Since 2000, Beaverton's population has grown quickly, by 16 percent in 10 years.
On Aug. 2, the Metro Council got a look at a citizen-inspired road map that provides a blueprint for how to manage that growth and what kind of community Beaverton aims to become.
"The Beaverton Civic Plan really is our investment plan for the future," said Laura Kelly, a senior planner for in Beaverton's Community Development Department. "There's some really specific things (in the plan) and there are some more general ideas."
The plan's three parts focus on the central city, land use and transportation, and housing and neighborhoods. By concentrating on those three areas, city planners hope to create a vibrant urban core that is pedestrian friendly and has the right mix of businesses, housing and access to natural areas such as Beaverton Creek.
Beaverton has also identified 10 projects that it hopes to complete by 2030 in an effort to accomplish those broader goals. The projects range from a $7.5 million effort to restore sections of Beaverton Creek to a $78 million plan to make central city streets more pedestrian friendly.
"The civic plan localizes regional goals and objectives and identifies implementation strategies that will enable the city to realize the Beaverton Community Vision," said Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington, whose district includes part of downtown Beaverton.
Beaverton not alone in pursuing goals
Beaverton will have help in trying to implement its goals, said Metro planner Gerry Uba. In the next few weeks, a team of Metro transportation, land use and environmental planners will meet with city officials to learn how the agency might better help Beaverton accomplish its long-term goals — many of which align with regional goals outlined in Metro's 2040 Growth Concept.
"I think the council reaction was very positive," Uba said. "It helped the council to understand the city's intent — especially their long-term goals."
For example, Uba said, Beaverton has expressed interest in getting some land in the surrounding area added to the urban growth boundary. With those long-range plans explained, the Metro Council was able to get a better idea as to why the city would be interested in adding that land when their primary focus seems to be on continuing development of its urban core.
"We, Metro staff, have to better understand those projects they've proposed and how they intend to implement them," Uba said, adding that Metro will look at everything from providing Nature and Neighborhoods program grant money to help with creek restoration to advice on zoning and how to best use already-available resources.
"The community has spoken very clearly about the creeks being an amenity, not a source of disappointment and pollution," Kelly said. "The Nature and Neighborhoods program is certainly one that will be instrumental in helping us here."
Measuring progress in downtowns and main streets
Beaverton is one of the centers originally identified in the 2040 Growth Concept as Beaverton's business and service. Taking up about three percent of the city and located at the intersection of three main roads, two MAX lines and the WES commuter rail line, the Beaverton Regional Center is the retail and transportation hub for Beaverton.
Metro's recently released 2011 State of the Centers report profiled the Beaverton Regional Center as one of 38 town and regional centers in the Portland metropolitan area. The report was developed to measure progress over time toward the vision of 2040 Growth Concept and the goal of efficient use of land in cities and on main streets and major transit routes.
Data "snapshots" of the center's downtowns and main streets included in the report provide local governments, community leaders and businesses new tools and data to determine the progress of their centers against their own vision and existing conditions in other centers.
The data highlighted – including people per acre, public and private amenities, market value per square foot, total businesses per acre and median household income – provides a snapshot of the center that can be compared to other centers and the region as a whole.
Community endeavors such as the Beaverton Civic Plan reflect the region's progress in creating livable, pedestrian-friendly and vibrant centers that support economic prosperity.