South Hillsboro Master Plan Frequently Asked Questions June 2014

Master planning for South Hillsboro includes the following elements to provide a blueprint for future growth in South Hillsboro and to describe how growth and development will be implemented:

zz Detailed land use, transportation and open space plan zz Location and preliminary design of major roadways zz Proposed approach to zoning requirements, including specific design and development standards zz Cost estimates and a detailed phasing and funding strategy for public improvements, including water, sanitary sewer, stormwater, transportation, park and open space facilities zz An implementation action list, identifying specific responsibilities and timelines for key actions, including catalytic public and private investments

Following is a summary of answers to a number of questions that community members have asked about the project. This document will be updated to respond to additional comments and questions from community members as the City receives them.

Timing of Development 1. When will property be annexed/zoned? The City is currently working on an annexation strategy. Annexation will take place pursuant to a trip cap and phasing strategy being developed to satisfy requirements of City policy and the Department of Transportation. A trip cap will require certain transportation improvements to be constructed before development can take place, and the amount of development will be limited to the capacity provided by those improvements. For example, the extension of Cornelius Pass Road and the Blanton/Alexander Road extensions into South Hillsboro will support initial residential and commercial development. Future improvements will be timed and phased to support additional development. The trip cap will allocate development to ensure that road capacity is not exceeded.

Zoning is typically be applied at the time of annexation. However, zoning cannot be applied and development approval cannot be granted until the City has addressed how to pay for improvements necessary to accommodate traffic generated by future growth in the area.

Continued on page 2 2. When can we expect to see some actual development in South Hillsboro? Once portions of South Hillsboro are annexed, zoning designations are applied to the area and infrastructure issues are addressed, the City will accept applications for development in the area. Development will likely begin with construction of the Cornelius Pass Road extension and rail crossing, south to Blanton/Alexander in 2015, followed by initial residential and commercial development. Exact timing of development will depend on a number of factors, including the time needed to go through the development application review and approval process; the need to build public facilities (roads, water and sewer lines, etc.) necessary to support development; the availability of financing for public and private investments; and the market for future development.

3. Why is the planning process taking so long? We’ve been looking at the same map now for years. The planning process is largely driven by our statewide and regional land use systems. Much of this area was planned as an urban reserve in the late 1990s. Those urban reserve designations were subsequently overturned, and we had to start over. Portions of South Hillsboro were then brought into the urban growth boundary (UGB) in 2002. At that time, however, serving those areas to allow the development of a complete community was not feasible. Recognizing this difficulty, the City began to plan for the entire South Hillsboro area between 2006 and 2008. When Metro brought the remainder of South Hillsboro into the UGB in 2011, it required a greater number of homes than was planned for in the 2006-2008 effort, necessitating a refinement of that plan. Transportation planning has further added to the time the planning effort has taken, given the complexity of the transportation facilities necessary to serve the area.

4. What is the status of appeals of the region’s urban growth boundary and urban reserves decisions? The Oregon Court of Appeals issued its ruling reversing the urban reserves decision in February 2014. Subsequently, the Oregon Legislature intervened to resolve urban and rural reserves in Washington County in House Bill 4078, which was signed into law by Gov. Kitzhaber in April 2014. This legislation included all of the South Hillsboro planning area into the Metro Regional urban growth boundary, clearing the way for master planning work to continue and enabling future development.

5. Who will pay for the costs of development and when? A substantial portion of the costs of development, including the cost of roads and other transportation facilities, water and sewer lines and other public facilities will be borne by private developers. Some costs will be paid for through regional or state funding sources such as the Washington County Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP). Local funding sources will include Transportation Development Taxes (paid by developers and new homeowners), system development charges (paid by builders and new homeowners) and local improvement districts (formed by property owners within a specific area). Current residents will not typically pay for the cost of new public infrastructure unless they choose to develop their properties further.

Continued on page 3 6. How will the City address major local and regional traffic demands between South Hillsboro and areas to the south and north? How will roads and neighborhoods north of South Hillsboro be affected by new growth and increases in traffic? In September 2013, the City adopted Transportation System Plan amendments identifying necessary transportation improvements to accommodate the anticipated 20-year growth in South Hillsboro. Adopted improvements are for both within the South Hillsboro plan area, and off-site. Improvements to north-south systems include the extension of Cornelius Pass Road into South Hillsboro, a realignment of SE 229th Avenue to SE 234th Avenue/Century Boulevard, and capacity improvements at SE 209th Avenue and Highway.

7. How would the area be served by transit? Plans for transit service are still under development and discussion. TriMet has identified several possibilities for service to South Hillsboro as part of its Westside Service Enhancement Plan, completed in 2013. Initial discussions with TriMet indicate that transit is likely to access South Hillsboro from existing or future routes along , with future development of a transit station in the town center. As development within South Hillsboro expands to other portions of the planning area and reaches densities that can cost-effectively be served by transit, additional bus or other transit service will be provided by TriMet.

8. How big will Cornelius Pass Road be? Cornelius Pass Road will need to be designed to meet the needs of both traffic generated by homes and businesses in South Hillsboro, as well as north-south regional traffic expected to move through the area in the future. In the long term (beyond 20 years), this traffic will include trips generated by growth in surrounding urban reserve areas. The road also needs to be designed to ensure that traffic can safely cross the railroad tracks south of Tualatin Valley Highway without affecting rail traffic or causing major delays in this area. All of these considerations point to the need for a road in the long term that varies in width between three lanes in the southern portions of the area, and seven lanes near Tualatin Valley Highway. The City is conducting extensive traffic generation modeling to optimize both the scope and timing of improvements to ensure that resulting roadways are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods while meeting existing and future needs.

9. What are the future plans for widening Rosedale Road both inside and outside (west of) the planning area? Within South Hillsboro, Rosedale Road is expected to be a three-lane collector road in the long term. This portion of the planning area is expected to be one of the last areas to develop so design and construction of an improved road is expected to happen between 10 and 20 years from now. Improvements to Rosedale west of the South Hillsboro planning area (between 229th and River Road) are not expected to be needed (in terms of accommodating additional traffic) until sometime after 2025 and would likely initially consist of shoulder improvements (rather than construction of a three-lane urban road).

Continued on page 4 Housing 10. What do you mean by low, medium, and high density housing? South Hillsboro will include a full range of housing types and products, ultimately yielding as many as 11,000 new dwelling units in a mix of low, medium, and high density developments: • Low density housing refers mainly to single-family homes on individual lots, but could also include some duplexes, triplexes, or “cottage housing”. Lots in these areas will be approximately 6,000 square feet or larger. • Medium density housing includes a combination of single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, cottage housing, and a limited number of multi-family housing (apartments). Individual lots in these areas will be smaller, starting at approximately 4,000 square feet. • High density housing generally refers to multi-family apartment complexes. Higher densities are typically located near the town and village centers.

Natural Resources 11. How will you make sure that future development doesn’t harm the area’s streams and creeks? The City of Hillsboro has an obligation to protect the quality of the area’s streams and creeks. Over time, development practices in other areas (outside South Hillsboro) have impacted water quality. In coordination with Clean Water Services (the agency that is charged with managing stormwater runoff and helping maintain the health of rivers and streams), the City will work with property owners and developers to minimize impacts caused by increased storm water runoff both in South Hillsboro and downstream of the area. A wide range of tools will be used to do this, including on-site management through low-impact design practices; neighborhood or regional detention ponds or swales; and piped conveyance where other strategies aren’t sufficient, cost-effective or feasible. The City and Clean Water Services will work with development partners to select the most appropriate strategies considering the conditions of development sites, technical feasibility, and considerations for ongoing maintenance needs. In addition, streams and creeks will be buffered from development to further minimize impacts to them.

12. How will water supply be affected by development? Will more paved areas result in less water being returned to underlying aquifers? New impervious surfaces can change the pathway of water infiltrating into the soil, and can create additional runoff. The soils in South Hillsboro tend to be low to poor infiltrating soils with high runoff, therefore the relative change, if any, would be small. The source of water and the recharge areas have not been identified, thus the direct potential link between the two is unknown. The expected potential impact, even if the recharge area is located where development is proposed and is the source of the aquifer for this water supply, is expected to be minimal because of the poor infiltration rates and the vast number of potential recharge locations and sources.

Continued on page 5 Schools 13. What are the plans for new schools in the area? Is a new high school being planned? The Hillsboro School District projects the need for approximately five new schools in the area – four elementary schools and one middle school. The middle school is expected to be co-located with one of the elementary schools. To help ensure that it has the land needed for these schools in advance of development in South Hillsboro, the School District has purchased 40 acres of land in the Reed’s Crossing area to accommodate development of the middle school and three elementary schools. The Hillsboro School District has an option to purchase a fourth elementary school in the Butternut Creek development area (approximately in the middle of South Hillsboro). At this time, the School District is not planning to build a high school in South Hillsboro, but is looking to purchase land nearby.

Other Questions 14. Will you use existing zoning designations or develop new ones for South Hillsboro? As much as possible, the City plans to apply existing base zoning designations to the South Hillsboro area. The City also plans to apply a South Hillsboro District overlay zone, which will provide for additional design and development standards specific to South Hillsboro or subareas within it. If needed, the City may also develop and apply one or more new base zones but only if planning objectives in South Hillsboro cannot be met by using an existing base zone in combination with the South Hillsboro Plan District overlay.

15. Why isn’t the City planning for more jobs in South Hillsboro? The City of Hillsboro currently faces a housing shortage, given the significant number of jobs generated by employment uses like and others in the northern part of the City. The City already has a significant amount of land zoned for employment use in various areas of Hillsboro. Housing has been the top priority for future development in South Hillsboro for some time, and set the direction of the South Hillsboro Community Plan in 2006-2008. Those priorities and conditions have not changed. Also, when Metro expanded the urban growth boundary in 2011, it conditioned the expansion into South Hillsboro on achieving an average housing density of approximately 15 houses per acre. As a result, South Hillsboro continues to be planned for a mix of housing, retail shopping, other commercial services and some office employment uses.