The city council selected seven city priorities back in early 2021 to help shape our work and policy objectives for the next two years. Based on these priorities I’d like to let you know a few projects the city will be working on in 2022.
Housing: The city will continue to partner with Community Action to provide emergency rental and energy assistance for residents facing economic challenges. The city has undertaken significant planning work in the past couple of years including the development of a housing needs analysis and subsequent strategies to meet those needs. This year, with the assistance of a grant, we’ll begin the work of implementing those strategies to encourage development of quality housing options for residents with low and moderate incomes.
Transportation: Work continues on the Moving Tualatin Forward transportation bond program with twenty projects complete and fourteen to go. Construction on the Martinazzi Ave and Sagert St intersection began last fall (2021) and will conclude this spring when the new traffic signal is activated. Design is underway for several transportation improvements on Herman Rd. Improvements will include updated sidewalks, bike lanes, enhanced drainage, and a center turn lane. Council and city staff will continue to participate/provide feedback in ODOT’s Tolling Program and Metro’s Transportation Plan Update.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice: In partnership with the Tigard-Tualatin School District and City of Tigard, all students will receive a library card and enhanced programming on how to use it virtually and in-person. Our community engagement will include topics such transportation, parks development, library, climate action, and more. A new Equity Committee Planning Group will be formed this month and it will shape the structure of a permanent Equity Committee expected to convene later this year.
Environment: The city will move forward with a Community Climate Action Plan. The plan will include a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and actions the entire Tualatin community can take to reduce our carbon footprint and adapt to a changing climate. As the Basalt Creek area develops, we want to ensure water quality and Basalt Creek are protected, so we will be creating/updating a Basalt Creek Stormwater Plan. This plan will provide an overview of the system conditions, water quality retrofits and improvement opportunities, and more.
Community Assets: You can look forward to the Tualatin River Greenway Trail completion by Brown’s Ferry Park. The Tualatin River Greenway Trail is an accessible 12-foot-wide multi-use pedestrian and bike path meandering through trees, alongside the river, and past wetlands. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan adopted in 2019 after extensive community participation calls for expansion of the trail in a few locations. The east side of the Tualatin Commons Lake will be the location for a future Veterans Plaza. Two public open houses at the Tualatin Commons Lake (2/18 and 2/19 between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM) and a series of focus group meetings will help create 2-3 design options for the plaza.
Economic Development: Tualatin received funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The City Council and staff have had some preliminary conversations about where to allocate this funding and will continue to review priorities and allowable expenditures into this next year. We will be looking at forming a downtown urban renewal zone. This proposed reinvestment area in the city’s core will consist of up to 500-acres of commercial, office, and residential land.
Crisis Preparedness: Monitoring systems will be installed at all six reservoirs operated by the city to detect seismic activity and make system adjustments and the city will continue financial and staff support of Tualatin Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Neighborhood Ready programs.
I encourage you to take part in the various opportunities to assist in making these projects a success. Check the city’s website (www.tualatinoregon.gov) for more information and how to get involved.
