Overview
On Feb. 27, 2020, legislation (HB 4106) was enacted, withdrawing the City of Happy Valley from the North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District (NCPRD), effective July 1, 2020. As a result, Happy Valley will become its own parks and recreation provider, and NCPRD can move forward with certainty in its boundary and the ability to focus on providing services to its more than 100,000 remaining residents.
Happy Valley and the County/NCPRD collaborated to develop the legislation as part of a settlement agreement to resolve a two-year legal dispute. This allows both parties to move forward from a legal stalemate and focus on building new parks and providing great recreation programs and services to their residents.
For background information about the dispute and settlement agreement, see the Timeline and FAQ sections.
Registration impacts for Happy Valley residents begin July 1, 2020
Happy Valley residents are no longer part of NCPRD effective July 1, 2020. All Happy Valley residents are welcome to continue using NCPRD programs and facilities, but are no longer eligible to receive discounted NCPRD resident rates and priority registration.
The following will apply to Happy Valley residents (as they do for all non-residents of NCPRD) for any NCPRD admissions, programs or classes that begin July 1, 2020 or later:
- A one-week wait period after registration begins, to accommodate NCPRD resident priority period
- Non-resident program and facility rates
If you are a Happy Valley resident who would like information regarding the city’s parks and recreation services, please contact the city at 503-783-3800 or info@happyvalleyor.gov.
What is NCPRD?
The North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District (NCPRD) is a service district of Clackamas County. It provides exceptional parks and recreation programs, facilities and services to more than 100,000 residents in a 36-square-mile area, including the City of Milwaukie and a large area of northern unincorporated Clackamas County including Oak Grove, Jennings Lodge, and Sunnyside.
NCPRD offers residents and visitors the use of more than 36 parks and natural areas, 15 miles of trails, the Hood View Sports Complex, the North Clackamas Aquatic Park, the Milwaukie Center and three former elementary school properties (Concord, Wichita, and Clackamas).
Citizens voted to create the NCPRD in 1990. Happy Valley residents voted to join the District in 2006, and in 2020 Happy Valley withdrew from NCPRD in order to provide its own city parks and recreation services.
NCPRD has its own permanent taxing authority, with 54 cents of every $1,000 of assessed value dedicated to providing parks and recreation services in the community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Timeline
Feb. 27, 2020 | Legislation (HB 4106) was enacted, withdrawing the City from NCPRD effective July 1, 2020. |
Feb. 2020 | HB 4106 was taken to the Oregon Legislature, where it was unanimously passed by the House and the Senate. |
Dec. 3, 2019 | Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, acting as the Board of Directors for NCPRD, and the Happy Valley City Council approved a settlement agreement calling for legislation that would remove the City from NCPRD and resolve the legal dispute. |
Aug. 16, 2019 | On Aug. 16, 2019, a jury awarded the City of Happy Valley roughly $18 million in its claims that NCPRD had breached its contract with the city for failing to complete certain projects. NCPRD reviewed its legal options to determine its next steps, including a possible appeal of the judge’s original ruling. |
Jan. 22, 2019 | A judge ruled that financial damages, if any, arising from an earlier ruling that NCPRD breached the contract with the city to build parks, will be decided at trial. |
Dec. 2018/ Jan. 2019 |
NCPRD held four public meetings in December 2018 and January 2019 for people who live in the District (Happy Valley, Milwaukie and unincorporated areas of North Clackamas County) and wanted to learn how this could affect them. View the latest presentation. Read NCPRD’s letter to residents about the meetings. |
Dec. 13, 2018 | The Court determined that the City of Happy Valley had not followed Oregon law when it attempted to withdraw from NCPRD. The City was not allowed to act unilaterally to withdraw, but instead must follow the process in ORS 198 in which a petition is presented to the Board of County Commissioners to start the process. |
Dec. 12, 2018 | A hearing was held in Circuit Court in Happy Valley’s lawsuit on the form of Order on Summary Judgment. The court took the question under advisement to decide if, after the Court’s earlier ruling that NCPRD was in breach of the agreement, Happy Valley is entitled to damages at this time or if damages must be determined at trial in August 2019. |
Dec. 5, 2018 | A hearing on NCPRD’s Motion for Summary Judgment is held in the declaratory judgment action in Circuit Court on the question of whether Happy Valley’s attempt to withdraw from NCPRD was proper, or illegal and void. |
Nov. 28, 2018 | The Circuit Court denied a request by Happy Valley to dismiss a declaratory judgment filed by the NCPRD, Clackamas County, and the Clackamas County Assessor to decide the question of whether the City’s attempt to withdraw from NCPRD was legal. |
Oct. 29, 2018 | The Circuit Court denied a request by Happy Valley to dismiss a declaratory judgment filed by the NCPRD, Clackamas County, and the Clackamas County Assessor to decide the question of whether the City’s attempt to withdraw from NCPRD was legal. |
Oct. 12, 2018 | The Circuit Court denies Happy Valley's motion to consolidate the declaratory judgment action with the lawsuit seeking a share of the District's assets filed earlier by Happy Valley. This decision allowed for an earlier hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment. |
Sept. 19, 2018 | The Oregon Tax Court rules that the Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) exceeded its authority in rescinding approval of a boundary change sought by the City of Happy Valley during its attempt to withdraw from NCPRD. The decision invalidates the June DOR decision that rescinded the boundary approval and reinstates the DOR’s March approval of the boundary change. |
June 19, 2018 | Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) rescinds approval of Happy Valley's boundary change. DOR determined that the City did not follow appropriate state law in withdrawing from NCPRD. |
May 15, 2018 | City of Happy Valley voters approve establishing a five-year local option levy for parks and recreation services with the same assessed tax rate as NCPRD. |
Nov. 2017 | NCPRD filed a countersuit against Happy Valley. |
Oct. 2017 | Happy Valley filed a lawsuit against NCPRD seeking a share of the District’s assets and substantial cash. |
June 2017 | The Happy Valley City Council voted to withdraw from NCPRD effective Dec. 31, 2017. |
News
Contact
Questions or comments, feel free to contact NCPRD at 503-742-4348, info@ncprd.com, or visit their website.