Philomath city officials outlined a slate of University of Oregon student projects planned for the coming year during Monday evening’s Philomath City Council meeting, part of a two-year partnership through the university’s Sustainable City Year Program.
City Manager Chris Workman and Assistant City Manager Chelsea Starner told the council the city selected three UO faculty members to lead multiple student projects this semester, focusing on issues drawn from the city’s strategic plan.
“We looked at our strategic plan on what are we already working on, what are our priorities,” Workman said. “We took that to faculty. They took that out to all of their teachers and professors and they brought back some suggested projects.”
The council authorized staff in March to pursue the partnership for the next two years, and Philomath was subsequently selected to participate for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28. Workman said the arrangement lets the city tap university expertise instead of hiring costly consultants.
“Rather than hiring a consultant for tens of thousands of dollars, we’re having … university-level faculty and students coming and helping us out, which will be great,” Workman said.
Only four cities statewide are currently participating in the program, according to Workman.
Students in the Architecture Design Studio class will work with property owners in two locations to create three-dimensional visual concepts showing how properties could be redeveloped under proposed zoning changes, such as adding an accessory dwelling unit, converting to a duplex or building a cottage cluster.
Workman said the visualizations are intended to help residents understand what proposed zoning changes would allow, particularly as some properties would shift from high-density to medium-density residential zoning.
“We need to show them what that is going to limit them to and what it’s not going to limit them to,” Workman said. “Essentially it means you can’t put a high-rise apartment complex here. … but you can still do all of these things.”
Urban Transportation students will take on three projects, according to the agenda item summary — evaluating underdeveloped streets to help the city prioritize future investment, identifying potential off-street parking locations in downtown Philomath, and reviewing residential street design standards as the city updates its development code.
The city is continuing work with UO’s Timber Tectonics in the Digital Age class on two projects, including a dimensional timber art piece for the council chambers, developed in partnership with Oregon State University students, and pedestrian amenities for the 13th Street “gathering zone.”
Starner told the council additional staff members who returned from summer break have expressed interest in taking on topics related to public engagement, tourism development, transit and emergency preparedness, along with a separate public relations project for winter term.
“It’s kind of like we’re not missing anybody,” Workman said. “If they’ve been off busy or doing other stuff during the summer, now they’re coming back. … So the two-year commitment’s nice. There’ll be other projects we’ll be able to tack on.”
A kickoff celebration marking the start of the two-year partnership is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at the Philomath High School library. University, city and school district officials are expected to attend, and each of the three participating faculty members will present on their students’ projects.
Mayor Christopher McMorran praised the collaboration between the city and the school district on some of the projects and noted the program has drawn attention at the state level.
“I was in a meeting earlier today (Monday) where the universities were talking about their budget requests for the next legislative session,” McMorran said, adding that the University of Oregon plans to seek additional funding for the Sustainable City Year Program.
The city’s staff plans to bring back updates throughout the two-year partnership as individual projects move forward.
