Call to Action: UGB expansion could add 2800 Homes.

I need your help.

Sherwood is considering an expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). The current proposed expansion could add 2,800 homes, 9,576 people, 2,516 students to Sherwood over the next 6 to 15 years. At this time, I do not support expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary for six very important reasons:

The Sherwood School Board has formally asked the city to withdraw its request, citing concerns over the growth it would bring to the schools.
The city staff formally recommended, in a staff report, that the council withdraw its request to expand the UGB.
Members of the Planning Commission have asked that we withdraw our request.
An informal poll of the residents of Sherwood showed overwhelming support to withdraw the request.
We currently don’t have the transportation infrastructure in place to increase our population by 50% and the commuter load that would put on our roads.
We need to complete a community visioning process, the comprehensive plan and do more work to engage the community, prior to asking to expand the UGB.

On April 9th 2018, the city council considered a resolution asking the city manager to withdraw our request to expand the urban growth boundary, council did not make a decision in that meeting. We will be deciding the fate of this resolution in the next council meeting on the 17th of April, 2018.

Powerful special interest groups, that are not aligned with the desires of the community, are working hard to push the expansion of the UGB. During public comment on April 9th, the majority of groups we heard from were large land development companies, land buyers, the Home Builders Association, and even an elected official from outside our city. All were in favor of the UGB expansion.

It is my job to represent you, not groups from outside our community. We have heard a lot from people outside of our community about the proposed Sherwood West expansion. We now need to hear from our citizens on this issue. Based on the poll results, I know there is overwhelming support to withdraw the UGB expansion request. However, we need you to come to the council meeting on Tuesday April 17th at 7:00pm and let us know how you view this expansion. If you aren’t able to attend, please reach out and fill our email inboxes. You can email the council at citycouncil@sherwoodoregon.gov

For those of you that want more detail, I think it is important to share with you some information on what the current proposal being considered entails. (Alternative A versus the original Letter of Interest (LOI) that was sent to Metro)

Sherwood West, initial Letter of Interest (LOI)and the Revised Request, by the numbers:

Size:

LOI: 455 Developable Acres (587 Total)
Revised Request: 295 Developable Acres (351 Total)

Housing Units:

LOI: 3,700 Homes or Housing Units
Revised Request: 2,800 Homes or Housing Units

Density:

LOI: 8.13 Housing Units per acre (Average, will range from 5 to 15)
Revised Request: 9.49 Housing Units per acre (Average, will range from 5 to 15)

Population:

LOI: 9,576 Additional Residents
Revised Request: 7,323 Additional Residents

Students in Schools (Assumes .68 students per housing units, current Sherwood average)

LOI: 2,516 Students
Revised Request: 1,904 Students

Assuming a growth rate, consistent with historic growth rates in good economic times, school capacity will be exceeded by 2025.

Student population Growth Forecast (2018-2031)

Current School Growth Projects (Davis Study) Plus Increase due to Expansion

Impact on City General Fund

An expansion of Sherwood West will generate additional revenue through property taxes for the city, however residential areas are the most expensive to provide services to like public safety and library services. On average, for every dollar you bring in in revenue, it costs the city $1.25 to provide services. Over time, we will quickly find ourselves in a pinch to raise taxes to cover the General Fund.

LOI: 1.1M net Loss to general fund.
Revised Request: 953K net loss to general fund.