FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon – November 2, 2021 – LoveLOParks announces Citizen-initiated Measure 3-568 passes to enact legal safeguards to limit development in Lake Oswego natural parks.
During the November 2, 2021 Special Election, Lake Oswego voters had two measures to consider that offered different legal instruments for protecting Lake Oswego’s natural parks; the Citizen-initiated Measure 3-568 and City Council’s referred Measure 3-575. Voters approved Citizen-initiated Measure 3-568 with 8,267 votes, or 62%, and winning by a substantial margin of 7%, or 875 votes, over City Council’s referred Measure 3-575 with 7,392 votes, or 55% (official results updated Dec 7, 2021).
“We’re proud our community recognizes the value of strong protections to conserve our cherished natural areas and that we raised this important issue to the attention of our community,” stated Scott Handley, LoveLOParks grassroots organizer. “This not only is a win for our community, it is a win for the abundant wildlife that calls these natural habitats home.”
“We’re thankful for every volunteer, donor, and petition signer who made Measure 3-568 a reality,” Handley continues. “Two years ago, we set out with one goal — to provide our community the opportunity to consider and vote on sensible development limitations to keep our natural parks natural. And, that’s what we did while maintaining our integrity, honesty, and transparency even when embattled by our opposition.”
Measure 3-568 repeals and replaces Chapter X in the City Charter. Chapter X was originally enacted by Lake Oswego citizens in 1978 to prevent Springbrook Park from being developed into a major athletic facility. By voter approval, Chapter X will be amended to include additional protections for 15 additional natural areas. Any future natural park changes that would involve development otherwise restricted by Chapter X will require voter approval.
“Everyone involved with the LoveLOParks effort should be proud of their participation in this significant accomplishment to give our community this choice and the protection of our parks. A special thank you to every Lake Oswego voter for choosing to protect nature for our future,” concluded Handley.
To commemorate this historic moment in Lake Oswego’s history that will have a profound and positive impact for conserving these natural habitats for future generations to enjoy all their wildlife and natural splendor, we invite the Lake Oswego community to express their feelings of gratitude below with a reply below.
More information:
- City of Lake Oswego: PRESS RELEASE Nov 2 Parks Measure Results – Citizen Initiative 3-568 Passes
- Clackamas County Elections: November 2, 2021 Special Election
- Multnomah County Elections: November 2, 2021 Election Results
- Citizen Initiative 2020IN-1 Qualifies for the November 2021 Ballot
- Citizen Initiative Petition 2020IN-1 Receives Approval to Circulate
- Prospective Petition for a Local Initiative Meets Constitutional Provisions
- Emery’s Rescind Consent for Telecommunications Tower at Cooks Butte
LoveLOParks is a Lake Oswego grassroots citizen coalition that seeks to enact sensible legal safeguards that limit development in Lake Oswego natural parks to keep them safe, accessible, healthy, and vibrant natural habitats rich with wildlife for future generations to enjoy their splendor.
https://www.loveloparks.org
I lived with Marjorie and John Emery in 1977-79 and enjoyed riding horses through Cooks Butte. It was a wonderful peaceful place. It inspired me to to turn 131 acres in New York City into parkland in 2019 and begin a campaign to designate Hart Island and National Monument.
I hope this place inspires others to preserve and restore wilderness areas across the globe. Congratulations on your efforts and success.
What a relief and again my sincere thanks, heartfelt, for your work to get this initiative on the ballot and to help get it passed
In our small corner of the world, citizens of Lake Oswego made a difference regarding the persistent march forward of development and mitigating the effects of climate change by passing the measure to protect our precious wild spaces. I feel a soul satisfying joy in this victory!
I am honored and proud to have been a part of this successful effort. Thank you to Scott for the incredible amount of work he did; for his integrity and unflagging dedication and to all the others who contributed to this effort. It is hugely rewarding to recognize the power of citizens’ grassroots efforts coming to fruition. Congratulations to all! (I can almost hear the our wild spaces exhaling with a sigh of relief!)
Nature takes a course with an intelligence beyond our own; sometimes the best action we can take as stewards of the community is no action. Let it be, let it be; and when we do this wonders are revealed by the Trilliums in March, the busy nesting of birds, the quiet assured by the wall of firs, cedars, and vine maples, the wonder of hidden fungi showing fruits with fall rains … so much that cannot be improved by our ambitions. Too much development and industry happens with later regret; we can indeed celebrate “no regrets” with the passage our the initiative. On behalf of the wild things, special places, and those of us who take solace and find peace with nature: Thank you to Scott Handley and all the others who worked and won!
WE THE PEOPLE of Lake Oswego have come together to preserve the splendor of the natural parks and protect wildlife habitats that make this community special. I am so grateful to Scott Handley for his leadership, perseverance, providing us with true information to protect nature as it is meant to be and connecting so many of us to pivot the direction of our future in the right direction. I am also grateful to all the volunteers that contribute their time and love keeping these areas healthy & beautiful. Thanks to all of the awesome citizens — visionaries — who took the time to care, get involved and continue the journey those so lovingly started centuries ago.
Congratulations to all. We did it.
Thanks to Scott and team and all of the voters that made this happen. Overtime it will only become more apparent how precious our natural spaces are – and how important it is to seize the moment before they slip away.
I have not met most of those who campaigned for 568 but it’s nice to know that we worked together to save special places for people to enjoy long after we are gone.
I am so grateful to Scott and Joey for their vision and leadership. There were times when it felt like the battle was lost, especially when everything shut down for Covid. Who would have imagined that we could have pivoted so seamlessly to a virtual campaign? I am sure that the city did not. This all in spite of countless personal attacks on Scott’s credibility and honesty.
“THE GREATNESS OF A COMMUNITY IS MOST ACCURATELY MEASURED BY THE COMPASSIONATE ACTIONS OF ITS MEMBERS, A HEART OF GRACE AND A SOUL GENERATED BY LOVE.”
I am beyond happy with the results of this election. It really showed that citizens knew the score and no matter what or how many logs were tossed to block the flow, we patiently stayed with it to the successful outcome. Let’s savor this memory and acknowledge our strength when a righteous challenge presents itself.
THANK YOU LAKE OSWEGO VOTERS and every volunteer, donor, and supporter who made this moment a reality!!! This is a historic moment for Lake Oswego.
This journey began long before my family moved to Lake Oswego (we’ve only been here 3 years). It began with familys’ like the Emery’s (Cooks Butte), Shipley’s (Stevens Meadow), and Donald Meyer (Woodmont Park) who wanted to leave a touch of wilderness to future Lake Oswegans. It began with those citizens who fought for Springbrook Park, Bryant Woods, Canal Acres, and Cooks Butte when threatened by development. And, now we can add those citizens, our friends and neighbors, who persevered through the Covid-19 global pandemic, the firestorms of September 2020, and ice storms of 2021 to reach and inform nearly every household in our community and to collect over 4,800 petition signatures to quality our citizen initiative petition 2020IN-1 for the ballot that gave our community this opportunity.
Voters have chosen to leave a lasting legacy of nature for our community and its future. Voters have chosen to help in the global fight against climate change (at our local level). Voters have chosen to conserves these natural habitats for the abundant wildlife that call them home and for future residents to enjoy all their splendor. What a tremendous gift you all have provided our community. You have made history!
I’m proud of our community and honored to have met so many great neighbors along our 2 year journey. This is truly a magical place!