Events/Accomplishments

FRIENDS OF BULL MOUNTAIN EVENTS

  • SPRING FLING

In 2007 Friends of Bull Mountain hosted their first silent auction event, a “Spring Fling Evening of Jazz” with two-time Grammy award-winning musician, Peter Boe and his trio. Those in attendance dined on a bountiful buffet of hors d’oeuvres at Red Tail Golf Course and purchased quality silent auction items, such as, a week at the luxury resort, Pueblo Bonito in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Palm Springs vacations, original oil paintings, canoe and guided fishing trips, wine tours and so much more. Those in attendance deemed the evening a huge success.

The 2008 “Spring Fling” is tentatively planned for April, 2008. Anyone wishing to donate a silent auction item or service, or wishing to reserve a table for your business or group is encouraged to email FoBM at info@FriendsofBullMountain.org well in advance of the event.

  • ADOPT-A-ROAD

adopt-a-road.jpgFriends of Bull Mountain, through the Washington County Adopt-A-Road program, have adopted the Bull Mountain Road public right-of-way between 99W and SW 164th Ave. near Roy Rogers Rd. FoBM coordinate bi-annual litter cleanup days which are held every April and November.

Volunteers (over the age of 18) gather at 8:30 am in the Alberta Rider Elementary School parking lot located at 14850 SW 132nd Terrace, Tigard, OR (near Bull Mountain Rd. and SW 133rd Ave.) for coffee and pastries. Road cleanup begins at 9:00 am and is completed in roughly two hours. Washington County provides safety and cleanup equipment and hauls away the many bags of garbage that is collected.

  • FESTIVAL ON THE MOUNTAIN AND CONSERVATION FAIR

Friends of Bull Mountain assisted with a fun-filled community fair in September, 2006. The event, held at Alberta Rider Elementary School, was enjoyed by hundreds of area residents who participated in a myriad of creative games and activities for children, a dog costume contest, car show and more.

Friends of Bull Mountain will host the entire festival in September, 2008 and have expanded the event to include a conservation fair.

  • PUBLIC OUTREACH MAILINGS, EMAIL UPDATES AND WEBSITE

Since first established in 2004, Friends of Bull Mountain have maintained a website and have mailed community update letters to area residents once or twice a year. We also provide frequent email updates to our FoBM email update list. If you wish to be added to the FoBM email update list or need to update your email address, please email FoBM at info@FriendsofBullMountain.org and provide us with your name, address and phone number. We’re always glad to expand our update list.

  • CELL PHONE RECYCLING

Our thanks to King City West Coast Bank and Tigard Fitness Center for acting as the FoBM collection locations for our 2007 cell phone recycling event.

FRIENDS OF BULL MOUNTAIN ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • STOPPED ORS 195 ANNEXATION OF UNINCORPORATED BULL MOUNTAIN UNDER A SINGLE MAJORITY VOTE

The City of Tigard attempted to annex approximately 1700 acres (approx. 2500 homes) of unincorporated Bull Mountain into Tigard under a single majority vote in 2004. Under the single majority vote, the vote of the citizens of Tigard and the vote of the residents of unincorporated Bull Mountain was to be combined, whereby the vote of the residents of Bull Mountain would have been overwhelmed by the vote of the residents of Tigard more than 5 to 1. Simply stated, if not one resident of Bull Mountain voted in favor of annexation into Tigard, the vote would have been determined by roughly 15,000 registered Tigard voters.

Bull Mountain residents voiced great concern about the unfairness in the combined counting of the vote. Residents also felt that Tigard’s approach was too heavy-handed and provided no tangible benefits to joining Tigard.

In July, 2004 at the annexation public hearing Portland land use attorney, Larry Derr, hired by Friends of Bull Mountain, with the help and support of State Representative Jerry Krummel, informed the Tigard City Council that the single majority vote was unlawful in the Metro area.

The Tigard City Council moved forward with a separate counting (double majority) of the votes in the November, 2004 election and the annexation measure was defeated in the Bull Mountain area by a 9 to 1 vote, but passed in Tigard with a 63% majority in favor of annexing Bull Mountain into Tigard.

The 2005 Legislative session brought significant changes to Oregon annexation and incorporation law. Public outcry was heard around the state as large corporations and residents of unincorporated areas of Washington County, Clackamas County, the Springfield/Eugene areas and others joined with Oregon Communities for a Voice in Annexation (OCVA) www.ocva.org in bring a voice and a fair vote to residents of unincorporated communities in Oregon.

Friends of Bull Mountain kept residents informed throughout the session and encouraged public testimony on the proposed bill. HB 2484 passed by an overwhelming vote of the House and the Senate in the ’05 Legislature, clarifying ORS 195 to require a separate counting of the votes throughout all of Oregon.

House Bill 2722, a bill removing a neighboring city’s right to veto incorporation of a new city within three miles of its boundary passed with robust bi-partisan support from the House and Senate. FoBM kept the community informed and encourage public testimony of the bill. The passage of HB 2722 paved the way for unincorporated Bull Mountain residents to explore incorporation as a means to addressing issues of park deficiency, tree and natural resource protection, excessive density, etc.

  • SB 887 (Nike, Beaverton and the Annexation Workgroup)- 2005 & 2006

Friends of Bull Mountain received two appointments to the annexation workgroup created by SB 887. FoBM directors participated in annexation discussions with the League of Oregon Cities, Association of Oregon Counties, Oregon Special Districts and others in Salem. A report was completed by the League of Oregon Cities and was provided to the House Land Use Committee in 2006 to assist in future annexation decisions.

  • LAND USE BOARD OF APPEALS

In an effort to require enforcement of the Bull Mountain Community Plan (BMCP), the only comprehensive plan for Bull Mountain, Friends of Bull Mountain ultimately filed a LUBA appeal with the State Land Use Board of Appeals over the 19 acre Sunrise Lane annexation. The decision was remanded to the City of Tigard and the city was required by LUBA to adopt appropriate natural resource protection policies.

In April, 2005 Friends of Bull Mountain requested the assistance of Portland State University’s Urban Planning Department to address the planning deficiencies facing unincorporated Bull Mountain. Through a referral to the Oregon Consensus Program at PSU an independent assessment of issues and concerns related to governance, annexation, the provision of urban services, and other related issues was complete in June, 2006.

  • CITY OF BULL MOUNTAIN- 2006

bullmt-we-decide.jpg Friends of Bull Mountain sponsored an economic feasibility study of the area to determine the feasibility of incorporating Bull Mountain as its own city. An area of 8000 residents, anticipated to grow to approximately 17,000 by 2016 defined the proposed new city boundary. The result of the study was favorable and Bull Mountain Residents for Incorporation (BMRI, a political action committee) submitted the study and required petitions to Washington County in June, 2006, requesting that a measure be placed before the voters of unincorporated Bull Mountain in November, 2006. The measure failed by a small margin of 154 votes (48% to 52%).

  • NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS- 2006 & 2007

When a Bull Mountain family lost their entire home and all of their belongings to an explosion and house fire in October, 2006, Friends of Bull Mountain established a fund in the family’s name through West Coast Bank in King City. FoBM circulated flyers, media releases and email chains to get the word out. Many people donated generously to this assistance fund; the family expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support during their time of need. They have now rebuilt their home on the same site and have been able to return to their Bull Mountain neighborhood.

  • 2007 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

A second, less formal workgroup was created during the 2007 Legislative session and a Friends of Bull Mountain director was again appointed to the workgroup. Lawmakers considered the workgroup’s discussions in their 2007 annexation reform bills.

Washington County Board of Commissioners appointed Lisa Hamilton-Treick to represent Friends of Bull Mountain on the Stakeholders Work Group (SWG) for the 700 acre Bull Mountain urban growth boundary expansion area. Concept planning for the area is expected to be completed before October, 2008 with a community plan for the majority of the area to be completed by October, 2009.

Friends of Bull Mountain strongly encourage the community to stay actively involved in this critical planning process.

  • FoBM PAST AND ONGOING WORK

Friends of Bull Mountain are strong advocates for enforcement of the Bull Mountain Community Plan (BMCP), reduced housing density on Bull Mountain and have called for enforcement of the required tree protection on Bull Mountain through the City of Tigard and Washington County planning departments. There is much more work to be done in these areas. Community volunteers and support are strongly encouraged and greatly appreciated.

Friends of Bull Mountain have influenced positive changes in Tigard’s earlier forced annexation policies. Several attempts have also been made since 2003 to dialogue with Tigard’s staff and elected officials. An effort has been made to engage the greater community in a discussion with Tigard, Washington County and Metro on how to improve the planning, park, and governance issues facing the community.