HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2002-10-08 PM - -. 1 ..
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` CoCITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
41► October 8, 2002
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Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the City Council information session to order at 6:00 p.m. on
October 8, 2002, in the City Council Chambers, 380 A Avenue.
Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Turchi, Graham, McPeak, Hoffman, Rohde and
Schoen.
Staff Present: Doug Schmitz, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie, City
Recorder; Bob Kincaid, Chief of Staff; Denny Egner, Long Range Planning
Manager; Jerry Knippel, Maintenance Field Manager
Youth Council
Present: Brent Jostad, Betsy Walls, Sean Green, Ian Green
Guests: Pat Bowers, Oswego Pointe Condo Association; Mary Beth Coffey, Oswego
Pointe Condo Association; Chris Hoffman, Chamber of Commerce; Jeremy
Langliers, Evergreen Neighborhood Association; Rick Sato, Group McKenzie;
Rick Bellow, Oregonian; William Benson, homeowner, Steve, homeowner; Rob
Fallow, Foothills Task Force and property owner; Rich Martin, Foothills property
owner
Mayor Hammerstad informed the TV audience that tonight the consultants, Crandall Arambula,
would present the Foothills Task Force report on the Foothills Design District. She said that,
while the Council would take public testimony this evening, it would not make a decision. She
mentioned the public hearing on the Foothills project scheduled for November 19, at which
people could testify or submit written testimony beforehand.
3. STUDY SESSION
3.1 Foothills Task Force Report
George Crandall, Kristen Belz and Don Arambula, Crandall Arambula,presented the
report. Mr. Crandall gave a PowerPoint presentation.
Mr. Crandall acknowledged the work of the Steering Committee in providing guidance for the
discussion as they moved through the project. He thanked the Project Manager, Jerry Knippel,
who was also incisive and helpful.
Mr. Crandall reviewed the location of the study area on an aerial diagram, which comprised 20
acres between the Willamette River and the downtown. He noted the project objectives
developed by the Steering Committee, which were organized under the general categories of
environment, circulation, land use and other. He indicated that the Committee had concerns
about these issues, which it felt any plan needed to respond to.
Mr. Crandall presented the timeline of the project, beginning in July 2001 and ending in May
2002. He noted the four stages: starting, design, plan refinement and final report.
Mr. Crandall pointed out that the study area lay under multiple ownerships, as depicted in the
diagram. He noted that the City-owned land lay primarily in the floodplain, which did flood in
1996. He reviewed the zoning areas of industrial and higher density residential with some East
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 1 of 11
October 8, 2002
End commercial. He observed that the study area lay outside the City's downtown urban renewal
area.
Mr. Crandall mentioned the idea of connecting the Foothills area to the downtown using A and
B Avenues as the primary connectors. He reviewed the framework plan showing land use and
circulation. He described the main land use components: a small boat basin adjacent to the
river, open space along the river, a pathway system through the open space, mixed use
commercial with retail, housing and employment, and mixed use tourist and business adjacent to
the boat basin.
Mr. Crandall noted the location of the wastewater treatment plant. He informed the Council
that Portland informed them that the plant would stay at that location for some time. He
commented that any good plan would contemplate a time when that plant might move.
Mr. Crandall discussed the transit center along State, and the other circulation elements
connecting to the transit center. He mentioned the current study underway on the transit center,
which was exploring these ideas. He presented two schemes showing the circulation patterns for
a transit center that incorporated bus, commuter rail and trolley, and preserved the B Avenue
view corridor extending down towards the river.
Mr. Crandall reviewed the phasing diagrams illustrating what would happen when B Avenue
came on through as a pedestrian way extending to the river, and with the transit center located to
the east of the railroad tracks. He mentioned possibly depressing the tracks to go under State
Street as part of a multi-modal transit center. He noted the drawing illustrating the Willamette
Steps coming down into the Foothills area.
Mr. Crandall discussed the circulation element of a pedestrian/bicycle off road system along
State Street as an opportunity in Lake Oswego's unique environment to tie together George
Rogers Park to the south with Tryon Creek State Park to the north. He presented a drawing
illustrating the east side of State with the pedestrian/bicycle off road path, which also tied into the
loop system connecting down to the waterfront.
Mr. Crandall noted another drawing showing a roadway section of State Street with the bollards
removed. He commented that it would be the kind of place where a mother and child could stroll
comfortably or non-professional bicyclists could ride on the weekend.
Mr. Crandall reviewed the plan showing the exclusive bicycle/pedestrian trail along the
Willamette River connecting to Tryon Park. He referenced the routes of Terwilliger and State
Street in connection with the idea of opening up Tryon Creek to allow fish to move upstream and
hikers to go on through as well.
Mr. Crandall commented that the circulation/land use plan did not attempt to resolve all the
issues, thus requiring refinements to the plan. He noted the five next steps listed in the diagram
as needing additional work. He listed improving access in and out of the area, the waterfront
park/open space plan for the chip plant, the multi-modal transit station study, the Willamette
Steps coming off B Avenue, and the Willamette Blvd.
Mr. Crandall commented that the suggested schedule informed them about what was possible in
the Foothills area over a period of time. He referenced a diagram in discussing how the
possibilities connected back to the original project objectives established by the Steering
Committee. He indicated that they found the environmental response very good and the
circulation system workable and good. He noted the exception of the auto-improved access into
and out of the area, which was fair at this point.
Mr. Crandall pointed out that they left housing as 'to be determined' because the framework
plan did not get into the level of designating housing sites or designing units. He indicated that
the elements under the `other' category were also good. He described the framework plan as
sound and informing them about many things in order to proceed into the future.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 2 of 11
October 8, 2002
Mr. Crandall discussed the citizen participation in the project. He directed the Council to the
appendix containing the ballot and response sheets, which participants filled out throughout the
process. He indicated that they based this plan not only on the Steering Committee choices, but
also on comments they received from the public as the planning process moved along.
Mr. Crandall complimented Rick Sato and the Foothills landowners on their participation in the
project. He mentioned their initiative in aggressively going to the next step in developing an
expanded vision for the Foothills area over an extended period.
Rob Fallow, Foothills Task Force member and Foothills landowner, expressed the pleasure
of the landowners in the lower Foothills Road commercial area in working with the City to
develop plans for this area. He explained that the group hired its own design consultant, Group
MacKenzie, to gain perspective on some of the options and to look at ways to complement the
City's work.
Mr. Fallow reviewed Group MacKenzie's credentials in working in redevelopment in the
Portland metro area. He introduced Rick Sato, CEO of Group MacKenzie, who would present
on behalf of the landowners.
Mr. Sato gave a PowerPoint presentation. He observed that it was rare that a group within a
study area would hire its own consultant to work on things similar to the City's consultant's
work. He indicated that his people, City staff and Crandall Arambula worked well together
during the process.
Mr. Sato explained that this exploration of the potential of the area (driven by the property
owners) was intended to work in concert with the plan just described by Mr. Crandall. He
observed that there were some variations but emphasized the landowners' hope that the plan
would influence everyone's thinking in terms of what could be done. He said that they believed
that the plan was achievable but noted that it planned over a longer cycle than what consultants
or cities normally planned over.
Mr. Sato indicated that the location of the properties in the study area that were owned by the
property owners group, all of whom participated in the study. He noted that all the properties
were zoned industrial and had current industrial uses on them today. He emphasized that the
property owners were not saying that they needed to implement their long-term plan today, as
they had operating businesses on site. He commented that, if the City asked them to move within
the next five years, that would create anxiety with some of them.
Mr. Sato reviewed the project objectives in light of the property owners' plan. He noted that
their plan for protecting and restoring the Willamette River bank extended down to the mouth of
Tryon Creek. He said that they agreed with Crandall Arambula's concepts for making Tryon
Creek fish friendly but they wanted to expand it and reinforce the potential day lighting of Tryon
Creek under Hwy 43.
Mr. Sato said that their plan provided pathways along the Willamette River and Tryon Creek
similarly to Crandall Arambula. He noted that, by incorporating the treatment plant, their plan
completed the greenway and the riverfront treatment up to Tryon Creek, which he described as a
critical element in their plan.
Mr. Sato mentioned the improved pedestrian access between the downtown and the river. He
concurred with Crandall Arambula that the B Avenue access was critical. He mentioned the grid
system as described by Mr. Crandall. He indicated that they thought they could extend all the
major streets including Terwilliger and A Avenue.
Mr. Sato noted that their suggested vehicular access improvements had the street system
crossing Tryon Creek and making Terwilliger Blvd/Hwy 43 a four-way fully functioning
intersection. He mentioned strengthening the link between the downtown and Foothills through
the extension of A Avenue while keeping the Crandall Arambula grid system in the downtown
area.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 3 of 11
October 8, 2002
Mr. Sato indicated that the Crandall Arambula schemes echoed their thoughts. He discussed the
concept of moving the rail line to the east in order to accommodate the potential crossing of
Tryon Creek with a street, and providing access to properties both south and north of the creek.
He pointed out that the realignment would also create a zone that allowed for development on the
currently undeveloped side of State Street, which would make it an entry point to the city.
Mr. Sato mentioned that the realignment also set up the possibility of eliminating the grade
crossing on Hwy 43 and routing the rails underneath State Street. He indicated that they have not
explored this idea in detail yet but it should be explored in the long-term.
Mr. Sato reiterated that the property owners group took an extremely long-term approach and
wanted the minor steps to serve as incremental steps. He spoke to keeping as many options open
as possible during the study, as opposed to prohibiting something like undergrounding the rail
line.
Mr. Sato indicated that their plan provided open space similarly to Crandall Arambula. He
noted their suggestion to create an open space basin, which could evolve into the small boat
basin mentioned by Mr. Crandall. He observed that open space was needed to provide relief in a
dense area, and to address the floodplain issues.
Mr. Sato spoke of areas dedicated to housing in a mixed-use commercial/retail zone, which
would help generate traffic relief. He described housing as a mixed palette yet to be painted and
described in full terms. He argued that a development could accommodate all the mixes of uses
that were conducive to a downtown environment, including open space, which served as a key
piece in connecting the open space systems and pathways in this area.
Mr. Sato reiterated that there was ample room for commercial and retail business development
as an extension of the downtown into the district.
Mr. Sato discussed how their plan for the wastewater treatment plant diverted from the Foothills
plan. He argued that it was in the long-term best interests of both the City of Portland and the
City of Lake Oswego to incorporate the area where the treatment plant now sat into the planning
and redevelopment of the district. He observed that, with the property lying next to the
confluence of Tryon Creek and the Willamette River and this redevelopment, there were better
uses for that land than a wastewater treatment plant.
Mr. Sato conceded that they could develop around the treatment plant, as Mr. Crandall
described, but reiterated that they were taking a long-term approach. He spoke of developing
strategies with Lake Oswego's partner cities to mitigate the cost through a staged shutdown of
the plant. He described this as a critical element of their plan.
Mr. Sato spoke to the impacts of the redevelopment on the Oswego Pointe neighborhood in
terms of maintaining and enhancing livability. He observed that the currently unused rail
curvature, which functioned as a barrier between the residential neighborhood and the other part,
could be dedicated as open space and become part of the pathway coming off the A Avenue
extension to connect up with the rest of the pathway system.
Mr. Sato commented that they believed that they have worked well with the project objectives
with some differences. He listed those differences as the treatment of the Terwilliger Blvd
intersection, the crossing of Tryon Creek for roads, the new alignment of the rail to allow for
development on State Street, and the extension of A Avenue and the downtown into the district.
Mr. Sato said that they would welcome the opportunity to discuss their thoughts in more detail.
He observed that the issue of financial feasibility was looming. He indicated that they found
sufficient encouragement from their preliminary work to proceed, which indicated that their plan
was feasible.
Mr. Sato emphasized that this used a long-term perspective. He mentioned that typically his
clients did not look beyond a five-year horizon. He observed that the property owners group was
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 4 of 11
October 8, 2002
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united and aggressive in terms of striving higher. He indicated their interest in staying involved
in the district planning process. He encouraged the Council to take advantage of the property
owners' interest as much as possible.
Councilor Rohde asked for more information on the preliminary analysis of the financing. Mr.
Sato explained that they based their work on the value of the property that the diagrams would
create, which was around $200 to $300 million in today's money. He indicated that they looked
at the cost projected for infrastructure work(roads, a bridge across Tryon Creek). He said that
they worked with a construction firm to develop budgetary numbers.
Mr. Sato gave an estimate of$18 to $22 million for the work without the treatment plant. He
mentioned an estimate of$75 million to relocate the treatment plant but in the context of taking
15 years or longer to phase it out and build something in place of it. He commented that the
group and the City needed to explore these kinds of things jointly.
Mr. Sato observed that urban renewal funding today was not what it had been when they started
this project, in terms of what the City could expect to gain from it. He argued that it was still a
benchmark in terms of justification of expenditure of public funds. He mentioned their thought
that the value had to be there in terms of what could be created in order to proceed farther.
Mr. Sato said that, while the specific numbers should come with the next step, they were
encouraged by the type of development that could happen and its value over a long period of
time. He pointed out that there was over 1 million square feet of commercial, office, retail and
housing space shown in the diagrams. He commented that, while the market did not exist for
that today, it would over the next 15 to 20 years, which was their planning cycle.
Councilor Rohde asked how much work has been done to find a way to merge these two plans,
given that one had a five-year horizon and the other a 20 to 30 year horizon. Mr. Sato indicated
that they have not done much in terms of phasing. He described the potential phase work as part
of the next step.
Mr. Sato commented that they had to be able to achieve some things in the next five years in
order to lay the groundwork for the following five years and so on. He mentioned the transit
study as something that they hoped their thoughts would weigh in on. He observed that the City
might built a transit center that left the tracks where they were, yet allowed moving them in later
years.
Mr. Sato indicated to Councilor Graham that the $18 to $22 million included the cost of
moving the railroad line to the east. He said that they did not look into where a new waste
treatment plant might be relocated.
Councilor Hoffman asked if Mr. Sato tried to determine how much of the 1 million square feet
would be for residential versus commercial/retail. Mr. Sato said that they did that only to assess
values for the space. He spoke against assigning percentage amounts to land uses at this time.
He argued for keeping the space fluid in order to be able to address the specific needs of the City
at the time when they assigned those percentages. He held that there was ample room for both
types of development.
Mr. Sato commented that neither the property owners nor the City wanted to create a
circumstance where they could not accommodate jobs for those living in the area. He noted that
they did not want to create a transit center that was not a focal point for employment to
complement the downtown and the jobs.
Mr. Sato indicated to Councilor Hoffman that they have not gotten to the step of addressing the
Goal 3 and floodplain issues. He commented that, while they did not know the exact buffer
width from the river, he did think that there was latitude to make adjustments.
Mr. Sato concurred with Councilor McPeak that moving the railroad line would not be easy to
do. He held that it was possible to do. He described in detail how they thought it could be done
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 5 of 11
October 8, 2002
by taking advantage of the ground slope. He used, as an example, how buildings on the east side
of State Street today took advantage of the slope to have parking below the level of the street
grade. He reiterated that the objective would be to allow the development of active uses on both
sides of State Street.
Mr. Sato observed that most were starting to understand the value of what the City has done on
A Avenue. He commented that State Street was more difficult to handle, given that it was a state
highway. He held that it was worth the effort of exploring and keeping the option open in terms
of any decisions that the Council made in regards to its transit planning.
Mr. Sato indicated to Councilor Rohde that the $18 to $22 million figure did not include
undergrounding the rail line under State Street.
Mr. Crandall indicated to Councilor Rohde that the Task Force plan did not assign square
footages to the development, as that belonged in the next phase. He spoke of doing more work
on the access in and out of the area, which would inform them about how much square footage
the area could accommodate. He noted that the access today was very limited.
Mr. Crandall indicated to Councilor Graham that one of their slides did show a pond and a
small marina on the Willamette River.
Mr. Sato indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that the 1 million square feet referred to people
space. He said that they estimated a possible need of 3,000 to 4,000 parking spaces, depending
on the success of the transit system. He commented that, due to the grades and the floodplain,
this area was more conducive to covered parking, which was more expensive.
Mr. Sato described how the grades would work to allow two to three floors of occupied space
and one to two floors of covered parking in the floodplain. He commented that many of the
inherent characteristics of this area, which might appear negative, could be turned into a positive,
organizing force in terms of district design.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that the City recently happened to acquire unexpectedly the
chip plant property, which it had thought was on a 15-year horizon. She noted that, while
Portland retained ownership of the northern part along with the sewer treatment plant for the time
being and Lake Oswego owned the southern part, Lake Oswego could develop all nine acres, if
the bond measure on the November ballot passed.
Mayor Hammerstad reviewed a drawing illustrating what it might look like. She mentioned the
possibility of a dock on the river with people coming in to upper Lake Oswego via a pathway
along the spur line. She observed that the boat basin took a lot of space out of the park. She
commented that the park uses would evolve over time as the City maximized the opportunities
coming to it.
Mayor Hammerstad spoke to the Council looking at the different aspects of the two alternatives
before the public hearing. She commented that as they studied them more, they might want to
mix and match uses and options.
Councilor Graham asked if Mr. Crandall had an acreage amount for the size of the boat basin.
Mr. Crandall commented that the Steering Committee had been interested in a boat basin,
which was one of a number of alternatives the consultants presented to it. He said that the
question was how small did the City want to make the boat basin. He indicated that the City had
a number of options available, including making it all green space or putting in a small boat basin
of possibly one to one and a half acres in size.
Mr. Crandall complimented the Council on doing the plan. He recounted how doing the
Foothills Plan led to asking questions of Portland about the chip plant and the discovery that the
chip plant was going away. He emphasized that they were in time for Lake Oswego to take
advantage of the opportunity to acquire the land because of doing the plan. He recalled his
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 6 of 11
October 8, 2002
involvement in other situations where opportunities were lost because his clients were not out in
front of the situation, and someone else came in first.
Councilor Hoffman referenced a memo from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
(dated February 11, 2002), which discussed how to mitigate the wastewater treatment plant with
either an $8 million or $15 million price tag or a $30 million price to move the plant. He asked if
this area could be developed with some sort of mitigation to the wastewater treatment plant.
Mr. Crandall indicated that many cities have significantly reduced the impacts of wastewater
treatment plants, which involved spending the kind of money mentioned in the memo. He
mentioned hearing from designers of weddings held in the special chapels at wastewater
treatment plants but his firm has not personally visited any such plant.
Councilor Hoffman asked for Mr. Crandall's comments on the Group MacKenzie proposal.
Mr. Crandall commended Group MacKenzie for taking a long range view and looking at the
ideal situation, which allowed them to accommodate that situation, should something happen.
He said that a significant recommendation was contemplating what would happen, should the
treatment plant be removed: could the City expand its plan to take in that land in a graceful and
profitable way?
Mr. Crandall spoke to exploring their ideas for improved access in more detail. He mentioned
their rule-of-thumb: for every$1 of public money, there should be $6 to $7 of private investment.
He commented that this informed them about how much private development would have to be
built in order to make the costs of making improvements to the infrastructure work out.
Mr. Crandall mentioned his conversation with Mr. Sato. He indicated that if the City had to pay
to relocate the operating treatment plant, the cost would be such that the development would not
work. He commented that if the plant became obsolete and the City decided to move it, then the
Group MacKenzie vision might be more realistic.
Mr. Crandall commented that the extension of Terwilliger was an interesting idea. He
mentioned their concern of crossing Tryon Creek with a new railroad bridge and a new road,
given that they wanted to open up the stream to make it more fish friendly. He indicated that
they could do an environmentally friendly crossing but it was an issue.
Mr. Crandall said that they would agree with the idea of extending the view corridors in the
grid. He indicated that they understood the idea of moving the railroad to create a parcel between
the railroad and the road but he did wonder about the value of that site. He spoke to keeping the
overall grand concepts in the Group MacKenzie plan in mind.
Councilor Schoen mentioned his surprise at hearing that there was perhaps one million square
feet of developable land in the area. He asked Mr. Crandall what he anticipated the maximum
heights would be. Mr. Crandall commented that the Lake Oswego style of lower buildings was
appropriate for this unique community. He concurred that they could accommodate higher
buildings in this area because of the slope but wondered what height would be appropriate. He
indicated that one million square feet was probably pushing the limit of how high the City would
want to go.
Mr. Crandall said that they translated the square footage into the heights to see what would
happen, and found four to five floors on the average. He indicated that he did not think it was a
deal breaker but he reiterated his question of how high they ought to go. He pointed out that they
did not want to be pushed back from the river because of high buildings when their thrust was to
connect to the river and to the lake. He mentioned a concern about not maintaining the view
corridors to the river.
Councilor Rohde noted the 'to be determined' assigned to the timeline in the next steps (page
19). He asked if that was a function of the Council's enthusiasm to move forward with all these
steps, and not a built in restriction that would prevent the City from moving faster. He
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 7 of 11
October 8, 2002
mentioned that he would have comments later about his recent experiences at a conference
dealing with timeline issues.
Mr. Crandall indicated that the'to be determineds' reflected the fact that this was general
framework plan. He noted that the City had a number of things that it was waiting for decisions
on, such as the location of the transit center. He mentioned his understanding that the Council
would make that decision after the first of the year or in the early spring. He expressed his hope
that the Council could put timelines on the actions after making the transit center location
decision.
Mr. Crandall observed that the forward movement of the chip plant plan created momentum,
which the City wanted to keep going. He commented that the Council had every incentive to set
the deadlines for those other actions, which he was confident that it would do.
Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that the chip plant property development as a park was the
cornerstone of the November ballot measure because it was only usable by the public if the City
put in grass, parking spaces and bathrooms. She commented that by doing this minor
development of the park, the City allowed people to come down to the river and to enjoy this
beautiful property. She argued that people would then see the value in redeveloping the area,
which would create excitement about seeing more of the area improved.
Doug Schmitz, City Manager, indicated to Councilor Rohde that the existing urban renewal
district consisted of 19 acres, which left 14 to 15 acres available for expansion of the district. He
confirmed that the 19 acres included the chip plant, which they could withdraw and free up an
additional nine acres for expansion.
MaryBeth Coffey, Oswego Point Condo Association, asked what `long-term' meant to Group
MacKenzie. Mr. Sato mentioned 20 to 25 years.
Ms. Coffey commented that the Oswego Pointe people would want to discuss the height issue.
She mentioned that one million square feet of space and 3,000 to 4,000 parking spaces sounded
alarming sitting here in the room. She noted that she found a village feeling in Paris, France,
because the buildings were smaller. She indicated that she had the same feeling walking in
downtown Oswego because of the height of the buildings. She said that a six to eight story
building by the river worried her.
Mr. Sato said that they were sensitive to the heights during their process. He mentioned that the
buildings on State Street would be two stories high on State Street but three stories high from the
downhill side. He spoke of three stories over a parking area for the buildings in the lower basin.
He commented that they were probably much closer to the scale than Ms. Coffey was led to
believe by the raw numbers themselves.
Mayor Hammerstad opened the floor to public comment.
• Jeremy Langliers, Evergreen Neighborhood Association
Mr. Langliers indicated that they were looking forward to seeing the transit center study. He
asked if the Group MacKenzie Plan could be incorporated into that study, as the responsible and
courteous thing to do. Mayor Hammerstad observed that these reports would go on to the
Transit Task Force. She noted that some members of the Foothills Task Force were also
members of the Transit Task Force.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that the public hearing for this was scheduled for November 19.
3.2 Railvolution Conference
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that Councilor Rohde attended the Railvolution national
conference on behalf of the City. She cited the Council's interest in the transit center and turning
the trolley into a viable streetcar.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 8 of 11
October 8, 2002
Mayor Hammerstad recalled that Earl Blumenhauer and others started this conference in
Portland because of their interest in various types of rail and alternative modes of transportation.
She indicated that Congressman Blumenhauer had been excited to have a Lake Oswego
representative attend the conference in order to learn about how Lake Oswego could get into the
funding stream.
Councilor Rohde indicated that the key issue at the conference, which was relevant to the
Foothills report, was the timelines. He commented that the conference began with a focus on rail
and transit but evolved into a focus on Smart Growth and community livability. He mentioned
that a large portion of the conference dealt with Transit Oriented Developments (TODs).
Councilor Rohde reported that, in finding out the criteria for obtaining federal funds for transit
projects, he realized that Lake Oswego had little chance of moving forward with its plans for a
streetcar from Portland to Lake Oswego without a Foothills redevelopment plan. He explained
that that was why he had been concerned with the 'to be determineds' mentioned in the plan.
Councilor Rohde suggested that the Council recognize the need to dovetail these two plans
together so that they marched forward hand in hand for a better chance of success. He spoke to
the Council discussing timelines and strategy with the Task Force very soon in order to speed this
up because they needed to match the pace of Portland and the U.S. Congress.
Councilor Rohde indicated that they were at some critical timeframes right now with Congress
reauthorizing the federal transportation bill. He said that if they did not match the pace, they
could miss out on an opportunity in this reauthorization and have to wait until 2008.
Mayor Hammerstad commented that between now and the public hearing, they could work on
strategy and the things that they needed to have in place in order to accept the plan at the public
hearing. She indicated that they could then assign a timeframe and starting moving forward.
Councilor Rohde mentioned his concern with the comment that the Foothills property owners
would get upset if the City moved on this in five years. He held that there was reason to believe
that the City might do that.
Councilor Rohde indicated to Chris Hoffman (Chamber of Commerce) that he needed to put
his notes and presentations into a more comprehensive report before giving a report to the
Transportation Committee.
Mayor Hammerstad thanked Councilor Rohde for attending the conference. She noted that the
appeals hearing following the study session was not televised. She reiterated that the public
hearing on this plan was scheduled for November 19.
Mayor Hammerstad recessed the meeting at 7:15 p.m. for a break. She reconvened the meeting
at 7:25 p.m.
4. PUBLIC HEARING
4.1 AP 02-08; an appeal of the Community Forestry Commission's decision to approve a
Type II tree permit requested by Stephan and Melinda Todd. The applicants are
requesting approval to remove an 8" maple, a 13" cherry and a 12" cherry in order to
expand their two car-garage to a three-car garage.
David Powell, City Attorney, noted that this was a quasi-judicial matter, although not a land use
matter. He asked the Council to declare any conflicts of interest, bias or ex parte contacts.
Councilor Turchi declared that he has visited the site and looked at the garage, the expansion,
the trees and the home next to it. There were no challenges.
Mr. Powell reviewed the standard quasi-judicial hearing criteria.
Mr. Powell advised the Council that the parties have reached a settlement agreement in this
matter, which required the Council to have a hearing and to make findings. He emphasized that
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 9 of 11
October 8, 2002
all parties who testified before the Community Forestry Commission were part of the settlement
agreement. He said that the Council did not have to take additional testimony at this time, if it
did not so desire.
Mr. Powell reviewed the settlement agreement. He directed the Council to the mitigation plan
imposed by the Community Forestry Commission(page 13). He noted that the dispute had
involved the subjective mitigation plan with the size and species of tree replacements and
placement of effective screening.
Mr. Powell said that the parties have agreed to replace the CFC's mitigation plan with one
presented by the applicants (Exhibit E9). He explained that the Council's findings needed to
incorporate a requirement that the applicant submit a mitigation plan consistent with Exhibit E9
with the following exception: "the screening plantings along the garage would be centered four
feet from the property line, and the level of the crest of the driveway of the appellants would
extend two feet past the property line of the applicants."
Mr. Powell indicated that the parties agreed to all other conditions of approval imposed by the
CFC. He recommended that the parties verify on the record their acceptance of the terms of the
settlement agreement. He noted that the Council was not bound to the agreement.
Kimberly Beaudet, 1611 Lee Street, appellant, agreed with the settlement agreement made
earlier this evening.
Mary Anderson, 1372 Larch Street, appellant, agreed that the mitigation plan as discussed
seemed workable.
Steve and Mindy Todd, 1645 Lee, applicants, agreed with the mitigation plan.
Dr. David Wheeler, appellant, indicated that he agreed with the mitigation plan.
Mr. Powell reviewed the specifics of Exhibit E-9 in detail, noting the number and species of the
screening plantings. He mentioned the diagram showing their placement to screen the garage.
Mr. Powell advised the Council that staff would bring back the findings on October 15. He
clarified to Councilor Hoffman that the Council adopting the findings on an appeal was the
quickest way to resolve the matter. He indicated that letting the parties settle it contractually was
a possible option but it would take longer. He commented that part of the deal was the City
having the ability to enforce the new mitigation plan, as it would have enforced the original
mitigation plan imposed by the CFC.
Mr. Powell noted that the Council would have to continue the hearing to accommodate a
potential contractual arrangement. He indicated to Councilor Hoffman that, while it was not
expressly stated that all parties waived their right to appeal, the City did have it on the record that
all parties no longer objected to the plan, and that they stipulated to these findings, which did not
leave anything to appeal.
PUBLIC HEARING
Mayor Hammerstad opened the hearing to public testimony. Hearing none, she closed the
hearing.
COUNCIL DISCUSSION
Councilor Rohde moved to adopt findings on October 15, 2002. Councilor Schoen
seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed with Mayor
Hammerstad, Councilors Graham, Hoffman, Turchi, McPeak, Rohde and Schoen voting
`aye.' [7-0]
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 10 of 11
October 8, 2002
5. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
7-°.11
a6140)
Robyn C .stie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON January 21, 2003
Jud /{/a~7-4'11h(
i Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 11 of 11
October 8, 2002