News

January 12, 2017 - The City of Wilsonville is hosting a public open house for the French Prairie Bridge Project on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 5–7 p.m., at City Hall, 29799 SW Town Center Loop East, Wilsonville. The public event features members of the project management team providing an overview of the proposed bicycle/pedestrian/emergency-access crossing of the Willamette River west of the I-5 Boone Bridge.

Materials from the open house are available online at www.FrenchPrairieBridgeProject.org, where the public can sign-up to be on a mailing list, submit a comment or question, or view other information. For two weeks after the live open house, the City will continue to accept comments and feedback online at www.FrenchPrairieBridgeProject.org.

Due to severe inclement weather, on Wednesday, January 11, 2017, the City of Wilsonville closed  all City facilities, including City Hall, Community Center, Wilsonville Public Library and the Parks & Recreation offices. City events and meetings scheduled for the day are also cancelled. SMART Transit will continue to offer bus services, but weather conditions may impact services and riders should expect potential delays. Riders should visit www.RideSmart.com for updated information and rider alerts, including links to information on Tri-Met WES schedules. In the case of a fire, medical or police emergency, call 911. In the event of a public-works emergency, such as a meter leak or broken water line, call the after-hours emergency-phone line at 866-252-3614 line (toll-free). Republic Services, the City's waste hauler, is not be operating today as well.

On Jan. 5, the Oregon Healthy Authority’s Drinking Water Program announced that the City of Wilsonville’s public drinking water system, which includes the Willamette River Water Treatment Plant, managed in partnership with Veolia North America, has been identified as an Outstanding Performer.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) staff made the determination after conducting an on-site review of the water system on Nov. 16, 2016. The review, which takes place every three to five years and evaluates the system's capability of providing safe water to the public, covers source water, treatment, storage facilities, distribution system, operation and maintenance procedures, monitoring, and management of the system.

In addition to verifying the system’s capability and compliance, OHA further determined that Wilsonville’s drinking water system also meets all of the following criteria:

On Jan. 19, 2017, the Wilsonville City Council held a public hearing and approved an ordinance to create a residential parking-zone program. The new program seeks to resolve on-street parking issues within Wilsonville residential neighborhoods that are able to demonstrate a need for the program. The ordinance establishes a means for residents to petition the City to create specific residential parking zones where on-street parking is restricted to permit holders during specified hours, and governs administration and enforcement of the program. The program seeks to decrease parking congestion and improve safety in residential neighborhoods experiencing a high volume of on-street parking. The proposed program is also needed to improve neighborhood access for emergency, waste-management and postal-service personnel. A second reading and potential adoption of the ordinance is planned for the Feb. 6 City Council meeting.

Due to severe inclement weather, the City of Wilsonville Public Works crews have sanded the main roads and collector streets in Wilsonville, but the City discourages all unnecessary driving. The crew will continue to sand the roads throughout the day and night as needed.

SMART buses are chained and offering free in town service, but are not currently offering 1X, 2X, or 3 services at this time.  SMART encourages in town riders to check bus locations at  http://smartpublic.etaspot.net/ and to dress warmly before going outdoors.

City staff are clearing the sidewalks in front of key City facilities and remind property owners of their responsibility to clear the sidewalks along their property. Community members are reminded, however, to be careful walking outdoors and to dress warmly before going outside.

On Dec. 5, 2016, the Wilsonville City Council held a public hearing and first reading, tentatively approving an ordinance that amends the City’s right-of-way and public-easement management section of City Code. The Council voted to keep the record open to provide additional time for public comments until the second reading of the ordinance at the City Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 19. The ordinance clarifies the method of determining the fees to be charged by the City for use of the public right-of-way by utility providers that may or may not provide service to Wilsonville customers. In particular, the code amendments are needed to clarify how to calculate and assess the fees the City will charge for the four miles of 66-inch-diameter water pipeline being planned and constructed to pass through Wilsonville to provide water to Tualatin Valley Water District and City of Hillsboro customers.

On Nov. 7, 2016, the Wilsonville City Council held a second reading and approved an ordinance that creates time, place and manner regulations on the operation of marijuana-related businesses that may locate within the City should voters reject Ballot Measure 3-486, thereby voicing a desire to have the City remove a current ban on marijuana-related businesses. The City Council seeks to be prepared with rules that govern where, when and how marijuana-related businesses can locate within Wilsonville in the event the ban is discontinued by voters at the Nov. 8 general election. If voters opt to continue the ban, this ordinance will be moot and will not apply in that the facilities will continue to be prohibited. The ordinance establishes local regulations for the operation of marijuana-related businesses that include a 2,000-foot buffer from residential zones, schools, City parks, or any City-owned property and also a 1,000-foot buffer between marijuana-related businesses.

Wilsonville’s public-transit agency, South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART), has won a $320,000 grant award from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Agency (FTA) to purchase a new 31-passenger diesel bus. This most recent award is in addition to a 2014 FTA grant award of $638,000 that SMART received to purchase two more large-sized 31-passenger diesel buses that have recently been delivered and are to be put into service in the coming days.

In all, the two grant awards totaling just under $1 million allow the local transit agency to replace three older buses with three new lower-emission diesel buses. The most recent grant is to be used to replace a 16-year-old “high-floor” bus with a brand new more accessible “low-floor” bus that is closer to street level and easier for passengers to board. SMART plans to order the new “low floor” bus later this year and expects to receive delivery in 2018.

Metro regional government and Clackamas County are seeking public comment on proposals for 31 projects across the three-county region that improve travel mobility for cyclists and pedestrians and the timely movement of freight. Of these proposed transportation projects, 27 bike/ped project applications request a total of $92.5 million competing for $25.8 million in available funds.

The City of Wilsonville has a top-ranked project seeking $2.25 million in funding for a proposed bike/ped bridge over I-5 connecting east and west sides of town to provide a safer route and encourage the use of alternative transportation.

On Oct. 17, 2016, the Wilsonville City Council held a second reading and approved the Coffee Creek Urban Renewal Plan. The plan, which covers approximately 258 acres of land located in the northwest quadrant of Wilsonville bounded by Day Road, Ridder Road, 95th Avenue and Grahams Ferry Road, establishes how the City’s Urban Renewal Agency proposes to fund the public infrastructure required to transform the now largely undeveloped rural area into an urban employment center. The plan establishes a maximum indebtedness of $67 million, which sets the limit on urban renewal funding also known as tax increment financing, that is to be invested to build public infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, and water and waste-water services. A citizen task force recommended creation of the urban renewal district, which was approved by Wilsonville voters in a November 2015 advisory vote.

The City of Wilsonville announces the hiring of Amanda Guile-Hinman as the City’s new Assistant City Attorney, in the position previously held by Barbara Jacobson before she was promoted to the City Attorney position.

Amanda comes to Wilsonville from Bateman Seidel, a private law firm based in Portland, where she specialized in business litigation for the past seven years as an attorney and where she also served as a legal clerk for a year during law school. While at the firm she represented numerous clients on real estate and other business related cases. In practicing law, Amanda has also actively offered pro-bono legal services in partnership with Legal Aid Services of Oregon’s Domestic Violence Project, where she represented two dozen domestic violence clients.

The City of Wilsonville announced the hiring of Dan Carlson as the City’s new Building Official, assuming the position previously held by long-term Building Official Martin Brown who retired this summer.