Planning Manager Darren Wise updated the West Linn City Council on June 2 on the waterfront vision plan’s path toward adoption, outlining years of engagement, survey results and a tentative schedule that would bring a planning commission public hearing in September and a council public hearing in November.

“We’re here today because we’re pretty excited that we’re getting to the point after years of engagement, getting to the point where we’re ready to bring [the] vision plan forward,” Wise said, summarizing outreach that began in 2016 and resumed after a COVID pause in 2022.

Wise described four guiding principles from earlier engagement — reinvestment opportunities, transportation improvements, river access and historic character — and said the plan divides the waterfront into three planning districts to reflect different resource and access issues. A consultant-led draft in early 2024 and subsequent working-group reviews led to a final draft published in December, followed by an online survey open Dec. 18–Jan. 31; Wise said survey responses showed roughly twice as many agreements as disagreements across the plan’s questions.

The plan maps preferred transportation improvements, including a proposed roundabout near historic City Hall and a realignment through the mill property that was earlier incorporated into a Willamette Falls Drive concept plan. Wise said the vision plan itself would be set by resolution if council adopts it; specific zoning, design standards and any transportation system plan amendments will be addressed later in an implementation phase.

Council members pressed staff about the Pond District, where responses showed relatively more resistance. Wise said the Pond District contains wetlands, floodplain and habitat conservation areas that complicate redevelopment and drive a stronger constituency for environmental preservation, though some properties there remain zoned for development and would need to complete natural-resource due diligence.

Council President Baumgartner raised concerns about a settling pond near Fifth Avenue and whether the city should require cleanup before housing development. Wise said the pond and the proposed nearby residential sites are separate parcels and that staff would coordinate with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the property owner to determine what studies or actions exist and whether further steps are appropriate.

Next steps Wise listed include a final working-group meeting July 10, two open houses July 24 (Adult Community Center) and July 31 (Library Community Room), Farmers Market outreach July 23 and Aug. 13, planning commission work sessions over the summer, a tentative planning commission public hearing Sept. 17, and a tentative council public hearing for adoption by resolution on Nov. 10. He said implementation work — including zoning and design standards — would follow adoption.

Councilors and the manager discussed funding sources for implementation, including grant applications and some existing general-fund money. Council members encouraged attention to environmental stewardship and to tribal and archaeological history in the waterfront area during further planning work.

Wise closed by saying staff will make final editorial edits and continue public outreach through the summer before bringing the plan to the planning commission and then council.