Cooper Mountain
Community Plan -
and Cooper Mountain Nature Park

Cooper Mountain remains the most immediately accessible large natural area of its kind to our community while it, so far, has been afforded only a fraction of the protection originally envisioned.

In perspective:

According to the Natural Resources Report on the Beaverton Planning website:

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- Roughly 7.83 miles of streams occur within the Cooper Mountain Community Plan (CMCP) area.

- The CMCP area east of SW 175th Avenue is associated with the headwaters of the Summer Creek watershed.

- The CMCP area contains an estimated 23.18 acres of wetlands and probable wetlands.

 

Upland Habitats:  Much of the high quality upland habitat in the CMCP area occurs within the Nature Park; however, there is considerable coverage of high quality habitat in private ownership as well. No upland habitat on private land in the CMCP area is currently protected by local regulations; however, the tree and vegetation protections of the City of Beaverton (City) will apply to the CMCP area, and the City can designate high quality areas as Significant Natural Resource Areas (SNRAs)(City land use designation intended to provide protection of valuable natural resources) as a part of the CMCP project.

 

Title 13 Riparian Habitats in the CMCP Area Title 13 Riparian Habitats

 Class I (acres) Class II (acres) Class III (acres)

      142.30                 36.78                 149.77

 

In support of achieving both Metro’s goals and enabling access for our growing community we ask that our City Council implement a comprehensive protective overlay zone that incorporates those natural areas within the CMCP boundaries that are currently outside the Cooper Mountain Nature Park, particularly riparian zones, wildlife habitat and corridors, rare oak savannas, and areas with a mature tree canopy.  In addition, we ask that our City Council support Metro’s and THPRD’s acquisition of these areas via funds available from Metro’s 2019 Regional Parks and Nature Bond measure and THPRD’s system development charge collections…or support a mix of overlay and acquisition.  We also ask that our City Council support sufficient development setbacks bordering natural areas within the CMCP, given their fragility; the establishment of corridors between the Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Winkelman Park, and the Jenkins Estate; and a restriction against new roads bisecting significant natural areas within the CMCP.

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Our proposal supports the City’s 2019 Climate Action Plan as, “green spaces in the city reduce heat island effects, mitigate stormwater, and contribute to people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.”  In addition, it would enable the City to use Cooper Mountain to boost its overall tree canopy average, which currently stands approximately 26%, for the purpose of meeting Metro’s 40% goal for the Beaverton area. Finally, it would enable the CMCP to be consistent with the State of Oregon’s Goal 5, Metro’s Title 13, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Clean Water Services’ stream and stormwater standards, and THPRD’ trail and park standards.