PRIORITY
Vibrant, Walkable Neighborhoods
Every Milwaukie resident deserves to live a short walk from the things they need. Whether that's a coffee shop, a corner store, or a place to gather, neighbors have been asking for these hubs for years, but outdated zoning and underinvestment have held too many neighborhoods back. Will is committed to changing that.
WHAT Will WILL DO AS Mayor:
Legalize neighborhood mixed-use corridors across the city so that the city can organically begin to build the coffee shops, corner stores, and gathering places their communities have been asking for.
Support small businesses putting down roots in hubs with targeted grants and technical assistance so new shops and services can survive and thrive.
Provide financial incentives for mixed-use development so the growth Milwaukie wants to see actually materializes, not just middle-housing developments stacked one atop another.
Connect every neighborhood with safe, walkable streets and a bike and pedestrian network that makes it possible to get around without a car.
Invest in placemaking guided by community input so neighborhoods get the gathering spaces, pop-ups, and public amenities that reflect who they are and what they need.
WILL'S TRACK RECORD:
Broke down the zoning barriers holding Milwaukie's neighborhood hubs back, by voting to support Hubs Phase 2, laying the foundation for mixed-use commercial development in corridors across the city that residents had been fighting for since 2017.
Fought to expand Milwaukie's business grant program beyond downtown, ensuring neighborhood businesses across the entire city, not just Main Street, could access the funding they need to start up and grow.
Developed a vision for each neighborhood with residents across Milwaukie through a series of town halls, giving communities a direct voice in what gets built in their neighborhoods.
Made it faster and easier to make Milwaukie's streets safe by making the SPOT program permanent so neighbors can request improvements directly, and creating the Safe Streets Enhancement Fund to rapidly deliver bike and pedestrian safety upgrades, no more waiting a decade for a capital project.