Community Attitudes Toward Growth

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Community AttitudesToward Growth

• Focus Group Research
• Conducted for theCity of West LinnMay/June 2008

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Methods

• Goal Understand community attitudes toward
  future growth in general Stafford area in
  particular
• Research design Focus groups with Residents,
  Community Leaders, Neighborhood Association
  Presidents
• Groups conducted May 31 June 3

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Methods

• Participant criteria
• Residents - 18, range of occupations, each
  approximately ½ male, ½ female
• 1 group with Shorter-term Residents, who have
  lived in West Linn fewer than 10 years
• 1 group with Longer-term Residents, 10 years in
  West Linn
• Community Leaders invited by City staff,
  included advisory board members, school board
  member
• All 11 Neighborhood Association Presidents invited

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Methods

• Interpreting focus group research
• Look for consistency consensus
• Also looking for the range of opinions expressed
• Qualitative, not quantitative Explain how why
  not percentage
• Limited number of participants individuals
  carefully selected based on criteria
• Dont focus on 1 participant

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Research Results

• Participant Characteristics
• Issues Facing the West Linn Community
• Attitudes Toward Growth
• Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

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Participant Characteristics

• Residents come from all over West Linn, represent
  variety of household types occupations
• Community Leaders also come from variety of areas
• All 11 Neighborhood Associations represented by
  President or officer (1)

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Issues Facing West Linn Community

• When asked for challenges facing community, both
  Resident groups mention growth/development first
• Also mentioned by Community Leaders, but further
  down list
• Community Leaders, Neighborhood Association
  Presidents mention financial stability first
• Residents mention Citys finances, but much lower
  on list

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Issues Facing West Linn

• Community Leaders say major issue is lack of
  consensus on how to best handle impact of
  growth/development
• Residents, Community Leaders also mention
  traffic, public transportation issues, roads as
  challenges
• Business development also comes up in Community
  Leaders group as issue

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Issues Facing West Linn

• Other mentions by Residents
• Shorter-term mention City leadership
• Longer-term mention need for fire station on
  hill, school overcrowding/aging schools, lack of
  non-sports youth activities, local businesses
  closing
• Neighborhood Association Presidents mention
  division within community, lack of communication
  with citizens, problems specific to communicating
  with neighborhood associations

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Issues Facing West Linn

• Agreement among Residents that growth is biggest
  issue facing West Linn
• Shorter-term Residents say problems related to
  growth include lot sizes, infill, housing styles,
  traffic, city boundaries, infrastructure, need
  for more schools
• Longer-term also say public transportation, free
  activities for kids also important

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Issues Facing West Linn

• Community Leaders say biggest issues relate to
  finance
• Issues mentioned are all connected by concerns
  about how City can generate income to solve
  problems
• Neighborhood Association Presidents appear to
  view City finances, citizen involvement, planning
  as most important
• Not asked most important, but clearly concerned
  about these issues

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• Significant fear growth will have major negative
  impact on quality of life
• Residents believe West Linn has quality of life
  few other communities can offer. Growth seen as
  likely to negatively impact quality of life
• I think we all move here for similar reasons
  its a beautiful area, lots of forest. The fear
  is that with more people coming in there will be
  fewer trees. Then its not like West Linn
  anymore

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• Often difficult for participants to list what
  like about how West Linn currently handles growth
  management first inclination for many is,
  Nothing!
• Shorter-term Residents like that theres still
  lots of rules about what can do when building or
  with trees. Also like big lots, parks
• Longer-term Residents say West Linn still safe,
  well-kept

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• Community Leaders mention advisory boards, Goal 5
  inventories, master plan updates as positives
• 10th Street Task Force seen as done well
• Neighborhood Association Presidents like appeals
  process
• Some also mention approving of 10th Street Task
  Force process

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• All groups say that dont like what they see as
  haphazard growth in West Linn
• Agreement that growth has not been well planned
  strong belief City not strict enough when
  approving new development
• All groups perceive developers as having upper
  hand
• The Planning staff acts as advocates for
  developers

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• Also perception City too lax on
  restricting/guiding development
• Theres more construction, more cookie-cutter
  houses, smaller lots
• Many unhappy with look of recent development
• Theres a lack of aesthetics
• Concern that development takes away from integral
  part of community natural beauty in around
  West Linn

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• Residents, Community Leaders say Metro projection
  of 1 million moving to metro area over next 25
  years is believable
• Say, Lifes better here
• Some Neighborhood Association Presidents,
  however, quick to say this projection not
  believable

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Attitudes Toward Growth

• Increased traffic heads list of perceived effects
  of growth. Also
• Increased crime
• If Stafford developed, West Linn loses its
  backyard
• Increased density
• Noise, more people

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Residents have little knowledge of current
  activities in Stafford area
• Essentially know theres been fighting the
  hamlet has been formed
• Community Leaders, Neighborhood Association
  Presidents have much better idea of whats going
  on
• Aware hamlet doing visioning project
• Community Leaders say City has taken hands off
  position in past

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Almost all agree City should have some
  involvement in Stafford area
• Anyone next to the Stafford area should be part
  of the discussion
• You should always be involved with your
  neighbor
• Community Leaders NA Presidents offer 2
  suggestions on how should be involved
• Work with other affected cities to plan
• Make Stafford area a park
• Neighborhood Association Presidents least
  interested in City being involved

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Residents like idea of identification of Urban
  Rural Reserves
• Ideally, participants say Stafford would be Rural
  Reserve
• Clear that participants see open spaces in
  Stafford area as part of charm beauty of West
  Linn, want to keep it that way
• However, some believe its more realistic for it
  to become Urban Reserve
• Some question why area has to be entirely one or
  the other

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• If Stafford brought into UGB, participants would
  like to see low-density residential development
• Large estates on large lots, Residential
  homes, not townhouses or apartments
• Strong desire to keep it green
• Thats why we all move out of the city so we
  can look at green
• Stafford should stay as close to whats there
  now

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Residents resistant to business/industry
• Happy to drive out of West Linn for
  services/amenities
• Community Leaders, Neighborhood Association
  Presidents more interested in additional
  commercial activity
• More familiarity with positive impact business
  can have on tax base
• All but Shorter-term Residents emphasize need for
  intelligent planning

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Overall, most believe West Linn should be
  involved in some way in planning regulating
  development in Stafford area
• About half of Residents say City will do a better
  job of limiting growth
• Other half say West Linn shouldnt be involved,
  largely because dont believe City has done good
  job planning in West Linn
• Community Leaders, Neighborhood Association
  Presidents more likely to say should be joint
  responsibility with Lake Oswego, Tualatin,
  Wilsonville, hamlet

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Participants knowledgeable about infrastructure
  needed for development, often say West Linn
  should be one of jurisdictions providing services
• All mention water, sewer, roads
• Other mentions include schools, fire emergency
  services, parks, communications

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Main advantage to annexing some of Stafford area
  is to be able to have some control over
  development
• West Linn should at least take part in it
• West Linn should have the area annexed so we
  have control of what it looks like
• Main disadvantage to participants is that
  annexation would mean development of the area

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Attitudes Toward Stafford Area

• Resident say City Council needs to keep
  livability in mind when making decisions about
  growth management
• Shorter-term Residents concerned with
  preservation of what we have
• Longer-term Residents cite livability,
  environmental concerns, traffic
• Neighborhood Association Presidents cite need to
  deal with communications problems, both with
  neighborhood associations with citizens as a
  whole

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Key Conclusions Recommendations

• How growth development is managed in West Linn
  is a big issue for residents because they see a
  direct link to the quality of life offered by the
  community
• In their view, growth has only negative impacts
  less beauty, more people, more traffic, more
  crime, more noise

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Conclusions Recommendations

• Many believe growth has not been managed well in
  West Linn in past, so the City must work to build
  public trust on this issue

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Conclusions Recommendations

• The City should be involved in Stafford
  discussions
• Stafford area is Citys unofficial backyard,
  citizens want the City involved in order to
  protect this vision as much as possible
• Some think City should not be involved, but we
  believe this segment is small

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For answers to questions or more information,
contact

• Campbell DeLong Resources, Inc.
• Martha DeLong, Research Director (503)
  221-2005e-mail MarthaD_at_cdri.com