Thimble Creek Charette - October 24 and 30, 2007

Directions to Oregon City Golf Club

Day 1: October 24, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oregon City Golf Club.
Day 2: October 30, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Oregon City Golf Club.

Anticipated Outcomes:

• To set the stage for the creation of a compelling master plan for the redevelopment of the Oregon City Golf Club.
• To create a number of insightful ideas and strategies for the planning of a pioneering sustainable development
• To start the process of defining the project’s attributes for its continued development beyond the planning phase.

Day One: Wednesday, October 24
8:30 – 8:45 Greetings, Purpose & Agenda
8:45 – 9:30 Getting to know one another
9:30 – 10:50 Getting to know the project and land –

Part 1:
Project Process
The Land
Sustainable Planning
LEED for Neighborhood Development
Qs & As

10:50 – 1:30 Cart Tour of the Property & Lunch &
1:30 – 3:30 Questions, Observations & Ideas
3:30 – 3:45 Summarize Team Task
3:45 – 4:15 Team Meeting Time
4:15 – 4:30 Summary & Wrap-up

Day Two: Tuesday, October 30
8:30 – 8:40 Greetings, Purpose & Agenda 20124 S.
8:40 – 11:40 Team Work Sessions
11:40 – 12:00 Questions & Observations
12 :00 – 12:40 Lunch (and guest speaker) Oregon City,
12:40 – 2:00 Team Work Session, Continued
2:00 – 4:10 Presentations & Discussion
4:10 – 4:20 Concluding Observations
4:20 – 4:30 Summary & Wrap-up
4:30 – 5:30 Hosted Wine Reception

(Click on the image below to view the full-size image.)

Click on the image below to view the full-size image.

Letters in Support - Tim Blackwood, Pacific Geotechnical LLC

Statement of Support for the Green Economy Center

Pacific Geotechnical is proud to support the Green Economy Center. As a design partner, a sustainable advocate and hopeful tenant, we are excited about the potential the Center holds. The Green Economy Center would be a unique facility with a focus on sustainable practices and design development. Designed with state of the art features, the Center could be a magnet for the best and brightest minds, working together to find solutions to today’s problems.

Not only is the Green Economy Center an exciting opportunity, but it will put Oregon City at the forefront of attracting the most promising people and companies in this fast growing field. This would result in tangible benefits to the community in the form of family wage jobs, educational opportunities and a vibrant community with a positive focus. Solar, wind, wave energy and alternative transportation have grown quickly, creating new opportunities and jobs for communities involved with their development along the way. The Green Economy Center is the type of facility to incubate the ideas that will lead to such developments.

What better location to develop this facility than at the boundary of urban and rural lands? After the Clackamas County Green Ribbon Committee evaluated a number of sites, the Oregon City Golf Club property was clearly the best. Near educational facilities, major transportation routes, county offices and the City of Oregon City itself, this location is ideal. Within a few miles of town and access to larger markets, yet adjacent to rural lands, the site offers a rare opportunity for development of both rural and urban sustainable practices and products.

As a property and business owner in Oregon City, a long-time resident of Clackamas County, I urge the Citizens of Oregon City to annex this property into the City ensuring that the Green Economy Center will make a positive difference to our community and economy.

Tim Blackwood, PE
President, Pacific Geotechnical, LLC

Letters in Support - Rick Gruen

An annexation to be proud of. An annexation that is good for the community, good for the economy and good for the environment. Imagine that this was right here in our Oregon City. It can be if you, like me, vote to support the annexation of this wonderful Beavercreek property that is the bridge between our urban growth needs and rural roots.

As an Oregon City resident, and for the past two years, I have been a part of the County’s Green Ribbon Committee, a committee tasked to identify local economic opportunities for our agriculture and natural resource based industries. As part of our work, the Green Ribbon Committee saw great potential in the idea of a Green Economy Center – a place where local people, businesses, organizations and higher education can connect to benefit from emerging green building, renewable technology, as well as our increasing desire for locally produced foods. That place turned out to be the Oregon City Golf Course.

Annexation of the Oregon City Golf Course, showcasing the Herberger family’s vision to preserve and incorporate the rich tradition and history of this site into a 21st century livable community is the right thing to do. This annexation supports the Beavercreek Concept Plan adopted earlier by the City of Oregon City and Oregon City stakeholders.

Open space, golf course, walking trails, green jobs and education, low impact development, local food supply, walkable neighborhoods, sidewalk cafes, community gardens and a pubic meeting place. These are all good things for Oregon City. The Oregon City Golf Course – an annexation we are proud to vote yes on.

Rick Gruen

Letters in Support - Sha Spady, Oregon City Resident

A Different Kind of Annexation

Like many of you, I have watched with dismay as the City of Oregon City has annexed parcel after parcel of land into its grip of thoughtless expansion. I’ve watched with disbelief as parcel after parcel of bucolic farm and forest land have been bulldozed into flat, lifeless quadrants of brown dirt and filled with rows of houses, streets, traffic signals and traffic. A five minute drive to the bottom of the hill now takes 15 minutes.

Our library is in shambles. There are no new parks or open spaces for the children to play or the adults to roam. Many claim our quality of life is rapidly deteriorating with each new subdivision, each new annexation – while developers walk away with the profits and our community is left holding the bag. Finally voters have said, “Enough!” and annexations are being voted down altogether.

So what makes this annexation different and one worthy of your consideration for approval?

The applicants are third generation land owners and members of the community – not in-and-out developers looking to make a fast buck. They are deeply committed to creating a 21st century model for sustainable living that will be sensitive to the needs of the human community, the natural environment as well as growing the economic base of our area with green, long-term, family-wage jobs.

For the past four years, Rose Holden has tirelessly and thoughtfully represented her family’s dream of leaving a living legacy on their land with state-or-the-art, energy efficient, user-friendly designs for living that integrate the natural environmental into our work, home and community spaces.

So you have before you an opportunity to give a member of your community a chance to create something better for Oregon City. This is not a vote for just another cookie-cutter annexation of land into the City of Oregon City. This is a one-time opportunity for this family to share with the community their innovative, thoughtful and economically sustainable dream…or not.

The choice is yours.

--Sha Spady

Letters in Support - Chris Cocker, Planning Livability LLC

Working with the property owners and the best land use experts in Oregon, we have found a key to building a thriving Oregon City economy. A place for learning, living, working and playing, it will benefit the local economy while enhancing and protecting resources.

The opponents to this annexation are basing their arguments on traditional development methods, not sustainable techniques. They are trying to scare you into thinking this is just ‘business as usual.’ Nothing could be further from the truth.

Great Reasons to Vote YES

The Property...
1. ...was selected for the New Green Economy Center.
The nation will see millions of blue- and white-collar, green sector jobs over the next 20 years. The Green Economy Center is focused on promoting local products and businesses. Partners include: Clackamas Community College, Marylhurst College, Oregon State University, Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District, Oregon Department of Water Resources, Oregon Woodland Co-op and Pacific Geotechnical. These partners will attract more green businesses to this area.

2. ...will emphasize EcoStructure and EcoTransportation over infrastructure.
We’ll use existing geothermal water, reuse waste water for irrigation, prioritize solar and wind power, have homes cooled with cross breezes and warmed with geothermal-source heat. EcoTransportation choices de-emphasize expensive oil-based vehicles and significantly reduce vehicle trips. The list goes on. These techniques will not cause large tax increases.

3. ...will support a new healthy lifestyle.
We’ll see local product stores, multi-use trails, rehabilitation of natural areas, local-food restaurants, main-street shopping, integrated residential living, new parks and more. The golf course will be Audubon Society certified. There will be links to local facilities, including Oregon City High School and Clackamas Community College. This lifestyle supports the whole family.

We can take the lead in creating new, environmentally-friendly jobs for the future. Let’s not lose this opportunity. Now is the time to annex the Oregon City Golf Course Properties.


Best Regards,
Chris Cocker
Planning Livability LLC

Letters in Support - Edward Starkie, Urban Advisors Ltd.

Beavercreek Road Area Annexation

The Beavercreek Road Area Financial Impact Report reported a public funding gap for infrastructure, using typical development assumptions. The goal for green community design is to reduce that gap by reducing costs for roads, storm drainage, water treatment and utilities. Future development is likely to have a taxable value that will allow bonding covering a large share of that reduced cost without increasing taxes. A 1998 study of development in Oregon found that developers paid 59 percent of infrastructure costs. Typical developer participation and bonding based on future development thus may cover almost all of the green infrastructure cost.

The plan for the Beavercreek Road Area offers Oregon City the opportunity to demonstrate national leadership in economic development. The vision for Beavercreek Road is of a greener, fully employed Oregon City. Think growth with benefits and long-term savings. In Philadelphia, green infrastructure has saved the city “an estimated $170 million.” (Source:EPA) Another case study: “Johnson County in Kansas saved an estimated $120 million on engineered stormwater…by setting aside $600,000 worth of riparian greenways (river bank greenways).“ (Sandborn 1996). And a study from the University of Massachusetts projects as many as 40 million new jobs by 2030 in renewable energy and efficiency industries, employing everyone from construction workers to high-tech researchers.

So how does Oregon City benefit?

• 480 or more construction jobs per year for ten years.
• Up to 5,000 new permanent jobs in Oregon City.
• Indirect creation of more than 3,500 jobs from new permanent jobs.
• Personal income from direct and indirect jobs -- $213 million at a low estimate.
• Income from construction, new jobs and new households spent at local businesses.
• Compact development with new public parks and public open space.
• Finally, local jobs that are really difficult to outsource

Edward Starkie, Principal
Urban Advisors Ltd.

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