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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFocus Groups Summary 2025-11-15November 2025 Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 1 OF 32 •Understand the perspectives of the community and what people value about Lake Oswego •Gather insights into the future growth and development of Lake Oswego •Assess community priorities for the update to the Foothills District Plan Research purpose DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20252ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 2 OF 32 •Two focus groups with Lake Oswego residents (N=19) •Group 1: N=9 •Group 2: N=10 •Conducted November 15, 2025 •Professionally moderated, in-person, two-hour sessions •Sessions consisted of written exercises, plan exhibits, and group discussion; quotes and commentary in the report are drawn from written exercises and transcripts Methodology DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20253ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 3 OF 32 •Residents value Lake Oswego for its safety, natural beauty, and strong sense of community. They connect these qualities to a generally financially secure population, a shared commitment to looking out for one another, and an emphasis on protecting natural areas. •Residents are fond of the Foothills Park. Many frequent the park and enjoy the events hosted there. Some note that parking and lighting could be improved. They want to ensure the environmental protection of the Foothills area. •Residents value the natural setting and established character of Lake Oswego and want to see these qualities protected. Alongside this, a few express interest in adding more middle-income housing to better support people who serve and work in the community. Key takeaways: values and vision DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20254ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 4 OF 32 •Residents view Foothills as an opportunity to add amenities that the broader community can enjoy, including better river access, expanded trails, and stronger links to downtown. Housing is not a major focus for most participants. •If Foothills includes housing, residents prefer smaller, middle -income options over higher-density or affordable housing. Overall, they are more focused on adding restaurants, gathering places, river access, and better links to downtown. They are concerned about the traffic and parking impacts of higher-density development. •Many residents expressed doubts about housing in Foothills, and especially affordable housing. Their concerns included whether homes in such a desirable riverfront area could realistically remain affordable, the traffic and parking impacts of larger housing projects, the lack of transit service for residents who may not have access to cars, and potential pressures on local schools. Key takeaways: Foothills housing DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20255ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 5 OF 32 •Green spaces and community gathering places are considered the highest priorities for Foothills development. Residents want continued public access to the park, and additional private or public community gathering spaces in the area. •Residents feel Foothills lacks the access it needs to function well, and they want more direct connections to downtown and other parts of the city. They note that improving access to shopping, dining, parks, trails, the river, and community spaces would benefit both Foothills and downtown. Key takeaways: development and access DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20256ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 6 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20257 Community values ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 7 OF 32 6 Schools Residents value living in Lake Oswego for its safety, community connections, parks and nature, and schools. Many enjoy the walkability of the area. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20258 10 Community connection 10 Parks, nature What do you most value about living in Lake Oswego?I love the community. You drive down the street, and the flowers change seasonally. You walk around downtown, and there’s art. … There are incredible community things here. Proximity to nature, whether it’s Tryon Creek or walking around our neighborhood. It’s so tree- filled. The town is beautiful. I leave my apartment open. I unlock things. I feel safety because of that. I know that I can walk around and don't worry at all. I think that it’s because of the high expectation, and that’s why I live here. 13 Safety Counts from written exercises only.ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 8 OF 32 Shared investment in living here reinforces community cohesion and safety. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 20259 In my neighborhood, in particular, everyone has similarly aged children. Everyone is looking out for each other that way.It’s expensive to live here. With the buy-in, people respect what they have a little bit more than they might elsewhere. The fact that this is a clean community,I feel that I'm living in a Hallmark movie. When I drive down the street, I see police. I don’t actually like leaving Lake Oswego. The community is what makes it so safe. We do groups between Facebook to our Nextdoor neighbor app. We’re always alerting the police around here. They’re very integrated with the neighbors and the neighborhoods. They take care of us, protect us. I do believe that it’s something to do with socioeconomics. I know that I'd rather live in Lake Oswego than any other place for those reasons. Community and socioeconomics Community and safety ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 9 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202510 Future development ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 10 OF 32 Residents appreciate where they live and are cautious of change. If there are future developments, they hope to see infrastructure improvements and nature preservation. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202511 More options to get around. I want to walk, which is probably why I chose where I live. There are restaurants all around my walking area. Probably why I will not move. Infrastructure What would you like to see in Lake Oswego in the next 20 -30 years? Improved infrastructure. We need to modernize things but still maintain the charm that this place has. Sometimes, you go into modernization, and it completely loses the charm. …outside of the Washington D.C. area and northern Virginia. They did a lot of development there in old communities, but they have beautiful running paths, biking paths. I love the access to nature, being able to be outside. If you are going to develop, be able to preserve that. Access to nature ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 11 OF 32 A few residents express a desire for more housing options and note a lack of socioeconomic diversity in Lake Oswego. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202512 [I would like to see] more acceptance to lower incomes, less huge developments coming out of nowhere. [That would look like] multi-family housing and more options. I'd like to see less mansions. I feel that some of the sizing of the housing being developed and built in Lake Oswego encourages a continued insular community … people tend to fall on very similar socioeconomic statuses. Smaller housing options ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 12 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202513 Foothills Park ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 13 OF 32 No 3 Yes 16 Foothills Park is well-used and well-liked. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202514 Have you been to Foothills Park? Lovely Slightly hidden Beautiful It’s great I’ve been there once with a friend for a picnic. It was lovely. It’s great. I’ve gone to a lot of meetings there. It looks nice Spectacular How was your experience? ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 14 OF 32 Residents enjoy the park, with some room for improvement with parking and lighting. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202515 The summer events at the Foothills Park were so great this summer. They had the food trucks. The parking was a little challenging , but it was still awesome. [The beauty is in] the expansiveness, the trees along the river, the river itself, the nature that you see, the eagles that fly above. [There are] great concerts in the summer. I really don’t want to see it developed . If you are going down to Foothills for an event or want to take a walk, because it’s a beautiful day … It’s gorgeous. It’s a peaceful, nature- filled area down there with walking trails. I can walk there. It’s great. I know that the parking is bad. I only use it during the day . While I feel safe in most of Lake Oswego, I would never go down there at night. There's no light. I don't feel safe at night down there. Preservation of nature Areas to improve ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 15 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202516 Foothills priorities ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 16 OF 32 The top priorities for Foothills development are parks and open spaces, improved access and new streets, and civic and community gathering places. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202517 7 Parks, open spaces 5 Transportation 4 Civic and community gathering spaces 2 Businesses Which is the highest priority? 1 Housing Counts from written exercises only.ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 17 OF 32 The highest priorities for the Plan Update are improving access to the neighborhood, park and trails, and additional environmental protections. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202518 10 11 2 2 5 3 7 2 1 3 4 4 1 1 2 5 1 3 5 Improving access to the neighbhorhood, Foothills Parks, and trails Additional environmental protections Adding local businesses (retail, restaurants, entertainment, etc.) Creating housing Very high / High Low / Very lowMedium ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 18 OF 32 Residents view creating housing as the lowest priority for the Foothills District Plan Update. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202519 Medium 10 11 2 2 5 3 7 2 1 3 4 4 1 1 2 5 1 3 5 Improving access to the neighbhorhood, Foothills Parks, and trails Additional environmental protections Adding local businesses (retail, restaurants, entertainment, etc.) Creating housing Very high / High Low / Very low ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 19 OF 32 Access challenges shape how residents view what Foothills can become. Many feel the area’s current limitations make it hard to imagine future possibilities. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202520 How do you get the cars and people there with only one access? That structure needs to be really looked at first … Otherwise, you are going to have traffic jams. Improving access It’s already super congested. It’s right off the state highway. I'm not sure that’s exactly where I'd like to see it. If we have transportation, people can get around. It would bring even more traffic. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 20 OF 32 Some residents hope to see additional transportation options to connect downtown Lake Oswego with the Foothills district, viewing this as a way for the area to thrive. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202521 I'm really shocked that the light rail project is not happening. … That would’ve completely transformed that whole corridor. People could come in and out of all of this commercial and expansive Foothill space that we’re talking about. … Planning anything for Foothills seems silly without the light rail going in. Transportation. Build something like a bridge or electric [cable] cars to get the communities together, so you can go from one point to the other. To get to Foothills from downtown, you have to go down all of these steps and across the railroad tracks and wait to get across 43. It’s a long walk and a pain in the backside. To connect those two, that business district down there would flourish. We could go from downtown to that area and Foothills Park and enjoy the beauty of the river . Connecting Foothills to downtown and beyond ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 21 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202522 Housing ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 22 OF 32 Residents agree that there should be housing that middle -income community members can afford. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202523 If you build middle- income housing, which is something that doesn't get a lot of discussion. Middle- income housing is housing that teachers and people working in the stores and police and fireman can afford. There's not a lot of that around. Middle-income housing I do think that this area would be great for middle-income housing … [There is an issue of] homes being too expensive and this area being too expensive. We’re not building housing that young families and people doing the work in the community can afford to live in. I really think that we should put in some affordable mid-class housing by the water treatment facility. A little farther down by the river, there should be higher-end housing to be closer to the business. It brings both diversities and communities together. It’s really important as a community for our teachers, firefighters, and the people supporting our town, to give them a place to live. I think Foothills would be a really nice place for it. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 23 OF 32 Residents emphasize the importance of keeping the character of Lake Oswego in developing housing, and some tensions around economic diversity. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202524 Either more modest-sized houses [or] multi-unit dwellings that would blend in with the aesthetics of the neighborhood. That's more thoughtful residential development that would encourage more diversity…[of] socioeconomic statuses. On one hand, I agree with diversity, people of different socioeconomic statuses [being] here. At the same time, don’t lose the character. [Lake Oswego is] very unique. I like condominiums, because you own it. That's nice. It would have to be in the same manner as the downtown condominiums and the apartment feel of the downtown. Yeah, my expectation is high, which means money. Consistent character ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 24 OF 32 Residents wonder whether Foothills is the right area for more housing, what constitutes affordable housing, and express fears about changing the character of Lake Oswego. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202525 One of the challenges is, if you add a lot of low- income housing, you are going to change the nature of Lake Oswego , and you are not going to build housing that’s going to attract teachers and firemen and police. Fear of changing the area Affordable housing needs to be done somewhere in Lake Oswego. I'm not sure if this is the right area for it. Questions around affordable housing What is affordable housing these days? That's what I want to know. When they’re saying affordable housing, are they looking at the age group as well ? The infrastructure for the schools, to put houses down in Foothills, where will the kids go to school? I don't think that Lake Oswego needs something where there’s free housing with no income to come here … Lake Oswego, the reason for why it’s so safe and community-based is that certain types of people live here. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 25 OF 32 Some see the riverfront’s desirability as at odds with more housing that is affordable. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202526 I'd like to see the apartments down there getting a better facelift to have [greater housing] appreciation. There is so much beauty there, I’d like to see them show that off and be a cornerstone, with the nature encompassing it. It's so close to that wonderful downtown that I'd love to live right on. If Oswego Pointe was redone and upgraded, I'd potentially move there. Desirability of riverfront living I don't know how you would make it affordable. That's a tough one. It’s going to be a nice area. If you do that, it’s going to be a beautiful area to live . I've seen a lot of places that have mixed retail and living. That does make a very walkable area. It’s probably going to be super- expensive, because everybody is like, “Oh, river views.” That's who lives there. I'd be concerned that there’d be high-income development down there that would make it challenging for regular people to have access to it. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 26 OF 32 Residents have a desire for community gathering places and a concern for public access being restricted through added housing. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202527 My ideal vision is for it to be a place where everybody gathers, where you can have the farmer’s market, bookstore , that village –that’s what Lake Oswego feels like anyway. … that type of forum for people with prime real estate, which would have a coffee shop, where you can look out at the river while you are picking up a book. A place for everybody to meet and enjoy the space and the view and don’t see that as a place for residential growth. Focus on community gathering and businesses rather than housing I'd much rather … make that a cultural community place where everybody can access and use this area. This is prime real estate. Everybody should be able to enjoy that. If you put homes, only people who live there will get it. If you do it well and address the transportation issue, this could be the crown jewel of the city. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 27 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202528 Final advice ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 28 OF 32 Residents hope that developments to the Foothills area will center public use –including businesses and restaurants –and improve access into the area. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202529 Improve access The area is too congested for more housing. Sort out what infrastructure needs to be improved before building something that can't be supported. Solve access. Community riverfront use Make as much as possible available to the public: river walk, parks, and restaurants. The LO community will benefit a lot more by having a community and cultural place around the river. That is prime riverfront real estate that should be a gathering place for cultural arts, restaurants, and farmers' markets to be enjoyed by everyone. Keep open space and park area. Add a year-round farmers market, small business or retail, and community space. Appeal of the area Go big! That waterfront is GOLD! People will want to live there if done right. Other places might become affordable in the future. Most people appreciate the aesthetic that it currently has. We don’t want to see drastic changes. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 29 OF 32 For housing in the Foothills area, residents recommend the City focuses on middle-income community members rather than affordable or low-income housing. DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202530 Middle-income housing Medium-income housing would be welcomed by me. Lake Oswego is beautiful. Think about middle-income people. Think about what works for people making $50k-$150k. We don't need more luxury rentals or big houses; we need mid-size and starter homes. Don't lose the character and essence of what makes this beautiful, safe, nice community great. …middle class [housing for incomes of] $50k- $100k. No affordable housing Think about the population you are trying to attract. If this becomes an affordable area, what will keep it that way? Please consider no low-income housing. I live here for the community, safety, and beautiful space. ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 30 OF 32 DHM Research | Lake Oswego Foothills Focus Groups | November 202531 Demographic breakdown of focus group participants N=19 residents in Lake Oswego AGE 6 8 5 30–44 45–64 65+ Me n 8 Wo me n 11 1 6 5 7 <$50k $50k -$100k $150k+ INCOME GENDER 8 Own 11 Rent HOUSING n=2 Asian / Pacific Islander n=1 Hispanic / Latinx n=1 Middle Eastern / North African RACE / ETHNICITY CHILDREN IN HOUSEHOLD 1 5 4 White alone POC $100k -$150k YEARS IN LAKE OSWEGO 5 13 Yes No 7 5 7 1-5 6-10 10+ ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 31 OF 32 John Horvick jhorvick@dhmresearch.com Phoebe Wagner pwagner@dhmresearch.com dhmresearch.com ATTACHMENT 5/PAGE 32 OF 32