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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2020-03-17 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 0 March 17, 2020 OREOO� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Studebaker called the regular City Council meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. on March 17, 2020, in the City Council Chambers, 380 A Avenue. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Studebaker and Councilors Manz (by phone), Kohlhoff (by phone), O'Neill, Nguyen, LaMotte, Wendland Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Anne-Marie Simpson, City Recorder; Scot Siegel, Planning and Building Services Director; Shawn Cross, Finance Director; Erica Rooney, City Engineer; Sidaro Sin; Redevelopment Manager 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Studebaker led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. CITIZEN COMMENT • Michael Murray, 13929 Taylors Crest Lane, Lake Oswego Mr. Murray spoke as the founder of Hunger Fighters Oregon, the non-profit food pantry, and described the population that it served. He announced that the organization received notice it would receive a $5,000 municipal grant from the City, and he requested an emergency grant in an equal amount so that Hunger Fighters could serve community needs that emerged as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and its economic impacts. He thanked Councilor Manz for spearheading the effort on short notice and for the Council's support of the food pantry during a time of crisis. Mayor Studebaker moved to grant an additional $5,000 from the Municipal Grant Fund to Hunger Fighters. Councilor Wendland seconded the motion. Speaking in support of the partnership with Hunger Fighters, Councilor Nguyen thanked Mr. Murray for coming to the City Council. He expressed his belief that the Council should have City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 8 March 17, 2020 stayed home during the crisis and had the meeting remotely, rather than conduct business as usual. When he had expressed his concern earlier, it was dismissed as overreacting. He considered calling in to the meeting, but believed he needed to deliver the message in person. Schools, businesses, and other organizations had taken steps to stop the spread. Gathering during the health emergency diminished the seriousness of the pandemic and did not help to control the spread of the coronavirus, he posited. He hoped Council would further discuss the issue. A voice vote was held and the motion passed, with Mayor Studebaker and Councilors Manz, Kohlhoff, O'Neill, Nguyen, LaMotte, and Councilor Wendland voting `aye.' (7-0) • Charles Ormsby 170 Birdshill Rd, Portland Mr. Ormsby, commenting in response to the North Anchor Project developer recommendation to be considered later in the meeting, said that people in wheelchairs needed transit access and accommodations must be made. 5. COUNCIL BUSINESS 5.1 Resolution 20-07, A Resolution of the Lake Oswego City Council Approving the Luscher Farm Concept Plan for Purposes of Applying to Metro for an Amendment to the Portland Metro Urban Growth Boundary (PP 19-0012) Mr. Powell noted that the City Council had tentatively adopted the resolution at its previous meeting. Testimony received by the City Council had been incorporated into the supplemental findings, Attachment 2 to the resolution. In the Concept Plan, a portion of the right-of-way at the roundabout at Stafford Road and Rosemont Road would be extended to include the full roundabout and the approaches to it. Staff recommended adoption of the resolution. Councilor LaMotte moved to adopt Resolution 20-07, approving the Luscher Farm Concept Plan for purposes of applying to Metro for an amendment to the Portland Metro Urban Growth Boundary (PP 19-0012). Councilor Wendland seconded the motion. A voice vote was held and the motion passed, with Mayor Studebaker and Councilors Manz, Kohlhoff, O'Neill, Nguyen, LaMotte, and Councilor Wendland voting `aye.' (7-0) 5.2 City Council 2020 Goals Phasing and Work Plans Ms. Bennet provided an update on work completed thus far on the Council goals phasing and work plans, and requested Council's feedback specifically on the goals and initiatives flagged in the Council Report. Mayor Studebaker noted $350,000 had been put in the budget for the Highway 43, McVey Avenue, and Stafford Road project, and that funds were being received from Clackamas County of approximately $700,000. Ms. Bennett replied she understood that the additional funding from the vehicle registration tax had already been assumed as part of the Pavement Rehabilitation City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 8 March 17, 2020 Project. Council also approved a project to build a pathway along Knaus Road that was more than $350,000, so in the current fiscal year the money allocated for pathways had been spent. Highlights of the discussion on the 2020 Council Goals and Initiatives Work Plans and answers to Councilor questions were as follows: Goal 1A - Adopt an Economic Development Strategy Councilor LaMotte asked why Parks would be listed as a support department. (Page 3 of Attachment 1 to the Council Report) Ms. Bennett replied that if tourism was a part of the Economic Development Strategy, parks and how parks were programmed were believed to be a potential tourist attraction. Also, many of the community's signature events like the Car& Boat Show and the Festival of the Arts happened in the parks. Councilor LaMotte noted a light version and a robust version for consulting had been proposed and asked if one existed in the middle. He did not believe hiring a consultant was necessary. He wanted more information and a Staff recommendation; then the City Council could consider staffing options. The Oregon Employment Department had a list of economic profiles and he believed one could be done for Lake Oswego at no cost. Mr. Siegel stated many decisions were contingent on the overarching goals and performance measures recommended. The economic profile was data that should be on the City's website. He agreed the County could put something together for the City, but he was unsure if it would address the sectors and strategies that were of the greatest interest to the Council. A baseline level of data should be received from the County, and beyond that depended upon the metrics Council wanted to use in measuring performance. Ms. Bennett said a consultant could not help until the City Council decided on the City's role in economic development. After making those decisions, staffing levels could be determined. Mayor Studebaker expressed concern about having a lot of consulting right away and opined that it did not appear the City had a problem with economic development. He asked for an estimate on the cost of the consulting believed to be necessary. Mr. Siegel noted the information was on pages 4 and 5 of the Attachment. If Staff was going to manage and facilitate the work, it would take longer due to workload and capacity. Use of a consultant would accelerate the process, but it depended upon Council's focus. A consultant could help Councilors with determining further direction. Councilor Wendland requested a future work session on the topic. Goal 2A— Formal DEI Training Councilor LaMotte believed Council was waiting for the Task Force in Goal 2B to come up with recommendations before training took place. Ms. Bennett replied Council had set goals to do both: to implement the recommendations of the Task Force in advance of that ensure everyone had baseline training on what a Council and a City organization meant when speaking about diversity, equity and inclusion. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 8 March 17, 2020 Goal 2B — Council Support of DEI Task Force Councilor Wendland stated in his experience, it was very difficult to schedule meetings that everyone could attend. He suggested offering two sessions to choose from, making attendance at one session mandatory. Goal 2C —Calendar of Events to Celebrate Diversity Councilor LaMotte understood the intent of this goal was to put existing cultural events on the calendar rather than creating new events. The goal as written was asking for Staff and dollars to create new events. Ms. Bennett anticipated recognition of significant cultural events not currently planned but relevant to Lake Oswego residents. She cited Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday as an example. Goal 3B — Preserving Big Trees Councilor LaMotte said the Planning Department had already created a list of native trees that could be planted and asked if more work was really needed. He also asked for an explanation about the goal of protecting large trees on City property. Ms. Bennett noted some had questioned whether the trees listed were the correct species. She clarified that protecting large trees on City property was an idea Council suggested and had assumed the goal was a statement of policy priority. Mr. Siegel said the information on protecting large trees was from the Sustainability Climate Action Plan (SCAP). The goal regarding planting native trees was giving consideration to climate change resiliency. The list was appropriate for today, but the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) and the Task Force were projecting out further. Goal 4B — Develop Clear Intergovernmental Strategies Ms. Bennett believed the goal came from recent experience with the Oak Grove-Lake Oswego Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge (OGLO) where Staff understood the City did not have an established position. She said the Council would decide whether to ask Staff to monitor regional issues in order to assist with policy statements, believing there were projects and policies Council wanted to move forward. Developing a strategy would help the Council where they wanted to focus. Mayor Studebaker acknowledged Councilor Kohlhoff's suggestion that Councilors attending other governmental meetings should inform Council about what happened at those meetings. Goal 5A— Best Option for Tryon Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant (TCWWTP) Councilor LaMotte asked for information about project timing. Ms. Bennett described a three- phase bid process and said many elements would be fleshed out by Council as part of the process. Negotiations regarding ongoing operations with the City of Portland and with the private firm that would build the plant would take place. There were no guarantees existed until negotiations concluded. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 8 March 17, 2020 Goal 5B — Pavements and Pathways Councilor LaMotte asked whether this goal combined pathways and pavement, expressing concern that pathways would be pushed aside. Pavement, pathways, and Safe Routes to School should be grouped, he believed. Mayor Studebaker stated the Council clearly wanted both pathways and pavement. Ms. Bennett stated this was the policy direction on the Council's many transportation goals could be facilitated by Staff. Councilor LaMotte replied that several goals would be diluted if Council set priorities on roads and paths that included Safe Routes to School, understanding that only $350,000 was available for pathways. Goal 5C — Funding Capacity Lake Grove Urban Renewal Area (URA) Ms. Bennett asked the City Council if they wished to wait on this goal, as it was created based on inaccurate information. If assumptions made at goal setting were not true, she asked if Council still wanted to proceed. She believed good reasons existed to move forward, but wanted certainty prior to spending $30,000 to update the plan and asked if the timing of the project was important. Staff provided project status and budget in the URA to help with the City Council's initial questions. Councilor Wendland believed it was necessary to look at the Boones Ferry Road project overall. The longer the City waited to complete the project, the more expensive it would be, and he believed the entire project should be done. He requested additional budget figures. Councilor Kohlhoff asked whether or not Phase 2 and affordable housing were linked, and if the work could be done reasonably. She wondered about the goal's link to the goal for affordable housing. Ms. Bennett replied it was possible, as the current the project staging area was owned by Lake Oswego Redevelopment Agency (LORA). Because the affordable housing construction was not identified in the Urban Renewal Plan for the URA, if Council wanted affordable housing to be built on the staging area, someone, perhaps the City, would have to buy the property from LORA. Currently, affordable housing was not an eligible expense in the URA. An opportunity existed for the LORA Board to decide whether to include affordable housing in the Lake Grove Urban Renewal Plan, which would make it easier to convert the staging area to an affordable housing project. Councilor Kohlhoff stated she favored moving forward. Mayor Studebaker asked if the school district would look favorably on an urban renewal district expansion, as it would mean less tax revenue for them. Ms. Bennett responded that although she could not anticipate the school district's reaction, new State funds for schools might allow the district view an expansion favorably. Councilor Wendland clarified that the school district was not giving up money for Lake Oswego through the urban renewal district; rather it went into the State's General Fund pool and was allocated back. Mr. Sin clarified that Staff, if directed by the LORA Board, would address the questions of how much money was needed for Phase 2 and for parking. Estimates were available from 2012, when the Lake Grove Urban Renewal Area was adopted, but required updating. Information from the current Lake Grove roadway improvements could help do that, so the Engineering City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 8 March 17, 2020 Department would help determine how much was needed for the roadway for Phase 2, as well as for parking. The next step would be to determine the best funding approach and if alternatives to using tax increment financing were available, such as street funds. An outstanding question was whether the LORA Board was interested in adding projects to the Lake Grove URA, such as affordable housing. If so, this was the time to do it. A substantial amendment would be necessary regardless of the desired increase to the potential funding. The final step would be to define the Plan amendment process, cost, and timeline. Mr. Sin stated Staff would provide different options and requested information to assist the City Council with its decision. Goal 6C — Respond to Proposed Charter Amendment Mayor Studebaker suggested holding off on discussion about any needed petitions for Comprehensive Plan or Parks 2025 Plan changes, which would be addressed in a future work session. Ms. Bennett reminded that Council had asked whether a way existed, other than amending the Charter, to achieve the same results, which was what the work plan reflected. Staff was in an awkward position because they could not take a position one way or the other on the proposed Charter amendment. Councilor LaMotte noted questions had been asked about why a petition was necessary, and he agreed discussing the issue at a work session was best, believing it was possible to change the 2025 Parks Plan without the expense and work of the petition process. He wanted to ensure this initiative did not mean a petition would be necessary. Goal 7A— Five-Year Plan for Pathways Councilor LaMotte believed the goal similar to Goal 5B, and asked the goals be considered in tandem. Goal 7B — Highway 43-McVev-Stafford Councilor LaMotte opined there could be efficiencies realized by considering the traffic study conducted by the City and school district to determine impacts of a recreation and aquatic center and funds dedicated to studying the McVey/Stafford corridor. Ms. Bennett noted a Dolan analysis would be done. Goal 8A— HB 2001 and HB 2003 Compliance Mr. Siegel noted Council feedback on HB 2001 and HB 2003 had indicated Staff should monitor the State rulemaking process and when the State's draft model Code came out, as well as the expectations for the City, Staff would report to Council, which he expected to be July. At that point, the State's minimum requirements regarding middle housing should be more clear and then Council could decide whether to proceed with the community engagement process to apply the statute and develop a zoning strategy, or wait for the for the State's model Code to be City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 8 March 17, 2020 finalized, which was expected this December. Council would direct Staff to begin developing options for the Code with the work being completed between July 2021 and June 2022. Ms. Bennett added that, based on Staff's work with neighborhood associations, the community engagement around the implementation of the bill would be substantial. Councilor Manz received confirmation that the preliminary work Staff was doing was for education and to begin formulating what would need done as the State's Code language became solidified. Mr. Siegel added that Staff was also developing a good baseline of information regarding existing middle housing in the community, neighborhood profiles, existing CC&Rs, infrastructure capacities, etc. to have an informed discussion based on facts with the community regarding the State requirements. Goal 8B - Delineate Stafford Areas of Interest Mr. Powell noted Tualatin and West Linn were ready to delineate areas of interest, but that was not the same as starting concept planning. The first step contemplated in the three-party agreement was for the parties to discuss areas of interest, which would then be followed by concept planning. He clarified that a commitment had been made in good faith to work with each other under the agreement, but no deadline existed for delineating areas of interest. He saw nothing that would hold up the process, but would talk with Council should something change. Goal 8C —Affordable Housing Ms. Bennett confirmed that this goal would be considered by Council both within and outside of the urban renewal district. The City did not have a developer or even the right kind of zoning currently, so it would be years before a contract would be made with a developer. Councilor Wendland expressed his appreciation to Staff for how the goals were formatted in the document, adding it would be very helpful. Ms. Bennett concluded the discussion by stating that items from Work Plan Time Table (Attachment 2) would begin to populate the Council's future schedule. She noted that Staff would report to Council if the timeline changed. 6. INFORMATION FROM COUNCIL Councilor Manz requested a delay the City Council's April meetings, citing concerns over the coronavirus epidemic. Until more information was available the Council and the community could not safely gather to meet. Councilor Kohlhoff suggested using other technologies in order to continue to conduct business. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 8 March 17, 2020 Ms. Bennett noted non-time critical items had already been delayed on the April 7 agenda, although a paving contract award was still on that agenda to avoid a delay resulting in no paving this year. Meetings could be hosted electronically, but Oregon law still required access to the meeting by the public, she opined. The issue was being discussed at the State level to allow virtual meetings and virtual observation by the public, but she was currently required to have a room accessible for the April 7 meeting. The City Charter required the Council to meet; all meetings except those legally required had been cancelled. Council Nguyen pointed out that the health crisis was a national emergency and that neighboring cities were postponing or holding their meetings online. He spoke in favor of holding City Council meetings remotely and expressed concern about not following the government's recommendations on dealing with the outbreak. Ms. Bennett reiterated that Staff was trying to place only the business needs of the agency on the April 7 agenda, and possibly cancelling the April study session. She assured Staff was not taking the situation lightly. City Council meetings were the only meetings being held and only due to the Charter's requirements. A meeting place was required for the public until a waiver was received for that part of the Oregon public meetings law. As information was received from federal, state, and local authorities, Staff would keep Council informed. 7. REPORTS OF OFFICERS No reports were made. 8. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Studebaker adjourned the meeting at 4:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, glJV-el)/VLItA-.l-e v.'C6'14-4/o.TI�.. Anne-Marie Simpson, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on April 13, 2020 cal 64 . , Kent Studebaker, Mayor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 8 March 17, 2020