Andy Green

The Wilsonville Spokesman, a community newspaper serving residents living in the award-winning Villebois neighborhood, recently covered the Wilsonville City Council's approval of a new co-mingled roll cart recycling program in the small community just south of Portland, Oregon. Until now, Wilsonville was the only city in the metropolitan area not using co-mingled recycling carts.

Allied Waste anticipates delivering carts to Wilsonville residents in November with pickup starting the first week in December. For this new service, garbage customers will see only an additional $2.50 per month - $5 per bill - pay for the carts and equipment necessary to get the program started.

This new recycling program fits in well with the Villebois neighborhood's commitment to sustainable living. From the building materials and the natural amenities on-site to the community designs and transportation options, Costa Pacific Communities - the community's developer - creates unique places like Villebois that people love to live.

In developing the Villebois community, Costa Pacific launched a rainwater management plan funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that filters and redistributes rainwater back into the ground, reducing the amount of pollutants released into the area's streams and rivers.

With eco-friendly building techniques-including redeveloping existing building sites, and recycling up to 90 percent of the buildings that were demolished during the construction process-Costa Pacific lowered its impact on the natural environment. The company was also careful to preserve existing trees and open green space as well as incorporate native plants into the landscaping within the Villebois community, further validating its emphasis on environmental-consciousness.

Additionally, while working through the process of ensuring its homes meet Earth Advantage sustainability guidelines, Costa Pacific learned to build a higher quality home that maximizes energy efficiency and in turn minimizes the company's impact on the environment. All 2,600 homes that will be built within the Villebois community will meet Earth Advantage standards.

As a transit-oriented development, Costa Pacific's Villebois community gives residents the opportunity to commute from home via Trimet's new West Side Express Service serving the Portland metropolitan area's west side. This too allows Villebois residents to reduce their carbon footprint by spending less time on the road.

For more information about the new recycling program introduced in Wilsonville or the Villebois community's commitment to sustainability, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com.

Costa Pacific Communities just announced that Villebois resident and local musician Michele Van Kleef will open for Portland-area adult rock radio station, KINK.FM's LIVE 12 CD release concert on Sunday, September 27^th in the Villebois neighborhood in Wilsonville, Oregon.

The concert is open to all Portland-area residents and will feature the music of Justin Jude, a musician featured on the KINK Local CD, which the popular radio station will distribute for free to all concert-goers.

In addition, the first 25 people to tour the Villebois models in the Village Center before the show will receive a free copy of the new KINK Live 12 CD and a chance to enter to win for a pair of Tyrone Wells tickets and dinner for two or one night stay at a hotel in downtown Portland. After the concert kick-off on September 27th, the KINK LIVE 12 CD will be released and sold through local Starbucks locations.

For more information about the KINK Concert this Sunday, please call 866.580.2836 or email Info@CostaPacific.com.

Award-winning master planner and developer Costa Pacific Communities recently hired local Portland-area photographer Gregory Pierce to take photos of the newest model homes in the Villebois Village Center in Wilsonville, Oregon.

To view these breathtaking new photos, please visit: http://gregory71.zenfolio.com/f400255165

The mixed-use, transit-oriented Villebois community is home to an assortment of diverse neighborhoods developed by Costa Pacific Communities. In addition to eventually offering urban amenities at its Village Center, including restaurants, cafes and boutiques, a 20-acre greenway, parks, trees and excellent views of the Cascades and surrounding hills make Villebois a premier location for residents of all lifestyles to live, work, play and learn.

To see the complete gallery of photos displaying the unique qualities of the Villebois neighborhood, click here. To view the homes currently for sale in the Villebois community, visit Homes.Villebois.com.

For more information about the Villebois community, visit ChangeHowYouLive.com or contact Costa Pacific Homes New Home Specialist Andy Green at 866.580.2836 or Info@CostaPacific.com. The sales office is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The Villebois Sunday Market has been fortunate enough to attract a number of high-quality vendors, and with the help of Costa Pacific Communities and Arbor Custom Homes, Wilsonville, Oregon's farmers market was able to expand onto a gravel area off Villebois Drive in the heart of the award-winning Villebois neighborhood.

Unfortunately, gravel is not wheelchair-accessible, and so the Villebois Sunday Market has had to restructure its market map, reducing the number of available spaces to vendors.

The Villebois Sunday Market is committed to standing by its founding objectives:

- To provide an informal, social gathering place in an open-air setting;
- To provide a community-building event in Wilsonville's Villebois Village Center;
- To give the community access to a wide variety of fresh, local, in-season farm products direct from the producer; and
- To give local producers a centralized location to provide customers with a wide variety of fresh, local, in-season farm products.

This means that the Villebois Sunday Market has had to re-evaluate some of its non-farmer vendors, so that the market could make more space for farmers who sell produce. So, if you are missing a vendor who is no longer at the market, please feel free to contact the Villebois Sunday Market Manager at villeboissundaymarket@gmail.com, and she will do her best to put you into contact with the vendor you miss.

Speaking of vendors... Don't miss the fresh strawberries that are currently for sale in the Villebois Sunday Market. Visit the United Farm booth next to Café Fratelli's coffee stand. United Farm picks its strawberries fresh every Sunday morning before the market, so you can rest assured you are getting the very freshest fruit possible!

Take advantage of the local farmers market in the beautiful Villebois community before it closes for the winter on October 18^th. For more information about the Villebois Sunday Market, visit VilleboisSundayMarket.com. You may also call 866.580.2836 or email villeboissundaymarket@gmail.com.

Do you and your coworkers bicycle to work?

Does your office lack bicycle parking?

Do you want to create an incentive to encourage more of your coworkers to use public transportation?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you better listen up! Washington County's Westside Transportation Alliance (WTA) recently launched an incentive management program called the Westside Commuter Club (WCC), which will provide up to two FREE bicycle racks to companies that sign up to belong to the WCC.

For residents living in and around the Westside Express Service (WES) commuter rail line, the opportunity to belong to the WCC couldn't be better.

Oregon's award-winning Villebois neighborhood was built in close proximity to Wilsonville's local WES Station. Offering residents easy access to bike from home to the WES and on to work anywhere in the Portland metropolitan area, the community's commuter-friendliness is unparalleled.

Here is some helpful information from Trimet when it comes to riding the WES commuter rail:

How to Load Your Bike on WES

Each WES commuter rail car has room for up to six standard-size bikes on board. There are two bike racks, and room for up to four more bikes in the priority seating areas.

Using the Rack

When the WES arrives, just roll your bike inside and place it in one of the vertical racks near the doors. The rack will automatically secure the front wheel in place. There is a strap for the back wheel for added security.

Using the priority seating area

There are two priority seating areas on each WES car for seniors and individuals with disabilities. If both bike racks are full, you may use the straps provided to secure your bike in the priority seating area (unless it is occupied or needed by a senior citizen or a rider with a disability). Please make sure that the straps are securely fastened and that your bike is not blocking the aisle. Two bikes can be stored in each priority seating area.

Federal regulations require bikes to be secured in one of the racks or areas provided. If both racks and priority seating spaces are occupied, you must wait for the next train.

If you ride your bike to or from WES on a regular basis, consider locking your bike at the WES station near Villebois in one of its designated bike locker spaces. This convenience saves area residents time and gas. Not to mention, riding the WES commuter rail gives the environmentally conscious individual peace of mind that he or she is helping offset their carbon footprint.

Learn more about bike parking at WES stations

Rent a bike locker or check availability

If you have questions or comments for TriMet, please email bikes@trimet.org.

If you would like more information about the Villebois Village Center and its commitment to its residents as a transit-oriented development, visit ChangeHowYouLive.com, or call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com.