Planning Commission and City Council Topics

NOTE: In April, the Rivergrove Planning Commission will meet on the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 9, 2018. City Council will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, in the River Grove Elementary School Library.

PLANNING COMMISSIONER SOUGHT

Are you drawn to public service? Would you like to connect to your community? Are you interested in improving the quality of life in Rivergrove? What about protecting the river and wetlands in your backyard? Please consider joining the Rivergrove Planning Commission. The Planning Commission plays a central role in city governance by acting as an advisory board to City Council on all planning and development issues in addition to reviewing and deciding on development applications. We seek one volunteer who is able to attend meetings on the first Monday of each month. No experience necessary. Most planning commissioners are lay people without any previous land use experience. If you are interested or have further questions, please contact City Manager/ City Recorder Leanne Moll at leanne@cityofrivergrove.com

BUDGET COMMITTEE FORMING - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

If you are interested in serving on the Budget Committee please contact City Manager/ City Recorder Leanne Moll. Budget Committee meetings will be held on Wednesday, April 11 and Monday, May 7 at 6:00pm at the River Grove Elementary School Library.

COMPLETENESS REVIEW FOR AN AMENDED DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATION AT 19232 PILKINGTON ROAD

At the Monday, April 9, 2018 meeting, the Planning Commission will review for completeness an amended development application that was previously approved for a duplex at 19323 Pilkington Road, submitted by Jeff Shrope of Renaissance Homes.

BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE

The City of Rivergrove will hold a Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 11 at 6 pm in the River Grove School library, 5850 McEwan Road, Lake Oswego. Public comment will be heard.

I-5 Construction at Lower Boones Ferry Road - March 2018 to Fall 2019

Please be advised of the ongoing roadwork at Exit 290, Lower Boones Ferry Road. You can find more details from ODOT here.

Safe Routes to School Parent Survey

If you have a child at River Grove Elementary School, please be sure to fill out the Safe Routes to School Parent Survey when it's distributed. This survey asks for information about what factors affect whether parents allow their children to walk or bike to school, the presence of key safety-related conditions along routes to school, and related background information. The survey results will help determine how to improve opportunities for children to walk or bike to school, and measure parental attitude changes as local SRTS programs occur.

The City of Rivergrove is partnering with Clackamas County, River Grove Elementary School, and the Safe Routes to School Program to calm traffic and improve walking and biking in Rivergrove and areas surrounding River Grove School.

April is Arbor Month

Movie Night Hosted by Councilor Brenda Ruble

Join us for a Movie Night on Friday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Councilor Brenda Ruble, 4840 Dogwood Drive. The movie will start at 7:00 p.m. Hometown Habitat: Stories of Bringing Nature Home is a 90-minute environmental, education documentary focused on showing how and why native plants are critical to the survival and vitality of local ecosystems. The documentary is based on the Rivergrove Reads book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Doug Tallamy.

Rivergrove Reads - Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas Tallamy

The pressures on wildlife populations today are greater than they have ever been and many gardeners assume they can remedy this situation by simply planting a variety of flowering perennials, trees, and shrubs. As Douglas Tallamy points out in this revelatory book, that assumption is largely mistaken. Wild creatures exist in a complex web of interrelationships, and often require different kinds of food at different stages of their development.There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. When native plant species disappear, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Fortunately, there is still time to reverse this alarming trend, and gardeners have the power to make a significant contribution toward sustainable biodiversity. By favoring native plants, gardeners can provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds.Healthy local ecosystems are not only beautiful and fascinating, they are also essential to human well-being. By heeding Douglas Tallamy's eloquent arguments and acting upon his recommendations, gardeners everywhere can make a difference.

Pick up a copy of Bringing Nature Home at the Little Free Libraries at Lloyd Minor Park or along Dogwood Drive. When you've read the book, simply return it to a Little Free Library or pass it along to a neighbor.

Annual Arbor Month Celebration

Join Councilors, Commissioners, and the Tree Board to celebrate Arbor Month in Rivergrove. We'll meet on Saturday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m. in Heritage Park to plant trees and native pussywillow twigs and enjoy cookies. Take home a copy of Bringing Home Nature: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants and a native tree to plant in your yard or nurture in a pot to plant later in a Rivergrove park.

Decisions

The Planning Commission approved a Tree Cutting Permit and required one mitigation tree for a cherry in the floodplain at 5638 Dogwood Drive.

Mayor's Message

One of the great pleasures of living in Rivergrove is that this is a community where people know and care about their neighbors. Rather than simply being “not Lake Oswego” or “not Tualatin” or “not Portland,” Rivergrove’s sense of place gives it a character all its own.

We try to welcome new Rivergrove residents, but we don’t always know when a home has changed hands, either through a sale or lease change. New residents may not automatically receive our newsletter—it may still be sent to the previous owner’s email address—so it’s important for us to realize that new residents have moved in. Since the City’s and County’s (either Washington or Clackamas) emergency preparedness is also dependent upon having contact information for residents, it’s important that we keep our files updated. So if someone new has moved in near
you, please let our City Manager know by emailing Leanne@CityofRivergrove.com.

Once again we have an opening on the Planning Commission, as we say goodbye to Jennifer Crock, who has not only served as Commissioner, but helps beautiful our parks with her tractor. Thank you, Jennifer, for being such a wonderful volunteer! This means, then, that we are looking for a new Planning Commissioner. There is no specific career- or educational-requirement for this volunteer position, just a willingness to study and apply our land use ordinances. If you have one evening a month to spare and an interest in development in Rivergrove, please contact our City Manager to discuss it.