Troutdale panel outlines plan to create local ‘Hungry Hill’ historic district

The Troutdale Historic Landmarks Commission is drafting code changes to enable the creation of a local historic district in the city’s oldest platted area, known locally as Hungry Hill, the commission’s representative told the Troutdale Citizens Advisory Committee on May 7.

“Our HLC, we’ve been working towards, working on, like, a historic district boundary, and this is the first step of that,” said Nick, a Historic Landmarks Commission member, describing the commission’s work to the advisory panel.

The commission’s immediate goal is to add criteria to the city’s development code that would allow the city to designate historic districts; it is not yet identifying final boundaries or designating properties. The change is intended to enable later applications for a local district that could support signage and qualify the city to access certain grants and programs tied to certified local governments (CLG) and Main Street–type assistance.

Nick and Aaron Janssen, chair of the Historic Landmarks Commission, said the commission prefers a narrowly drawn district that recognizes Troutdale’s First and Second plat area downtown rather than a single “historic Troutdale” label. On a map shown to the committee, commissioners described the district roughly as much of the downtown First and Second plats (the so‑called Hungry Hill area), extending to about Eighth Street on one side and excluding Troutdale Elementary School.

The commission emphasized that simply being inside a district would not impose new regulatory requirements on property owners. “No one’s forcing the owner to do this,” Nick said of landmark designation; owners would need to apply separately to have a property designated as a historic landmark, and only then would specific review criteria apply to exterior work on that property.

Commissioners said the city’s CLG status is again active after a COVID‑era pause; the city recently resubmitted the CLG application to the state and staff said they had the materials ready to file. Officials said CLG recognition opens eligibility for some state preservation grants and technical assistance, which could support signage, walking‑tour materials and other small‑scale investments.

Next steps explained to the advisory committee were: finish draft code language; the HLC will approve language to send to the Planning Commission for review (target: spring); and, contingent on a Planning Commission recommendation, send the amendment to City Council (target: late spring or summer). After the code language is adopted and takes effect, the commission would begin a separate process to propose specific district boundaries and undertake community engagement.

Committee members raised questions about outreach, possible economic effects on downtown businesses and whether being in a district would later impose design restrictions. HLC members responded that prior outreach before 2020 showed substantial support and that the commission does not intend to attach mandatory regulatory limits to district membership; only owners who opt into the separate landmark designation process would face additional review requirements for exterior changes.

Staff and commissioners said they would involve property owners and the public when the district application process begins and invited committee input on engagement approaches. The HLC presentation and timeline were informational; no formal action by the Citizens Advisory Committee was taken that evening.

The commission said signage and informational displays are a primary motivation: members want visitors and residents to recognize and learn about the city’s historic downtown and to help the district become an attraction for tourism and local pride.