NEWBERG, Ore. — Nearly four weeks after the City of Newberg unveiled preliminary designs for a major reconstruction of South River Street, residents say they are still searching for consistent answers — and a meaningful seat at the table — as the city works to formalize an ad hoc committee to guide the project.
More than 100 people have signed a petition in support of River Street residents since the March 9 open house, according to a press release issued by the South Central Neighbors of Newberg, a resident group that has formed in response to the project. On March 26, more than 40 residents gathered at a local church to share questions, pool resources, and identify their council representatives.
“There’s still so many unknowns,” said Karla Vargas, a South River Street resident. “Whoever I talk to, I’m getting a different answer, and so just some consistent communication — and a say in what happens to our neighborhood.”
The group is contesting three preliminary design options for a full rebuild of South River Street from E. Third Street south to 11th Street, created by city engineering firm Keller Engineering and presented at the March 9 open house. The street is, by the city’s own definition, the worst street in Newberg, showing considerable wear and degradation through visual inspection and LiDAR scanning.
“If there’s any street in this town that’s critical for those developments, it’s River Street,” said Newberg City Manager Will Worthey in an earlier interview with Newsberg.
The three design options show different configurations for two-way vehicle traffic, bike lanes, and pedestrian pathways ranging from 60 to 80 feet across. That width will, in many cases, encroach into frontages that homeowners may have believed were their property, when the land is actually within the city’s right of way. All designs include bike lanes, an Oregon state requirement for projects of this size.
Worthey said that in order to make any road repairs, trees along River Street will need to be removed, as construction will cause irreparable damage to many of the trees’ root systems.
Public Right of Way vs. Property Ownership
Vargas said she first became aware of the project when she attended a city council meeting in late February and was handed a flyer for an upcoming open house. She later received another flyer taped to her door. After attending the March 9 meeting with several neighbors, she said it became clear that many residents were unaware the project was in development at all.
“There’s just a lot of confusion and concern about what an 80-foot right of way would actually mean for the residents on South River Street,” Vargas said.
She said that under an 80-foot right-of-way scenario — one of the configurations shown in the city’s design options — the project could consume roughly half of her front yard, including two trees, jasmine plants, a fence, and a rose bush she said has been growing there for more than two decades.
“I’ve lived here almost 15 years,” Vargas said. “There’s quite a bit.”
The South River Street corridor was originally platted in 1888 with an 80-foot right of way, wider than the 60-foot standard used on most other streets in the area. Over the decades, residents built fences, planted trees, and installed driveways and structures based on what many believed was their property line. According to the press release, the city has issued permits for some of those structures, including accessibility ramps and front entryways that now fall within the historical 80-foot boundary.
Residents have also raised questions about the city’s characterization of the street’s trees. According to the South Central Neighbors of Newberg’s press release, no arborist has assessed the trees in several years, despite statements from city officials that most are at or near the end of their useful life. All three current design options would require removal of the trees lining the corridor due to construction damage and the age of the trees.
“Any attempt to rebuild River Street will involve the removal of over 100-year-old concrete, which lies under River Street,” Worthey said in an earlier interview with Newsberg. “If we’re going to commit to redoing River Street, there’s no way to do that without removing that concrete, which will, in turn, mean that those trees have to come out — trees which are at their end of life anyway and have already been cut up pretty badly by (Portland General Electric).”
Vargas said she moved to the street in part because of those trees.
“Before I even lived in Newberg, I used to work here, and I loved this street because of the beautiful trees and the canopy,” she said. “When an opportunity became available for me to move here, I jumped at it — it felt like a neighborhood, not like a cookie cutter complex.”
The Ad Hoc Committee
Mayor Bill Rosacker acknowledged at the March 26 city council meeting that community concerns had been heard and said he intends to form an ad hoc committee to provide a structured forum for public input before design decisions are finalized.
“My opinion is that the council wants to hear from the public before decisions of this magnitude are made,” Rosacker said. “Almost every citizen understands the need to improve River Street, and almost no citizens will be completely satisfied with every result that is chosen.”
Rosacker said he hopes the committee — which he described as a small, diverse group — will work alongside city staff and engage with the broader community to help choose the right path forward.
District 3 Councilor Jeri Turgesen, who represents Newberg’s South Side and lives about two blocks from River Street, was appointed by the mayor to serve as the council’s liaison to the committee. She said she views her role as a conduit between community members and the full council.
“Whoever I talk to, I’m getting a different answer, and so just some consistent communication — and a say in what happens to our neighborhood.”
-Karla Vargas, River Street Resident
“My personal opinion is that any decision on designs, I would hope, would be deferred until after the ad hoc committee is able to do that community engagement process — genuinely dialoguing with members of the community,” Turgesen said. “And then having that be meaningful information that council can consider as part of the ultimate decision.”
Turgesen said she has been meeting individually with constituents since the open house — she had completed several one-on-one interviews — and is planning to knock on doors along the corridor this week.
But residents have expressed concerns about the committee’s structure. The five-member committee is expected to include two River Street residents, with the remaining three seats drawn from the broader Newberg community. Vargas said that composition left her uneasy.
“We get two spots on the committee, and from my understanding, there’s five spots total,” she said. “If there’s any sort of vote involved, we’re automatically outvoted. My hope is this isn’t just a ‘we’ll do this to shut you up’ kind of thing.”
Interim Public Information Officer Emily Salsbury confirmed that the committee composition remains undecided and that any announcement will follow formal council action. Salsbury stressed that the project is still in its earliest stages.
“All feedback is being heard and considered,” Salsbury said. “We presented early design concepts at the River Street Town Hall meeting fully expecting those to be updated and improved through the life of the project.”
The formation process for ad hoc committees, Turgesen explained, requires mayoral approval and eventual ratification by the full council before the committee is official.
What’s Next
The April 6 city council meeting was canceled in observance of Easter. The River Street project — including the formal formation of the ad hoc committee — is expected to be taken up at the April 20 regular council meeting. If the committee is approved, the city has said a design decision would likely be pushed back by approximately six months.
Residents interested in participating in the ad hoc committee or sharing feedback can contact Councilor Turgesen through the city or attend the April 20 meeting, which is open to the public. The South Central Neighbors of Newberg can be reached at neighborsofnewberg@gmail.com. Additional project information is available on the City of Newberg’s River Street project page.
