City of Happy Valley

Planning Commission Minutes

April 8, 2014

Page 3 of 4

Planning Commission Minutes

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Commission Members Present: Staff Members Present:

Chair, Shanin Prusia

Vice Chair, Ted Hartzell Michael Walter, Economic & Community

Commissioner, Ken Koblitz Development Director

Commissioner, Jennifer Brown Justin Popilek, Senior Planner

Commissioner, Dennis Orbitikschwitke Cheryl Whitehead, Planning Assistant

Commissioner, Tom Summers

Commissioner, Alex Ianos

Others Present:

(See attached sign-in sheet)

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Prusia called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Roll call was taken.

I. CITIZEN COMMENT

None

II. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS

1. Minutes Dated February 11, 2014

Vice Chair Hartzell made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Commissioner Brown seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes from Commissioners Prusia, Hartzell, Koblitz, Brown, Orbitikschwitke, Ianos & Summers. The motion was passed with a unanimous vote.

III. CPA-02-14 MT. SCOTT SCOUTERS MTN. TRAIL LOOP MP

The Mt. Scott/Scouters Mtn. Tail Loop Master Plan is the continuation of an ambitions multijurisdictional effort to establish a regional trail network connecting several communities within the Portland Metropolitan Area. The roughly 37.5-mile trail loop project will offer a route for alternative transportation modes with a looped, north-south oriented multi-use trail system. The proposed regional trail will connect numerous schools, community parks, local trails, businesses, retail stores and the Happy Valley Town Center. The new trail will facilitate potential access to Mount Scott Creek, Rock Creek, and have connections to the future East Buttes Loop Trail and Powerline Corridor Trail.

Chair Prusia read the hearing script in to the record. She asked the Commissioners for any Declarations of Exparte Contact, Bias or Conflict of Interest.

None Declared.

Chair Prusia asked the audience if there are any challenges to any Commissioners Exparte Contact, Bias or Conflict of Interest.

None Challenged.

Justin Popilek, Senior Planner, gave the following staff report:

· This has been a multi-jurisdictional effort on this project

· The intent is to provide recreation and transportation opportunities

· This has been an ongoing effort since 2011

· The trail is a 37 mile loop

· The northern portion of the trail is in Portland and one third of the southern portion is in Clackamas County

· Due to steep topography it was determined that there is no way to have the trail go through portions of the bowl of the city

· There is a signage plan included to help navigate the trail

· The trail pathways are either paved, wood chipped or earthen

· The bike portion looks like a cycle track with separate bike lane

· The project included a public advisory committee which met for approximately a year and a half to align the trails and work with the topography and easements

· Held two open houses for citizen input

· Stake holder interviews were conducted via email and phone calls

· For security purposes the trail will need a high level of visibility and use – a well-used trail is the best deterrent for crime.

o Eliminate overgrown vegetation

o Lighting

o Discussed emergency phones or call boxes

o Clean and maintained

o Liter and safety patrols

o Trail watch program

o Vehicular access points for police and first responders

o Equip the police department with bikes or motorcycles for trail access

· Implementation of the trail plan is open, there are no dedicated funds for the program

· It is up to local jurisdictions to receive funds from grants etc.

· As development occurs developers will be informed of trail requirement and installation

· The local jurisdictions will participate in the maintenance

· Staff recommends approval of the application

· No additional correspondence were received

The Planning Commission and staff made the following comments:

· There is no dedicated funding source so it will be through development

· How does the developer know which section is theirs to develop

o Specific sections by topography gives a general use and specific design up to the final process with the local jurisdiction

· What is in place to ensure that the trail sections match

o The final design is up to staff to guide the developer to keep the trail consistent

o Didn’t get into defining the specific design

o There could be an interim step which would be defining the design manual – once adopted would take the next step to ensure consistency

· Will need to make sure that each section is defined by what is required so that developers know what the expectation of the trail build out is

· Defining the expectations will also give the Planning Commission something to stand on with future applications and upcoming development

· Residents will have the most issues by not wanting the trail system close to their property – residents will be against both the trail and the development in their area

· What about excluding dogs on the trails

o It was discussed, if so, this would be up to the Code Enforcement Department

o Any Metro owned open space will not allow dogs

o NCPRD owned property will allow dogs with leash law

· Discussed the fatal flaws section

· A public opinion poll was conducted and it was overwhelmingly positive with some of the concerns that were addressed

· There won’t be a bond levy, will be mainly funded by development, but there is a chance we could get some grants

· The jurisdictions involved are Metro, Portland, Clackamas County and Happy Valley

· Will there be a centralized person to oversee the maintenance or is it up to each municipality

o Privately owned property would be up to the HOA or property owner

Public testimony closed at 7:49pm

Vice Chair Hartzell made a motion to recommend approval of CPA-02-14 Mt. Scott Scouters Mtn. Trail Loop MP to the City Council. Commissioner Summers seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes from Commissioners Prusia, Hartzell, Koblitz, Brown, Orbitikschwitke, Ianos & Summers. The motion was passed with a unanimous vote.

IV. COMMISSIONERS CONCERNS AND COMMENT

The Planning Commission and staff gave the following discussion:

· The legal training was helpful and enjoyed it

· Surprised that some residents are more concerned with a McDonalds than a regional trail system

· Applications will continue to increase – currently it is manageable with meetings once a month but there is the possibility of having two meetings in a month

V. ADJOURNMENT

Commissioner Brown made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Vice Chair Hartzell seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes from Commissioners Prusia, Hartzell, Koblitz, Brown, Orbitikschwitke, Ianos & Summers. The motion was passed with a unanimous vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m.

Prepared and submitted by:

Cheryl Whitehead

Planning Assistant

These minutes were approved at the July 22, 2014 Planning Commission Meeting.