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Development Could Alter Forest Grove's "Old-Town Feel"

Posted on: Thursday, 21 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 21--FOREST GROVE -- A residential boom that has rapidly dotted the city's landscape like a constellation has some wondering how the city will keep up with the growth.

Nearly 20 developments ranging from 11 to 300 homes each are in the works, and the slew of projects comes as little surprise. Many developers see the city of 18,000 residents as Washington County's last frontier for big lots available at reasonable prices.

This month, the City Council approved Pacific Crossing, a project that's among the largest in Forest Grove's history. Other projects are in various stages. Developers have set aside land, are seeking approval from the city, are in the midst of construction or have finished homes to sell. Most projects are planned for the city's north and west ends, where large parcels of land are available.

Plans for about 684 homes have been approved since 2003, and 376 more have been submitted this year. In the next five years, the city expects to add 1,000 to 1,400 new dwellings. That would amount to as many as 6,600 new residents.

"We're on the backside of a very swelling wave of development," said Mayor Richard Kidd. He said the city will manage to keep up with the growth, although he can't say exactly how yet. One idea may include asking taxpayers for more money to hire additional police officers and firefighters.

In addition to concerns about whether Forest Grove will have enough police, fire or even grocery options to serve newcomers, some wonder what the new residents and their high-priced homes will bring to Forest Grove.

"The cost of servicing a multimillion-dollar residential development is much more than the cost of servicing a multimillion-dollar industrial development," Kidd said. "We're beginning to be out of balance. We have more housing than we have jobs, and it's pushing us to the character of a bedroom community."

City Manager Michael Sykes said he hopes new homeowners will mean more local spending.

"We think it's going to help a lot of local businesses," Sykes said. "It'll bring more resources to the community."

He also hopes the wave of residential development will entice industries to pay attention to Forest Grove and settle on the estimated 100 acres of industrial land the city has been slow to market until recently.

That balance between industrial and residential land concerns many city leaders, including Kidd. This summer, the city lost about 250 jobs when Matsushita Electronic Materials moved to China and Merix Corp. downsized.

Forest Grove's tax base consists of 62 percent residential land and 14 percent industrial land, according to a 2004 assessment by Washington County. By comparison, Hillsboro's base consists of 42 percent residential land and 19 percent industrial land.

Kidd said Forest Grove has stayed on track by upgrading roads and providing water and utilities for developments. Police and fire service, however, is a challenge city councilors need to discuss and better prepare for in the coming years, Kidd said.

Most of the new and proposed homes range from the high $300,000s to high $500,000s, according to real estate agents interviewed in the area. Many of the new homes are or will be built on hills.

They are packed with features such as custom cabinets and granite slab counters in the kitchen. Some developments also include private clubhouses, recreation centers, walking trails and picnic areas.

Those building and selling the homes say Forest Grove has a lot to offer new residents and developers.

For residents, it means having the coast an hour away and living in a less crowded environment with an university atmosphere. It also may enable some people to buy more home for their money, compared with Portland, Beaverton and Hillsboro.

"The town has an old-town feel," says Katya Duncan, a real estate agent with Prudential Northwest who has sold homes in Forest Grove for 15 years. "It's surrounded by vineyards and has a beautiful countryside."

For builders, it means available land at an affordable price at a time when interest rates have remained low and steady.

"Forest Grove is being found," said Dave Huttula, a developer who has worked in the area for about eight years.

During that time, he says, "There hasn't been too much competition. Now there are more people looking at it. It's all about supply and demand."

Huttula is building Oak Hill Settlement, a project that includes almost 200 homes that will range from $325,000 to $500,000.

Just south of that development, near Tom McCall Upper Elementary School, the 300-home Pacific Crossing will go up.

The 60 acres slated for high-end housing was the last large patch of undeveloped rural land in the area. It took developers more than a decade to persuade Rolfe Selberg to sell his 131/2 acres of mostly hazelnut orchards.

"They used to fly by in planes and wonder why this area was empty," Selberg said on a recent morning, walking through his orchards with dirt-stained hands and coveralls. He said "little by little" with age, "things begin to fall apart and you end up with aches and pains" that keep him from enjoying heavy farm work.

Now, he said he hopes he can get used to the road and homes that will replace the orchards outside his window. He said he hopes the homes are solidly built and bought by well-off families.

That's exactly the buyers real estate agents say they are attracting.

They say buyers are mainly from the high-tech bubble in Hillsboro, from companies such as Intel and Yahoo. Other buyers include people from Forest Grove looking to upgrade to a larger home and transplants from Idaho, California and Arizona. Many are families with two working parents. Some are retired professionals.

The prospect of newcomers concerns some current residents.

Kristen Thomas lives along 26th Avenue. She wonders whether her property could be condemned to make room for a road for a nearby development and whether city planners are just "pushing projects" through.

"I don't think we have the infrastructure to support it," Thomas said. "We only have one grocery store. Are all these people going to come in, live here but spend their money in Hillsboro?"

Kidd says residents who criticize the city for allowing the string of developments should consider that construction was bound to happen since those areas have long been zoned residential according to the city's comprehensive plan.

"It's nothing new," Kidd said. "Someday it was going to be developed."

City officials say they can't tell whether Forest Grove will reach its peak with this wave of development. After the land rush that's taken place since 2003, large lots inside the urban growth boundary are scarce. Many of the acres that are inside must be annexed.

The city is landlocked to the east by Cornelius and -- until Metro grants permission -- it will be limited to the north by Council Creek and to the south by wetlands. That leaves room for growth along the northwest hills, where homes would soar in price and value because of views.

"Forest Grove is ready," said Tim McDonald, a developer with plans to develop The Parks at Forest Grove, a 217-home development on the city's north end.

Kidd says it's hard for him say what changes the future hold.

"It's really hard to look ahead and say this is how it's going to change," Kidd said. "For now, I know it may be more difficult to maintain the character we have."

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6991, MERX,

Source: The Oregonian

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