Three-quarters of an acre of native woodland will make a great place for a trail addition

New park additions for Cedar Mill

Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD) announced last week the acquisition of two properties in our area. Purchased with money from the 2008 voter-approved bond measure, these two additions significantly increase the district's ability to serve our residents.

A ¾-acre wooded lot at the south end of 114th was purchased from the Collins Living Trust. The Collins home was located just north of it, and when they found out that the district was interested in the beautiful natural area, they were happy to learn that it could be kept in a natural state.

Besides having value as a future natural area, the property will provide a trail connection to Foege Park. As part of its Timberland project, developer Polygon Northwest has built a nature trail near the newly purchased parcel. According to THPRD's Planning Department, Polygon plans to donate the trail to the Park District to add to the Cedar Mill Community Trail. When funding becomes available, the trail will be continued through the new parcel to Foege Park.

"It's the missing piece in that loop," says CPO 1 Connecting Neighborhoods Committee leader James Trumper. "When we walked the trail project last year, we had to go all the way to Leahy to continue to Foege Park. We're very glad that this purchase worked out."

23-acre Teufel parcel will be community park

Located just north of the shopping center at Barnes on the east side of Miller Road, this parcel has been part of the Teufel holly and wholesale nursery operations since the late 1800s. Once funding becomes available, "this will be a complete community park serving the Cedar Mill area including athletic fields, sport courts, open areas, play structures and picnic facilities, with a natural area and trails near a stream," THPRD General Manager Doug Menke said.

The Teufel company will lease the property from the district for up to eight years. They are retaining their property to the north, of the district's acquisition. The District does not have funding to develop the park at this time, but hopes to be ready to do so after the lease expires. There will be an extensive public planning process before park development begins.

Hal Bergsma, THPRD Director of Planning, says that the district initiated the conversation with owner Larry Teufel. "We were looking for good sites for a community park in the area, and they were very limited. Teufel's property was an obvious possibility, so we contacted him initially in September 2009, and fortunately he was receptive, although it took awhile to complete the deal. As with any acquisition of this size there were many issues to address, starting with value but also dealing with due diligence matters such as doing environmental assessments, fixing the minor problems the assessments identified (which Larry did very quickly), negotiating the terms of a lease agreement, and preparing access and utility easements."

Aerial photo of Teufel property click to enlarge

Because it is an active nursery operation, environmental site assessments (ESAs) were done before the sale. Bergsma says, "The assessments did not reveal any pollution from herbicide or pesticide use on the property. A small residential underground heating oil storage tank was identified that was leaking, and Teufel removed it along with some contaminated soil to DEQ standards. There are two other underground tanks on the property that are not leaking that Teufel must remove by September under the terms of the purchase and sale agreement. Teufel is also required to clear the site of most improvements, including two houses that are residences for his employees and a residence that is used as an office, prior to vacating the site when the lease expires. We'll do another level one ESA at that time to be sure the site is clean before we take it over."

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