Stafford Hamlet in Oregon's Portland Area: If you're researching Hamlet the idea of a country subdivision is probably not what you're thinking. Hamlets in Oregon are similar to villages and these are subnational entities that manage themselves as a local government. Look at West Linn as the comanding force in regards to Stafford, Oregon. This is done so the area can run things for themselves as a smaller unit to make decisions easier and quicker for people to run the land. This  community is a model of local government and a village or hamlet is referred to as a community planning organization (CPOs). The purpose of CPO's is to involve the communities citizens in land use planning in the unincorporated county. An unincorporated area is a region of land administered as part of a bigger a... 04/02/2014

West Linn is a Tree City and has been for over 20 years and counting! The entire Portland Oregon area is about as green as it gets, but did you know that West Linn has been an Arbor Day Foundation "Tree City" for over 20 years?   The Arbor Day Foundation actually evaluates cities based on four criteria to determine if they are tree cities.  Besides all the obvious natural beauty this adds, you can read about the benefits of becoming a Tree City here: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/benefits.cfm According to The Arbor Day Foundation, a tree city is the following: Communities achieve Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita ... 01/19/2014