Welcome Friends of Rock Creek!
Friends of Rock Creek, Inc. is a non-profit organization that has been created to save the open space in the Rock Creek neighborhood. The Rock Creek Country Club ownership group has petitioned Washington County commissioners to remove the Open Space designation from the golf course thus opening the land to development.
Development would lead to:
- Loss of open space
- Overcrowding of schools
- Traffic nightmare
- Overburdening of Rock Creek infrastructure
Rock Creek neighbors are outraged at the thought of this development. We need to stop this change and protect the open space!
This is why Friends of Rock Creek, Inc. was created. By creating an organized effort, we become a powerful force in the effort to save our community.
Please join our effort and become a member of Friends of Rock Creek.
Get Involved!
It's included in the name; Citizen PARTICIPATION Organization. Participate! CPO 7 information, including meeting dates, is just a click away.
Andy Duyck's Record of Support for Friends Of Rock Creek
On September 16, 2008, county commissioner Desarai Strader convinced fellow commissioner Andy Duyck to join her in attending a community meeting the Friends Of Rock Creek were holding. It was very hot in the Lennox School gym, but it got really hot for Andy Duyck, as residents of the Rock Creek neighborhood took full advantage of Commissioner Duyck’s presence to make him understand that we were not a collection of houses around a golf course. We were a community built around a golf course, and destroying that open space would destroy the very fabric of Rock Creek.
Andy listened, and became a staunch supporter of maintaining the open space and was instrumental in getting the country club to withdraw their request for the text amendment. Without the support of Desarai Strader and Andy Duyck, Friends Of Rock Creek could have very well lost the first round in our fight to preserve the open space.
Desarai Strader has chosen not to defend her seat on the Washington County Commission, and Commissioner Andy Duyck has decided to run for the Commission Chair. Friends Of Rock Creek ask that anyone who lives in this neighborhood take a look at how supportive Commissioner Duyck has been of us in the past, and take this into account when voting.
Andy could use support in his fundraising efforts, and if you would like to help please contact his campaign. Andy has supported all of us in the Rock Creek Community in our fight to preserve the open space and our lifestyle, and all of us at Friends Of Rock Creek hope the community will be as adamant in its support of Andy Duyck.
Andy Duyck's website is www.duyck2010.org.
FORC Responds to Hillsboro Planning Manager Request
March 30, 2010: Hillsboro has a problem: There is more traffic leaving Hillsboro moving north to Highway 26 than 185th Ave and Cornelius Pass Road can handle. Developing the AmberGlen area will only make things worse. One of the proposed solutions is to extend 194th Ave over Hwy 26, dumping onto Rock Creek Blvd so traffic can then feed from Rock Creek to 185th, and then to the “underutilized on-ramp” from southbound 185th Ave to Hwy 26 east.
Friends Of Rock Creek attended City of Hillsboro Planning Commission meetings to assert our standing as representatives of the Rock Creek neighborhood, and received assurance that we would be actively involved in the planning process to make sure our concerns were addressed.
The Planning Commission decided to move forward with the AmberGlen development with the understanding that an Interchange Area Management Plan (IAMP) would be adopted. Hillsboro, Washington County, ODOT, and other stakeholders (FORC) were to work together to make sure that our voices would be heard and Hillsboro’s problem would not be solved in the most expedient fashion, without regard for the affected community.
The IAMP was never formed.
The Hillsboro Planning Manager, Colin Cooper, recently contacted FORC seeking a letter of support for a traffic study, so he could obtain a grant for that study. The FORC Board of Directors does not feel that we can support such a study; without public oversight or representation in the process via the IAMP, there is no way to verify the conclusions are accurate.
FORC co-chair Terry Krause, who has extensive experience in this area, responded to Mr. Cooper’s request. The complete letter makes for very interesting reading. FORC will remain active in this process to assure the Rock Creek community is not targeted to solve Hillsboro’s traffic woes.
Annexation or a New City?
March 26, 2010: Our charter states that the Friends Of Rock Creek, Inc. is organized as a nonprofit community organization devoted primarily to preserving the community's traditions, land use, zoning, and open space designations by representing it before local legislature and administrative agencies that have authority over such matters. The goal of the corporation is maintain and enhance the quality of life in the Rock Creek Community.
In the pursuit of our charter, Friends Of Rock Creek has been actively involved in many areas.
- Continue to monitor the activities of the Rock Creek Country Club to make sure their actions match their stated objectives.
- Traffic mitigation from the new AmberGlen development in Hillsboro.
- Annexation by either Beaverton or Hillsboro.
The current moratorium on annexation ends in 2014, and both Beaverton and Hillsboro have staked out the areas that will provide them the most property tax revenue. Don’t expect us to remain unincorporated for very long.
There is another option, creating our own city, and it is intriguing. A group called A City By Choice is exploring this option, and they came to the FORC board meeting on March 9th to present their ideas to us. Right now, they need signatures on a petition supporting a feasibility study so they can begin searching for a grant to pay for that study. Friends Of Rock Creek would like everyone to sign that petition.
FORC is not recommending that we move towards annexation with Beaverton or Hillsboro, nor are we proponents of creating a new city.
Information is power, so support the feasibility study so we have all the information we need to make a decision as a community, and not have annexation into one city or another thrust upon us without vigorous and informed debate.
A City By Choice has informational meetings on the second Monday of the month. The next two are April 12th and May 10th, at 7:00pm. They meet above the Huntington Learning Center in Bethany Village, 15220 NW Laidlaw Rd, Suite 200.
You can learn more about annexation and the need for a feasibility study on our News page.
ACH Contribution Capability On Hold
May 27, 2009: Friends Of Rock Creek wants to make it as easy as possible to make regular contributions to our organization, and allowing people to sign up for automatic deductions to a checking or savings account seemed like a natural thing to do. Due to the complexity of setting up the system, we had to delay implementation of our ACH program.
We will let you know just as soon as a solution has been found. In the mean time, please continue to mail checks made out to Friends Of Rock Creek to 3300 NW 185th Ave #259, Portland, OR 97229. Or, if you prefer, click on the "donate" button and use PayPal.
Save Rock Creek!
Every Member of the Community Can Help
Write letters. Canvass the neighborhood with flyers. Talk to your neighbors. Contribute financially.
Right now, we need thank-you letters written and sent to all of the Commissioners, thanking them for their support. Addresses and talking points are on the FAQ page.
The next phase of this battle will likely be judicial, and will get expensive quickly. Thank you to everyone that has helped so far. Without the ongoing support of the community, we could not have experienced the success we have had. Please continue to support the Friends of Rock Creek.
Keep checking this website for updates and ways you can help.