Council adopts ordinance to replace Southwest Tigard Street bridge; wetlands protections to be removed with off-site mitigation

The Tigard City Council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 25-05, approving a comprehensive plan amendment, sensitive lands review and minor modification to enable replacement of the Southwest Tigard Street bridge and associated roadway improvements.

Associate Planner Jenny McGinnis presented the staff report, saying the project affects about 3.76 acres west of the Tigard Street and Tiedemann Avenue intersection and includes multiple zone districts and a portion of Dirkson Nature Park. The application requests removal of Goal 5 safe-harbor protection for approximately 0.59 acre of locally significant wetland and 0.14 acre of the Fanno Creek vegetated corridor from the city's wetland and stream corridor map so the bridge can be reconstructed.

McGinnis described the replacement as a 124-foot precast concrete slab bridge with a cast-in-place concrete deck, widened travel lanes (from 10 feet to 12 feet), paved shoulders and sidewalks on both sides (six-foot shoulders and 6.5-foot sidewalks on both sides were shown in the design graphics), and a finished roadway elevation about seven feet higher than existing to bring the bridge above the 100-year flood plain. The project also includes a stormwater facility in Dirkson Nature Park and lighting improvements at the Fanno Creek Trail crossing.

Staff said the need for replacement was identified by an ODOT inspection in 2016 that found critical structural deficiencies and that emergency repairs in 2017 were temporary. The application relied on an Environmental, Social, Economic and Energy (ESEE) analysis to justify the comprehensive-plan amendment and concluded that allowing the replacement and providing mitigation yields public benefits including safer and more reliable travel for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, reduced risk of bridge closure or failure, improved emergency response reliability and local construction jobs.

McGinnis said mitigation will be provided off-site because feasible on-site mitigation was not identified. The staff presentation and applicant materials noted required mitigation and that the project proposes to create additional vegetated cover in advance of future encroachment. The planning commission had previously held a public hearing and voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Applicant representatives from the city's project team (including Senior Engineer Zach Morris) and consultant Dowell (Matthew Robinson and Nick Robinson) outlined schedule and construction constraints: design is at about 90% and staff expects to finish final design and perform right-of-way and easement acquisition through early 2026 with construction targeted for 2026. A critical regulatory constraint is the in-water work window for Fanno Creek (approximately July 15'September 30), which affects when center-bent and other in-water work can occur.

Councilors asked questions about whether the project would reduce known flooding of the Fanno Creek Trail; staff said it may help locally but the project is not intended to eliminate trail flooding north of the bridge. Councilors also asked about how wetland and aquatic functions were assessed in the ESEE report; staff clarified that the ESEE ratings describe how well the existing wetlands perform particular functions (for example aquatic habitat), not the severity of the project's impact per se.

After staff, the applicant, and a period with no public testimony, Councilor [moved], Councilor [seconded], and the council adopted Ordinance 25-05 by unanimous roll-call vote of members present. The city recorder read the ordinance title as: "Ordinance number 25-05, an ordinance approving comprehensive plan amendment CPA 2024000001, to remove Goal 5 protection from 0.59 acres of locally significant wetlands and 0.14 acres of Fanno Creek vegetated corridor from the Tigard Wetland and Stream Corridor map inventory." The ordinance was adopted with standard conditions and required off-site mitigation as described in the staff report.

Staff and applicant representatives said they will return with final design details, mitigation banking documentation and schedule updates as the project proceeds through right-of-way and permitting.

(See staff report and project packet on the city's website for the full technical analysis and permit conditions.)