The crowd enjoying the music of Hit Machine as they perform at Foothills Park as part of the Summer of Music Series in 2024.

In explaining the popularity of parks and recreation facilities in Lake Oswego — like the new recreation and aquatic center and Rassekh Park — Councilor Aaron Rapf referenced the “Field of Dreams quote: “If you build it, they will come.”

With the adoption of its Parks Plan 2040, the city of Lake Oswego is establishing what facilities it may build in the coming decades that may be well used by the community. The council voted to tentatively approve the plan during a meeting Tuesday, May 20.

“If I was coming in from outside of the community and reading this plan, I would say, ‘Wow this is the place I want to live, this town.’ It really represented the heart and soul of the community. Our community values are well represented all throughout the plan,” Mayor Joe Buck said at the meeting.

The plan includes 124 capital improvement projects totalling $112 million, as well as $8 million in annual maintenance costs. Though the document includes funding strategies, the projects listed in the plan generally are not funded. The plan is intended to be aspirational and a compass to guide future investments.

Some of the new facilities mentioned include:

• Outdoor pickleball courts
• A new neighborhood park in the Lake Grove, Bryant or Rosewood neighborhoods
• A sand volleyball court
• A splash pad
• Indoor recreation on the west side of Lake Oswego

Some of the notable capital improvement projects at existing facilities include:

• Expanding Foothills Park to the north in conjunction with the decommissioning of the Tryon Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to potentially make way for an amphitheater, pickleball courts, more parking, trail connections and more.
• Improving access and enhancing the community garden as well as education at Luscher Farm.
• Replacing the playground at East Waluga Park and West Waluga Park.
• Completing the planned play area and multi-purpose athletic field at Rassekh Park as well as covering a portion of the skate park.
• Renovating Freepons Park.

Some of the systemwide recommendations listed in the plan include:

• pursuing the acquisition of land for new parks.
• improving trails and connections.
• studying the impacts of the Chapter X ballot measure that limited development on city-owned park land
• developing strategies for converting city-owned property into parkland.
• Creating greater access to the Willamette and Tualatin Rivers.
• Adding at least one fully inclusive play area.
• exploring a potential parks maintenance fee and generally diversifying parks funding sources.
• installing electric vehicle charging stations at local parks.
• redesigning the site of the Lake Grove Farmers Market (Hallmark Drive) to become a festival street.
• exploring a joint agreement with the Lake Oswego School District to improve access to recreational facilities.
• Debate over lake access language
• Although the council was enthusiastic about the plan, they didn’t have the same reaction to recommendations for amendments proposed by the Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Advisory Board.

The board advised the council to add a statement at the outset of the plan establishing a desire for Lake Oswego to be a welcoming community and wanted it to emphasize fostering greater opportunities for access to Oswego Lake — including infrastructure and other enhancements, among other recommendations.

Buck felt that the city is in the learning stage as far as how to grapple with public access to the lake — which was considered to be private for many decades before a recent court ruling — from Millennium Plaza Park and noted that the court battle over the issue has not concluded.

Rapf felt that lake access shouldn’t even be discussed by the parks board.

“I look at this as an overstepping of the committee’s role in what they are charged to do. The lake is not a city-owned park (the waters of the lake are considered to be owned by the state of Oregon while the lake bed is owned by the Lake Corporation). They have no jurisdiction on this. Therefore they should not be discussing it,” he said.

Councilor Rachel Verdick agreed that the parks board’s recommendations weren’t needed, while Councilor Ali Afghan felt prioritizing access opportunities did not complement the city’s existing stance when it comes to public access.

“That didn’t jive with what we had been discussing, which the intent of all of our parks on the water have been lakeview properties and lakeview parks, and these items came across as we are shifting all of the intent of our waterfront parks,” Councilor Ali Afghan said about the lake access recommendation. “I can’t support that at this time.”

City staff will make minor tweaks based on council feedback and the council will vote to adopt the plan officially at a meeting June 3.