This month, TRK received word of two important wins for neighbors fighting to protect valuable habitat in the Tualatin watershed. Both groups have been doggedly engaging with city, county, and state officials for years regarding their respective projects, proving just how important it is for the community to be consistently involved in development projects.
Neighbors for Wetland Preservation
Neighbors for Wetland Preservation was created by a group of neighbors who live near Fanno Creek adjacent to the Portland Golf Club. Four years ago, PGC submitted an application to dredge the irrigation pond on their property and store the dredged material in fabric bags on undesignated wetlands on the southern edge of their property, directly adjacent to the Fanno Creek Pedestrian and Bike Trail. PGC intended for the water to drain from the bags and seep into the wetlands and shortly thereafter into Fanno Creek. However, these determined neighbors quickly ascertained that the dredged materials would be contaminated by golf balls and high levels of zinc, lead & copper, among other pollutants.
After a long and complicated process that included countless conversations with local, county, and state agency and elected officials, regular Freedom of Information Act requests, several public comment periods, and a community letter writing campaign, NWP has declared tentative success! On October 24, after the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality formally confirmed its determination that the dredged material is considered “solid waste,” Washington County announced it would not be able to issue a Land Use Compatibility Statement for this project because the County does not allow the storage of solid waste in the R-5 zone for any duration. While PGC will likely continue to push for the approval of this project, for now the County has listened to its residents and stopped the fill and contamination of these critical urban wetlands!
Learn more about this fight and the complex interplay of agency permits here.
King City Neighbors & the Transportation System Plan
In late 2018, the Oregon Metro Council approved King City’s request to bring 528 acres into the urban growth boundary for development, beginning the complex process of designing and adopting a Transportation System Plan (TSP). A TSP is a long-range planning document required by the State of Oregon that describes a transportation system and outlines projects, programs, and policies to meet transportation needs now and 20 years in the future based on community goals (Oregon Transportation System Plan Guidelines).
King City’s stated objective was to create a TSP that is “an integrated, multimodal” plan that, among other things, “Minimizes potential environmental impacts of transportation infrastructure, services, and tripmaking.” However, when the City released its draft TSP, TRK quickly expressed concern with proposed alternatives that placed new roads over five already-degraded streams and through a private conservation easement, the Bankston Nature Preserve, held by the Columbia Land Trust. Despite these concerns, King City approved the TSP and selected one of the most environmentally damaging alternatives that planned for a road extension unacceptably close to the river and through the Bankston Preserve. So began years of fierce community opposition to a TSP that threatened to fragment wildlife corridors and habitat, exacerbate existing erosion issues, and jeopardize water quality in this section of the Tualatin watershed.
On September 4, a community group made a presentation to the new City Council to propose an amendment to the TSP, with supporting testimonies from Tualatin Riverkeepers and the Columbia Land Trust. And at the end of October, the Council approved a review of the TSP. Although councilors are concerned about a few issues in the TSP, it appears that there is universal support for removing the road through the Bankston Nature Preserve. While this too is likely not the end of this story, TRK and the community are encouraged that the Council is listening to residents while prioritizing protection of the Tualatin River and riparian habitat.
