Previous Reports from 2008

Building Our Downtown Together

Beaverton is a great community and I am convinced we are on the cusp of a very bright future for our downtown. We have engaged, passionate citizens who deeply care about our community. We are fortunate to have good regional infrastructure that provides for economic opportunities. We have major employers in and around the City. Beaverton-area residents have chosen to support our schools and as a result, the Beaverton School District is one of the best in the state. We are served by one of the finest recreation providers in the country in Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. Beaverton has continually supported the Police Department and as a result of that support and the hard work of our law enforcement community, we live in the safest city in the Northwest.

All of these factors and the high quality of life we enjoy as a community make Beaverton a very desirable place to be. With all that we have to offer as a community, I believe we still need to take an additional step together to demonstrate we are the best place, if not the only place, in the region to invest, grow and encourage expanded and new economic opportunities.

Over the last year, our citizens have shared their thoughts, reflections and hopes for the future of Beaverton through our City’s Visioning Process. We have heard your voices loud and clear. One of the key messages we learned in the Visioning Process and one of the overall goals identified for action was the need for Beaverton to create a “vibrant central core.” Many of you shared your thoughts about what an ideal downtown Beaverton should look like. I share your vision for the future and I think a key tool we need in our tool box to achieve that vision is the implementation of Urban Renewal.

Urban Renewal is a tool many Oregon cities utilize to help attract new development in their downtown areas where reinvestment in properties has not kept pace with city goals. Typically, Urban Renewal is used to improve city infrastructure such as roads, parks and underground utilities in order to help accommodate the increased investment and redevelopment for a defined area. At its core, Urban Renewal is a funding tool for community investment. Urban Renewal demonstrates to prospective business partners that the City is committed to becoming more than it already is and the City is willing to be a partner in developing its future. Urban Renewal will allow the City to better respond to market changes and will position us to be more competitive with other cities in the region.

I have asked our City Council to establish a task force of local citizens, business owners and area service district partners to amend the City’s Charter concerning Urban Renewal. Our existing Charter effectively prevents the City from using Urban Renewal as a tool. This prohibition ties one hand behind our back in promoting the City. Establishing Urban Renewal will be an incremental, transparent and logical process. There will be multiple opportunities for you to express your views on this important issue. The next public testimony opportunity is scheduled for July 14, 2008, when the City Council will hold a public hearing. I have asked that the Task Force return to the City Council on August 18, 2008 with a recommended amendment to the City’s Charter at which time the public will again be invited to speak to the Council. The Council will be asked to refer the Charter amendment to the voters for the November 2008 General Election. If a Charter amendment is passed, we will begin an 18-month process of developing an Urban Renewal plan which will define a specific geography for the Urban Renewal district and the investment projects which will be funded by Urban Renewal. Ultimately the developed Urban Renewal plan would return, likely in November 2010, to the Beaverton voters for adoption.

I strongly encourage your participation in this important decision for the City’s downtown and our future. Only with your support can we succeed in implementing our vision for the City.

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