BALLOT TITLE:
Caption: Allows road safety project, driveway realignment on specific park property.
Question: Shall Lake Oswego amend the Charter to allow Clackamas County to improve road safety using 0.4 acres of Stevens Meadows?
Summary: The City owns Stevens Meadows, a park of about 28 acres outside City limits in Clackamas County. The County is responsible for Stafford and Childs Roads adjacent to the park.
The County has determined improvements to the Stafford/Childs intersection are necessary to ease congestion and reduce injuries from accidents. The road improvements, which will be paid for and constructed by the County, will reduce crashes, ease traffic congestion, and create bike lanes and safe pedestrian paths. The County estimates the road improvements will decrease the crashes by 88% at the intersection. The County needs to use about 0.2 acres for these road improvements. The project will also realign an existing gravel driveway used for park maintenance, affecting an area of about 0.2 acres.
The City Charter prohibits the City from allowing roads on Stevens Meadows. If adopted, this measure would amend the Charter, allowing the City to enable County use of up to 0.4 acres of Stevens Meadows for the limited purposes of public safety road improvements and driveway realignment.
Explanatory Statement: The City of Lake Oswego owns Stevens Meadows, a park of about 28 acres outside city limits in Clackamas County. The County is responsible for maintaining and improving Stafford and Childs Roads adjacent to the park.
In 2018 Clackamas County conducted a Federal Highway Administration road safety audit that revealed problems with the Stafford/Childs intersection, including limited intersection visibility, rear-end crashes involving injuries, high speed turning, and heavy traffic without many gaps.
Between 2020 and 2024, Clackamas County designed different alternatives for the intersection and involved the public and other stakeholders. After this public engagement process the County finalized and funded a design requiring the construction of a roundabout at the Stafford/Childs intersection.
The County designed the project to reduce crashes, ease traffic congestion, and create bike lanes and safer pedestrian paths. The County estimates that road improvements could decrease fatal and injury crashes by 88%. The project also includes plans to mitigate potential environmental impacts of the project through work on the land around Pecan Creek, a fish bearing stream directly adjacent to Stevens Meadows.
The County needs to use about 0.2 acres of Stevens Meadows for the road improvements. The project will also realign an existing gravel driveway on the Meadows used to maintain the park, affecting another area of about 0.2 acres.
In 2021, Lake Oswego voters passed an amendment to the City Charter limiting the types of development allowed on 15 City-owned parks, including Stevens Meadows. The Charter directs the City to prohibit anyone, including Clackamas County, from building a road or redeveloping the gravel driveway on Stevens Meadows.
Measure 3-618 would amend the Charter, allowing the City to authorize the County to use up to 0.4 acres of Stevens Meadows for the limited purposes of public safety road improvements and driveway realignment.
If the measure is adopted:
- The Charter would be amended, allowing the City to authorize the County to use up to 0.4 acres of Stevens Meadows for the limited purposes of public safety road improvements and driveway realignment.
- The City Charter will continue prohibiting development on the rest of Stevens Meadows.
- The City will continue to manage the park in accordance with the City Charter.
- The County would be responsible for funding and constructing the Stafford/Childs Road project with County funds.
- Measure 3-618 would not increase City taxes.
If the measure is not adopted:
- The Charter will continue to prohibit road construction and driveway realignment on all of Stevens Meadows.
- The City would not authorize the County to use 0.4 acres at the corner of Stafford Road/ Childs Road for the road improvement project or driveway realignment.
- The City will continue to manage the park in accordance with the City Charter.