City of McMinnville##A map shows the concept design for a square-mile of Urban Growth Boundary land in the southwest that could be developed in the coming years. The plan features areas for housing, commercial and a future school site along with planned layouts for roads, parks and trails.

McMinnville unveils more detailed plan for SW Area

A new school site, extra wide sidewalks, trails connecting parks and the highest concentration of high-density housing in McMinnville are part of future plans for the southwest area of the city, consultants revealed Wednesday night.

McMinnville City Council and Planning Commission got its first look at the preferred concept draft for the Southwest Area, a 640-acre section of the Urban Growth Boundary that encompasses land west of Hill and Old Sheridan roads and south of Southwest Redmond Hill Road to near Southwest Peavine Road.

Consultants from Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc. and Walker Macy Architects have been working with an advisory committee and city staff on an area plan for the land, which is described by city staff as a view from 30,000 feet. The plan outlines placement of housing, parks, trails, infrastructure and other future needs for the privately owned land yet to be annexed into the city.

The plan envisions Southwest Fellows Street extending west and connecting to a new loop road at Southwest Hill Road surrounding a community park, new school location, commercial and residential.

“Think of that as sort of the primary framework street for the entire new community,” Walker Macy Principal Ken Pirie said.

One of two neighborhood activity centers (a commercial center with plazas and amenities for the area) bisects the road and is surrounded by high density housing. Medium density housing surrounds the planned school site.

Another new road will connect the Hill Road loop and Old Sheridan. A similar arrangement for an activity center adjacent to green space and surrounded by high- and medium-density housing is planned along the new road.

Both activity centers have an edge connecting to greenways, allowing for outdoor dining or other ways to connect business and nature, according to Pirie. The commercial centers’ proximity to high-density housing helps businesses and residents, Pirie said.

“They’ll benefit from having more people within walking distance, and it’s also a benefit for people living, say, in small apartment buildings to have things that they can walk to,” he said.

Both centers would also include a park or plaza (similar to the area outside Civic Hall), giving residents “urban space” to congregate, according to Pirie.

Councilor Carson Benner questioned the concentration of high-density housing, saying it’s unlike any other area of the city. Senior Planner Tom Schauer explained the framework plan calls for a certain amount of housing and pointed to the tradeoff for residents and businesses.

“There’s a transportation component, there’s an affordability component,” he said.

Community Development Director Heather Richards said the advisory committee also had concerns about having 15 acres of apartments. Alternatives could be discussed to disperse the housing in another way, she said.

“There might be an opportunity for the city to talk about how to achieve that in different ways so it’s not all just concentrated in that 15 acres, but that’s something we would need to continue to dialogue,” she said.

The new streets will feature multi-use pathways in lieu of bike lanes, according to Schauer. The streets will have planter strips separating the road from 10- to 12-foot paths for walking and biking, he said.

“There’s been a lot of research over the years, and we talk a lot about … making places that are safe and comfortable for people from ages eight to 80,” he explained. “So, if you think about a small child or someone with mobility issues using a bike lane where you have cars going by at high volumes or high speeds … the practice is to move away from that with things like buffered bike lanes or, in this case, just separating them entirely.”

Research shows ridership increases when people feel safe, he added.

Green space is a major feature, with plans for open spaces following Cozine Creek and Peavey Reservoir, trails throughout the area and two new parks.

“The majority of this future area is going to be within a reasonable walking distance of some really nice parks,” Pirie said.

The community and neighborhood parks abut greenways that serve as connection points, he added.

“They effectively become much bigger parks,” he said. “They’re already pretty nice, generous parks, but they’re going to be even bigger and really create this green heart to the community.”

The group also discussed what to do with a small area between Old Sheridan Road and Highway 18 — dubbed the “thumb.”

Consultants presented options to place medium density housing along Old Sheridan, with lower density on the rest of the parcel; or surround a substation on the northern part of the thumb with medium-density housing and place lower density further south. Most of the group preferred the former scenario, although some argued for commercial instead of housing for the area.

The area plan is the second of three planning steps prior to development. When the UGB was expanded in 2021, the new land went through a framework planning process roughly outlining needs for housing, commercial and parkland. The area plan refines the layout, and when property owners annex into the city, they will draft master plans for specific properties that must align with the area plan, according to city staff.

Consultants will further refine the plan with the advisory committee and return for another joint work session before the area plan is adopted later this summer, according to staff.

More information on the area can be found on the city website at www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/cd/page/southwest-area-plan.