Over the course of 2014, the city has been working on a plan to revitalize and showcase the area near the arch bridge and the Willamette Falls. Currently a landscape of parking lots, oddly angled street corners and masked views of the river, we now have a chance to have a new vision and revitalize this section of West Linn. We could open up the vistas, reconnect to the river and add much-needed amenities to the city.
Possibilities for the area include a hotel, restaurants, retail stores, commercial space, improved trails, park improvements, improved pedestrian and bicycle safety and the realignment of Willamette Falls and Willamette Falls Drive.
This has been a long process, kicking off in January 2014. This has also been an inclusive process. We have reached out in more ways to more people in all cross-sections of West Linn than ever before. Our public engagement was extensive:
- advisory committee of 15
- Three-day storefront studio that drew input from 150 people
- Online survey with responses from more than 400 people
- Two walking tours of the plan area — capped at 40 participants
- School outreach — we worked with students in the sixth grade and the elementary level
- Postcards sent twice to every address in the plan area, more than 600
- Updates in our weekly email newsletters that goes to 7,500
- Updates in our monthly newsletters in utility bills, sent to 8,500 homes
- Updates on city councilors’ newsletters
- Regular updates presented at meetings of the City Council and planning commission
- Online open house at westlinnideas.com with average visitor session of more than 9 minutes
- Open house with more than 100 attendees
- Name the Neighborhood contest
- #bitesizehistory campaign on Facebook — more than 30,000 reaches
- YouTube — had a variety of short videos about components of the plan
- Developers Roundtable — invited developers to give feedback on the concept plan
- News articles in the West Linn Tidings and the Oregonian
- Project pages on our website — westlinnoregon/archbridge
If this plan is approved by the city council at its Dec. 15 meeting, we will continue to make this an inclusive process. We want the community to stay involved and keep collaborating with us to make this a smart plan the fits the neighborhood, the community and West Linn’s values.
To see the proposed plan, visit westlinnoregon.gov/archbridge. To provide feedback for the city council, email Associate Planner Sara Javoronk at sjavoronok@westlinnoregon.gov by Dec. 12.
If approved, implementation includes land use policy updates, zoning amendments and, later, review of development proposals. These are all public processes and there will be the opportunity for public comment. To stay part of this process and for project updates, sign up for our email list by contacting Citizen Engagement Coordinator Lori Hall at lhall@westlinnoregon.gov.
