City of Gresham – Portland Metro
Springwater Master Urbanization Plan
The Challenge
Like many parts of the nation, Gresham’s economy needed a “shot in the arm.” Correcting the city’s jobs-to-housing imbalance was seen as a key factor in improving the city’s economic position. However, competition for the clean, economically viable industries that bring desirable, family wage jobs is fierce. Located in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, Gresham’s options for expansion were affected by the region’s urban growth boundary (UGB). Put in place in 1978 by Metro, the regional government for the 24 cities and 3 counties of the region, the UGB separates urban land from rural with the goal of limiting the loss of farm, forest, and resource lands. Metro’s decision to add roughly 15,000 acres of urban reserve lands to the UGB—including the 1,600+ acre Springwater Community to Gresham’s south—provided a unique opportunity for city leaders to create an employment center to improve the community’s jobs-to-housing ratio and capture additional tax revenues.
The Approach
The City of Gresham, together with Multnomah County, engaged a multi-disciplinary team to prepare a detailed annexation plan for the Springwater Community under Title 11 of the Metro Code. As part of this team, TIP developed industry targets for East Multnomah County, including advanced materials, forestry and agricultural biotechnology, and nanotechnology. The work also included an analysis of supporting housing and commercial services. Subsequent tasks included estimates of revenue generation, a marketing/recruitment team, and recommendations about phasing of the annexation.
The Outcome
The resulting plan was used to guide the city’s annexation schedule, maximize revenue generation, and leverage the site’s potential to attract high technology companies.
John Fregonese Fregonese Associates 333 SW 5th Ave. Suite 300 Portland, OR 97204 503.228.3054 john@frego.com
Terry Vanderkooy New Communities and Annexation Manager City of Gresham 1333 NW Eastman Parkway Gresham, OR 97030 503.661.3000 or 503.618.CITY (618.2489)
Note: Terry Vanderkooy was the contact for the City of Gresham at the time of TIP’s engagement and has since retired. He can now be reached at 503.284.7103 or vanderkooy@comcast.net
