Showcasing the details behind one of the largest water treatment facilities in Washington State, a presentation at the American Public Works Association (APWA) WA 2025 Fall Conference on the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility included insights from two Otak engineers responsible for its design. Led by representatives from the City of Renton (project client), the presentation gave an in-depth look at the project’s background, the alternatives considered, and how it ultimately will enhance water quality and flood mitigation for the surrounding community.
Project leaders Russ Gaston and Joe Brascher were on-hand for a Q&A that followed to give firsthand accounts of what went into the design and environmental science that made the project possible. This session was open to the sold-out gathering of attendees for the annual APWA WA event. The group forms a large, dynamic, and engaged community of professionals dedicated to advancing improvement goals at the local level. In addition to opportunities like this to share innovative infrastructure examples with peers, the occasion also aims to foster professional growth and facilitate meaningful connections that promote excellence in the industry. Learn more about this example of green stormwater infrastructure that was presented below.
Over the previous few decades, the community of Renton, Washington experienced multiple historic flooding events, causing damage to property and infrastructure. These consequences also extended to the Cedar River and broader water quality in the area. Temporary solutions with drainage easements and overflow pipes were implemented over the years but a new approach was needed for managing stormwater runoff for the 260-acre subbasin. As a result, the city made plans for additional stormwater infrastructure to address the issue that would become the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility.
With an emphasis on water quality targets, long-term performance, as well as construction and maintenance cost, several alternatives were considered leading up to this project. Using hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, estimated peak flows were incorporated across all the designs to account for everything up to a 100-year storm event.
The selected alternative delivered a final design that balances cost efficiency and low maintenance with maximum water quality and a smaller facility footprint. The 14-acre site where the facility exists was originally a permitted sand and gravel pit from 1962 to 1982 and had since been used as a reclamation site. After extensive work with land rights, funding, and material availability, a storm tech chamber infiltration facility and water quality treatment vault would be the main components of what now exists at the location.
With a connection to existing stormwater infrastructure, the Monroe Avenue Infiltration facility includes a flow splitter along with primary and secondary isolator rows to address normal and high flow situations. A pretreatment removes debris and a bioscape unit within the treatment vault enhances water quality and lowers water temperature as it makes its way back into the water system. Designed with longevity and maintenance in mind, easy access to features for upkeep include a hammerhead access road to allow vactor truck turnarounds. Altogether the final product was constructed four months ahead of schedule.
A speaker from the City of Renton at the APWA WA 2025 Conference.
A speaker from the City of Renton at the APWA WA 2025 Conference.
Visualization of underground features of the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility.
Visualization of the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility and its bioscape feature.
Amy Murdick presents at the 2025 CASFM event in Steamboat Springs, Colorado
As part of a continuous effort to collaborate with industry peers and advance the water resources field, two of our team leaders recently presented at separate conferences focused on stormwater planning and management.
Taking place in Oregon and Colorado, the events covered the nuances found in each region while also representing the geographic reach of our work. Together they shed light on best practices that not only improve local environments but also the impact of work on communities through features like green stormwater infrastructure.
Below is an overview of the events, with a look at the organizations that made them possible and the topics our experts shared.
Achieving Retention without Requiring it: An Alternative to Oregon’s Numeric Stormwater Retention Requirement
With the stated goal of advancing the science and profession of engineering to “enhance the welfare of humanity,” the Environmental Water Resources Group (EWRG) hosted the Sustainable Stormwater Symposium in Portland, Oregon. The group is a subsidiary of the American Society of Engineers, and this bi-annual gathering is their flagship event.
“Using a consistent set of standards, we wanted to show how a team of stormwater engineers, scientists, and policy experts can creatively and practically address regulatory mandates for clients.”
– Trista Kobluskie, Stormwater Group Leader
In tandem with Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES), our group leader of water and natural resources, Trista Kobluskie, presented at this year’s symposium. The joint presentation highlighted different paths to positive environmental outcomes. The two presented a study that compared pre-development retention over a large area to the effects of WES’s approach, which discharges runoff through green infrastructure while targeting natural or pre-development hydrology.
A modeling exercise and policy analysis demonstrated to those in attendance how WES’s stormwater standards lead to positive results, even though they don’t necessarily align with the preferred Numeric Stormwater Retention Requirement approach by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Much of the discussion focused on how to demonstrate that infiltration is often achieved even when it is not required by emphasizing green infrastructure as a preferred strategy in design requirements.
Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers (CASFM) Annual Conference: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
What to Expect with the Unexpected: Benefits and Challenges to Implementing Adaptive Management
Comprised of professionals involved in floodplain and stormwater management, water quality, flood hazard mitigation, and flood preparedness, the Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers (CASFM) has a primary mission of reducing “the loss of human life and property from flood and storm damage.” With more than 1,000 members, the organization recently held their biannual meeting in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Among the topics covered at this year’s event was the growing practice of adaptive management, or the continued monitoring of a project site after completion to better understand its true impact over time. Along with our Colorado stormwater lead Amy Murdick, the panel included representatives from The Town of Parker, Naranjo Civil Constructors, The Mile High Flood District, and ERO Resources Corporation.
The group’s discussion covered the process of adaptive management which aims to provide a structured approach to decision-making that’s informed by science. They also dived into the benefits and challenges of the growing practice, emphasizing its place in better managing uncertainty, increasing resilience, and improving overall project outcomes.
As urban environments and their infrastructure expand, so do the amount of impervious surface they create. Where rainwater would otherwise naturally find its way into the soil, those surfaces make it so that it is now prevented and diverted by hardened and water-resistant surfaces such as roadways, parking lots, and rooftops. Stormwater planning addresses this issue.
Traditionally, “gray infrastructure” like sewer systems is designed with a single purpose: move water from one place to another as quickly as possible. Over time this approach has led to increasing issues with flooding, erosion, and pollution to local waterways. In response, green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has risen in popularity to better manage stormwater by utilizing the natural functions of soil and plants.
By blending nature-based solutions into infrastructure, communities get multiple benefits. Green stormwater infrastructure not only improves the immediate management of runoff but also the long-term resilience of their design.
What is Green Stormwater Infrastructure?
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) refers to systems that utilize the inherent qualities of nature-based solutions to improve the management and treatment runoff. Unlike gray infrastructure that consists of only man-made materials such as concrete or steel and is engineered solely to move water, GSI incorporates features that better slow, retain, and filter stormwater through natural processes.
Often involving planting vegetation, reconnecting natural water systems, or using permeable materials, green stormwater infrastructure is designed to replicate the natural hydrological processes by enabling infiltration below ground and evapotranspiration above. This approach treats rainwater as the resource it is rather than as waste while improving flooding, water quality, and a variety of other community benefits that come with a greener environment.
Benefits of Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions
The advantages of green stormwater infrastructure extend across environmental, social, and economic factors. Aside from obvious benefits to community flooding and natural habitat, this approach is also often more cost effective.
Adding green features, sometimes through the comprehensive planning process, to urban environments also can have wide-ranging positive effects on both quality of life as well as property values for a community where present. In fact, research has shown that properties near green stormwater features can increase in value by around 11%, reflecting the demand for communities that integrate green spaces into daily life.
Below is a quick overview of some of the primary benefits of green stormwater infrastructure for a community.
Flood Control and Water Quality
One of the most pressing challenges in stormwater management is flooding. Gray infrastructure often only shifts the problem from one place to another, channeling water away until systems overflow. By contrast, green infrastructure captures rainfall close to where it falls or diverts it to an area designed to naturally hold and absorb. The natural process of infiltration helps remove pollutants while slowly releasing runoff into groundwater. This reduces the burden on sewers, minimizes the risk of downstream flooding, and prevents the high percentage of pollution caused by untreated runoff entering rivers and lakes.
Air Quality and Heat Mitigation
Urban areas with large amounts of pavement experience the “urban heat island effect,” where temperatures rise due to absorbed and reflected heat. Higher temperatures also worsen air quality by increasing smog levels, posing risks to human health. It’s no secret that vegetation naturally converts CO2 into oxygen, which has a direct impact on improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gases. Drawing on these inherent characteristics, green infrastructure features help counter the urban heat island effect by reducing the amount of reflected heat by shading surfaces, filtering pollutants, and cooling the air through evapotranspiration.
Improved Natural Habitat
Even small green features can have a large impact on natural habitat. Projects that restore streams, reconnect wetlands, or replace outdated culverts not only manage stormwater more effectively but also improve fish passage (along with that of other aquatic organisms) and natural habitat for a variety of species. At the same time small additions of vegetation and tree cover provide homes for birds, insects, and small mammals. Together, these systems contribute to biodiversity and improve the resilience of communities.
Resource and Energy Savings
Green infrastructure also saves resources and lowers energy costs. For instance, green roofs insulate buildings, reducing heating and cooling expenses by up to 12%, while also lasting twice as long (20 versus 40 years on average) as conventional roofs. Permeable pavements help water reach soil and infiltrate. Altogether, these systems reduce embodied carbon footprints, extend infrastructure lifespans, and minimize long-term maintenance burdens.
Green Infrastructure Examples
Green infrastructure takes many forms that are tailored to the site and community needs. Below are some common examples of nature-based solutions in action:
Rain gardens are shallow depressions planted with vegetation designed to capture runoff from nearby impervious surfaces. They filter pollutants, recharge groundwater, and provide habitat for wildlife such as birds and pollinators.
In an urban environment, rooftops are one of the most prevalent impervious surfaces. A green roof transforms that surface of a building into a living landscape. By covering rooftops with soil and vegetation, green roofs capture rainfall, reduce heat, and extend roof lifespans. They also insulate buildings, lowering energy demands.
Unlike traditional asphalt or concrete, porous pavement allows stormwater to seep through the surface into the soil below. This reduces runoff volumes, lessens strain on stormwater systems, and reduces quantities of pollutants that reach the stormwater system.
Many historical wetlands and floodplains have been cut off by development over time. Restoring these natural features allows them to serve their natural purpose during heavy rains, pooling and filtering water while slowly releasing it back into the water table.
Bioswales (or biofiltration swales) are shallow, vegetated channels that collect runoff along roadways or developments. When planted with native plants, swales not only filter stormwater but also enhance the character of streetscapes and support biodiversity.
A Complete Approach to Green Infrastructure
As communities continue to grow and climate conditions become more unpredictable, stormwater management is an increasingly critical challenge. Green stormwater infrastructure offers a proven, cost-effective way to address flooding, improve water quality, and create healthier, more resilient communities. Implementation of this approach is a multidisciplinary process that draws on the expertise of planning, landscape architecture, water resources engineering, and environmental sciences to maximize its value.
By harnessing natural processes, these systems move beyond the limitations of gray infrastructure, blending engineering with ecology to deliver wide-ranging benefits. From improved air quality and habitat creation to reduced energy costs and enhanced property values, GSI demonstrates how infrastructure can serve people, nature, and the economy at once.
A reconnected historical floodplain, designed to alleviate costly issues for a community that’s prone to flooding, was officially introduced to the public at the Springwater Wetlands grand opening. Members of the community gathered alongside local leaders for a celebration of the project’s completion, along with a birdwatching walk through the area that now serves as a public open space and a restored natural habitat for a variety of native species.
Discussions at the event focused on the project’s goals to both reduce insurance costs for the community and better connect its members with nature, while also improving urban wildlife habitat. The project’s proximity along the Springwater Corridor Trail makes it easily accessible to the public, encouraging greater community engagement. The restoration for this portion of the Johnson Creek Watershed follows earlier work at the adjacent Foster Floodplain Natural Area. Together, both projects add to continued improvements for the City of Portland’s green stormwater infrastructure.
About the Springwater Wetlands Restoration
Working closely with the City of Portland and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), work on the Springwater Wetlands reconnects and restores the Johnson Creek floodplain to address persistent flooding with green stormwater infrastructure. The project relied on extensive hydraulic modeling to properly map the area in planning for 10-to-100-year flood events and to return the floodplain to its more natural state. A multiuse trail through the new natural habitat complements the existing trail network and opens it up further for public use and wildlife viewing.
A gathering of the community and media at the grand opening of Springwater Wetlands
Information about the restored Springwater Wetlands on display during its grand opening event
Part of the restored Springwater Wetlands and stormwater retention area
People gathered at the restored Springwater Wetlands during its grand opening event
After more than a decade of multiple phases, the complete Redmond Central Connector Trail that transforms an abandoned rail corridor into a multimodal regional connection was officially introduced to the public. State, local, and project leaders joined the broader community to speak to the importance of the completed project that unifies downtown Redmond and its neighboring urban areas with the natural setting of Sammamish Valley.
“This trail not only connects Redmond to our neighbors in Sammamish, Kirkland, and Woodinville—it also connects us to many of the things that make Redmond special, including the natural beauty of the Sammamish Valley, parks, gathering places, public art, transit, local businesses, and the energy of Downtown.”
– Angela Birney, Redmond Mayor
The completion of this 1.6-mile segment follows two earlier phases that added 2.3 miles of trail extending from downtown between 2013 and 2017. In addition to several business districts, the project also completes a linkage to the 42-mile Eastrail trail network as well as provides access to Sound Transit stations for direct access to the Bellevue and Seattle area (including SeaTac Airport). This final phase also just so happens to pass directly in front of Otak’s Redmond office. Its proximity not only provided our team as stakeholders with quick access and a first-hand view of progress, but will now benefit them as members of the community with alternate commute options. Several staff members made their way to the event by bike or on foot to join the celebration that also included remarks from project manager Nico Vanderhorst.
“One of the key aspects of this project has always been about making connections… it had been difficult to get to downtown without a car and adding these alternatives for regional connectivity is very powerful.”
– Nico Vanderhorst, Project Manager
About the Redmond Central Connector Trail
This rail to trail project transformed a rail corridor, originally constructed in 1889, into a multiuse connection between downtown Redmond and the surrounding area. Completed across three phases, the transportation design process started with planning efforts that set a vision for the trail. Ahead of phase three, initial work was completed to add fish passable culverts, create a subbase for the trail, and strategically place utilities for Puget Sound Energy in anticipation of completing this new transportation asset.
“One of the technical challenges we solved was how to retain stormwater runoff. What we did was turn the east shoulder of the corridor into a collection and flow control facility avoiding very expensive piping and a retention pond for which there was no available space.”
– Touta Phensgsavath, Project Engineer
Navigating the Sammamish Valley, the trail accentuates the area’s natural surroundings, including a vegetated stormwater control facility to safely treat runoff and a retrofitted historic bridge with lookouts over the Sammamish River. Accessibility and safety were central to the project throughout its design. The final phase of work added crossings at numerous intersections with features like variable paving materials, defined concrete scoring patterns, urban amenities, signalized crossings with improved pedestrian push buttons, and uniquely designed roadway barriers. Together these features established a visual consistency as part of maximizing the overall user experience.
Members of the Otak team using the Redmond Central Connector Trail
Left to Right: Nico Vanderhorst (Project Manager), Touta Phensgsavath (Project Engineer)
A map and signage on display during the Redmond Central Connector ribbon cutting event
Otak team members gathered at the Redmond Central Connector Trail ribbon cutting
A gathering of community members and leaders celebrated the opening of a fully inclusive public space with the grand opening of Elizabeth Austin Playground. In addition to giving kids a first opportunity to experience the playground, the free event featured a ribbon cutting with the City of Vancouver Mayor, followed by a variety of games and giveaways before concluding with an outdoor movie screening.
“When communities, foundations, and local governments unite with a shared vision, we can create more than playgrounds, we can build spaces where every child, regardless of age or ability, can experience the joy of play together.”
– David Sacamano, Business Unit Leader of Planning & Landscape Architecture
The occasion also allowed those in attendance to recognize the contributions of the playground’s namesake, Elizabeth Austin, who was a revered leader, mother, and advocate for inclusive spaces in the community. With the opening of the playground, the city’s diverse set of public play areas now boasts three inclusive playgrounds.
About Elizabeth Austin Playground
Following master planning for improvement for the broader Fruit Valley Park, Elizabeth Austin Playground drew on extensive public outreach to establish a final design with fully accessible features. These plans were made possible by a $1 Million donation by the Kuni Foundation. Altogether, the playground features follow a design theme of “Play Like a Bird.” Accessibility accommodations in the design go beyond what’s typically found at public playgrounds. Among the features are fully accessible rubber surfacing, inclusive play equipment, a water play area, and bird sculptures. In support of children with specific developmental and neurodiverse needs, it is also the city’s first fully-fenced playground to maximize user safety. New bike racks, benches, and picnic tables further enhance the park for the entire community while placing an emphasis on the area’s natural setting.
The ribbon cutting ceremony at Elizabeth Austin Playground.
Elizabeth Austin Playground during its grand opening.
Graphic showing the playground concept and features that make up the design theme for Elizabeth Austin Playground.
A community ribbon cutting marked both the official halfway point of the Multnomah County Bond project and the historic opening of the Albina Library. As the largest library to open in Portland, Oregon in more than 100 years, work on the Albina Library also included the historic preservation of a Carnegie Building that dates back to 1912.
Among the activities across the grand opening weekend were musical performances, workshops, readings, and crafts like flower origami. This opening follows previous events for the county, including the Holgate Library ribbon cutting. As bond program managers for Multnomah County Library’s historic capital bond program, Otak project leads Mike Day and Judith Moses were on-hand alongside public officials and the broader Albina community to celebrate the milestone.
About the Albina Library Project
With 11 building projects now complete, Albina Library represents just one piece of the overarching $450 million bond program that makes these improvements possible. The expansion adds more than 22,000 square feet of space while preserving and seismically upgrading the historic Carnegie Building, making it the city’s largest new library since the 1913 opening of Central Library. The location of Albina Library in a historically black neighborhood also heavily influenced its design. More than 3,500 community members were engaged across more than 65 public outreach activities to gather input.
A variety of murals, sculptures, and other artwork by local artists can be found throughout the location to reflect the community’s cultural backgrounds. To ensure the library’s public spaces reflect the needs of the surrounding community, 27 teens participated in the Youth Opportunity Design Approach (YODA), collaborating directly with project architects and library staff to create spaces that are welcoming, functional, and teen-friendly. That effort led to a new 1,743 square foot space where teens can gather to play games or study.
Additional new community spaces include an outdoor courtyard where patrons can gather and enjoy nature, as well as numerous community rooms and a new 4,300 square foot interactive kids’ area. For more information on the Albina Library project, visit their website.
Left to Right: Judith Moses and Mike Day
The event featured several speakers from the community
People gathered inside to see the library’s new spaces
The community gathered outside the Albina Library’s front entrance
Redevelopment of the waterfront in downtown St. Helens, Oregon, took a significant step forward with a recent ribbon cutting that opens the area to improved public use and future growth. Members of the community gathered alongside project partners to formally introduce the greater accessibility, functionality and public amenities this work delivers.
From left to right: Amanda Owings, Keith Buisman, David Breneman, Mandy Flett
From left to right: Scott Nettleton, Sean Clark, Mandy Flett, Keith Buisman, Amanda Owings
About the Rejuvenated St. Helens Waterfront
In an area that includes several public buildings, like City Hall and the courthouse, the waterfront of downtown St. Helens represented a great opportunity for future growth and expanded public use. After a planning effort led by Otak outlined concept options that include redevelopment of an old mill site, work began on two projects aimed at rejuvenating the area.
The city moved forward with a proposed concept that led to the new riverwalk and its adjacent 1st and Strand roadway. Review of the recommended plans and concepts included input from the community and potential developers to best position the area for both immediate and future use.
Anchored by a circle turnaround that provides a point of interest along the river, the roadway design of 1st and Strand improves access for pedestrians and motorists alike. This includes direct connection to the new riverwalk where Otak worked as a subcontractor to Mayer/Reed to create a new public space ready to host a variety of events.
A number of aesthetic and functional improvements were part of the roadway design, from concrete treatments and bulb-outs with planters at intersections, to a new multiuse path and more clearly defined parking. With an eye on the future, an extension of utilities positions the old mill site for shovel-ready development.
Positioning a community for long-term success is a planning effort that requires vision into the past, present, and future. Development around community goals often takes shape in the comprehensive planning process, but today this ever-evolving discipline faces increasingly complex challenges.
From the air to water and soil, the impacts of climate change are putting environmental factors at the forefront of long-range planning with the overarching need to create community resilience. As science and extreme weather events continue to paint a clearer picture of the specific hazards facing communities across different geographies, accounting for these variables becomes an increasingly essential element of the comprehensive planning process. In fact, for many planners today it’s not only essential, but mandatory. A growing number of states now have legislation in place – as well as significant sources of funding – that requires the inclusion of measures to address climate change in long-range plans.
In this piece, we’ll discuss how the comprehensive planning process is evolving to emphasize interconnected systems of resilience. From climate co-benefits centered on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to improving socio-economic standing of residents, these emerging efforts are becoming a vital component to the future well-being of our communities.
Comprehensive planning is the process of creating documentation that guides decision-making around a variety of topics (i.e. land use, transportation, parks, housing, environment, employment etc.) for the direction of communities years into the future.
Communities often sharpen the focus of their overall vision through subarea plans aimed at covering specific parts of a city. These mini-comprehensive plans focus on the unique goals of a particular district, neighborhood, corridor, or other more targeted area of the broader community.
The Comprehensive Planning Co-Benefits Landscape
While impacts vary from one region to another, the fact of the matter is, no community is unaffected by climate. From flooding in coastal areas to extreme weather events on the mainland, growing trends with the environment have confirmed the importance of limiting human contribution to those changes while also making communities more resilient against their effects. It’s through this lens of resilience planning that co-benefits between different interconnected systems are found to maximize social, economic, and environmental factors collectively.
Resilience Planning Terminology
Types of Community Assets
Reference: Washington Department of Commerce
At the heart of resilience planning is the recognition of community assets – both tangible and intangible – and how they relate to potential hazards. The co-benefits of this process often are found in goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions or restoring watersheds, all to benefit the common needs of humans and habitats alike.
Environmental Systems of Resilience
At this point, any approach toward sustainability and resilience in development relies on an understanding of the connection between systems in the built environment and natural environment. Efforts to mitigate impact or restore natural systems are planned to include co-benefits to communities, including through green stormwater infrastructure.
Implementation projects that result from the comprehensive planning process can go a long way toward ensuring better preserved natural systems lead to more resilient communities.
Mitigating Impacts to Water, Air, and Soil
Many of the most vital elements found in nature are equally vital to our communities. From direct impacts like mitigating floods and wildfires to passive ones such as water and air quality, the co-benefits of resilience connect our communities to their broader ecosystems to reduce risk and enhance public health.
In many areas of the United States, one of the most pressing hazards is wildfire. Considering physical loss to impacts on insurability and other economic effects, their toll on a community can be swift, widespread, and long lasting. What’s more is these events can cause a domino effect of natural disasters.
The scorched land and destroyed vegetation left behind by a wildfire will often lead to erosion of soil and increased runoff from stormwater. Excess water and sediment can have extreme impacts on water quality, transportation infrastructure (culverts, bridges etc.), and other community assets for years after a fire has been put out.
While strides have been made in fighting wildfires, the best approach remains in resilience planning designed to limit their impact before they start in the first place. Methods like identifying watersheds that are at risk and encouraging their preservation and restoration puts communities in a better position to avoid the variety of ways wildfire leads to loss.
Flooding and Sedimentation
Similar to the relationship between wildfires and watersheds, the role of healthy vegetation can play a large role in a community’s water quality and flooding. As a stormwater measure, native planting can have the added utility of accounting for added impervious surfaces, providing natural bioretention.
By limiting erosion through healthy root systems, native plantings are an essential element of any shoreline. In other types of environments, preserving soil also reduces the potential for debris flow or rock/mud slides that can cause a high amount of damage to property and loss of life.
Healthy habitats that include native plantings are also commonly used in planning efforts for parks and community spaces. Native plants are healthy food sources for local wildlife and because they’re adapted to the surrounding climate, they often require less water and maintenance, conserving an area’s resources efficiently. They also add to the culture, education, and development of public spaces by encouraging a community to learn about and embrace the natural heritage of their region
Housing, Transportation, and Energy Systems of Resilience
Just as environmental factors impact community infrastructure, the reverse is also true. It’s no secret that transportation contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and that development can negatively impact ecosystems. It’s also important to recognize that disparities in impacted communities exist and planning around environmental justice is an opportunity to increase social justice.
When looking at issues individually, it can be difficult to find satisfying solutions, but when problems are viewed wholistically through the lens of resilience, the ability to influence positive outcomes becomes clearer.
Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction
A primary factor in resilience planning is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The focus on reducing vehicle miles driven and setting reduction targets is central to much of the regulation in Oregon and Washington state.
Planning that emphasizes transit-oriented development and active transportation not only works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also can lead to more vibrant, healthier communities. A comprehensive plan can also include a look at industrial processes or emissions that come from city operations in order to lower an area’s carbon footprint.
Housing Density and Affordability
Across the country, many urban areas face challenges associated with affordable housing. With obvious economic implications, the ability to increase not only the supply but the density of housing is an effort to improve community resilience as well as upward mobility.
Within the comprehensive planning process, updates that allow for higher density housing or more flexible housing types can be made to the city code. Middle housing, or the in-between housing of detached single family and large multifamily complexes, is one avenue for flexible housing that maintains the character of a neighborhood. Ultimately, the goal for planners is to give people affordable housing options for the different stages of life that exist in any given community for the benefit of all.
Continuity in Operations and Utilities
In many areas of the country, communities are now familiar with “flex events” or “rolling blackouts” aimed at reducing energy consumption when there is high demand being met by strained energy infrastructure. As shifts in climate produce more frequent extreme temperatures–both hot and cold–planning efforts should consider how to make this process more efficient for communities while also considering improvements to energy grids that are more adaptable to these changing conditions.
Creating Stronger Communities through the Comprehensive Planning Process
In the context of comprehensive planning, resilience planning adds an additional layer of foresight focused on the interconnected systems of community, climate, and the natural environment. To truly prepare communities for a wide range of possible outcomes, resilience planning requires planners and stakeholders to not only consider current conditions and future growth, but also to anticipate and plan for a range of possible scenarios exacerbated by climate change and environmental degradation.
To encourage – and in some cases, mandate – this proactive approach, states such as Washington, Colorado, and Oregon have incorporated new planning requirements for local governments to address climate through comprehensive plans. At the same time, it has also opened the door to related grant funding and technical assistance for community leaders to implement impactful initiatives by injecting resilience into each step of the comprehensive planning process.
Understanding Risks and Opportunities Through Meaningful Community Engagement
Community engagement and collaboration is an essential component of any planning process and takes on added importance when preparing for climate change and impacts to vulnerable communities. The process should bring in all voices of a community, particularly underserved ones and those that are most vulnerable to shocks and stressors. By involving a variety of groups, including tribal consultation, a more complete view of relevant factors is brought to the table while building consensus around goals.
An existing conditions analysis, including collecting data, understanding a wide range of community experiences, and identifying resources and assets available to mitigate impacts is a vital part of engaging the community toward a meaningful direction. A variety of engagement opportunities, from a booth at a popular event to interactive virtual open houses can provide a forum for gathering this information and beginning the public engagement process.
As planners work with elected officials and planning commissions to begin applying direction to specific projects and policy, findings from community engagement continue to help confirm and refine goals. Communication of community priorities gathered through public engagement is vital to creating this roadmap for future success.
An outdoor community engagement event in Vancouver, WA.
Plans for Austin Park Playground displayed for the community.
A planning session with community stakeholders in Vancouver, WA.
Meeting with community leadership in developing plans in Vancouver, WA.
Assessing Current Conditions, Hazards, and Community Assets
Mapping existing conditions (zoning, environmental conditions, population, traffic, property market, job market etc.) and community assets can reveal connections between individual factors, as well as larger systems in the area.
Examining these assets includes not only physical infrastructure but also social capital, cultural resources, and natural ecosystems. This includes identifying hazards (also known as shocks and stressors), such as hurricanes or wildfires, as well as chronic stressors like sea-level rise or economic inequality.
Shocks: Generally short-duration, rapid-onset or acute events that cause a disruption to normal life. (i.e. hurricane, wildfire, earthquake, flood etc.)
Stressors: Chronic, slow-onset or longer-term conditions that weaken a community over time and can impact community functions and well-being. (i.e. affordable housing, loss of habitat, air quality etc.)
“Futures” as a Plural in Outlining Desired Conditions
The comprehensive planning process often answers, “where do you want to be in 20 years, and how do you get there?” To develop strategies to adapt and thrive in the face of uncertainty involves envisioning future scenarios and understanding potential outcomes in more vivid detail than might be illustrated by a simple trendline or series of “high, medium, and low” projections.
Because future conditions are largely based on assumptions with certain metrics, there are a couple different ways to approach scenario development. Often, planning process participants are asked to choose between a variety of predetermined options for projects. An alternative to this approach involves preparing for several different pathways for development in order to respond to how future conditions evolve in reality, rather than a single expected outcome. This adaptable approach is especially important for resilience planning when considering factors such as how water levels might rise or where certain economic indicators will trend.
Whether it’s through innovative land use planning, investment in green infrastructure, or promoting sustainable transportation options, creating a roadmap for a more resilient future requires consideration of a range of interconnected community systems. Through the planning process, these systems and are aligned with a breadth of possible outcomes to design flexible, adaptive policies that are resilient to changing conditions.
Environmental Systems: Preserving ecosystems and natural resources to benefit community health.
Community and Social Systems: Supporting strong group structures and equitable government and social services.
Infrastructure Systems: Planning the built environment alongside natural systems to improve community functions.
Economic Systems: Improving access to opportunity and financial security.
Housing Systems: Developing access to shelter and strong surrounding community.
Developing Policy and Mapping Outcomes
Eventually, turning a planning vision into reality requires action. Implementing a comprehensive plan and co-benefits involves a mix of policy changes, infrastructure investments, and continued community engagement efforts.
At this stage, plans need to be double checked against state mandates, such as Washington’s Growth Management Act, while also translating overarching regulation to local jurisdictions. Those outcomes can then be adopted in the form of law by city councils or county commissions and funding options that will turn those plans into a reality can be explored.
Example State Legislation
Growth Management Act (Washington)
The resilience sub-element must include goals and polices to improve climate preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. This is mandatory for all counties and cities fully planning under the GMA and encouraged for others. As part of this, the greenhouse gas emissions sub-element requires goals and policies to reduce emissions and vehicle miles traveled.
Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (Oregon)
Intended to incentivize the adoption of transformational practices, programs, and policies that support sustainable development patterns and affordable housing into the future. This program will help communities align policies and regulations to focus on resilience around primarily housing and transportation.
Fortunately, there is growing support and funding available for resilience projects, with grants and other resources becoming increasingly accessible to communities committed to building a more resilient future. By aligning with state mandates and leveraging available resources, communities can turn their resilience plans into actionable projects that make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
Putting it All Together: A Multidisciplinary Planning Approach
In an era of unprecedented challenges, resilience planning offers a path forward for communities seeking to build a more sustainable, equitable, and adaptive future. Collaborative by nature, this effort benefits from the expertise of a number of practices focused on building improved communities.
By integrating resilience principles into the comprehensive planning process, communities can better prepare for and respond to the complex threats of the 21st century, ensuring a safer, more prosperous future for generations to come.
With many disciplines working together on a variety of projects, perhaps the best way to get a feel for a firm’s impact is simply, a coffee with… the people doing the work.
This video series features experts sharing insights gained during their time in the AEC industry, with an emphasis on the importance of collaboration to meet a common goal of creating improved communities.
In this edition, we sit down with leaders of our owner’s representative group that specialize in school bond management to hear how their work maximizes taxpayer dollars to benefit students, educators, and the surrounding community alike.
Discover more in the video and check out the transcript below:
Shaun: You know, each, each project I’ve been on… it takes a team. It definitely takes a village to do a school project of any size… that’s what we’re here for.
Bob: I am Bob Collins. I’ve work with, I’m a client services manager and I manage K-12 Bond project.
Sarah: I’m Sarah Oaks. I’m the director of project and construction Management here at Otak.
Shaun: I’m Sean Stuhldryer. I’m a program manager at Otak and I manage K-12 bond programs.
Brian: I’m Brian Hardebeck. I’m a client services manager here at Otak, and primarily in the K-12 and higher education market sector.
Bob: Many people don’t realize that, particularly in Oregon, school districts to do any kind of major capital construction need to raise money through a bond.
It doesn’t come from the state funding that they normally get for day to day expenses. And so a bond program captures major capital improvements, investments, and renovations.
Shaun: Every bond is different. Some bonds are one school and some bonds are 30 schools. In general, the more projects you would have then I would say the more phases or waves you need to have, because it’s really not practical to be working on every school at the exact same time.
Brian: What we do is it’s all for the kids. That’s what we’re here for, to improve their environment and allow the educators and the district leadership to concentrate on what they do best, educate and let us set that heavy lift for them.
Sarah: A lot of schools have facility staff and oftentimes they can do project management, but as you said, they have, you know, day jobs that they’ve gotta keep up with kind of a heavy workload.
And so whether it’s for just that period of time where the bond is in passage, or if there’s a particular complexity that maybe those facility folks don’t have experience with, I think that’s where we have a real value add, to kind of come alongside whatever resources the district has.
Bob: A lot of our service can start in pre-bond management, assisting the client and really understanding what their needs are.
Working alongside with an architecture or design team to do some pre-bond and public engagement with the voters to help the district assure they’ll have a good, strong message out there, and that the voters have the public engagement that they need to understand what they’re gonna pay for.
Shaun: Oftentimes I’ll work with school districts to develop their district standards, and district standards, help design teams meet the needs and the priorities of the district.
You know, so you don’t overshoot in what you build frequently. We’ll identify tiers of priorities. Those are a few ways that we just return the best investment back on the taxpayer money.
Brian: One Of our major roles is the, uh, master communicator and facilitators to the district and to the voters.
We take on a sometimes very public, outward facing view for the client to really actively listen to them, take their feedback, and communicate that to the district. Help them facilitate the decision making process that includes voter input into the prioritization of projects, but also encompass the, “what’s in it for me,” question from the voter.
Bob: I think that one of our biggest roles is we are identifying risk to the project and then communicating to them. And in doing so, that I think develops trust with all those folks.
Sarah: You know, other things we do, I think particularly with engagement is making sure that districts have a citizens oversight committee set up too, to kind of put eyes and ears on the process.
How do you cater to specific school district needs?
Shaun: I’ve worked with clients with, you know, acquiring properties, dealing with entitlements, dealing with development codes.
One interesting thing about, I think, in our business is every project is unique. It’s always a new team, new entities or people coming together for the first time.
Bob: One of the things we found very important to help develop a team from the beginning before there is really a team is chartering. Putting that out there so that there really is expectation setting from the get-go at the highest level.
So, there’s an opportunity to try to have members on your team that you feel have the same vision and passion about doing the work. And then again, being transparent, always in communication, you can’t communicate enough.
Sarah: You cannot overstate the importance of communication. I think a fundamental agreement for that is, is trust.
And I’m glad you mentioned chartering. I mean, that’s such an important thing to kind of get up everyone’s different goals on the table and figure out how those are gonna get woven together.
Brian: I think for me, uh, being a coastal region client service manager, I think one thing that I’m involved with more than probably inland groups is coastal resiliency and how to deal with rising, rising water levels.
Earthquake preparedness and resiliency for post-incident occupation of the new school or a school building or a public facility in this case. Where is it located? That all plays into the planning involved in a bond program for coastal districts, coastal clients.
Shaun: You know, a lot of school districts maybe they pass a bond every 10 years or, you know, every 20 years. Maybe it’s more often every five years. But, you know, the bond runs its course and then the school district’s not in the business of building things, they’re in the business of education. But we’re out serving other school districts and staying sharp, keeping up with technology and changes.
Sarah: I would like to say that we’re experts in uncertainty, right? Of figuring out how we’re gonna face it, how we’re gonna bring a team through it, how we’re gonna make decisions to come out on the other side of it.
So oftentimes we’re building spaces where, you know, they aren’t able to teach that because they don’t have space for it yet. And so sometimes it’s coming alongside educators as they’re putting together curriculum and we’re designing the space at the same time.
And so, I think it’s really figuring out not just how to build a building, but how to build a building to be used immediately and then for generations. You know, that I think is something you have to, you have to really have a good crystal ball, or yeah, a good sense of it.
What do you find rewarding about school bond work?
Brian: This industry’s very personal to me. I’m a product of a career and technical education class (CTE) in high school.
I just recently worked for a bond client, rural client on the Oregon coast. We saw the need to expand their career and technical education offerings, built a new CTE laboratory building for them. And I think at the end of that, we used the building as an educational process.
The kids that were already in their CTE programs had an exploratory program to bring in kids that really hadn’t thought of what their careers are going to be. They hadn’t figured out their “why” yet. But something caught ’em. And to see that engagement from the students and something that lit up their “why” was fascinating to me. And it was, it was great to see.
Sarah: I think one of the most gratifying moments that I’ve had just in this particular line of work is… so I’ve had an opportunity to work and participate in ACE Mentors, which is an after school program for high school students that are looking to explore careers in architecture, engineering, and construction.
I’ve now been in this field long enough that some of these students actually had gone through programs at a school that I worked on and had caught the bug, got interested in this line of work because they were able to work in one of the construction labs or in the STEM space of this school that hadn’t existed before we worked on this project.
And so it was very cool just that they are now getting exposed to different hands-on, project-based learning opportunities, career paths that are now kind of bringing them into this, in this industry.
So that felt very full circle for me and just very, very exciting just to hear how much they were enjoying those spaces. I really appreciated that.
Bob: Along the lines of what Sarah mentioned, managing teams of other Otak project managers and seeing their growth, that’s been a lot of fun.
We were asked to build essentially four schools and get ’em all done at the same substantial completion time, and everybody in the industry said, that’s ridiculous. No way that could really be done.
We did get it done on time and under budget, we had money left. So that was a really big, feather in my cap.
Shaun: Something really rewarding for me is opening up an elementary school. And it’s almost because you’ve got this community ready to go to come together, and that’s always just really rewarding to watch that happen.
We opened a school, RA Morrow Kennedy Elementary School in Clackamas County, a while back and I just was really fortunate with a fantastic team.
I mean, well under budget, ahead of schedule. Everything was ready when they wanted to move in in the summer and people were exuberant. It just felt like there was a, there was something in the air where everything came together. You could just see this community developing. That was just a really cool moment for me.
Brian: The school building needs to be more than just a school building. It needs to be a community asset. It’s a community center. It is all for the kids, but it’s also for the community.
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Graphic showing the playground concept and features that make up the design theme for Elizabeth Austin Playground.
People gathered inside to see the library’s new spaces
The community gathered outside the Albina Library’s front entrance
