Update Nov 2, 2021: Lake Oswego voters approve Measure 3-568!
Lake Oswego citizens began circulating citizen initiative petition 2020IN-1 in December 2019. For 18-months, hundreds of residents volunteered thousands of hours and donated $28,000+ to reach, inform, and educate the Lake Oswego community about the legal protections we seek for these natural areas. 2020IN-1 needed signatures from 15% of Lake Oswego’s registered voters, or 4,365 signatures, to qualify for the ballot; we collected over 4,800 signatures and qualified with 4,433 verified signatures on June 23, 2021, resulting in Citizens’ Measure 3-568.
Measure 3-568 amends the City of Lake Oswego’s Charter Chapter X – Park Development Limitation to protect Springbrook Park and 15 additional natural parks with sensible development limitations to keep these natural parks safe, accessible, healthy, and vibrant natural habitats. Measure 3-568 was endorsed by two prominent environment and conservation organizations, Oregon Wild and Sierra Club, on August 24th and Sept 4th, respectively, after carefully vetting the Citizens’ Measure 3-568 and City Council’s referred Measure 3-575.
Citizens are pursuing strong legal charter protections due to frustrations with repeated City attempts to develop and/or encroach upon one or more of our natural parks (Springbrook Park, Bryant Woods, Woodmont Park, Cooks Butte, amongst others) and a tedious public process that minimizes citizens involvement and voice. One recent example: Cooks Butte was deeded to the City in 1975 by the Emery family for the purposes of remaining a natural habitat. The City has pursued development a top Cooks Butte 3 times (1994, 2002, and 2019) for a major telecommunications facility. Citizens strongly opposed each attempt and with the Emery family’s assistance, development was prevented and this natural habitat untouched (for now).
The current Chapter X – Park Development Limitation was placed on the ballot by citizen initiative and ratified in 1978 to “preserve Springbrook Park as a natural area” and prevent the City from developing it into high-density housing and a major athletic facility.
Chapter X, which currently only applies to Springbrook Park:
- Prohibits athletic facilities, parking lots, and roads or trails for motorized vehicles.
- Allows trails for hiking, jogging, horseback, and bicycle riding.
- Allows picnic and sanitary facilities.
- Allows for restrictions to apply to any park property acquired by bond and designated by voters as subject to these restrictions.
A YES vote on Measure 3-568 would maintain (black text) and enhance (blue text) Chapter X’s development limitations:
- Designates these natural parks as “Nature Preserves:” Bryant Woods Park, Canal Acres, Cooks Butte Park, Cornell Natural Area, Glenmorrie Greenway, Hallinan Woods, Iron Mountain Park, Kerr Open Space, Lamont Springs Natural Area, River Run, South Shore Natural Area, Springbrook Park, Stevens Homestead, Stevens Meadows, West Waluga Park, and Woodmont Natural Park.
- Prohibits athletic facilities, parking lots, and roads or trails for motorized vehicles.
- Prohibits telecommunications facilities, asphalt and concrete hard-surface trails, and above-ground facilities or structures that would impair or be inconsistent with natural conditions.
- Prohibits tree cutting for purposes of commercial logging.
- Allows trails for hiking, jogging, horseback, and bicycle riding.
- Allows picnic and sanitary facilities
- Allows benches, boardwalks, and interpretive displays.
- Allows maintenance for ecological restoration that provides safe and healthy natural areas that are accessible for public enjoyment, provides a healthy habitat for wildlife, eliminates invasive species, restores native species, and mitigates fire hazards.
- Allows maintenance of existing facilities, structures, parking lots, roads or trails for motorized vehicle if not altered in any manner that would further impair or be inconsistent with natural conditions.
- Allows implementation of pre-existing park-specific master plans adopted prior to November 3, 2021 that may specify development that would otherwise be restricted by this Chapter.
- Allows for restrictions to apply to any park property acquired by bond and designated by voters as subject to these restrictions or if designated as a “Nature Preserve” by the conveying property owners, the City, or voters.
Any new master plan for parks designated as “Nature Preserves” must be consistent with the charter amendment.
Citizens’ Measure 3-568 allows natural park trail construction using ADA compliant materials, such as tightly-packed decomposed granite (or other suitable material), and boardwalks that are more compatible in natural areas and used broadly in national, state, and city wilderness areas and natural parks across the country.
Citizens’ Measure 3-568 DOES NOT impose any additional taxes.
After citizens filed this initiative with 4,433 qualifying signatures for the ballot, the Lake Oswego City Council referred competing Measure 3-575 to the ballot. While City Council’s Measure3-575 lists many of the same parks for designation as “Natural Areas” within 60 days of ratification by ordinance, it would allow the City to partition those parks into “Natural Areas” and areas subject to development. The City Council’s Measure 3-575 would also allow development of parking lots, roads, and other facilities or structures, including the removal of park trees for this development, through the City’s public master planning process.
For Measure 3-568 to become law, Measure 3-568 must receive a majority vote and more YES votes than Lake Oswego City Council’s competing Measure 3-575.
BALLOT TITLE
Our Citizens’ Measure 3-568‘s ballot title will be:
CAPTION: Restricts improvements on certain Lake Oswego park properties
QUESTION: Should the Lake Oswego City Charter be amended to restrict improvements on certain city park properties?
Measure 3-568‘s ballot title was assigned by the City Attorney when our citizens initiative petition 2020IN-1 was approved for circulation in December 2019 and cannot, unfortunately, be changed. We believe it was written intentionally to stall our petition signature collection efforts and to confuse Lake Oswego voters. Citizens have not been confused.
Learn more about Measure 3-568:
