January 30 Open House Online Materials

Introduction

Project Description

This masterplan will lay the groundwork for a new public waterfront park for the City of Ridgefield. The community’s direct engagement will be instrumental in creating a design vision for the park and will inform the park programming and design elements.

The master plan will explore the overall design for the park as well as connections to future development, improvements to the trail connection to the refuge, opportunities for redevelopment of the pump house, and establish the park programming goals. The final masterplan will serve as a record of the community’s vision and a guide for future design and development phases.

Project Steps & Timeline

Site Investigation & Opportunities, Community Meeting 1 (We are here)
Preliminary Concepts, Community Meeting 2, Port Commission & City Council Presentations
Preferred Concept, Port Commission & City Council Approval, Community Open House
Approved Park Master Plan

Project Schedule Project schedule in a timeline view showing the public outreach, planning, permitting, and grant submission steps.

Past Plans and Studies

2023 Comprehensive Operations and Maintenance Plan
2023 Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements
2023 Ridgefield Waterfront Market Analysis & Development Strategy
2020 Parks and Rec Open Space Plan
2016 Downtown / Waterfront Subarea Plan

Site History & Remediation

Pacific Wood Treating Company in 1990

Black and white aerial image of the Pacific Wood Treating Company at the Waterfront from 1990. There are many buildings, log piles, and other structures.

Contemporary reconstruction of a Cathlapotle plankhouse in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.Prehistory & Early Western Settlement

The original inhabitants of the Ridgefield area were a Chinook tribe whose village was located at the confluence of Lake River and the Columbia River.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition visited the area twice, once in 1805 en route to the Pacific Ocean and the next in 1806 on the return voyage. The Chinook Indians stayed until 1876 when they relocated to the mouth of the Lewis River.

The Shobert House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in downtown Ridgefield.Settlers were drawn to the gently sloping land extending from elevated highland to the banks of Lake River.

In the late 19th to early 20th century, steamboats fed the city’s economy, laboring up and down the regions rivers. The settlement became known as Shobert’s Landing, as the Shobert family accommodated steamboat passengers traveling up and down the river.

The Mascot Steamboat, pictured above on Lewis River, ran between Portland and Ridgefield in the late 1800s.

Port of Ridgefield and Site Remediation

Aerial view of the Pacific Wood Treating Company site in 1990.The city’s growth in post-war years can be credited to the Port of Ridgefield, established by voters in 1940 to encourage economic development in the city.

The Pacific Wood Treating Company opened a plant in 1964 on 40 acres of the Port’s Lake River Industrial Site, providing the city with several hundred jobs. The company closed its doors in 1993 leaving behind a severely contaminated site. Cleanup and remediation began in 1995 and was completed in 2015, with removal of contaminated surface soil and capping of the site with a thick layer of uncontaminated soil and dredging of the river. Native plantings along the edge of the river help to prevent erosion along the riverbank while the site awaits future development. The site today is safe for public use.

Aerial of the waterfront today with outlines of where there is a 2' soil cap and where there is 3' soil cap closest to the water.

The Site Today

Aerial view of the current waterfront with the proposed project site outlined.

The red pumphouse that sits over Lake River

The Pump House

The boat launch and dock at the Ridgefield waterfront. Boat Launch and Pier

Two kayakers paddle at the Ridgefield waterfront. Kayakers Visit the Waterfront

Pioneer Street railroad overpassSite Analysis

Opportunities & Constraints Map

Aerial map of Ridgefield Waterfront with the proposed project boundary outlined and the following features marked: Carty Lake Overlook, Refuge Entrance, Pump House, Kayak Launch, Tope of Bank, Boat Launch and Parking/Vehicle Access.

Environment

Aerial map of Ridgefield Waterfront with the proposed project boundary outlines and the following features marked: Tree Grove/Upland Understory, Grassy Bank, Osprey Nesting Pole, Top of Bank.

Refuge Wildlife

Dusky Canada Goose, Pacific Lamprey, Mountain Whitefish, Painted Turtle, Pied Billed Grebe, Beaver, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Columbian White-Tailed Deer, Sandhill Crane, Red-Tailed Hawk, Riparian Brush Rabbit.

Now that you have reviewed the materials that were available at the Community Meeting, we welcome your feedback on your vision and values for the park. The survey will be open for 1 week following the meeting, please complete by Tuesday, February 20. Share your feedback.

Note: In order to allow for additional time for community feedback, we have extended the survey deadline to Tuesday, February 20.