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Gateway Community Livability Assessment & Recommendations

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Gateway Community Livability Assessment & Recommendations 2014 Gateway Community Livability Assessment & Recommendations Report Sweet Home, Oregon This report prepared by The Conservation Fund in collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration. Federal Lands Livability Initiative 0 REPORT PREPARED BY: CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP NETWORK The Conservation Fund (TCF) is a national non-profit environmental organization that has protected over 7 million acres of land and water in all 50 states. Working with community, government and business partners, TCF strives to balance economic and environmental goals. TCF’s Conservation Leadership Network is a team of experts that brings diverse professionals together to forge conservation solutions. The Conservation Leadership Network assists communities plan for the future, connects regions, develops leaders, and provides innovative resources to balance nature and commerce. IN COLLABORATION WITH: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides stewardship over the construction, maintenance and preservation of the Nation’s highways, bridges and tunnels. FHWA also conducts research and provides technical assistance to state and local agencies in an effort to improve safety, mobility, and livability and encourage innovation. Cover photos courtesy of The Conservation Fund (top, middle-upper left, middle-lower right), City of Sweet Home (middle-upper right), and Sandy Horvath-Dori (middle-lower left). Copyright provided for photos throughout document, those not attributed are courtesy of The Conservation Fund (Kendra Briechle and Katie Allen). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development created the Partnership for Sustainable Communities “to help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide” (http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov). Through the goals of this partnership, the federal government has committed significant resources and attention to implementing livability in state and local governments. This Federal Lands Livability Initiative, a research project led by the Federal Highway Administration’s Federal Lands Highway Program, is an extension of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and provides an opportunity to direct attention to livability beyond urban areas and focus on America’s gateway communities—communities that exist in close proximity to public land. Gateway communities are often affected by decisions made by managers of the surrounding public lands. The decisions of leaders of gateway communities similarly may affect the management of resources on adjacent public lands. Gateway communities also often support public lands by offering unique recreational and cultural heritage experiences and providing for food, lodging, and other essential services for visitors. Transportation access between gateway communities and their neighboring public lands is integral to health and viability of each. Hence, special emphasis is made on transportation for the Federal Lands Livability Initiative. Livability in these communities relies heavily on the coordinated decision-making and partnership between communities and public land managers. This Livability Assessment and Recommendations Report is the result of an evaluation of natural, cultural, physical (infrastructure), commercial, and economic health of the gateway community and surrounding landscape and their relationship to the six principles of livability adapted for gateway communities: 1. Provide more transportation choices for residents, workers, and visitors. 2. Promote equitable, affordable housing and lodging choices that meet the needs of residents, workers, and visitors. 3. Enhance economic competitiveness by valuing the public lands and natural, cultural, recreational, and environmental assets associated with the gateway community. 4. Support existing gateway communities and sustain their unique character. 5. Coordinate policies and leverage investments within the community and between the gateway community and public lands. 6. Value communities, neighborhoods and landscapes, and the area’s natural, cultural heritage, and recreational assets that foster social, economic, and public health. i A Livability Assessment Team comprised of representatives of The Conservation Fund and the Federal Highway Administration gathered information from background materials, community leaders, stakeholders, and site visits to provide this assessment as a tool to assist Sweet Home, Oregon, and its public land partners in supporting and enhancing livability in their area. SWEET HOME, OREGON—GATEWAY TO WILLAMETTE NATIONAL FOREST Willamette National Forest location map The gateway community of Sweet Home, Oregon, and its partner, Willamette National Forest, were selected from the pool of applicants due to their demonstrated commitment to partnership with surrounding public land managers and recent efforts to invest in livability improvements. Travelers to the Willamette National Forest and the neighboring U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Foster and Green Peter lakes follow a scenic transportation route that takes them through downtown Sweet Home. Sweet Home is located in eastern Linn County, less than two hours from Portland and less than one hour from Eugene and Corvallis. The city lies at the junction of Oregon State Highway 228 and U.S. Highway 20, also known as the Santiam Highway. This highway also serves as Sweet Home’s Main Street. Beyond the town’s boundaries U.S. Highway 20 is part of the Over the Rivers & Through the Woods Scenic Byway, a 66-mile route that begins to the west in the rich farmland of the ii Willamette Valley near Brownsville and Interstate 5 and winds along the rushing streams and forests of Linn County as it passes through Sweet Home and into the Willamette National Forest to its east. An alternative route for travelers in the area is the Quartzville Back Country Byway which is approximately 50 miles in length and connects U.S. Highway 20, one mile east of Sweet Home and State Highway 22, 19 miles east of Detroit, Oregon. The land surrounding this byway is called the Quartzville Recreation Corridor and is managed in partnership by several public land mangers as well as private land owners. In 1988 the U.S. Congress added the lower 9.6 miles of Quartville Creek (beginning at Green Peter Reservoir) to the National Wild and Scenic River System. The public lands along the designated segment are managed by the BLM to protect the free-flowing qualities and outstanding resource values of Quartzville Creek. Sweet Home has a rich history that includes Native American heritage and early frontier settlement. White settlement of the Sweet Home Valley and the town dates back to 1851. In the 1940s, Sweet Home became well known for its timber, as the area responded to wartime demands. The timber industry continued to grow and prosper over the next several decades. Exports reached 100 million board feet in the 1980s, but new forest and endangered species regulations, as well as the advent of mechanization of logging in woods and mills, soon forced the closure of some sawmills and logging operations. The resulting decline in industry contributed to a major decline in Sweet Home’s population. Despite the downturn of the timber industry, the community has persevered. In the 1990s, Sweet Home received federal grant dollars to revitalize its downtown corridor, implemented small business recruitment strategies, and developed assisted living facilities for retirees. Sweet Home also continues to diversify its economy as the “Gateway to the Santiam Playground.” Leaders have been proactive about finding opportunities to develop a sustainable tourism industry and invest locally to improve the quality of life for residents. The Oregon Jamboree, a three-day music festival held annually, attracts more than 15,000 people each day, providing a valuable boost for the local economy. The Sweet Home Economic Development Group looks to implement economic development strategies to build and support local enterprises. And the Sweet Home All-Lands Collaborative is an impressive public-private partnership among the city, federal land managers, community organizations, and other stakeholders that looks for opportunities to coordinate land and watershed management to gain environmental, economic, and social benefits. KEY OBSERVATIONS Over the course of the four-day assessment in Sweet Home, the Livability Assessment Team made the following observations of key opportunities and challenges associated with livability: Collaborative partnerships are impressive. The region has excelled at using local resources to develop and manage recreational attractions and to coordinate among public agencies and other partners. iii Sweet Home’s economy has relied heavily on the timber and logging industry for decades. Recent declines in this and related industries have left many long-time residents without jobs or underemployed. There are also many disabled residents as a result of the dangers of the timber industry who are unable to work and in need of public service assistance. Transportation access between federal lands and Sweet Home is good, but there is a need to better target community investments to improve connections of transportation facilities in the downtown (sidewalks, bike lanes, trails), as well as to increase access to good jobs, affordable housing, quality schools, and safe transportation.
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