Tigard officials confident parks bond will pass

Mayor Craig Dirksen says a poll of residents showed strong support for Ballot Measure 34-166

By Geoff Pursinger

The Times, Oct 29, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

The economy is in the toilet, and Brian Wegener is loving it.

To be more specific, the watershed watch coordinator of the Tualatin Riverkeepers is loving the current property prices within the city.

Wegener, along with Tigard city officials, are hoping to pass a new bond measure in the next week, which would allow the city to purchase land and create several much-needed parks in the area, as well as preserve natural greenspaces, such as the 43-acre plot of land located behind Fowler Middle School.

“(The woods behind Fowler) are the last natural lowland in Tigard that would serve the public well as a park and natural area,” Wegener said. “This could be the jewel in the crown of the Tigard park system.”

The Tigard-Tualatin School District, which has owned the land for several years, is looking to sell the property, and Wegener believes that if the land isn’t bought now, the woodland will disappear, after being snatched up by developers.

“There will be a demand for housing in Tigard,” said Wegener. “Which is why this is the opportune time, right now, to pass the bond measure. The demand for land is low right now, which means the property prices are low. This is the great time to buy it. The timing is good now. Interest rates are at historic lows, and we can lock in these low interest rates for 20 years.”

The Fowler woods could support up to 70 new homes in Tigard if the land is sold to developers.

“The down economy has given us an opportunity that we wouldn’t have otherwise had,” said Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen. “Now we are able to preserve open space that won’t be available in the future.”

The parks are necessary, Dirksen said, because Tigard is running out of room.

“The growth and development in Tigard over the last decade has been rampant,” said Dirksen. “We are getting to a point where Tigard is getting built out. We’re starting to settle into the form that Tigard is going to have from now on. If we don’t act on it soon, we’ll never be able to achieve it.”

The national standard for cities is to have approximately 11 acres of park for every 1,000 residents, Dirksen said. “And currently we only have about 8.25. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

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