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Scappoose council approves applications for state grants to update TSP and develop downtown improvement plan
Summary
Council voted to authorize the city manager to apply for two Transportation Growth Management grants — $250,000 to update the city’s Transportation System Plan and a separate grant to develop a downtown improvement (strategic) plan — with staff time as local match.
The Scappoose City Council on July 21 authorized the city manager to apply for two Transportation Growth Management (TGM) grants administered by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and ODOT.
Community Development Director Lori Oliver Joseph presented both items. The first resolution authorizes an application for up to $250,000 to update the city’s Transportation System Plan (TSP), last revised in 2016. Oliver Joseph said the update would incorporate the city’s recent urban growth boundary (UGB) expansion, updated population and job forecasts, and an updated capital improvement plan; the grant would require an in-kind match of $28,613 in staff time and materials.
The second resolution authorizes a TGM grant application to develop a downtown improvement plan (referred to in staff materials as a downtown strategic plan). Oliver Joseph said the plan would review the downtown overlay boundary and design standards, assess parking and potential public parking lots, recommend incentives for redevelopment, and update streetscape standards to better connect downtown to the city’s trail network.
Why it matters: Oliver Joseph said having both plans in place would position the city to apply for implementation grants, including Main Street grants and urban renewal projects. She recommended the council approve both grant applications; both resolutions passed on voice votes.
Timing and process: The TGM applications were due July 31. Oliver Joseph said the city expects award notifications in September; contract finalization and scope refinement with ODOT could take nine months to a year, and the TSP update would need to be completed by 2028 under the proposed schedule.
Council discussion: Councilors asked about the risk if the city did not receive funding and whether the TSP schedule would conflict with the UGB adoption process. Oliver Joseph said ODOT funding alternatives exist if the grant is not awarded and that the city was likely to remain competitive if timelines slipped. She also said the two grants could complement each other if both were awarded in the same cycle.
