As you know if you’ve been reading my blog, I have been on my “platform” so to speak against large homes and about the need and desires of the boomers wanting to stay in their communities as they age.

After I published my critical post about the City, the Lake Oswego Review had a story about how its officials are rethinking the future development here in Lake Oswego and had this to say:

“Before the current recession, the trend in Lake Oswego was to replace older bungalows and ranch homes with large, expensive houses. In addition to Lake Oswego’s attractive parks, schools and other amenities, high land prices and easy access to credit contributed to the tear down trend locally. The small, relatively affordable homes that were removed for upscale housing were never replaced. What was once entry-level housing quickly disappeared, and middle-income families and young adults are now essentially shut out of the Lake Oswego market. This, of course, creates a problem for the Lake Oswego’s public schools, which are experiencing an overall decline in the local school age population; the school district is now seeking tuition-paying students from outside the district, which is not a sustainable solution. The trend is also a problem for empty nesters and other long-time residents who wish to stay in Lake Oswego.”

The First Addition neighborhood is one of the areas referred to in the above.  The small cottages were torn down in favor of the larger McMansions much to the disgust and anger of residents living there.  Now, that quaint and award-winning community is stuck with those larger homes crowding out the remaining smaller houses. 

I also read recently on the Heritage Council’s website that many of this town’s architectural landmarks have been torn down, lost or have disappeared.  Since I started my Lake Oswego Living.A Photo Blog, I’ve been researching landmarks and photos I want to take.  There’s a lot of history here in town that can never be captured.  It’s a shame that everything in favor of and to benefit its citizens is always done after the fact and not with forethought like saving those historic sites.  We’ve got to do more.  This is a great community and it can get even better.

You sometimes hear critics call this quaint town “Lake Ego”.  Frankly, I love living here and I for one don’t want to leave.

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