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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSummer Community Engagement Report Final Tigard HOME 1 TIGARD HOME Summer Community Engagement Report Figure 1. Participants at the Community Development Get Together engagement event. This report summarizes the engagement activities conducted throughout the summer and early fall of 2025 for the Tigard HOME (Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Enterprise) planning project. It provides an overview of the engagement events held from June 18, 2025, through October 18, 2025, community input received, a brief update on graphics received from the storyteller consultant, and follow-up steps the project team is taking based on the community input received. Appendix A and B contain graphics products created by the storyteller consultant and used in the engagement activities. Engagement Strategies Tigard HOME aims to do four types of engagement events throughout the course of the project: targeted outreach events, community dinners, pop-up events, and tabling events. • Targeted Community-based Organization (CBO) outreach events involve the engagement consultant, Zan Associates, partnering with a community-based organization to develop an engagement event suited to that community group. These may include focus groups, key informant interviews, tabling at existing events, or presentations at meetings. • Community dinners are events staged in different venues around Tigard that provide a free meal to participants and multiple interactive activities to participate in. The Get Together dinner involves engagement consultant support from Zan Associates and First Forty Feet. • Tabling events feature project staff at existing events with an activity and incentives to participate. Tigard HOME 2 • Pop-up events will be staged at high-traffic locations with food trucks and interactive displays to attract participants. Engagement activities will be designed in collaboration with the engagement and urban design consultants. Between June and October 2025, the Tigard HOME team hosted three targeted outreach events, one community dinner, and five tabling events. The team has not yet hosted any pop-up events; the goal is to host these in spring/summer 2026. Table 1 below summarizes the events by event type, title, date, location, and number of activity participants. During the Summer 2025 Community Engagements, staff directly engaged with nearly 600 community members, and informed over 1,000 community members about the Tigard HOME project. Table 1. Engagement Activity Overview Event Type Event Title Date Location # of Participants Targeted CBO Outreach Event Just Compassion Focus Group 8/25/2025 Just Compassion Resource Center 6 Targeted CBO Outreach Event El Tigre Fest 10/4/2025 Cook Family Park 150 Targeted CBO Outreach Event Halloween Silly Walk 10/18/2025 Conestoga Recreation & Aquatic Center 200 est. Community Dinner Community Development Get Together 6/18/2025 Universal Plaza 90 Tabling Event Pride Parade & Festival 6/28/2025 Tigard High School 52 Tabling Event Community Preparedness Fair 7/26/2025 Cook Family Park 18 Tabling Event Tigard Downtown Street Fair 9/14/2025 Tigard Main Street 35 Tabling Event Tigard Police Department & Public Works Family Fun Day 9/20/2025 Tigard Police Department & Public Works 27 Tabling Event Muslim Educational Trust Picnic 9/21/2025 Muslim Educational Trust 37 The following sections further describe the individual events and community input received. Targeted Outreach Events JUST COMPASSION FOCUS GROUP Just Compassion provides emergency shelter, housing support, and case management for people who are unhoused or at imminent risk of becoming unhoused. This event consisted of a focus group with six people currently utilizing Just Compassion services. Participating community members were given gift cards for their time. The engagement method used in this meeting was a guided discussion that started with participants Tigard HOME 3 looking at a set of 75 precedent images to help them envision what their community could look like, then asking them what they like, don’t like, need more of, and would change to make Tigard more livable. No photos were collected at this event due to unclear consent requirements within Just Compassion’s operations. EL TIGRE FEST COMMUNITY VISION BOARD El Tigre Fest is Tigard’s annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. It is a free family-friendly cultural event with authentic Latin American food, arts and crafts, dancing, live music and children’s activities. It took place on October 4, 2025, from 11 AM – 7 PM at Cook Family Park. This year, there were an estimated 2,600 attendees and over 70 vendors featuring Latino-owned businesses, artisanal crafts, and delicious food, and a Youth Fútbol Tournament. The project team had a tent at El Tigre Fest with a community vision board activity. The activity asked people to look through the precedent images, add ones they like to the board, along with comments and dots to support images already on the board. All participating vendors are required to have a staff member fluent in Spanish. A Spanish language interpreter from the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) joined staff during this event. Figure 2. The community vision board with selected preference images, comments, and dot stickers at El Tigre Fest. Tigard HOME 4 Figure 3. Popular images discussed during El Tigre Fest. HALLOWEEN SILLY WALK COMMUNITY VISION BOARD The project team had a table at the Halloween Silly Walk family event organized by Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. This was a kid-focused event with many children participating, as well as accompanying family members. The activity was the same community vision board activity used at El Tigre Fest. Feedback gathered during other summer engagement events indicated that because there is not a community center located in Tigard, many community members with young families visit the community centers in neighboring areas. We chose to expand our outreach efforts to this neighboring community center during an event with broad reach to gain feedback from this demographic. Figure 4. Event attendees and staff interacting at the Halloween Silly Walk Figure 5. Popular images discussed during the Halloween Silly Walk. Tigard HOME 5 Community Dinner The city hosted a Community Development Get Together (a City of Tigard Community Development Department quarterly event) focused on the Tigard HOME project on June 18, 2025 from 5-7 PM at Universal Plaza. The event featured a welcome table, project overview station with a demographic and mapping exercise, Rojas Blocks station with tabletop maps and supplies for participants to design a dream neighborhood facilitated by Zan Associates, a visual preference survey station with a sticker dot exercise facilitated by urban design consultant First Forty Feet, and a community café station where people could engage in a one-on-one conversation with Tigard Community Development staff, including the Community Development Director, Economic Development Manager, Senior Planner & River Terrace 2.0 Project Manager, and Community Engagement Coordinator about the project. The project team provided the first 75 community members with a meal ticket to purchase dinner from one of the three Launch Pod Food Carts located in Universal Plaza. There was overwhelming support for this event, and attendance exceeded expectations. About 90 attendees participated in engagement activities kicking off the Tigard HOME project. An article about the CD Get Together was published in the Valley Times and can be found here: Inaugural open house shows Tigard residents favor shops, services in residential neighborhoods | Valley Times Figure 6. Participants and staff at the community cafe station at the CD Get Together. Tigard HOME 6 Tabling Events Across the five tabling events held so far, the project team has hosted three different activities. Each activity was selected based on the set-up and purpose of the event. Table 2 summarizes which activity was used at each event. Table 2. Tigard HOME Tabling Events and Activities Event Event Activity Pride Parade & Festival Share Your Tigard Home Vision Community Preparedness Fair Design Your Dream Neighborhood Tigard Downtown Street Fair Preference Survey Jars Tigard Police Department & Public Works Family Fun Day Design Your Dream Neighborhood Muslim Educational Trust Picnic Design Your Dream Neighborhood SHARE YOUR TIGARD HOME VISION The first activity asked participants to share their Tigard HOME vision, where they could write on notecards what types of shops, services, and amenities they would like to see in Tigard neighborhoods. The notecards were then pinned to a string to display across the table canopy. If participants agreed with an existing notecard, they had the option to add a sticker to indicate support. This activity was used while tabling at the Pride Parade & Festival on June 28, 2025, at Tigard High School. There were approximately 630 attendees at this event. Figure 7. A word cloud made up of participant responses from the Pride Parade & Festival tabling. Tigard HOME 7 Figure 8. The Tigard HOME booth at the Pride Parade & Festival. DESIGN YOUR DREAM NEIGHBORHOOD The second activity, “Design Your Dream Neighborhood,” is a “James Rojas” style tabletop activity. Crafting supplies and toys were provided on a laminated mat where participants were asked to use the supplies to respond to prompts such as “What store, service, or social place do you wish you could walk to in your neighborhood?” and “What would make it easier to walk or drive to these services in your neighborhood?”. This activity was utilized during the Community Preparedness Fair, Police Department & Public Works Family Fun Day, and the Muslim Educational Trust Picnic. Figure 9. Participants engaging in the tabletop activity at the MET Picnic tabling event. PREFERENCE SURVEY JARS The third activity featured preference survey jars, where participants could place up to four pom-poms into a jar to indicate if they would like to be able to walk to dining, services, retail/goods, and/or health and wellness studios in their neighborhood. In addition to pom-poms, participants could also place written comments on a notecard into a jar. For example, a participant added a notecard that said “small grocery store” into the retail/goods jar. This activity was utilized during the Downtown Tigard Street Fair, which highlighted businesses Tigard HOME 8 within Tigard. Project staff planned to bring an easel to allow for additional commenting during this event. However, due to significant rain during the beginning of the event, the tabling set-up was condensed, and the easel activity was not used. Figure 10. The pom-pom preference survey activity at the Downtown Tigard Street Fair. Figure 11. Distribution of survey responses from the Downtown Tigard Street Fair tabling. Community Input Similar themes and participant preferences have emerged across the engagement events. This section summarizes the key takeaways from community input received throughout the engagement process thus far. They are organized into desired community amenities, barriers to using active modes of transportation, preferred types of businesses and services in Tigard neighborhoods, and building forms and design. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Dining Services Retail/Goods Health and Wellness Studio Other Pa r t i c i p a n t R e s p o n s e s What store, service, or social place do you wish you could walk to in your neighborhood? Pom-pom Written Comment Tigard HOME 9 AMENITIES • Public green spaces, parks, trails, and outdoor family amenities are valued as places for play, recreation, and community connection. Water features, trees, playgrounds, community gardens, and multi-use walking paths like the Fanno Creek Trail were highlighted as working well and needed in more places. These green spaces and trails are seen as cornerstones of livability and connection in Tigard. • Continuous sidewalk networks, separation of bike lanes from traffic, and more direct transit connections to high-need places would make it easier for people to reach services in Tigard. • Sidewalk conditions require improvement in some places to make them comfortable to use, especially for those who are older or using mobility devices. • Participants expressed strong desire for better street lighting to make walking and biking safer. • Elements like Little Free Libraries, colorful benches, and sidewalk art add fun and interest to places that might not otherwise appear welcoming or “fun.” They also offer a space to spend time outside and a community resource accessible to all. • People want more services close to home, especially basic neighborhood amenities such as shopping, grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants. Multiple mentions emphasized the need for more services and development throughout Tigard. • Bright colors and public art provide sources of visual interest to children; adding color with plants, flowers, paint, and bright materials could make public spaces more attractive to young people and, when decorated, get them excited about using infrastructure like sidewalks and bike lanes. BARRIERS • Lack of continuous sidewalk networks and bike lanes, high car speeds, and long distances to services are ubiquitous barriers for people walking and biking to more destinations as well as connecting with their neighbors. • People want to feel more connected and less reliant on cars in their daily lives, but they first need their surroundings to make it safe and easy. • Safe and connected bike and pedestrian infrastructure is essential. Participants expressed strong desire for bike paths that are separated from cars, continuous sidewalk networks, and better street lighting to make walking and biking safer and more accessible. • Places where people can be seen socializing inside or outside are more desirable and look "friendly"; in general, places where there aren't people aren't as inviting. • The Trimet bus system is an essential and heavily used service, though there are gaps in the network requiring travelers to walk far distances to reach their destination from bus stops; the bus provides consistency, safety, and a primary mode of transportation for many people, making it a critical partner in boosting service access. • Sidewalk conditions require improvement in some places; changes in elevation and knicks/holes can make it hazardous for all types of travelers but especially those who are older or using mobility devices. Tigard HOME 10 DESIRED TYPES OF BUSINESSES & SERVICES • Community spaces and "third places" are highly desired, including venues, bookstores, community centers with youth programming, and neighborhood cafés where people can gather. Gathering spaces with outdoor seating, lighting, and greenery resonated strongly with participants. • People want more services close to home, especially services that meet basic needs such as a grocery store or small corner markets, year-round farmer’s market, community center with class offerings, and indoor fitness or recreation centers. • People also want more varied entertainment such as a neighborhood dessert spot (specifically, ice cream!), bakery, food cart pod, movie theater, karaoke bar, small music venue, and more restaurants. • Participants ranked markets/cafes as the type of businesses and services they most wish were closer to their home, followed closely by restaurants, then retails/goods, and finally health and wellness. • Overall strong community support for small scale Indoor Sales and Services (sales-oriented, repair- oriented, personal service-oriented, entertainment-oriented), as well as mobility hubs as infrastructure to support bicycling. BUILDING FORMS & DESIGN • Older-looking buildings with more traditional/craftsman architecture were well-liked because they feel more inviting and community-oriented. • Creative, colorful, and beautiful design matters to the community. Participants expressed desire for more public art, colorful buildings and homes, modern aesthetics, and attractive spaces that enhance neighborhood character. • Mixed-use buildings, repurposed homes as businesses, and live/work lofts were seen as positive additions to the urban fabric. Participants consistently favored smaller-scale development, gravitating toward one and two-story buildings over three and four-story multi-unit structures. While people support density and mixed-use neighborhoods, they want it delivered at a scale that feels compatible with existing residential character. • Housing diversity and affordability are priorities, with interest in affordable single-family homes, 55+ communities, multifamily dwellings with private entrances, updated older apartments, and removal of purchasing barriers to increase housing accessibility. • Photos that appeared to be renderings or showed empty spaces received significantly less engagement than images of actual, active places. People want to see tangible examples of how development concepts work in practice—real businesses, actual people using spaces, established cafés—rather than theoretical proposals. • Storefronts that have a lot of windows, passable openings, and/or places for customers to hangout outside are appealing as they offer the ability to clearly see what’s happening inside; participants associated these types of buildings as being "walkable storefronts” since they seem easily accessible and integrated with the streetscape. • Warm lighting, communal seating, and indoor/outdoor seating are all elements of a business that evoke a feeling of “cozy” for community members Tigard HOME 11 Graphics Update from Storyteller Consultant As noted above, First Forty Feet is the Tigard HOME storyteller consultant. For the engagement events, First Forty Feet put together the visual preference survey materials (see Appendix A) used at the community dinner, as well as more than 70 precedent images (see Appendix B) used at the vision board activities at El Tigre and the Halloween Silly Walk. Examples of these graphics can be seen in Figures 1 through 5 above. Next Steps The first phase of engagement for the Tigard HOME project has focused on what residents want to see in their neighborhoods: what types of businesses and services they want to be able to walk, bike, or roll to, and what types of amenities they want on streets leading to and featuring these businesses and services. Based on community input received, it is clear residents want “third places,” cafes, specialty food shops such as ice cream and doughnut shops, markets, and other gathering-place type businesses in their neighborhoods. Further, residents want continuous sidewalks, separate bike lanes, and trails to access these places. They have also expressed desire for mobility hubs, which provide charging stations for electric transportation as a primary use and may include other on-site services such as last-mile drop-off for e-commerce delivery and transit stops. The overall purpose of the community engagement is to use the community input to shape changes to the Tigard Development Code. The next phase of engagement will focus more on how residents want the desired businesses to fit into their neighborhoods, as well as where they should be allowed. The project team will be seeking input on building form, size, design, and location, among other important attributes. In the next few months, the project team will plan and revise engagement activities to align with next phase’s input goals. First Forty Feet is working to create graphics and activities to best capture the input needed to inform code changes. They are finding examples of businesses in residential areas in the Metro region as well as exploring engaging ways to use maps to help the community share where they would like to see additional shops and services allowed. Also during this time, the project manager will begin code framing to identify chapters and code sections that will likely need updates based on what the community has shared so far. The goal of Tigard HOME engagement is to reflect the diversity of the community and to make sure HOME solutions are truly built by all community members, not just those who speak English and/or feel naturally comfortable being part of government processes. Tigard’s population represents a rich diversity of identities including a significant portion of older adults, young people, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and multiracial people, people living with disabilities, people with lower incomes, and renters. There are also many different language communities residing in and around Tigard. So far, Tigard HOME engagement has reached several different groups. An analysis of city events was presented at a recent Tigard City Council meeting. As part of the analysis’ equity lens, the presentation shared that according to Tigard’s 2025 National Community Survey, lower-income individuals have fewer opportunities to attend arts events but value them more than higher-income groups. Additionally, young people and BIPOC individuals are key attendees with high attendance at these city events, though they often feel underrepresented. Free special events such as El Tigre Fest and the Pride Parade & Festival offer low-barrier, equitable access to cultural experiences. This data underscores the importance of Tigard HOME 12 Tigard HOME engagement activities being present at these events to meet the project goal of reaching Tigard’s diverse populations. The project team will continue to strategically plan engagement efforts to further connect with these communities, as well as to reach those who have not yet been engaged. The project team has one planned targeted outreach event scheduled for November 3rd. This will be a focus group with community members from the Muslim Educational Trust (MET) located in Tigard. Staff will work with the engagement consultant, Zan Associates, to identify and schedule the remaining two Targeted CBO Outreach events during Spring 2026.