Planning commission reviews Foothills District engagement plan; council to consider citizen advisory committee appointments

Lake Oswego Planning Commission members spent their Aug. 25 meeting on a work session for the Foothills District Plan update (PP25‑0005), where the city’s long‑range planning manager and a consultant team presented a public‑involvement strategy and the expected project milestones.

The session focused on outreach methods, the planned Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), how a smaller wastewater treatment facility affects site opportunity, and the need to address transit and inclusion as the project moves from analysis to concept alternatives.

Eric Olsen, the city’s long‑range planning manager, introduced the presentation and said the project team had recently put a consultant under contract and prepared an outreach strategy. "We're here to present to you, this is our, I think, our second official sort of work session dedicated to this project," Olsen said, noting the team’s progress over the summer.

Will Grama, principal of First 40 Feet, the prime consultant, summarized the engagement approach and team roles. "We're extroverts. We love to talk to people," Grama said, describing a discovery phase the consultants expect to run over several months. Jason Graff, also a principal at First 40 Feet, said the team will produce a framework plan and engagement “guidebook” that sets rules for outreach and how the project will communicate with stakeholders.

Why it matters: relocation and downsizing of the existing TriMet Creek wastewater treatment facility reduces the acreage it occupies and opens areas of the Foothills for rethinking land use, circulation…