for Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; no work is scheduled on national or school holidays, such as Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.

Park visitors may notice drill rigs on the grounds, in the parking area and along segments of the Ice Age Tonquin Trail. While there may also be occasional blocked access to the pathway, the park remains open to the public for use; however, for safety reasons, park users are requested to stay away from equipment and related hazards that are clearly marked.