Keep Borland Rural
Donation protected
Welcome to the GoFundMe page for Keep Borland Rural (KBR)!
We are a group of Clackamas County citizens who oppose approval of the Conditional Use Permit Application by Willamette United Football Club (WUFC) for a 21-acre “world class” sports complex at adjacent to the corner of SW Ek and Borland. The complex includes a 53,000 square foot training facility, three turf fields with stadium lighting of four acres and the capacity to park over 500 cars. We believe that our efforts, both at Clackamas County and at the Land Use Board of Appeals (see details below), will have a long-range impact on protecting all rural lands in Clackamas County from urbanization before it is appropriate.
Although we don't dispute the need for more soccer fields or the value of youth sports, we believe this large complex is better suited to an urbanized area; see our reasons in the list below.
We created this page because although WUFC is a non-profit, it is well-supported financially and has retained an attorney during their development application. To make sure our voice is heard, KBR has also hired a land use attorney with experience in Clackamas County; this attorney has represented our interests well.
Attorney fees so far have been paid out-of-pocket by nearby homeowners (over $16,000), and we need more financial support to see this through and prevail. The next phases of our efforts include post-hearing rebuttals. Also, the WUFC attorney has made a motion to dismiss our LUBA appeal we must respond to. All of this mandates more involvement by our attorney.
If you value Clackamas County's valuable and beautiful rural lands, please join us by donating whatever you can ... no amount is too small. Many, many thanks for reading about our efforts, and for considering a donation!
___________________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY POSITION STATEMENT / KEEP BORLAND RURAL
September 9, 2019
Keep Borland Rural (KBR) is a group of Clackamas County citizens who oppose approval of the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Application (ZO176-19-C) by Willamette United Football Club for a 21-acre “world class” sports complex at 1521/1541 SW Borland Road (adjacent to the corner of SW Ek and Borland). The complex includes a 53,000 square foot training facility, three turf fields with stadium lighting and the capacity to park over 500 cars.
1) KBR supports Oregon land use laws and values, which favor orderly growth and urbanization, and strive to protect rural lands as valuable assets. We believe the Stafford area (specifically, the area south of I-205 and east of Stafford Road, and west to the West Linn City limits) has a rural nature worth protecting. This area, primarily comprised of small farms and ranches, is zoned Rural Residential Forest Farmland, 5 Acre minimum, and is outside of the Urban Growth Boundary.
2) We do not dispute the need for more soccer fields or the value of youth sports. However, we believe that, due to its size and anticipated level of use, the proposed sports complex would be better suited to a more urbanized area. Traffic, lights and noise year-around will dramatically change the area’s rural nature. In particular, the problematic intersection of Ek and Borland, as well as traffic volumes on these two-lane roads with no shoulder, are inappropriate for anticipated vehicle trips and will result in a situation dangerous to all drivers, particularly young drivers navigating the intersection.
3) Despite WUFC-funded consultants’ reports to the contrary, we believe water resources (the aquifer used by all neighborhood wells) will likely be compromised by the level of use at the complex. A secondary concern is the volume of sewer treatment needed at this site and its proximity to the Tualatin River. A development of this size is better suited to a site with municipal water and sewer.
4) A Hearings Officer for Clackamas County heard testimony for and against the proposal on July 25, 2019, at which time public testimony on the matter was closed. Since then, the applicant and the opposition have offered rebuttal statements. The rebuttal period ends September 26, with the Hearings Officer decision anticipated in mid-October.
5) In addition, KBR maintains the December, 2017, action by Clackamas County (Interpretation ZO-478-17-I), which stated that “sports fields” meets the definition of a recreational use in RRFF5, was granted without appropriate notice to nearby property owners. Although applied countywide, the interpretation was requested by WUFC specifically for this site, and thus nearby property owners should have been notified. This interpretation opened the door for the subsequent WUFC application. It also leaves RRFF5 zones countywide vulnerable to similar applications for large sports complex applications. It should be noted that Clackamas County Citizen Planning Organizations (CPOs) unanimously opposed the application for interpretation. Three property owners have filed an appeal of the interpretation to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) based on this lack of notice.
7) WUFC, which is a non-profit organization but is well-supported financially, has retained an attorney for the entire development process. To effectively organize our opposition to the CUP, KBR has also hired a land use attorney with experience in Clackamas County. This attorney has represented us well and will continue to do so. The initial hearing and subsequent rebuttal process, as well as the LUBA appeal, have resulted in a sizable attorney bill. Payments for the attorney so far have been from a group of neighbors and we need to expand financial support in order to fund this representation. We believe the LUBA appeal, in particular, is necessary to protect rural resources for the RRFF5 zone countywide, not just in the case of this CUP. We have created a GoFundMe page with the belief that our cause will be supported by a wider citizen base which shares our desire to protect our rural properties.
We are a group of Clackamas County citizens who oppose approval of the Conditional Use Permit Application by Willamette United Football Club (WUFC) for a 21-acre “world class” sports complex at adjacent to the corner of SW Ek and Borland. The complex includes a 53,000 square foot training facility, three turf fields with stadium lighting of four acres and the capacity to park over 500 cars. We believe that our efforts, both at Clackamas County and at the Land Use Board of Appeals (see details below), will have a long-range impact on protecting all rural lands in Clackamas County from urbanization before it is appropriate.
Although we don't dispute the need for more soccer fields or the value of youth sports, we believe this large complex is better suited to an urbanized area; see our reasons in the list below.
We created this page because although WUFC is a non-profit, it is well-supported financially and has retained an attorney during their development application. To make sure our voice is heard, KBR has also hired a land use attorney with experience in Clackamas County; this attorney has represented our interests well.
Attorney fees so far have been paid out-of-pocket by nearby homeowners (over $16,000), and we need more financial support to see this through and prevail. The next phases of our efforts include post-hearing rebuttals. Also, the WUFC attorney has made a motion to dismiss our LUBA appeal we must respond to. All of this mandates more involvement by our attorney.
If you value Clackamas County's valuable and beautiful rural lands, please join us by donating whatever you can ... no amount is too small. Many, many thanks for reading about our efforts, and for considering a donation!
___________________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY POSITION STATEMENT / KEEP BORLAND RURAL
September 9, 2019
Keep Borland Rural (KBR) is a group of Clackamas County citizens who oppose approval of the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Application (ZO176-19-C) by Willamette United Football Club for a 21-acre “world class” sports complex at 1521/1541 SW Borland Road (adjacent to the corner of SW Ek and Borland). The complex includes a 53,000 square foot training facility, three turf fields with stadium lighting and the capacity to park over 500 cars.
1) KBR supports Oregon land use laws and values, which favor orderly growth and urbanization, and strive to protect rural lands as valuable assets. We believe the Stafford area (specifically, the area south of I-205 and east of Stafford Road, and west to the West Linn City limits) has a rural nature worth protecting. This area, primarily comprised of small farms and ranches, is zoned Rural Residential Forest Farmland, 5 Acre minimum, and is outside of the Urban Growth Boundary.
2) We do not dispute the need for more soccer fields or the value of youth sports. However, we believe that, due to its size and anticipated level of use, the proposed sports complex would be better suited to a more urbanized area. Traffic, lights and noise year-around will dramatically change the area’s rural nature. In particular, the problematic intersection of Ek and Borland, as well as traffic volumes on these two-lane roads with no shoulder, are inappropriate for anticipated vehicle trips and will result in a situation dangerous to all drivers, particularly young drivers navigating the intersection.
3) Despite WUFC-funded consultants’ reports to the contrary, we believe water resources (the aquifer used by all neighborhood wells) will likely be compromised by the level of use at the complex. A secondary concern is the volume of sewer treatment needed at this site and its proximity to the Tualatin River. A development of this size is better suited to a site with municipal water and sewer.
4) A Hearings Officer for Clackamas County heard testimony for and against the proposal on July 25, 2019, at which time public testimony on the matter was closed. Since then, the applicant and the opposition have offered rebuttal statements. The rebuttal period ends September 26, with the Hearings Officer decision anticipated in mid-October.
5) In addition, KBR maintains the December, 2017, action by Clackamas County (Interpretation ZO-478-17-I), which stated that “sports fields” meets the definition of a recreational use in RRFF5, was granted without appropriate notice to nearby property owners. Although applied countywide, the interpretation was requested by WUFC specifically for this site, and thus nearby property owners should have been notified. This interpretation opened the door for the subsequent WUFC application. It also leaves RRFF5 zones countywide vulnerable to similar applications for large sports complex applications. It should be noted that Clackamas County Citizen Planning Organizations (CPOs) unanimously opposed the application for interpretation. Three property owners have filed an appeal of the interpretation to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) based on this lack of notice.
7) WUFC, which is a non-profit organization but is well-supported financially, has retained an attorney for the entire development process. To effectively organize our opposition to the CUP, KBR has also hired a land use attorney with experience in Clackamas County. This attorney has represented us well and will continue to do so. The initial hearing and subsequent rebuttal process, as well as the LUBA appeal, have resulted in a sizable attorney bill. Payments for the attorney so far have been from a group of neighbors and we need to expand financial support in order to fund this representation. We believe the LUBA appeal, in particular, is necessary to protect rural resources for the RRFF5 zone countywide, not just in the case of this CUP. We have created a GoFundMe page with the belief that our cause will be supported by a wider citizen base which shares our desire to protect our rural properties.
Organizer
Nancy Hinsdale Scott
Organizer
West Linn, OR
