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Parks And Trails > Parks In Progress

Projects In Progress


THPRD's Planning, Design & Development, Nature & Trails, and Maintenance Operations departments collaborate to plan, build, and maintain parks and trails across the district. Staff prioritize new development locations based THPRD's Community Visioning, Parks Functional Plan, and Trails Functional Plan, which staff regularly update in response to our growing community.

Community involvement is a vital part of park and trail design. THPRD engages community members and partners to match designs and amenities to the community's needs. For questions about new parks, trails, or other THPRD developments, please contact us.

Projects In Progress

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get news and updates about a project?

If you are a nearby or adjacent neighbor to the project, you will likely receive public meeting and construction notices in the mail for the development projects. Throughout the life of a project, we also continue to post updates and ways to get involved on each project webpage. If you would like to receive email updates and notices for a particular project, please visit the project webpage (select a project above) and join the project’s and select Sign Up button under Learn More on the right-side column.

Who will be notified of community meetings about a park or trail?

THPRD reaches out to local community members of developing parks to engage the public in the park planning process. We often use many ways of reaching out to local community members, such as mail, social media, signs, email lists, local partners, and more. We generally target a bigger audience for large projects and target a smaller more local audience for smaller neighborhood projects. We send public meeting and construction notices to community members living in the nearby neighborhood, but we invite anyone to join a project email list who might be interested in park news, meetings, and construction.

Why does it sometimes take years until THPRD can develop a park or trail connection?

THPRD is the largest special park district in Oregon, spanning 50 square miles and serving about 250,000 residents in and around Beaverton. THPRD makes an effort to purchase property when and as it becomes available that will provide a future park or connect trails in needed areas. The development of certain parks and trail connections are then prioritized based on each neighborhood’s level of need, access, and amount of time they’ve been waiting. Additional factors include any existing barriers or limitations in an area, population density, number of district residents in the area, funding and grant availability, site readiness, proximity to major trail destinations, the number of district residents served in an area, transportation access, and more. These factors and the list of prioritized parks can be found in the THPRD Parks Functional Plan. More trail development factors and future plans can be found in the THRPD Trails Functional Plan. Once THPRD begins planning the development of a park or trail connection, we are required to complete a variety of assessments, permits, community engagement processes, planning documents, and more, all of which can take several years. Click here to learn more about THPRD's typical development timeline for new and redeveloped parks and trails.

Why is park development prioritized in some areas over others?

Our current efforts in park development are focused on improving levels of service in the most under-served areas of the district. As a result, many of our land purchases and development at this time are focused in those specific areas. To learn more about these areas, follow these links to our Parks Functional Plan and our Comprehensive Plan. These are strategic plans that guide the district’s decisions about which parks are prioritized and is written based on community input from across the district. The plans help ensure that we are balancing park development, funding, and community needs throughout the entire community. The plans outline that we assess and prioritize park development based on a number of factors, such as each neighborhood’s level of need, wait-time, access, population density, number of district residents in the area, site readiness, connectivity to the rest of the district, and more. For more info on the levels of service that guide our prioritization across the district, see the map on page 33 of the Parks Functional Plan. The key helps show the under-served areas appearing in grey and the areas receiving a higher level of service in yellow and purple.

Why are there not more parks in my neighborhood when I live in a new housing development and pay property taxes too?

THPRD prioritizes under-served areas as many of those areas are much older parts of the district and have been waiting the longest for parks. (See FAQ above.) At the same time, we also work to continually balance these priorities with supporting new housing developments as much as possible. We do this by purchasing property when and as it becomes available in new housing areas, even though it is often sold at a premium and we may not have the funds to fully develop the park right away. (See next FAQ below.) While community members may hear from third parties that new parks and trails are being developed immediately, not all third parties are aware of our development priorities and timeline as listed in our Parks Functional Plan. If you are purchasing a home and want to learn more about where parks and trail are going to be developed next, please contact us directly by email or at 503-629-6305. We will be happy to help provide the information you’re looking for.

Why does THPRD purchase property if they are not yet ready to develop a park?

THPRD makes an effort to purchase property when it becomes available in new housing development areas and in established housing areas that are underserved. (Level of service is defined in THPRD’s Parks Functional Plan.) Even if THPRD does not have the funds to fully develop the property, the advanced purchase helps ensure that THPRD can serve patrons in that area in the future. Click here to learn more about THPRD's typical development timeline once development of a park or trail begins.

 Why do housing developers sometimes develop parks instead of THPRD?

In new housing developments, a housing developer may choose to collaborate with THPRD to plan and build parks within their new development. Generally, when housing developers plan and build parks, the parks require less cost and labor for the district and the public and the park development moves much faster. This is generally because the housing developer is already mobilized for planning, permitting, and construction in that area. If a housing developer chooses not to develop parks, then THPRD may have to develop those parks starting from the beginning of the planning, permitting, and construction mobilization process for each new park, which can take several years. Thus, THPRD provides incentives to encourage housing developers to develop parks on their own. THPRD then accepts ownership and maintenance of parks if and when a developer constructs the parks according to the design plans (including safety, accessibility, and other standards). As part of this agreement, THPRD asks the developer to engage the local community as much as possible in the park’s design process.

What are System Development Charges (SDCs)?

SDCs are a one-time fee charged on NEW construction such as housing, additions, and other developments. These one-time fees help local governments, like the park district, fund the services needed to accommodate the population growth that comes with new development. The concept behind the one-time charge, often thought of as a hook-up or connection charge, is that existing users - people who already live in an area - have paid taxes that developed the infrastructure necessary for public amenities we all share. For example, people who live in existing homes paid taxes that helped secure land for parks and paid for buildings such as our recreation and aquatic centers. However, when new homes are built, new residents gain access to publicly financed amenities as soon as they move in. Therefore, it makes sense that residents moving into newly built homes pay a one-time fee to “connect” to the infrastructure. This fee helps offset the impact new residents have on existing systems. To learn more, visit our Frequently Asked Questions on System Development Charges.

Have the COVID-19 pandemic and summer wildfires impacted park and trail development?

Due to the current pandemic, THPRD has been experiencing significant budgetary impacts resulting in having to separate many staff with potential impacts to programs, as well as the development and maintenance of certain amenities across the district. However, the impact on the planning and development of parks and trails includes some different factors, which include but are not limited to the following:

The district now has fewer staff and resources, our construction contractors were extremely limited for a time in their construction activities, and other jurisdictions who we are required to work with are also experiencing delays. As a result of these and with additional labor shortages, some projects and efforts may be moving slightly slower than they would normally.

Certain construction materials were not continually produced throughout the pandemic and summer fires, which temporarily congested some supply chains. Certain construction materials needed, such as lumber and asphalt, have been more limited than usual.

We have shifted many ways we engage communities in the design process to virtual platforms, which has taken time to plan and adjust.

It is still unclear exactly what the future holds in regards to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the summer wildfires, but we are very hopeful for the future and are continuing to make every effort to move forward with development as quickly and thoughtfully as possible.

How do I get access to district property for home construction or maintenance projects?

With nicer weather returning to the region, we’re seeing an increase in people needing to use district property to access their yards for maintenance and construction projects. Anyone needing to cross or otherwise access district property needs to secure a Permit of Entry (POE) or Temporary Construction Easement (TCE) . Please contact Melanie Moon (m.moon@thprd.org or 971-998-7618). She will coordinate the process. Please allow up to two weeks for coordinating with the necessary departments. Information needed typically includes:

  • Dates of service, gross vehicle weight and size, service route, etc.
  • Exhibit of work area and impact to district property from the contractor
  • Certificate of insurance

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