Site master plan completed for Community Safety and Justice Campus

The Benton County Board of Commissioners recently received a report on the site master plan developed for the new Community Safety and Justice Campus, located one mile north of downtown Corvallis adjacent to the HP Inc. campus. Architects from DLR Group have conducted multiple work sessions with County staff and community partners to develop test fits of proposed County justice system facilities on the campus.

The site is currently zoned industrial and has been evaluated for requirements related to setbacks, utilities, roadways, and the flood plain. The site master plan also reflects the County’s values of sustainability and accessibility.

• Buildings on the 29.53 acre campus would be oriented to provide views of nature and the Willamette River.
• The three-story Courthouse will be oriented to provide views beyond the site, to the Willamette River, towards downtown Corvallis, as well as Mary’s Peak.
• The proposed buildings would be oriented to maximize daylighting of interior spaces, control glare, and reduce solar heat gain.

The buildings and parking area would be located to utilize the natural site topography which drains to the west and north. The orientation of the plan allows water to be directed into new landscape channels at the site perimeter which would then connect to the larger natural system. This approach is sustainably-minded because it uses landscaping for water quality treatment, reduces the need for underground utilities, and reduces costs. While the site is not within the 100-year flood plain, a small portion of the southwest corner of the site is located within the 500-year floodplain. This would not pose an issue for construction because all proposed buildings would be located above the flood plain elevation.

A preliminary traffic study was completed in February 2021 using a scenario of a multi-building justice campus. Community access to the site will be via a proposed new Corvallis Transportation System Plan collector street off Highway 20. The maximum projected trips to the site are so low they do not warrant a traffic light from Highway 20 to the collector street that will run across the site, but a left turn lane from Highway 20 to the collector street is warranted. Public transit options will be explored as the County continues to build out the site. The Courthouse is the visual center of the site plan, the public parking lot is located adjacent to the Courthouse, and all proposed buildings would have public lobbies facing a centralized public parking area.

The property was selected by the Board of Commissioners in January 2022 after an 18-month, community-involved process that evaluated multiple options to meet the needs of Benton County’s justice system.