Oppenlander is being Sold
Help Us Optimize the Development
With your help, we can optimize the development for all of us here now, and for those who buy these houses and become our neighbors!
RSNA Special Meeting – Next Steps for Oppenlander
Many of you joined us at the RSNA meeting on 8/6 where Venture Properties presented a revised plan for Oppenlander. We’ve been busy the past 11 days trying to get address the questions, concerns and ideas that you all brought up at that meeting.
We’ve visited a fairly large Middle Housing development in Wilsonville, attended both the Planning Commission & Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meetings, met with Parks and Planning staff, and more. We want to share what we’ve learned and have more discussion
The proposed development of Oppenlander will shape this neighborhood—and West Linn—for decades to come. The questions now are: How can we make this development the very best it can be?
How can 45 new Middle Housing homes be built on 26 R-10 lots? How do we preserve neighborhood character, protect mature trees (if possible), improve safety, reduce downstream impacts, and create a neighborhood that future residents and existing neighbors alike will be proud to call home?
Please attend in person if you can. If you can’t, join us by Zoom. Either way, your participation matters:
RSNA Special Meeting – Next Steps for Oppenlander
Tuesday, August 18 @ 7:00 PM
West Linn Adult Community Center – Oak Room – 1180 Rosemont Road
or click here to join by Zoom
Why this meeting matters
Venture Properties has indicated that it may submit its formal Oppenlander development application within the next several weeks.
We want the neighborhood to be in front of that application—not reacting to it after it is filed.
The development plans are still evolving. Streets have moved. Important traffic, connectivity, grading and tree-preservation questions remain. This is the time to understand what West Linn actually requires, identify reasonable alternatives, and make our community priorities clear while meaningful changes can still be considered.
Tomorrow night we will update the community on what we’ve learned since the August 6 meeting with Venture Properties and discuss the issues we believe need attention before an application is submitted.
We also hope the Rosemont Summit Neighborhood Association will consider a formal motion expressing the neighborhood association’s position and priorities on these pre-application issues.
That matters. RSNA is a City-recognized neighborhood association, and an adopted motion would give us a formal neighborhood position to carry forward in our discussions with Planning, Parks & Recreation, the City Manager, appropriate City advisory bodies, and ultimately the City Council.
If you care about what Oppenlander becomes, tomorrow night is an important time to participate.
What has happened since our August 6 meeting?
Street design and Miles Drive
The proposed street plan has changed substantially.
We are asking the City for clarification of its standards concerning cul-de-sacs, street connectivity, shared private access, street stubs into already-developed neighborhoods, and alternative turnaround designs.
Miles Drive residents are also asking the City to consider allowing a locked emergency vehicle connection between Miles Court and Miles Drive, while maintaining unrestricted pedestrian and bicycle access, assuming the new development has adequate primary vehicle and emergency access from Rosemont Road.
Residents have approximately 16 years of experience with Miles Drive as a through street—and another 16 years with the locked emergency gate. The difference is not hypothetical.
Traffic
The City has provided us with the Traffic Impact Analysis scoping memo. Importantly, City Engineering specifically requested traffic-impact information for the proposed Miles Drive connection.
We are reviewing that material and want to understand the traffic counts, assumptions, trip distribution and other analysis before the development application is submitted.
The 28-tree mature urban forest – trees, environment, and wildlife
Preserving as much as reasonably possible of the existing mature grove remains a major priority.
Street alignment, grading, utilities, home elevations and tree preservation are interconnected. The road layout has already changed dramatically, demonstrating that important design choices are still being made.
And we are now exploring another potentially significant opportunity:
Could Park SDCs help save part of the grove?
The Oppenlander development could potentially generate roughly half a million dollars or more in Park System Development Charges.
Last week we began discussions with Parks leadership and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board about whether some portion of those resources could legally and appropriately help preserve part of the existing mature grove as permanent open space.
There are important legal, financial, engineering and ownership questions still to answer.
But there is also urgency: we need to explore preservation while the streets, grading and development plan can still accommodate it—not after the trees have effectively been designed out of the project.
Please join us in person or virtually
This isn’t about stopping a conversation because we disagree with something. It’s about getting the right questions on the table early enough to make a difference.
We want to hear from the community, establish our priorities, and give the Rosemont Summit Neighborhood Association an opportunity to speak with a clear voice as the process moves forward.
Please attend in person if you can. If you can’t, join us by Zoom. Either way, your participation matters.
Initial Neighborhood Feedback
