About Tigard's Metzger

Metzger - Tigard: The Metzger neighborhood of Tigard is .74 square miles of single family homes, town homes, condos, and apartments that is located where Tigard, Beaverton and SW Portland intersect. Most of the Metzger neighborhood is located within unincorporated Washington County and is not in any city limits. The zip code generally used is 97223 and the city used is Tigard. Tigard does not have its own post office and 97223 is a City of Portland zip code. I know this quaint fact because I live in Metzger. You can use Tigard or Portland and you will still get your mail.

The Metzger neighborhood is noted for its older homes on larger lots and freeway access is minutes away.  It takes 20 minutes to get to downtown Portland and 40 minutes to get to the airport. The superb shopping at Washington Square is five minutes away. The price range for homes in the Metzger neighborhood is quite broad. Decent single family homes can start at about $220,000 and there are many homes above $500,000 in the area.

Metzger Elementary is a new school and has an exceptional rating compared to other schools. This fact alone should make the Metzger neighborhood attractive to any family with young children, whether you plan to live in a single family home or an apartment.

Metzger Park is a seven acre wooded park that offers a variety of outdoor play equipment. In addition, it has a building that can be rented out for weddings, birthdays, or any large event.

Wayne Pruner is a Realtor who lives and works in the Metzger neighborhood. I can help you with any of your real estate needs and my website is Tigard Homes for Sale.

Bah Humbug Tigard!

My wife and son went out last night to buy a Christmas tree for a local tree lot. When they got home, with a tree, they said the City of Tigard was forcing the tree lot to move. This incident even made today's Oregonian, as reported by Bill Oram.

The City of Tigard said that Larry's Custom Christmas Trees was operating an outdoor business in a residential zone, and had to shut down right away. The City was investigating a complaint about a tree lot in the Washington Square area and was driving by Larry Knudsen's business. Larry has received, in past years, assurances from the City of Tigard that he could operate there. I'm sure the Code Enforcement Officer has driven by there many times over the last 3 years.

The tree lot, located on Hall Blvd. near the intersection of Oak St. in the Metzger neighborhood, is on a busy state highway and there is very little residential property left on this road. Most uses are commercial or high occupancy residential. Larry was located right next to a Goodwill drop of center and an outdoor pottery business. These are commercial operations.

The City of Tigard missed an opportunity to demonstrate they understand the challenges faced by the small business sector, especially in this business climate. Larry is most likely going to lose money this year because his regular customers will not be able to find him. (Let's hope that the public takes sympathy and buys all of Larry's trees). Instead, the City generated negative publicity. They forced Larry to move, 3 blocks away, to a true residential area that is outside their jurisdiction. All they did was shift the "problem" onto someone else. There will be far more impact to these residents than the original location. This impact will be short lived because Larry's season will only be for 2 more weeks.

Instead of taking a hammer to the problem, I believe the City of Tigard could have handled it any of the following ways:

•· Continue to ignore the tree lot. After all, there were no complaints about this tree lot.

•· Tell Larry he can finish out the season and not come back.

•· Give Larry official notice that he is violating zoning laws and that he has 30 days to shut down the business.

I'm sure the City has reasons why my suggestions would not have worked. I am not against rules and regulations, but one size does not fit all. There are always situations that "fall through the cracks", and the challenge to any enlightened bureaucracy is to handle these incidents in a manner that does the least harm.

I wonder. If the City of Tigard issued Larry a business license, will he get his money back?

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs and he is also a licensed contractor. Wayne knows houses. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Metzger Park: National Night Out

The National Night Out was well attended by Metzger neighborhood families. This national event is designed to improve safety in neighborhoods by introducing firefighters, law enforcement, parametics and neighbors to each other. This was a family freindly event that had free ice creram, cookies, and punch provided by local businesses. The fire truck was a big hit with the kids and "McGruff the Crime Dog" was making friends. A good time was had by all at Metzger Park.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. Wayne is also a licensed Oregon contractor. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog

Tigard Homes for Sale: Metzger Market Report

By Wayne B. Pruner

http://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/

Wayne's Portland Oregon Real Estate blog

www.activerain.com/waynepruner

As of Jan.1, 2008, first time home buyers do not have many choices for housing in the Metzger neighborhood. My usual criteria for most first time home buyers is a house less than $300,000, which ideally would make their house payment less than $2000.00 per month. The idea is to find any suitable home you can afford and then trade up after a few years when you have some equity.

I've done a computer search and there are 3 condos and 2 detached (houses) homes for sale in Metzger. Both houses seem to be ideal for first time home buyers and one of the condos was priced at $115,000, (2 bedroom, 1 bath, 776 square feet), which is a real bargain for anyone interested in condos.

Tigard Homes for Sale: The Metzger Neighborhood

By Wayne B. Pruner

http://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/

Wayne's Portland Oregon Real Estateblog

www.activerain.com/waynepruner

Henry Metzger, a German immigrant, platted Metzger in 1910. Parts of the neighborhood of Metzger are located in the northern part of the City of Tigard and parts lie in unincorporated Washington County. The area is noted for older homes on larger lots and has been the target for infill homes for the last 10 years. One of the main attractions of Metzger is that it is ideally located close to freeway access and the Washington Square Shopping Center while many parts of Metzger have a rural feel. Metzger Elementary School is in a new building and the 7 acre Metzger Park is a community meeting center and an ideal location to rent for special events.