April 21, 2023 | View as webpage

Board approves 10 more years of transportation maintenance and improvements in the URMD

The Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday to continue the Urban Road Maintenance District (URMD).

A review by the Board every 10 years assesses the continued need for the URMD’s services. This week’s Board approval means that the URMD will continue through June 30, 2034.

The URMD is a county service district that pays for road maintenance and biking and pedestrian projects in the urban unincorporated area.

About 430 miles of neighborhood streets are eligible for URMD maintenance funding. Data shows that pavement condition in the URMD improved significantly after it was funded in 1994. Pavement maintenance continues at a high standard.

While URMD’s primary function is street maintenance improvements, the district has also funded 74 Pedestrian & Biking Improvement Projects totaling over $33 million since 2011. The URMD also supports the Neighborhood Streets Program (NSP). NSP promotes safety by reducing speeding and cut-through traffic in urban neighborhoods.

Here's what community members say about how the URMD has improved their neighborhoods:

Thumbnail of title, reading "Urban Road Maintenance District" against a blurred background.

Stay prevents County approval of applications for residential projects in the UBG in mapped wildlife habitat areas

Washington County Department of Land Use & Transportation (LUT) cannot approve new land division and development applications for residential projects within the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in areas mapped as Wildlife Habitat per a stay issued by the state Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). The stay goes into effect sometime the week of April 17. It will remain in effect until Oct. 1, 2024.

The stay stems from a petition filed with LCDC, asking LCDC to direct the County to update its development standards for housing to be clear and objective, in compliance with a statutory provision (ORS 197.307, as amended by 2017 legislation) designed to increase housing development. According to a ruling from the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), these updates also require the county to undergo a full Goal 5 process to ensure adequate protection of Significant Natural Resources (SNR), which will take about 18 months.

We are already working to update our provisions protecting significant natural resources in the urban unincorporated areas of Washington County. The stay prevents us from approving residential applications in mapped Wildlife Habitat areas until this work is completed. As per the stay, we must complete this work by Oct. 1, 2024. Learn more

Open Houses

Comment on the I-205 Toll Project Environmental Assessment Report through TODAY (April 21).

The report identifies possible short- and long-term effects of the proposed tolling project.

Participate in the 2023-24 Draft Road Maintenance Program online open house through April 23.

The Draft Road Maintenance Program lists proposed maintenance activities for FY 2023-24. Your comments will help shape the final project list.

Visit the 2023-24 Draft Road Maintenance Program online open house to learn more.

Comment on projects proposed for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The Oregon Department of Transportation is hosting an online open house through April 28.

For more meeting opportunities, visit Building 2024-2027 STIP.

Share your thoughts on transportation investment priorities for the 2023 Regional Transportation Plan. The draft list of investments includes projects ranging from sidewalks to bridges that will help meet the region’s most urgent transportation needs and goals. Take the online survey through May 1.

The Regional Transportation Plan guides investments in all forms of travel – driving, transit, biking and walking – and the movement of goods and services in the greater Portland region for the next 22+ years. Learn more

Tell us what you think in the Council Creek Regional Trail online open house and survey through May 14.

Talk with the project team and take the survey in person from 4-6 p.m. on April 25 at the Cornelius Public Library.

Online or in person, when you take the survey you will be able to sign up to receive project updates and register to win one of three $100 gift cards.

WC-ROADS: Projects starting next week

Hall Boulevard from Scholls Ferry Road to Cascade Avenue; westbound lane and ramp closures, April 24-Nov. 23 for construction.

Farmington Road and 209th Avenue intersection; traffic signal shutdown, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. April 25 for utility work.

Visit wc-roads.com for more traffic impacts.

Neighborhood Meetings

Neighborhood meetings, required for many Washington County development applications, can be held online temporarily as per the new COVID-19 Virtual Neighborhood Meeting Supplement.

April 27: Proposed 2-parcel partition

At 6 p.m. held virtually (instructions available here). The site is 0.29 acres in the R-6 District (Residential 5-6 units per acre) and is located at 10862 NW Malia Lane. Contact Matt Newman at 503-601-4401 or elizabethn@nw-eng.com.

District 2; CPO 1

May 2: Proposed 66-lot subdivision

At 6 p.m. held virtually (instructions available here). The site is 11.62 acres in the R-6 District (Residential 5-6 units per acre) and is located at 4403 NW 174th Ave. Contact Kenneth Sandblast at 503-684-0652 or ksandbalst@westlakeconsultants.com.

District 2; CPO 7

May 9: Proposed 7-lot subdivision

At 7 p.m. held virtually (instructions available here). The site is 0.62 acres in the TO:R 24-40 District (Transit Oriented Residential District, 24-40 units per acre) and is located at 560 NW Dale Ave. Contact Mark Dane at 503-332-7167 or markdaneplanning@gmail.com.

District 2; CPO 1

Attend CPO Meetings

Learn what's going on in your area of Washington County. Attend your Community Participation Organization (CPO). CPOs are made up of community members who work together and are actively engaged in decision-making processes. Find out which CPO you live in and learn more.

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Washington County Department of

Land Use & Transportation

www.washingtoncountyor.gov/lut