Sherwood’s 2026 State of the City addresses economic development, community pride

SHERWOOD, Ore. — A couple hundred invested Sherwoodian community members from high and low came out to attend the Sherwood State of the City address by Mayor Tim Rosener. 

The address took place on Wednesday, April 15, at the Sherwood Center for the Arts. Cooper Mountain Ale Works provided catering, J Rallison Cellars poured the wine, and the Sherwood High School Arrows Dance Team brought the entertainment.

The theme of the evening was building bridges and connecting communities.

“Livability is the number one thing I think about in all of this. We have an amazing city, and it’s important as we grow that it stays an amazing city … that we keep that small-town feel,” Rosener said.

Rosener spoke about the Old Town Strategic Plan, the Tonquin Employment Area, partnering businesses with the school district for employment, Sherwood Broadband, community pride, government transparency, and fiscal responsibility.

Home Rule 

He also addressed home rule, thanking State Representative Sue Rieke Smith (D-Wilsonville) for being one of the few to vote against House Bill 4082 that would limit local development control by forcing UGB expansions with the intention of helping to solve the housing crisis by creating more development opportunities for affordable and middle-income housing.

“We had two ballot measures that we put out there in front of the voters in January … some of the recent legislation coming out of Salem has said we can’t do that,” Rosener said.

Ballot returns show Sherwood’s Measure 34-347 passing with about 94% of the vote, and Measure 34-348 passing with approximately 83% of the vote.

“That was really important and frankly sent a really strong message to SAlem that our communities are not agreeing with your approach,” Rosener said. “We need more housing, this is not about not doing that work, this is just about making sure we have a transparent process and bring the community along.”

Although Salem changed the law in 2016 to remove voter-approved annexations with Senate Bill 1573, Rosener said Sherwood went ahead with the Charter amendment to protect procedural rights and create clarity on the process of annexation. 

“Council, myself, staff, we’re fighting to protect those rights … making sure we can control our destiny,"Rosener said. “This is not about not growing, it’s not that we don't want to be part of solving housing. This is about (how) we want to help solve this problem, but (Salem has) to let us do it in a way that's compatible with our community, in a way our community agrees to.”

Development plans

On Old Town plans, Rosener pointed out the Columbia Street expansion and roundabout possibility. 

“It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. I think it’s a really great plan,” Rosener said. ““Personally I’d love to see a boutique hotel and more mixed-used and affordable housing potentially on those sites … I’d love to see a bakery or meat market to make our downtown a destination, walkable, and a fun place to visit for people from around the region.”

On Sherwood West, he said the urban reserves are not currently in the city limits.

“It’s really incredible how long it takes to bring land into the city,” Rosener said. “We’re looking at microzoning so throughout the housing area we have an intermix … multi-family housing, cottage clusters, those types of things.”

He said currently, Sherwood is missing options for citizens to easily downsize, or for their adult children to buy start homes here. He also said the city is buying land in Sherwood West for future parks. 

On infrastructure, Rosener said the city increased water treatment by 30% without a significant rate increase nor wasting taxes by joining forces with Wilsonville. The city is working on a new light along Sunset Boulevard to help create safer routes to school for Archer Glen students. The city also completed the new pedestrian bridge last year, and resurfaced the basketball court at the Woodhaven Park. 

On economic development, Rosener spoke about new developments in the Tonquin Employment Area, such as a 1 million-square-foot high-tech manufacturing space from Jordan Schnitzer.

“It’s really important that we bring jobs to Sherwood,” Rosener said. 

 On fiscal responsibility, Rosener said in the last budget cycle, the city cut 5% of its work force.

“It’s not something we take lightly … We have to be cognizant that we can’t let this problem build up,"Rosener said. “We have to get really efficient with the money we’re spending … and still provide a high level of service to our community.”

He said it’s important to make small cuts now, rather than waiting five years and having to make big cuts.

“As your mayor, I want to personally thank you for all the hard work as a community you do to make sure … we’ve built strong connections through community engagement, building our new infrastructure, running fiber to the homes, and we’re also building bridges into the future to make sure that Sherwood remains Sherwood for years to come,” Rosener said. “I have this firm belief that my job and the City’s job is to make people just feel welcome and protected.”