HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item - 2002-02-05 - Number 4.3 - 4.3
02/05/02
CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
AGENDA REPORT SUMMARY
MEETING DATE: February 5, 2002
SUBJECT: Approval of Minutes from:
1. December 10, 2001, information session
2. December 18, 2001, morning meeting
3. December 18, 2001, special meeting with TAB
4. January 8, 2002, special morning meeting
5. January 8, 2002, special meeting
6. January 15, 2002, special meeting
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Approve minutes as written (or as corrected if Council adds corrections to the motion)
EST. FISCAL ATTACHMENTS: NOTICED (Date):
IMPACT: Minutes from:
• December 10, 2001,
information session
• December 18, 2001, morning
STAFF COST: $ meeting
• December 18, 2001, special Ordinance no.:
BUDGETED: meeting with TAB
Y N • January 8, 2002, special Resolution no.:
morning meeting
FUNDING SOURCE: • January 8, 2002, special
meeting Previous Council
• January 15, 2002, special consideration:
meeting
CITY M AGER
S( ate col 0 2,
signoff/
N:\Robyn\report minutes.doc
4.3. 1
02/05/02
MINUTES OF DECEMBER 10, 2001
INFORMATION SESSION
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�� CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
'�^� December 10,2001
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the City Council information session to order at 4:10 p.m. on
December 10, 2001, at the Main Fire Station, 300 B Avenue.
Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Rohde, Schoen, Turchi and Hoffman.
Councilors Graham and McPeak were excused.
Staff Present: David Powell, City Attorney; Jane McGarvin, Deputy City Recorder; Bob
Kincaid, Chief of Staff; Janice Deardorff, Human Resources Director; Richard
Seals, Financial Planning Manager; Chris Jordan, Assistant City Manager
3. INFORMATION SERSION
3.1 Discussion of subjects for January Council Retreat
Mayor Hammerstad commented that many of the matters mentioned by Mr. Schmitz were not
necessarily the source of major goals, although the Council would handle them during the course
of the year. She mentioned sending out letters to the Advisory Committees asking for their year
end reports and goals and informing them of their scheduled time with the Council on Saturday
morning. She indicated that they would invite LONAC also.
Councilor Rohde suggested inviting the Chamber. Mayor Hammerstad asked if the Council
wanted an open invitation to civic organizations. She suggested scheduling those who wanted to
come after the advisory committees and allowing half an hour. The Council agreed by
consensus.
Mayor Hammerstad suggested spending Friday on a review and self-evaluation of the Council
and its Year 2000 goals, focusing on what they accomplished, why they did not accomplish other
things and where they could improve in both substance and process. She noted that Joe
Hertzberg would facilitate the meeting.
David Powell, City Attorney, indicated to Councilor Rohde that the periodic review of the
Comprehensive Plan would begin in 2002. Councilor Rohde spoke to reversing the review
process to start with the Council identifying its areas of concern, and then sending their concerns
first to the Task Force and the Planning Commission instead of receiving a final recommendation
from the Planning Commission and being on the tail end of the process. Mayor Hammerstad
suggested scheduling this issue for discussion at a Monday information session.
Councilor Rohde asked for discussion of the Youth Council goals and their projects.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned going through the visioning exercise again to see if anything
changed. Councilor Schoen requested a printout of last year's exercise.
Councilor Hoffman discussed his interest in determining how much money was actually
available in the community for ballot measures to fund programs, both in the short-term and in
the long-term. He suggested having an analysis of the level of debt of the average Lake Oswego
household (past and present) in order to determine the ability of the community to absorb more
ballot measures for funding programs. He spoke of determining the long-term needs, resources
and the political factors.
Councilor Hoffman asked for a list of all the Capital Improvement Plan(CIP) projects,
especially those that they had choices about. He asked for a discussion of prioritizing projects.
He questioned if they could find other funding sources for any CIP projects, which they have
paid for using dedicated funds. He indicated to Councilor Rohde that an examination of the
Public Facilities Plan would be part of the discussion. Mayor Hammerstad concurred that this
was an issue under the `Needs for the next 20-30 years' category.
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 1 of 12
December 10, 2001
3 3
Councilor Rohde indicated to Councilor Hoffman that the previous Council rejected a
community forest program. Councilor Hoffman reported on his Internet research on tree codes,
which existed all over the country. He asked for discussion of a community forest program, as
there might be other options to their tree code. Mayor Hammerstad suggested having a brief
presentation on the issue with future discussion within a goals context.
Councilor Hoffman mentioned an article he read in a New Urbanism newsletter, which
discussed new zoning codes that allowed `flex-housing' in neighborhoods and neighborhood
commercial uses. He spoke of the `orange juice and Frisbee' test: people should be able to live
in a neighborhood in which a 12-year old kid could ride his/her bicycle to a store to pick up a
quart of orange juice on a Sunday morning, and in which the residents could walk to the park to
play Frisbee.
Councilor Hoffman asked for discussion of allowing more flexibility in the Zoning Code, such
as allowing non-traditional uses in a zone (i.e., multi-family housing in an R-10 zone). He
commented that it might not happen for 20 years but there was a lot of information coming out
about how to adapt New Urbanism concepts to existing neighborhoods.
Councilor Rohde asked for a discussion on affordable housing. Councilor Hoffman pointed
out that affordable housing could be combined with a New Urbanism discussion.
Councilor Schoen mentioned looking at what services the City might have to discontinue, given
the revenue projections.
Chris Jordan,Assistant City Manager, indicated to Councilor Turchi that citizens would pay
on the 20-year street maintenance bond until 2017. Mayor Hammerstad mentioned Councilor
McPeak's opinion that the Council should start budgeting like adults.
Councilor Turchi asked to discuss the School District's likely financial position next year and
what the City's role might be with respect to the District. He mentioned the possibility that a
large contingent of people might come to the Council in mid-February or March to ask the
Council to save the School District.
Mayor Hammerstad observed that the two aspects of that issue—philosophical and practical—
might be different discussions. Councilor Turchi concurred. He described this as a situation in
which they had some flexibility and projected needs that they needed to discuss at the same time.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the need to consider the different missions of the two agencies.
Councilor Turchi indicated that the School Board held its goal setting session in August.
Mayor Hammerstad noted the list of things under land use, including revisiting the Council
goal, neighborhood livability in a community context, as well as discussing sustainability. Other
land use topics mentioned included annexations and island annexations.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned her expectation that a result of the goal setting session would be
the Council having a common understanding of their short-term goals. She spoke of setting a
couple of long-term goals this year.
Councilor Rohde asked about getting a jumpstart on the 2003 legislative session by developing
a legislative agenda. He recalled that last year they did their goal setting after the legislative
session started, and he felt that they had reacted to things. Mayor Hammerstad concurred that
it had felt like they were always behind but observed that at this point they had little information
available and could end up spending time on something that they did not need to work on. She
suggested a future discussion on questions to ask the candidates in September.
Councilor Hoffman suggested that Mr. Powell make a presentation to the Council in July on
the 2002 ballot measures, after he attended the Oregon City Attorneys Association meeting. Mr.
Powell mentioned revisiting the Council's legislative objectives, noting that they had been too
late on the photo radar issue.
3.2 Employee Assisted Housing
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 2 of 12
December 10, 2001
Bob Kincaid, Chief of Staff,recalled that Councilor Rohde asked staff to look into an employee
assisted housing program. He said that he had been well into his research on it when the
Oregonian came out with an article about Fannie Mae putting together employer assisted
housing program. He reported that he met with Fannie Mae representatives who designed a
program for Lake Oswego. He introduced Sue Krake, Senior Deputy of Fannie Mae
Partnership Office and Jane Leo,Portland Metropolitan Area Realtors.
Mr. Kincaid recalled Councilor Turchi's query on how many life-safety employees lived within
the Lake Oswego city limits. He presented a map showing where all full-time City employees
lived in the region. He said that seven police officers and seven fire fighters lived within the
City's urban services boundary with an additional 22 employees living in and around the Lake
Oswego area. He noted that the regular work force of 285 employees were scattered from Sandy
to Forest Grove and from Castle Rock, WA,to Salem.
Councilor Hoffman summarized the percentages as 15%police, 15% fire and 10%other
employees living within the Lake Oswego USB. Mr. Kincaid indicated that he did not know
how that compared with other jurisdictions. Janice Deardorff,Human Resources Director,
said that cities did not necessarily routinely keep those statistics. She recalled that Portland used
to have a residency requirement.
Councilor Turchi asked if those living around Lake Oswego were older employees who
purchased homes when homes were more affordable in Lake Oswego. Mr. Kincaid said that he
did not know, pointing out that the employee might rent rather than own a home. Ms. Deardorff
indicated that it was a mix of employees from older employees to mid-range employees to new
employees.
Ms. Krake gave a presentation using overhead graphics. She described three pieces to setting up
a program to help employees live close within the city: the nuts and bolts of the program, how to
measure what people could afford, and did the housing exist for them to purchase. She
emphasized that the discussion was predicated on everyone acknowledging the desire to have
City employees live near or within the city.
Ms. Krake commented that she has worked with employer-assisted housing in the public and
private sectors for six years. She observed that the programs were custom-made and designed to
meet the needs of the employer. She said that this conversation was an opportunity to discuss a
general framework that could be customized to Lake Oswego's situation.
Ms. Krake reviewed five ways in which employers could work with employees: direct
assistance through a grant or a loan, education on purchasing a home and taking out a home loan,
matching the employee's savings, and loan guarantees working with a lender partner. She noted
that each option had different advantages and disadvantages in meeting both the employer and
the employee's goals (keeping employees close in(employer) and buying a home (employee)).
Ms. Krake discussed the affordability element. She mentioned that Mr. Kincaid insisted that a
range of salaries be looked at in order to get a realistic view. She went through an example of
what an employee at the administrative secretary grade level could afford. At an average salary
of$2,909 per month(62%of the metro area median income), this employee could afford a
$107,950 home (97% or$104,700 loan, 3% or$3,200 down payment and $960 per month house
payment, including taxes and insurance). She noted that the maximum other debt that this
employee could carry was $144 per month(including car payment and credit cards). She
indicated that the cost to the employee to complete the transaction (down payment and closing
costs) was $8,205. The handout included three other positions.
Councilor Rohde asked if Ms. Krake used a percentage formula to calculate what an employee
could afford to pay. He observed that people put a greater percentage of their income towards
housing than was typically recommended. Ms. Krake explained that 15 years ago, the
qualification structure for a loan used to be 25% of the income for the house payment and 33%
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 3 of 12
December 10, 2001
3J
maximum debt; today those percentages have shifted to 33% and 38%, which was what she used
in calculating these figures.
Ms. Krake concurred with Ms. Deardorff that a person's debt load usually surpassed the $144
per month remaining after a house payment. She mentioned educating people on how to reduce
their debt; it could take a year or so to pay off bills prepatory to buying a home.
Ms. Krake clarified to Councilor Hoffman that the minimum requirement for Fannie Mae was
that the buyers themselves needed to provide 3% of the home purchase price. She explained that
in her example, 3% of the purchase price ($3,239) subtracted from $8,205 left a balance of
$4,966. She confirmed that$4,000 to $5,000 was the typical amount paid by the employer.
Ms. Krake acknowledged Councilor Hoffman's point about finding homes in Lake Oswego
within these price ranges. She said that the next step after identifying the employees that the
City wanted to bring into the city was identifying how many housing units existed in the city that
were affordable.
Ms. Leo reviewed the data(plotted on maps) pulled from the realtor's multiple listing service
listing homes with Lake Oswego addresses, which fell within the various price ranges. She
noted that the majority of the 100 housing units falling in the $0 to $175,000 range were in
Mountain Park and the Lake Grove area(primarily condominiums under$100,000). She noted
the broader spread across the city of the 30 units falling within the $176,000 to $200,000 price
range (Lake Grove, Jean Road), and of the 39 units falling within the $201,000 to $250,000 price
range. She concluded that Lake Oswego did have a healthy housing stock on the market in a
broad price range.
Ms. Krake pointed out that first time homebuyers usually did not buy the "American Dream"
house with a white picket fence;they bought condominiums, row houses or single-family fixer
uppers on a small lot. She confirmed to Ms. Deardorff that their example figures were based on
the salary of the employee alone as opposed to a dual income.
Mr. Kincaid indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that he was not aware that the City has surveyed
its safety employees about their desire to live in Lake Oswego. Ms. Deardorff mentioned that
she has heard in the past that many safety employees did not want to reside in the town in which
they worked because they did not want their families targeted or ostracized because of their
work. She mentioned that she has not asked that question in today's terms, so she did not know
if it was still true. She commented that she had not heard that from fire fighters.
Ms. Krake said that she heard both stories. She recalled a City of Portland police officer
employer-assisted housing program that included the ability to finance security or other housing
modifications in order to increase the officers' comfort levels with living in the city. Councilor
Turchi wondered whether the large number of employees lived in West Linn in order to be close
to the city but without live in the city itself
Councilor Turchi noted that the figures showed that a fire fighter, making 88%of the average
municipal income in the metro area,was eligible to purchase a$151,000 home, which meant that
he/she would have a hard time finding a home in Lake Oswego. Ms. Krake indicated that that
was true all over the metro area, which was why many municipalities were trying to figure out
how to give employees a choice between buying a home versus renting.
Ms. Leo spoke to the Council remembering during its goal setting that anything the City did
could affect the price of housing, especially in terms of making housing affordable. She noted
that Lake Oswego and West Linn led the way in terms of the most expensive housing on the
market. She indicated that a family of four, at a median income of$5,409 per month, fell
approximately $600 short of being able to buy a median-priced house. She described the
$100,000 units as a place to start.
Ms. Leo indicated to Councilor Turchi that she was not saying that a Council decision to
subsidize a down payment for a home might increase the cost of homes, although that depended
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 4 of 12
December 10, 2001
36
on the funding sources. She used an example of planting a new 4-inch caliper tree versus
replacing a 4-inch caliper tree: it cost$400 to purchase and plant a new tree but it cost $400 plus
a permit fee and other costs to replace the tree.
Ms. Leo mentioned the Portland ordinance requiring developers to plant one caliper inch of tree
for every 1,000 square feet of new construction, which translated to $500 for 5 caliper inches of
trees on a 5,000 square foot lot and an additional fee tacked on to the housing price. She
commented that they saw many people coming to the table with all the cash they had and the
extra fee was simply too much.
Councilor Hoffman asked how the $4,000 to $5,000 at closing helped a homebuyer. Ms.
Krake pointed out that most people's rent payments were at or above a mortgage payment. She
indicated that the biggest barrier was accumulating the cash to get into the transaction in the first
place. She said that the employer, by providing assistance with the closing costs, really made a
difference in people's ability to buy a home.
Councilor Rohde commented that the City could borrow money at low rates. He asked if there
were programs in which the agency borrowed the money, loaned it to the employee and passed
on the low interest rates. Ms. Krake said that there were programs using loans instead of grants.
She discussed the impact dynamic of loan interest, which added on to the house payment amount
and ate away at the additional debt a person could carry.
Mayor Hammerstad asked if there was a way in an employer-assisted program to prevent the
speculative selling of property that someone purchased at a low price but which had a value
twice the purchase price. She asked if there were programs where the agency recouped the down
payment at the time the employee sold the home and realized the profit. Ms. Krake said that
there were programs structured to recoup the down payment at any transfer of ownership. She
noted that an employee leaving the City would also trigger a repayment.
Councilor Hoffman expressed concern that the draft program report used an official seal,
making it look like it was a program in effect. He asked either to remove the seal or to mark the
report as `draft.'
Ms. Krake reviewed the draft framework program. She noted the draft eligibility requirements:
• Permanent City employee for a minimum of one continuous year before application;
• An agreed upon level of evaluation in their last written performance evaluation;
• The City could chose to make the program available in less than a year to safety personnel;
• The City could limit the program to certain job grades or use whatever criteria it wanted.
Ms. Krake reviewed the draft program requirements:
• A minimum of 3% of the sale price from the borrower's own funds;
• The home must be the principal residence of the employee during the term of the program;
• The home must be located within the city boundaries;
• Participating employees must attend and complete a class on buying and home ownership
through an approved education buyer(this protected the City's investment through proper
management of the home);
• Eligible employees must be able to qualify for a mortgage through a financial institution
(leaving the determination of mortgage qualifications to the lenders);
• The purchase price could not exceed 120% of the median home sales price for the Lake
Oswego area(average price $300,071 per Ms. Leo).
Ms. Krake suggested a variety of elements to think about when defining the program (draft):
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 5 of 12
December 10, 2001 3 7
• A loan would be up to 5%of the purchase price for a term of five years;
• A cap on the amount provided by the agency;
• The money provided must be used for the transaction costs to get into the home;
• Loan proceeds could be used to cover the expense of an energy rating;
• The principal and interest due on the loan would be forgiven(or a piece of it) if the employee
maintained or exceeded his/her performance level rating (although it remained as taxable
income)'
• The principal was considered income;
• The loan was secured against the property in order to allow the agency the option of
recouping the money if someone sold the home or refinanced it;
• The remaining portion of the loan would be paid in full upon sale of the home or the
employee leaving the agency's employment;
• The employee must sign and abide by an agreement codifying the details of the program;
• The loan could be paid in full at any time.
Mr. Jordan indicated to Councilor Rohde that the City could not do much better than most
people in terms of interest rates. The Council discussed interest rates.
Mayor Hammerstad commented that the next step for the Council to think about was budgeting
money for a program during the budget cycle.
Ms. Krake noted the cost benefit analysis included in the report. She mentioned that under the
model used, the program would cost the City $10,000 over ten years. She pointed out the option
for the Council to budget a certain amount each year, and when that money was gone, the
program waited until the next year.
Ms. Deardorff asked if Ms. Krake has seen collective bargaining groups ask for this benefit.
Ms. Krake said that she has not seen this benefit attached to a contract, although agencies have
offered it to employees, such as the Portland School District and the University of Portland.
Councilor Hoffman noted that on the average, over 10 years, the cost was $6,000 per the
employee per year, factoring in a decreasing turnover rate due to age. Ms. Krake indicated that
she based the decreasing turnover rate on the historical data she had available, which showed a
rate of 1.5%to 5%.
Councilor Rohde asked how much the Council should budget for the program. Mr. Kincaid
said that it depended on how big a program the Council wanted and how much their employees
would participate. He mentioned the option of limiting the program to the first seven or eight
employees in the first year or limiting the amount of money allocated to it. He commented that,
over time, the Council might want to adjust the parameters and see how successful the program
was.
Councilor Hoffman spoke to articulating the arguments in favor of doing the program first. He
mentioned Councilor Rohde's comment that the police officers should live in the city, as they
used to. He summarized Ms. Deardorff s comment as keeping the officers in the city might not
be the primary reason why public employers had the program because it might not be as much a
benefit to the officers as they thought.
Councilor Hoffman said that it sounded like a good idea but he was nervous about it because he
did not know the arguments in favor of it, especially for a municipality. He asked which
employees were good to have live in the city.
Councilor Hoffman asked for comparables with other cities. He asked if there was a way to
find out from employees whether they were interested in such a program but without raising
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 6 of 12
December 10, 2001 3 8
expectations. He summarized his questions as would employees take advantage of the program
and could employees articulate a reason why the community benefited from them living in the
community.
Councilor Hoffman clarified to the Mayor that he was interested in anecdotal information
gained by Ms. Deardorff, as opposed to a survey of employees. He suggested asking the
managers if they thought employees would be interested in the program. He stated that he also
needed to know the arguments against the program before he would feel comfortable with it.
Councilor Schoen said that he did not want to float something among the employees without
solid information. He spoke to getting more information before proceeding too far.
Ms. Deardorff commented that, given that this program targeted first-time homebuyers, they
should ask how many employees already owned their own homes. She observed that they might
be talking about a small number of people. Mr. Kincaid indicated that he had no idea how
many employees owned their own home.
Councilor Hoffman spoke of the different levels to articulate in a white paper on why this was a
good idea. He observed that a consideration from an organizational standpoint might be trying to
attract younger people with their lower salaries. He posed the questions of did it benefit the
organization to have employees live in the city, and did it benefit the community to have
employees in the city.
Mayor Hammerstad observed that Portland and other cities must have written rationales for
their programs. Ms. Deardorff recalled that,when the program came out, Portland's rationale
had been to try to get people to move into the North Portland and Northeast Portland
neighborhoods, which were traditionally more crime-ridden; the premise was that the presence of
more police officers in those communities would decrease crime and support the overall
development and financial stability of those areas. Ms. Krake commented that it had also served
as a recruitment tool.
Ms. Leo pointed out that Portland's program was still limited to specific geographical areas and
remained a healthy program. She indicated that Portland was willing to carry $100,000 as a
silent second in order to get police officers into those areas. She commented that first year cops
in Portland, who made less than the median for one person, could buy into those neighborhoods
with$200,000.
Ms. Leo indicated that the AFL-CIO program (fire fighters)was broader, covering any Portland
address in an attempt to attract and retain employees. She asked if the Council's intention was to
target the first-time homebuyer or to attract its employees to live within the city limits, which
would not limit the program to first-time homebuyers.
Councilor Schoen recalled that the original premise raised by Councilor Rohde had been a
program for public safety personnel. Ms. Krake pointed out that, in the event of a disaster, the
first line of defense relied heavily on maintenance workers as well as police and fire.
Councilor Turchi commented that what they were looking for were people who would be in the
city and available 24 hours a day; therefore, first-time homeowner criteria did not matter.
Councilor Hoffman indicated that he was not certain that that was the only reason justifying a
municipality having more employees living in its own neighborhoods.
Mayor Hammerstad commented that it would be helpful to look at other communities of
similar size and see if they had successful programs. Councilor Hoffman spoke to looking at
the demographics also.
Councilor Hoffman asked staff if it was possible to look for a placeholder for some amount to
start the process. He mentioned not committing to anything other than just looking at an amount
and investigating their options, as he might want to spend the money on something else.
Councilor Schoen observed that their choices would come out in their priorities.
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 7 of 12
December 10, 2001 3;i
Mayor Hammerstad commented that the program did have some larger societal values in terms
of having people live close to their work, which raised considerations of commuting and travel
time. She reiterated her interest in seeing what other communities have done. She said that she
did not know whether she would vote for or against an employer-assisted housing program but
she did want to know more about it.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that it had less financial cost in the long term than she would
have thought. She held that having 25 employees moving into the community for a total cost of
$60,000 had considerable benefit. She indicated that the Council would revisit the issue when
more information became available.
3.3 Review: Update of Master Fees and Charges Booklet
Richard Seals, Financial Planning Manager, confirmed to Mayor Hammerstad that the
master fees and charges booklet update was scheduled for the Council's December 19 meeting.
He noted that the effective date of the updated fees was in January 2002. He described the
booklet as a consolidation of all the City fees and charges from utility rates to developer SDCs,
etc. He mentioned that the City's total fee revenue was $18 million a year or one-third of the
operating revenues for the City budget.
Mr. Seals indicated that roughly $10 million of the $18 million came from the utility rate
revenues. He stated that the proposed update contained no significant changes for 2002; any
changes were mostly inflationary in nature. He noted the increase in the main surge fee to $8 to
cover software and an increase in the golf fees from 75 cents to $1.00 per 9-hole round.
Mayor Hammerstad asked why staff did not round the golf fees of$8.75 and $15.25 to $9 and
$16. Mr. Seals said that he had wondered the same thing but did not know why the Golf Course
Manager did not round the fees after his market analysis. Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that
the rates were so low that she could not imagine anyone objecting to $9 and $16 with $10 on
Friday, Saturdays and some holidays. Mr. Seals mentioned that he knew that the rates came
from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Mayor Hammerstad confirmed to Mr. Jordan that she was recommending rounding the fees to
$9 and $16, with$10 for the price of Saturday and Sunday and keeping the $17 where it was.
Councilor Hoffman recounted a comment he heard from a remodeler that the City was lacking
timely permit processing, and that the remodeler would support increasing permit fees if the City
added staff. He described the problem as the City not having enough inspectors. He indicated
that he knew from personal experience that it took a long time to get building inspections.
Councilor Graham indicated that she has heard similar stories.
Mr. Jordan observed that if the City was not providing satisfactory service, even with the
increases,then staff needed to do something to improve that service.
Councilor Hoffman spoke to asking the builders and remodelers if the City was getting things
through the process so that they could get their projects done; if not, then would they be willing
to pay an extra 10%for the City to hire more staff. Mr. Jordan mentioned the staff shortage in
the Building Department. He expressed his hope that when they got back up to full staff,they
would no longer hear those kinds of complaints; however, if they continued, then they needed to
do something about it.
Councilor Hoffman pointed out that the homeowners in Lake Oswego were more concerned
about time than money. Mayor Hammerstad recalled that improved service was one of Mr.
Schmitz's goals, and consequently, staff conducted a survey of people interacting with the
Planning Department, which might give Mr. Jordan more than anecdotal information.
Ms. Deardorff noted that the City had a new Community Development Director and Building
Official, both of whom were looking at the City's delivery of service in order to determine if they
were providing services at the appropriate level. She spoke to the Council not hastily deciding
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 8 of 12
December 10, 2001 4 0
that this was a `people' issue when it might be a `setting of the standards and follow-through'
issue. She said that she would inform Mr. Schmitz and Mr. Lashbrook of this concern during her
Friday meeting with them.
Councilor Schoen asked why staff did not raise the athletic field user charges (page 19). Mr.
Jordan said that there has been serious consideration on raising those charges. He explained that
staff did not want to raise the fees prematurely and chose to wait until after they brought back the
information to Council,which Council requested a month and a half ago, and Council gave them
the guidelines.
Councilor Schoen asked if the Council could make an interim increase of fees. He discussed his
concern with the athletic field user charges, which he argued the Council needed to look at
realistically. He questioned whether the provider organizations would choose to donate
equivalent funds to support field maintenance and equipment purchases in lieu of a per player per
season fee. He held that the organizations had additional funds, which should be part of the
original fee system.
Mr. Jordan concurred with Mr. Seals that the Council could increase fees at any time; this was
an annual booklet,which the Council could change at any time. He described the Council's two
options: an immediate interim increase and a second increase in a couple of months (following
the staff report) or no increase now but a new increase following the staff report.
Councilor Schoen mentioned the tournament and special use reservation fees in particular. He
held that those uses in particular would have a huge impact on the fields. He acknowledged the
argument that the City had a responsibility to provide recreational facilities for all its citizens but
argued that the City was not responsible for providing those facilities for non-citizens, especially
at a nominal fee. He spoke to looking at the big picture, noting the huge deficit in field
maintenance (which was complicated by the artificial turf situation).
Councilor Schoen said that he was not suggesting charging the field users 100% of the costs but
he did think that the City charged them only a very small percentage of its costs. He spoke to
taking a tough look at the issue in light of the Council's fiduciary responsibility, even though it
would upset the team sports people.
Councilor Hoffman mentioned that PRAB and Kim Gilmer were meeting this Wednesday with
representatives of the non-profit organizations providing recreational opportunities to kids in
Lake Oswego in order to discuss the delivery of recreation services in Lake Oswego. He pointed
out to Councilor Schoen that the City had some basic maintenance costs for field upkeep,
regardless of who used the fields, because grass grew, etc. He recalled that staff was working on
obtaining those numbers at the Council's request.
Councilor Hoffman spoke to distinguishing between organized usage and unorganized usage
and developing the rationale for increasing the fees. Councilor Schoen observed that this was
not a simple issue but reiterated that the City needed to look at the consequences of the increased
usage.
Mr. Jordan mentioned receiving some new charts recently from Parks & Recreation showing
field usage, which indicated that staff was in the process of obtaining the requested information.
He observed that right now was a good time to wait for a month or two to increase fees because
the fields were not in use at this time of year, and the City did not forego any potential revenues.
He indicated that staff would have something to the Council in January for discussion.
Mr. Jordan suggested addressing Councilor Schoen's concern that people would assume that
there were no new increases by adding a footnote to the printed fee, which stated that the Council
would review this fee in early 2002 for potential changes. The Council agreed by consensus.
Councilor Rohde posed a scenario of going to a hardware store,buying a toilet and installing it
in his home. He questioned having to pay a$75 permit fee (page 30). Mayor Hammerstad
questioned whether she was supposed to have obtained a permit to replace her dishwasher.
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 9 of 12
December 10, 2001 4 i
Councilor Hoffman spoke to conducting a useful exercise of reviewing the fees to see if they
made sense today.
Mr. Powell clarified that the permit fee was for replumbing a home to install additional fixtures,
and not for replacing an existing appliance. Mayor Hammerstad suggested adding some
clarifying language. Mr. Jordan mentioned that the State Building Code might have a
requirement of a plumbing permit in order to do some of this work.
The Council discussed the backflow prevention device, which the Mayor held was a most
annoying and impractical device. Mr.Jordan said that he would try to get the Council an
explanation on why it was required.
Councilor Rohde raised the question of the fee for the appeal of a hearing body decision to the
Council (page 37). He noted that the City could waive that fee for neighborhood associations but
not for any other non-profit organization. He mentioned the possibility that the Bicycle
Transportation Alliance might appeal the DRC decision on bike parking at the high schools. He
spoke to having the ability to waive the fee for non-profits.
Councilor Hoffman expressed concern at setting a precedent, which any kind of organization
could cite. Councilor Rohde suggested limiting it to non-profit organizations filed under the
state. He pointed out that the fee for appealing a decision on the high school would be enormous.
He reiterated that there should be an opportunity to waive the fee for non-profit organizations or
to charge a reduced fee. He observed that a complete waiver would make it meaningless.
Councilor Schoen commented that he saw no value in waiving an appeal fee for the Alliance.
Councilor Hoffman summarized Councilor Rohde's concern as not discouraging non-frivolous
appeals by neighbors.
Councilor Hoffman noted the statement that the City Manager has waived the fee in the past,
asking where that was in the ordinance. Mr.Powell directed the Councilor to Section 1,page 1,
which allowed the City Manager to establish a waiver in a particular case or based on past
practice. He indicated that the Council could include a blanket category but pointed out that
making an appeal too easy (through an extremely low fee or fee waiver)would provide an
opportunity for the many non-profits with their varying points of view to bring a multitude of
items before the Council. He agreed that they did not want to make an appeal prohibitively
expensive so that people could not exercise their rights.
Councilor Rohde concurred that it should be an amount that established a seriousness about the
appeal but was not so high, as to discourage people completely. He spoke of finding a balance,
mentioning$300 as a reasonable amount.
Councilor Hoffman mentioned his concern about staffing costs, as appeals involved a
significant time commitment from staff He discussed his concern at giving too much discretion
to the position of City Manager, as an incumbent could abuse that discretion in encouraging or
discouraging appeals based on waiving or not waiving the fee. He indicated to Mayor
Hammerstad that giving the discretion to the Council put the Council in a difficult position,
especially with regards to quasi-judicial decision, as it allowed the Council to establish who
came before it and who did not.
Mr. Jordan referenced the language on page one, which described the City Manager's
authorization to waive a fee if it met certain criteria and the requirement that he/she inform the
Council in writing of the request and his/her decision for comment. Mayor Hammerstad
indicated that that language was fine for addressing the concern.
Councilor Hoffman concurred but indicated that he found Councilor Rohde's concern
legitimate. Mayor Hammerstad suggested waiting to see if the procedure outlined worked in
the Bicycle Transportation Alliance's situation; if the Alliance came to the Council saying that it
could not pay the fee, the Council could send them to the City Manager to request a waiver.
Councilor Rohde concurred.
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 10 of 12
December 10, 2001
Mayor Hammerstad discussed her concern with the fees relating to historical preservation
(page 36). She spoke to reinstating the two fees crossed out on the schedule. She explained that
last year she had not supported the fees because she thought that the law did provide for the City
doing these services and the high fee subverted the legislative intent. She indicated that, with
more information, she believed that the fee level was appropriate for the service provided.
Mr. Powell indicated to Councilor Hoffman that the City charged $1,600 because it required
either a hearing based on criteria in the Comprehensive Plan or a waiver process,which was
similar to a land use hearing. He mentioned that recent court decisions have established the
requirements. Mayor Hammerstad indicated to Councilor Hoffman that they could not charge
a huge amount because there had to be a nexus between the fee charged and the cost to provide
the service. Mr. Powell mentioned the probability of a due process argument on an extremely
high fee.
Jane McGarvin,Deputy City Recorder, asked why general service copies were 10 cents at the
library and 25 cents everywhere else in the City (pages 10, 15). Mr. Seals recalled that he
pointed that out to the library personnel but the librarians felt strongly that they needed to
maintain the 10 cents per page charge. He said that Mr. Schmitz raised the same question but
decided to let it go this year. Mr. Powell pointed out that people did self-service copies at the
library while doing research whereas elsewhere in the City, staff had to retrieve the record in
order to make a copy.
Mayor Hammerstad questioned whether they should hold the tree code fee increases (page 38)
in abeyance until after the Tree Code Task Force did its work. Mr. Seals noted that the increases
were purely inflationary. Councilor Hoffman commented that the Task Force would not finish
its work until mid-summer.
Councilor Hoffman spoke in support of holding off on the fee increases because people would
interpret fee increases as the Council having already made up its mind about the tree code. He
suggested putting a note that the City held the fees at the 2001 rates, pending the review of the
tree code by the Task Force.
Mr. Seals mentioned that the utility rates reflected year 2 of the 6-year plan. He indicated to
Councilor Hoffman that the City was in good shape and on track with respect to saving money
for the lake interceptor project.
Councilor Hoffman asked when staff would know if the cost might be higher than the original
estimate. He discussed his concern that they charge a slightly higher fee now to accommodate
potential increased costs as opposed to charging a significantly higher fee during the project.
Mr. Seals said that the latest estimates he heard were between$18 and $25 million;they used
$20 million as their design dollar amount for the project.
Mr. Jordan said that he has not heard anything more on it either. He noted that staff was trying
to accumulate enough money at this time to meet the covenants and to sell bonds. Mayor
Hammerstad suggested revisiting the issue at budget time.
3.4 Review: Amendment to the annual budget for fiscal year 2001-02 and making
appropriations
Mr. Seals confirmed to Mayor Hammerstad that the Council would take formal action on this
item at its Tuesday evening meeting. He noted the adjustments to six funds and that the biggest
adjustment was in the public safety capital improvement fund to reflect the FEMA grant for the
sprinklers in adult foster care.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 11 of 12
December 10, 2001 4 3
/10.A..1227/1441)
6ne McGarvin
Deputy City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON
Judie Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 12 of 12
December 10, 2001 4 4
4.3.2
02/05/02
MINUTES OF DECEMBER 18, 2001
MORNING MEETING
45
46
CITY COUNCIL MORNING MEETING MINUTES
/ December 18, 2001
4EGON
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the special City Council meeting to order at 7:33 a.m. on
December 18, 2001, in the City Council Chambers.
Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Turchi (arrived 8:00 a.m.), Graham, McPeak,
Hoffman, Rohde and Schoen(arrived 7:35 a.m.).
Staff Present: Doug Schmitz, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie, City
Recorder; Kim Gilmer, Parks & Recreation Director; Richard Seals, Financial
Planning Manager; Chip Larouche, Information Technology Manager; Bob
Kincaid, Chief of Staff; Tom Tushner, Principal Engineer
• Arts Downtown
Jean Folwell,Arts Commission Co-Chair, explained that immediately after the Arts
Downtown kick-off in June 2001 (coinciding with the Festival of the Arts) the Commission
decided to move the kick-off date for Arts Downtown from June 2002 to September 2002. She
indicated that they did so in order to preserve the opportunity to have art all summer and to avoid
wearing out the City staff and the Arts Commission. She mentioned the opportunity to couple
Arts Downtown with a fundraiser.
Ms. Folwell pointed out that moving the event to September 2002 took it out of the 2001/02
fiscal year budget, which was where the funds for Arts Downtown 2002 were presently located.
She asked the Council to roll over the $25,000 allocated for Arts Downtown 2002 to the 2002/03
budget, so they could have it available in September 2002.
Marta Furman, Arts Commission Co-Chair, reviewed the artist selection committee for Arts
Downtown 2002. She mentioned that 13 of the Arts Downtown 2001 sculptors resubmitted
either their current piece or a new piece; the committee chose another seven new artists for a
total of 20 sculptors. She commented that because they used a call for artists (as opposed to an
invitation), the show saw a wider range of styles. She indicated that she had the letters ready to
send to the sculptors.
Councilor Rohde asked if the Council making this decision now was in advance of the Budget
Committee's decision-making process. Doug Schmitz, City Manager, confirmed that this
money has already been allocated in the budget for this project. Mayor Hammerstad
acknowledged Councilor Rohde's point about the Budget Committee and conceded that the
Council could not guarantee 100% that the Budget Committee would approve the request. She
pointed out that the decision ultimately came back to the Council for final approval. She held
that it was 99%probable that the Council would approve carrying the money over.
Ms. Folwell confirmed to Councilor Graham that the Arts Commission did have a matching
grant from the Tourism Bureau. She said that they would try to use it in this fiscal year to pay
for the pedestals
Ms. Furman indicated to Councilor McPeak that five of the 13 repeat artists were submitting
the same statue that they had submitted in Arts Downtown 2001; the selection committee felt
strongly about those 5 pieces and re-selected them again. She said that the other eight artists
would submit new pieces.
Mayor Hammerstad suggested that the Arts Commission write a letter to the Budget
Committee informing it that the Commission presented this proposal to the Council to carry over
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 11
December 18, 2001
47
this money to the next fiscal year for expenditure for the same purpose for which it was
allocated.
Councilor McPeak referenced the proposed policy for purchasing a sculpture from Arts
Downtown using City or Trust fund monies. She mentioned that this draft incorporated the
suggestions she received from the Arts Commission and the Public Art Committee. She noted
that it still included the additional public process for selecting a piece that the Council discussed.
Councilor McPeak noted that Step 1 of the proposal was different from her original draft
version. She explained that the Arts Commission thought it important to inform the artists up
front of the purchase price limitations for a City purchase, giving them a minimum and a
maximum. She said that she did not include a minimum because she saw no need for one.
Councilor Rohde asked what affect might the purchase price limitation have on limiting an
artist's willingness to participate in the show. Ms. Furman stated that the three artists
participating in the discussion had been the strongest proponents of providing a ball park figure
to the artists; artists wanted to sell their work and the potential price helped them to decide on
the materials. She indicated that she did not think the limitations would discourage the artists
from participating.
Councilor Hoffman concurred that the answer was 'no', citing the discussion at the Arts
Commission meeting that artists mentally decided whether to create a $6,000 or$60,000
sculpture. Councilor Rohde asked if that meant that the public did not get to view a $60,000
sculpture for a year. Councilor McPeak conceded that it might but held that the artist who
submitted the $175,000 piece could not have expected the City to purchase it.
Ms. Furman indicated that she trusted the level of professionalism exhibited by the selected
artists to lead the artists to do the right thing. She observed that 13 out of 19 artists returning
indicated support for the City's exhibit. Councilor Graham pointed out that Arts Downtown
also provided good publicity for the artists. Mayor Hammerstad observed that if the City set a
maximum amount of$10,000 and artists dropped out, then the City would know that that did not
work.
Councilor McPeak commented that the price was subjective, including the factor of the
materials selected by the artist. Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the hope that the businesses
would buy a piece. Kim Gilmer, Parks & Recreation Director, held that it was significant that
the City would buy a piece; therefore, the price range was important. Councilor McPeak spoke
of the City commitment while the Mayor spoke of the budget cycle.
Ms. Furman indicated that the Commission would recommend that the City purchase at least
one sculpture. She noted that the pieces were for sale to the public. Mayor Hammerstad
suggested making it a strong recommendation. Councilor Rohde suggested including an
historical reference to the City purchasing a certain piece for a certain price. Ms. Gilmer noted
that the City did sign a contract. Councilor Hoffman spoke to finding a way around the budget
cycle.
Councilor McPeak discussed Step 2 of the purchase policy. She spoke to selecting up to five
pieces that were suitable in terms of price and location. Mayor Hammerstad asked for an
opinion from the Arts Commission on whether the art stayed in the downtown area and whether
they should include Lake Grove. Ms. Furman spoke of moving art out into the parks.
Councilor McPeak discussed Step 3, speaking to selecting only pieces that the City could
afford. She mentioned the selection committee developing a short list as the first step of the
selection process.
Councilor McPeak discussed Step 4, which included the same public process as the original
draft but eliminated the veto. Mayor Hammerstad spoke to eliminating Step 4. She expressed
her concern that one person could vote 20 times. Councilor McPeak argued that the public
process, even flawed, had a high value. She spoke to selecting with controlled limits. Ms.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 11
December 18, 2001
4b
Furman spoke of the public having ownership through a public input process. Mayor
Hammerstad held that they could select one piece in Step 3. Councilor Hoffman agreed with
Councilor McPeak about having the public process.
Councilor Turchi arrived at 8:00 a.m.
Ms. Furman commented that the Commission would like some consensus of what people would
like. Ms. Folwell indicated that they wanted to explain this policy to the Commission. She
mentioned seeing what worked.
Councilor Rohde indicated that he liked Step 4, which he thought they could monitor.
Councilor Schoen held that they were making this process too complex. He noted the
representative on the committee.
Councilor Rohde moved to accept Arts Downtown purchase policy with the change to Step
1. Councilor McPeak seconded the motion.
Councilor Rohde accepted Councilor McPeak's friendly amendment of developing a short
list of up to five pieces suitable in terms of price and location.
Mr. Schmitz noted that staff would put the guidelines for the proposal in the form of a
resolution.
A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed with Councilors Turchi, Graham,
McPeak, Hoffman and Rohde voting in favor; Mayor Hammerstad and Councilor Schoen
voted against the motion. [5-2]
3. REVIEW EVENING AGENDA
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that the list of topics provided by the Transportation Advisory
Board looked like items for discussion at the Council goal setting session. She suggested asking
the Board for specifics from the list in order to learn what were their concerns and most
important issues.
Item 4, Consent Agenda
Councilor McPeak noted a correction to Item 4.1: her name was left off the interview
committee.
Mayor Hammerstad noted that Councilor Turchi was doing the consent agenda this evening.
Councilor Rohde asked Councilor Turchi to flesh out two consent agenda items in more detail:
what the Tree Code Review Task Force would be doing and more information about what would
happen with the First Street alley sewer project.
Mayor Hammerstad referenced Councilor Graham's e-mail to her about the business owner's
concern regarding the First Street alley sewer project, that it would disrupt his business. Mr.
Schmitz explained that the City delayed this project a year to early 2002 because of this same
business owner's concerns. Councilor Rohde recalled that this business owner thought that this
sewer pipe should go in State Street.
There were no corrections to the minutes.
Mayor Hammerstad asked to reduce the testimony time limits allowed by City ordinance from
10 minutes for neighborhood associations and 5 minutes for individuals to 5 and 3 minutes
respectively for the hearing tonight. She held that this allowed ample time for testimony yet still
allowed them to get through the hearing process.
Councilor McPeak moved to reduce the testimony time limits to 3 minutes for an
individual and 5 minutes for a representative of an organized neighborhood association.
Councilor Turchi seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken and the motion passed with
Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Turchi, Graham,McPeak, Hoffman, Rohde and Schoen
voting in favor. [7-0]
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 11
December 18, 2001
4 ,4
Item 7.1, Master Fee Schedule Update
Mayor Hammerstad noted the revised copy of the fee schedule in the packet. Councilor
Rohde asked for discussion on treating non-profit organizations the same as neighborhood
associations with respect to waiver of appeal fees (page 118). Mayor Hammerstad pointed out
that the City Manager had the ability to waive fees (page 82). Councilor Hoffman indicated
that he was not concerned unless abuse became a problem.
The Council discussed whether the City Manager should return to informing the Council of
every waiver that occurred. Councilor Rohde indicated that he did not mind the notifications.
Councilor Hoffman held that doing so was a waste of time.
Richard Seals, Financial Planning Manager, indicated to Councilor Schoen that he did add
the disclaimer(the City was currently studying the fee) to the athletic field fee (page 100), to the
permit fee (page 111) and to the tree code fees (page 119).
Item 8.1, Ordinance 2308
Mayor Hammerstad said that she would ask for additional testimony on the two amendments
that the Council asked for at the last meeting, which were exempting lakefront properties and
setting a sunset date.
Item 9, Information from the Council
Councilor Rohde said that he had a JPACT report.
Councilor Rohde mentioned hearing that Metro was now looking at 800-foot buffers. Mayor
Hammerstad stated that that was ridiculous. She noted that, if a local jurisdiction were to make
the decision, then it could, within the ESEE analysis, set virtually any setback that it wanted to
set. She indicated that Metro was using a basin approach. She explained that Lake Oswego,
because it was in a number of basins, would have to form intergovernmental agreements with the
governing jurisdictions. She questioned whether this approach was workable, given the need for
joint hearings.
Mayor Hammerstad commented to Councilor Rohde that the 800-foot number must have been
a typo or something in the newspaper article cited by Councilor Schoen. She reiterated that
there was no basis for that number.
Item 9.1.1, Recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board regarding
Softball Field at Lakeridge High School
Councilor Hoffman asked Mr. Schmitz to have staff provide him assurance at tonight's meeting
that this field would be for community use by both the adult softball league and Little League.
He described this as the school's problem, which the Superintendent wanted to solve by using
the $250,000 of the community bond funds that were originally slated for the north Lakeridge
field.
Councilor Hoffman noted that both the Parks &Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) and the
Team Sports Advisory Committee (TSAC) concurred with the request. He held that it could be a
win-win situation in developing a field as a recreation facility for baseball and softball, as long
as it was a community facility, given that it used community bond money.
Mr. Schmitz indicated to Councilor McPeak that this would meet the Title 9 requirements
facing the School District, as the primary use of the field would be for Lakeridge girls' softball,
followed by community use as secondary. He noted that this conformed to the joint use
agreement.
Mr. Schmitz explained to Councilor Schoen that the City was contributing $250,000 to a field
that would cost$600,000 to build. He indicated that they could not segregate out what part of
the field the City money was used for; their contribution would be used for construction costs.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 11
December 18, 2001 5 0
Mayor Hammerstad confirmed that the District would be responsible for covering all the cost
over and above the $250,000 contributed by the City.
Councilor Schoen asked what park projects were they giving up by using the money here.
Councilor Hoffman indicated that they lost the north Lakeridge field(the water tower field), to
which this money had been allocated, and gained a facility that they probably needed.
Councilor Graham mentioned receiving a phone call from a citizen upset over using City
money to bail out a School District Title 9 problem. She spoke to assuring the people that other
city activities would occur on that field.
Councilor Graham asked if a girls' softball field was smaller than the standard adult softball
field. Ms. Gilmer said that she would check on that but she did think that adult softball could
use a girls' softball field. She noted that a Little League field was a bit shorter than a softball
field.
Councilor Turchi asked if the City agreeing to contribute funds gave tacit approval to lighting
the field. Mr. Schmitz noted that the City was not specifying the elements of the field. He
mentioned that the Oregon Civil Rights Commission has indicated that there was a need for
lighting on the field.
Mayor Hammerstad described the probable Council consensus as spending the money on the
development of a girls' softball field was consistent with community use and in accordance with
the joint use agreement. Mr. Schmitz noted that Superintendent Korach would be at the
meeting; they could get his remarks on the record and do a follow-up letter.
Councilor Graham mentioned her concern about who had responsibility for mitigating the
wetland area. Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that the City was not selecting the site.
Councilor Hoffman concurred with Councilor Turchi that lighted fields were a sensitive
subject, and that, by approving the request, the City tacitly approved a lighted field. Mr.
Schmitz said that the application had to go through the conditional use process, including
notification of the neighbors. He emphasized that the City was approving a financial request.
Mayor Hammerstad reiterated that the City was not selecting the site. Mr. Schmitz explained
that, by staying out of the siting issue, the Council did not put itself in the potential position of
hearing an appeal of a land use action that it has already endorsed.
Councilor Rohde recalled that the City listed the original project in the bond for the voters to
recognize, when he described as a 'good faith obligation.' He asked if the City would add the
original project to the CIP and suggest future funding. Mr. Schmitz said that the City has gone
through a process of saying that it was willing to transfer those funds to another project and to
abandon the Cloverleaf project. Mayor Hammerstad reitereated that both PRAB & TSAC
made that recommendation.
Item 9.1.2 Clackamas County Coordinating Council Proposal
Mayor Hammerstad noted the matrix provided by the Clackamas County Coordinating
Committee illustrating the various proposals for a parks and/or library district. She observed that
a parks district had many problems. She commented that, given Lake Oswego's existing parks
program and its parks bond, she did not see that option as providing much benefit to the City.
She referenced Councilor Rohde's earlier comment that Lake Oswego's tendency to pass these
kinds of measures provided the rest of the County with a large number of positive votes, whereas
the east side of the river was not inclined to pass them; thus, Lake Oswego could override local
control.
Mayor Hammerstad suggested that the Council not support the parks district option because
Lake Oswego had its own parks system, and because imposing it on the rest of the County
seemed arrogant and heavy-handed. She observed that it might not be possible at all, due to the
economy. She mentioned that Bob Kincaid has been attending the technical meetings.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 11
December 18, 2001 5 1
Bob Kincaid, Chief of Staff, concurred that the parks district concept would probably fall apart,
citing other jurisdictions trying to develop their own parks systems.
Councilor Hoffman asked what the problem was that they were trying to solve. Mayor
Hammerstad said that the problem was the rest of the county not having enough money for
parks. She noted that the problem with the library was slightly different:
Mayor Hammerstad said that forming a separate library district (Option 4) was cumbersome
and required a governing body as well as a tax base. She reiterated that, with Lake Oswego
passing the last library levy at 80%, the city provided votes to pursue that option. She observed
that Lake Oswego might not get as much out of a library district as it would out of a local option
levy for libraries (Option 8).
Mayor Hammerstad observed that Option 8, the local option levy for libraries, was essentially
the same thing that they have done in the past. She noted that Lake Oswego passed the levy at
80%; therefore, it carried countywide. She mentioned the current funding allocation formula
based on circulation. She recalled that it was a `bloodbath' when they did the allocation formula
five years ago but it worked well for Lake Oswego because they had high circulation.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the County's consideration of redoing the formula based on
population, which would not be good for Lake Oswego. She pointed out that Lake Oswego had
significant influence on the development of the allocation formula, since it brought an 80% vote
to the table. She said that she would not move forward with either option unless they kept the
circulation formula.
Mayor Hammerstad indicated to Councilor McPeak that there was another option for Lake
Oswego that was not listed on the matrix: going out for its own local option for the library. She
explained that that was not necessarily the best option because Lake Oswego was part of a
county library system, which included the ability to check books out in Multnomah and
Washington Counties. She recommended supporting the County levy as in the City's best
interest, provided that the allocation formula was fair.
Mayor Hammerstad indicated to Councilor McPeak that the current allocation formula
included a population element already. She agreed with Councilor Rohde that this would be a
good discussion for the public to hear.
Councilor Rohde referenced the discussion of the transportation utility fee and the
transportation impact fee. He indicated that the County would model the transportation impact
fee after the Washington County model, which collected the fee countywide and allocated it to
the affected jurisdiction.
Tom Tushner, Principal Engineer, described the Washington County program, which
recognized the regional impacts of development. He said that the County obliged the local
jurisdictions to spend the money on its arterial system. He mentioned a credit for development.
Councilor McPeak asked if there was the political will in Clackamas County to do a
countywide fee. Councilor Rohde recalled that there had been strong interest exhibited at the
Timothy Lake retreat in developing a countywide system, as opposed to individual jurisdiction
transportation utility fees. He pointed out that it created a more unified system of collection.
Councilor Rohde noted that the request was for Lake Oswego to participate in funding a
consultant to develop the program and the allocation formula for consideration. He said that
right now they did not know how it would work, given the usual jurisdictional self-interests.
Councilor McPeak asked if it was possible that Lake Oswego could get $1.2 million out of it.
Mayor Hammerstad said that she thought it was possible but reiterated that the request was to
hire a consultant to develop the program.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 11
December 18, 2001 5
Councilor Rohde indicated that the Committee based the individual jurisdiction contribution
amounts on a population allocation, similar to the way the League of Oregon Cities determined
membership fees.
Mr. Schmitz advised the Council that the petition regarding the naming of a certain tree in town
might come forward under citizen comment.
4. REVIEW FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the Bicycle Transportation Alliance presentation scheduled for
January 2.
David Powell, City Attorney, advised the Council that they needed to update the City's
resolution listing the criteria for a recommendation to the OLCC to grant a liquor license. He
recommended the January 2 date for the required public hearing.
The Council discussed whether to hold a January 2 meeting. It agreed to cancel the January 2
meeting and to move the scheduled agenda items to January 15, including the swearing in of the
Youth Councilors. Councilor Rohde suggested scheduling the Bicycle Transportation Alliance
presentation for January 15.
Mayor Hammerstad asked the Council to approve a reduction in the testimony time limits for
the density guidelines hearing.
Mayor Hammerstad indicated to Councilor Hoffman that the Council would receive the latest
amended copy of the Waluga Neighborhood Plan, scheduled for January 8. Councilor Hoffman
mentioned that he did have some concerns with the plan, which he had written up in his e-mail.
Mayor Hammerstad explained that Mr. Sin's changes addressed those concerns, including
removing the language favoring single-family detached homes (which LCDC objected to).
Mr. Powell informed the Council that, while it was welcome to read all the Code consolidation
documentation, it only had to read the executive summary because all the changes were content
neutral and affected only the Code organization.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
5.3 City Phone System
Councilor Hoffman expressed his concern that this item sounded like the Council was
approving a $250,000 expense at a morning meeting, as opposed to an evening meeting. He held
that the public would be interested in this discussion. Mr. Schmitz explained that this item was
informational only; it did not require legislative action because it was already in the budget and
on the State bid list. Mr. Powell concurred that the Council did not need to award the bid
formally.
Chip Larouche, Information Technology Manager,presented the plan to purchase Cisco
voiceover/IT phones, thus giving every employee a new phone. He noted that the current phones
and the 15 year old phone switch would disappear. He mentioned their background research into
phone systems; Siemans (the owner of the City's current switch) gave a ballpark estimate in the
$400,000 range, as did the maker of the switch at the school district.
Mr. Larouche explained that he brought this to the Council today because they were ready to
purchase some equipment that was on sale (40.5% discount) until December 31, 2001, through a
Qwest contract with the State of Oregon.
Mr. Larouche distributed a chart illustrating the impact of the system change on the operating
costs: a 55% drop every year, which meant that the system paid for itself in six years. He
explained that the system contained modular parts, which allowed staff to replace system
elements as opposed to the entire system. He asked for Council approval to proceed with the
purchases.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 11
December 18, 2001 5 3
Mr. Larouche indicated to Councilor Turchi that a human voice would still answer the phone,
as that was the Council policy. He described the expanded capabilities of the voice messaging
system, including sending voice mails to the e-mail box for review. He indicated that the system
did have the option of an automated answering system.
Mr. Larouche indicated to Councilor Rohde that the dramatic increase in the costs for trunks
represented buying additional capacity. He explained that the 24 trunks they had coming into the
City were full, with no expansion room; by purchasing two `pries' (each capable of carrying 24
trunks) and putting 12 trunks in each pry, the City could add more trunks if it wanted to.
Mr. Larouche indicated to Councilor Rohde that this new system used the same highways to
transmit voice that were in the fiber coming from AT&T(scheduled for installation by January
31); the fiber would significantly improve the City's data transmissions.
Mr. Larouche indicated to Councilor Rohde that the system did have wireless capabilities, but
whether to take advantage of them or not was a policy decision. He explained that wireless
phones required either a receiver or some kind of Internet Service Provider arrangement.
Mr. Larouche confirmed to Councilor Hoffman that the State was converting to this system.
He indicated that the only other jurisdiction that he knew of using this system was the City of
Bend, which was 80% completed. He recounted the staff trip to Bend to look at the system. He
said that Bend was happy with it.
Mr. Larouche pointed out the $5,000 a year that the City currently spent on bringing Qwest in
to do adds and changes; with the new system, he could do the adds and changes by computer.
He indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that his goal was to have the system up and running by
April 15 with June 30 as the final deadline.
Mr. Larouche explained to Mayor Hammerstad that the Citywide problem with the current
phones being dead lay in the 15-year-old switch. He commented that they were hoping it
survived until April 15.
Mr. Larouche indicated to Councilor Rohde that they built three days of training into the
contract as well as web training tools and the ability to send people to Qwest or Cisco for
refresher training.
Mr. Larouche answered a series of specific questions asked by the Council. He explained to
Councilor Turchi which buttons would be reprogrammed for re-dial. He mentioned that the
receptionist phones were 6-line phones while all other phones were 2-line phones. He noted that
the phones included caller id. He said that each user could program in his/her own directory of
frequently called numbers. He indicated to Councilor Schoen that the system did not have a
camera and therefore could not do face-to-face phone calls.
Mr. Larouche indicated to Councilor Rohde that when the power went out, the system ran on its
UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for the first 15 to 20 minutes and then would need the
building's emergency direct generator. He mentioned to Councilor Graham that they talked
Cisco into giving the City $10,000 to $12,000 for the old equipment and hauling it away.
5.1 Demolition of Hart House
Mr. Schmitz indicated to Councilor Rohde that he needed to talk with Rachel about getting
into the house. He clarified to Councilor Schoen that the Taylor house, not the Hart house, had
been trashed. He confirmed to Councilor Graham that the City has allowed salvage of
handrails, doorknobs, etc., from previous demolitions and would do so with the Hart house.
Councilor Graham noted that the $13,000 price for the demolition was exclusive of any other
costs arising due to hazardous materials. She asked if the Harts would be responsible for the
removal of asbestos and lead-based paint. Mr. Powell said that the City purchased the house on
an 'as is' basis, which meant that it had responsibility for the costs of that removal. He indicated
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 11
December 18, 2001 5 4
that something requiring an environmental action by DEQ, such as contamination from an oil-
based furnace,would probably be the responsibility of the previous owners.
Councilor Rohde asked if this house has been evaluated with respect to architectural integrity
and historical value, given its age. He mentioned the possibility of raising money through grants
for the restoration of historic properties. Mr. Schmitz said that the house was not on the City's
historic inventory list because the evaluation did not rate a high number. Councilor Rohde
reiterated that he wanted to see the house.
Councilor Hoffman asked staff to obtain the Historic Review Advisory Board's opinion
because its members were sensitive to the demolition of 84-year-old structures. He asked for the
Glenmorrie Neighborhood Association's opinion also as well as the Natural Resources Advisory
Board. He commented that the public tended to accuse a public body of not providing sufficient
notice, and therefore he would like to garner input from these groups. Staff mentioned that the
neighborhood would like the house to come down.
The Council discussed taking a tour of the house with the Historic Review Advisory Board.
Councilor Rohde commented that the demolition evaluation described the Hart house as being
in the same condition as the Heritage House had been in before it was renovated. The Council
agreed that staff should arrange a tour.
5.2 Compassionate Leave Policy
Mayor Hammerstad indicated that she removed this item from the agenda.
5.3 State & A
Mr. Schmitz mentioned the letter received by Mayor Hammerstad from a citizen about the
change in the sequencing of traffic at the Highway 43 and A Avenue intersection. Mr. Tushner
recounted the story of ODOT's changing of the signal light sequencing. He said that ODOT
contacted City staff in early October about timing changes to accomplish three goals: to
interconnect the McVey signal for the mid-day timing plan, to increase the cycle length to
address peak hour southbound traffic movements and to address a litigation problem at the
intersection with respect to the amber clearance signal.
Mr. Tushner reviewed ODOT's change in the amber clearance interval from none to 'at the
start of the cycle' (leading) to 'at the end of the cycle' (lagging). He indicated that the changes
were made to achieve amber clearance for the center lane traffic.
Mr. Tushner mentioned that he had asked ODOT to give him advance warning in writing of the
exact date in November that they would implement the change but he received only two days
advance notice.
Mr. Tushner said that he put ODOT on notice about the software and minor hardware problems
needing adjustment. He indicated that ODOT has received comments on the changes but not a
deluge of comments.
Mr. Tushner explained that the phasing at the signal at State and A was unusual in the state; the
Lake Oswego police enforced someone stopping as 'an obstruction of traffic, which was a
different interpretation than used by other police departments in the state. He commented that
from his perspective that interpretation was somewhat awkward. He recalled that the police
department had had some issues with the leading left turn when it was first installed. He
speculated that they were seeing similar issues with the change to a lagging left turn.
Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that people had gotten used to the initial signal setting. She
commented that she thought that the leading left turn had worked well for both the north and
south directions. She noted that the problem with the change to a lagging left turn was the
inability of trucks to make a left-hand turn from the inner lane; therefore, they sat in the outer
lane with a green light and no where to go, which backed up that lane almost past the railroad
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 11
December 18, 2001
0J
tracks. She held that the changes were far worse than the initial set-up that everyone was used
to.
The Council generally agreed that the situation was worse now.
Councilor Rohde suggested putting up a `doghouse' signal light and a sign on the signal light
standard explaining when to turn. Mr. Tushner said that he would investigate installing a
doghouse light, which he thought was a possibility. He mentioned that they were readily
available and insignificant in cost but he did not know if it was an issue for ODOT.
Mr. Tushner recounted the history he has heard with respect to the City's effort to put up a
custom sign when the initial leading light went in, and ODOT's reluctance to allow a custom
sign. He observed that traffic control signs needed to convey a clear and simple message. He
mentioned ODOT and the State Traffic Engineer's efforts to keep signage uniform so that both
daily commuters and out-of-towners could understand what they were supposed to do.
Mayor Hammerstad commented that `proceed on arrow' seemed understandable. Mr.
Tushner said that he would talk to ODOT, which maintained that it was the responsible agency,
about reverting to the original sequencing and putting up additional signage. He indicated to
Councilor Schoen that staff would investigate installing the doghouse light.
Councilor McPeak commented that, by changing the original sequencing, ODOT has already
admitted tacitly that this intersection was unusual. She described this as an unusual enough
situation to warrant a sign, even if ODOT did not want signs in many places.
Mayor Hammerstad described the problem with turning left from A Avenue to Highway 43
(heading towards Portland) during rush hour traffic. She mentioned the north lane backing up
through the intersection and the short light that allowed only five cars through. Councilor
Rohde commented that the City asked for that design in order to allow for the median.
Mr. Tushner recalled that, during their first meeting with ODOT, ODOT agreed not to
substantially change and of the side street timing when it retimed the signals. He noted that
ODOT increased the cycle length but retained the percentage allocated to the side streets. He
observed that things became very difficult with an under-capacity intersection. He indicated that
part of the reason for the current left turn configuration was an attempt to address the capacity
issues. He mentioned that the long-term plans called for a dual left turn lane but on a practical
level, that was an expensive project.
Councilor Turchi commented that they should discuss this at an evening meeting. Mayor
Hammerstad suggested that Mr. Tushner bring it up under Information from the Council. Mr.
Tushner suggested that he approach ODOT before discussing this in public. He indicated that
he preferred to have an ODOT Westside traffic signal manager with him during that discussion.
Mayor Hammerstad concurred that Mr. Tushner should contact ODOT and inform them that
this was a community concern. She mentioned scheduling a presentation on a TV night, such as
February 5.
Mayor Hammerstad suggested to Councilor Rohde that they discuss his concern about the
youth candidates on the advisory boards at the agenda retreat. She suggested that Councilors
Turchi and Rohde recruit right now at the high schools for these positions. Councilor Turchi
observed that they might reach more interested students in the political action classes.
Councilor Turchi suggested that they go through the chain of command, starting with Mr.
Schmitz talking to Mr. Korach, in recruiting advisory board youth members. Mayor
Hammerstad directed Mr. Schmitz to start the process.
Councilor Turchi spoke to setting up a process whereby they advertised for Youth Councilors
and made the appointments in April and May, rather than in October. He suggested recruiting
from the current juniors and sophomores for the Youth Council.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 10 of 11
December 18, 2001 5 6
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad recessed the meeting at 9:30 a.m. to Executive Session pursuant to ORS
192.660(1)(e), to consult with persons authorized to negotiate real property transactions on
behalf of the City.
7. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad reconvened the meeting at 9:43 a.m.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 9:45 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
61(44
RobynChr' tie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON
Judie Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 11 of 11
December 18, 2001 J
5 ,
4.3.3
02/05/02
MINUTES OF DECEMBER 18, 2001
SPECIAL MEETING
54
li (►
o�L.,oswe
` c° CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
11► December 18, 2001
\ /
o«
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the City Council special meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. on
December 18, 2001, in the Municipal Courtroom.
Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Rohde, Schoen, Turchi, Graham, McPeak and
Hoffman.
Staff Present: Doug Schmitz, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie, City
Recorder; Kathy Marcott, Engineering Technician; Tom Tushner, Principal
Engineer
TAB Present: Jim Kronenberg, Henry Germond, Rose Rummel-Eury, Donna Jordan (Chair),
and Steven Schulte (Vice Chair)
3. Study Session with the Transportation Advisory Board
Donna Jordan, TAB Chair, discussed a problem that the Board had with reaching a quorum.
She mentioned two upcoming public hearings, for which they were trying to make sure that five
Board members would be present.
Ms. Jordan discussed the pathway criteria plan they developed, and their efforts to make sure
that funds were reallocated in the budget for the pathway projects. She reported that the Board
felt that the top three projects they have identified were well received by the neighborhoods. She
mentioned a concern that, by having a set of pathway criteria, people might expect to see a
continued expansion of the tax rate. She spoke of looking into how they could expand the vision
of funding, not only street maintenance, but all the various pieces in the puzzle of improving and
maintaining all transportation opportunities.
Ms.Jordan indicated that they were proceeding with the George Rogers Park expansion. She
noted the problem of bringing more cars into the area, as the neighbors already complained about
people parking in front of their houses. She mentioned another issue of getting pedestrians
across Highway 43 safely.
Ms.Jordan spoke of looking at the whole downtown redevelopment in terms of the traffic light
pattern placements, referencing the citizen concern about the crossing at 5th and A. She
mentioned that the Board was trying to figure out how to work with the Council and its goals
that were specific to the Board's purview.
Mr. Germond raised a concern with their youth board member who had attendance problems
due to her commitment to the soccer team. He suggested including attendance as a criteria
during the interview process. Mayor Hammerstad apologized for the Board not having a youth
member. She mentioned that the Council redesigned the Shadow Council program in order to
give the students a better experience. She noted that the additional responsibilities and
expectations scared some students away.
Mayor Hammerstad said that the Council was working on the youth advisory board member
appointments, but the Board might not have a youth member until spring or next year. Mr.
Germond suggested having alternates.
Ms. Jordan mentioned a difficulty with finding a chairman. Mayor Hammerstad observed that
that was a common problem for committees. She mentioned that last year some committees
might not have had enough `meat' in terms of their work.
City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 3
December 18, 2001 6 1
Ms.Jordan spoke of the Board's efforts to keep involved and to find creative solutions to
problems. She mentioned the heavy involvement of people and time with the Boones Ferry
Corridor Study. She noted their concern with how to keep those kinds of big projects moving
forward, mentioning the upcoming Meadows Road project.
Tom Tushner, Principal Engineer, recalled that six months ago staff applied to ODOT for
$25,000 cash towards a $130,000 project on Meadows Road between Carman Drive and Bangy
Road. He said that when ODOT rejected their request, they cut the project out. He explained
that a week ago ODOT sent the City a letter, referencing the upcoming economic stimulus
package and asking if Lake Oswego could live up to its original commitment. He indicated that
staff was looking into finding the $100,000.
Mayor Hammerstad informed the Board that the Council has asked for a presentation by
ODOT on the State's changes to the intersection at State Street and A Avenue. She mentioned
wanting to discuss the efficiency or non-efficiency of those changes. Ms. Rummel-Eury
described the confusion that she has observed at the intersection following those changes. Ms.
Jordan wondered why ODOT chose to change the signal light timing in November, which was
the start of the holiday season.
Mayor Hammerstad referenced the Council's goal setting session in January. Ms.Jordan
mentioned finances and the entrance to Hwy 43 in Glenmorrie. She spoke of having the
capability to make small changes. Mr. Germond observed that the Oak Street/Glenmorrie
crashes did not warrant a major change; however, that count did not include incidents or near
misses. He spoke of a sharp upgrade. Mayor Hammerstad commented that sometimes the
solution was worse than the problem.
Ms. Jordan mentioned citizen involvement and reaching a compromise on the 5th and A
crosswalk situation.
Mayor Hammerstad spoke of a trolley to streetcar connection. She mentioned the North
Macadam project, which ended at Gibbs Street. She indicated that it was on a fast track for 2004
and without federal dollars. She referenced the Foothills properties in Lake Oswego and spoke
to the possibilities over the next five years. Ms. Rummel-Eury noted the neighborhood
opposition to the tram. Mayor Hammerstad commented that the North Macadam to OHSU
traffic became accommodated traffic.
Mr. Schulte referenced the four projects identified by the Board for this year, all of which had
good neighborhood support. He discussed their concern that they might not be able to spend all
their allocations for those projects within this fiscal year. He asked if they could carry the
money over to the next fiscal year. He indicated that three projects were short in length and the
fourth longer. He asked if they should prioritize.
Doug Schmitz, City Manager, indicated that there was no guarantee of a carry over, although
they could make the request to the Budget Committee.
Ms. Jordan observed that they needed to get moving on the projects. She mentioned making
links to schools or other public areas. She discussed the issue of geographic equity in the
distribution of links.
Mr. Tushner pointed out that the three smaller projects were easier to engineer, which staff was
in the process of doing. He indicated that staff would develop a recommended priority list for
the Board and give the Board a sense of the engineering and feasibility of the four projects. He
observed that the larger($135,000) project would likely not be done this year but perhaps the
remaining three ($40,000 each) would.
Ms. Jordan expressed the Board's appreciation for Mr. Tushner and Ms. Marcott's work as their
staff liaisons.
Mr. Schmitz announced that construction started on the Palisades project tomorrow.
City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 3
December 18, 2001
6 ;
Councilor Turchi noted that the Board members have now received their property tax
statements, which included the school measure. He asked to what degree did they think that
Lake Oswego citizens would favor increased property taxes to fund traffic and transportation
projects. Ms.Jordan mentioned the Board's discussion of reviving local improvement districts
(including partial districts) and finding creative ways to generate neighborhood support for
pathways.
Ms. Jordan spoke to getting one of these pathway projects going in order to have something to
point to in generating that support. Mr. Kronenberg commented that people did not know
about the projects. He speculated that if they saw a project in progress or completed, then they
might feel better about the process. Ms.Jordan observed that there were many ways to provide
pedestrian connections other than the traditional sidewalk, curb and gutter.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
‘ a),:,,,,k,-,
R byn istie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON
Judie Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 3
December 18, 2001 6 3
64
4.3.4
02/05/02
MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 2002
SPECIAL MORNING MEETING
66
01 Oat OSM}
` \° CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
CAI► 1R January 8, 2002
�O EGO$ -
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the special City Council meeting to order at 7:32 a.m. on
January 8, 2002, in the City Council Chambers.
Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Turchi, Graham, McPeak, Hoffman, Rohde
(arrived 7:35 a.m.) and Schoen.
Staff Present: Doug Schmitz, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie, City
Recorder; Stephan Lashbrook, Community Development Director
3. REVIEW EVENING AGENDA
Mayor Hammerstad noted the four presentations scheduled for the study session this evening.
She requested that Councilors ask only for more information this morning and hold their
substantive questions for this evening.
Item 3.2 Planning Commission Recommendation for Approval of Zoning/Development
Code Consolidation (LU 01-0048)
David Powell, City Attorney, indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that staff could make the staff
report this evening short, depending on the level of detail that the Council wanted to hear. He
expressed his appreciation for Councilor Hoffman reading the whole thing but pointed out that
all the Council really needed to know was that staff was consolidating everything into one place
in an effort to make the Code more logical and readable.
Item 3.3. Draft Waluga Neighborhood Plan (LU 00-0025)
Mayor Hammerstad noted that the neighborhood made the changes to its plan that Council
requested.
Mayor Hammerstad explained to Councilor Graham that she did not need to read earlier
drafts of a staff report because staff incorporated the changes into the latest draft. She suggested
following a rule of thumb: read only what was pertinent.
Item 3.4 Planning Commission Recommendation for Approval of Density Guidelines (ZC
7-98)
Councilor McPeak requested information on whether other jurisdictions had the future
development plan concept in place or were considering it. Mayor Hammerstad observed that
the concept existed in overlays on developments, such as Clackamas Town Center or
Washington Square, with one intent of preventing underdevelopment.
Stephan Lashbrook, Community Development Director, indicated to Councilor McPeak
that, with respect to minimum density specifically, he knew that some jurisdictions have applied
the minimum density requirements across the board and not exempted partitions at all. He
explained that the Planning Commission had been trying to create a situation where people could
not circumvent the minimum density requirement by going through a series of partitions year
after year. He said that he would research the question today and provide the information in the
evening.
Mr. Lashbrook indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that Lake Oswego, if not the last jurisdiction
to adopt the minimum density requirements, was one of a handful of the last.
Mayor Hammerstad asked Mr. Lashbrook to explain to her later in the day, the application of
the mathematical formula for determining a lot size (minus the 20% for roads and streets).
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4
January 8, 2002
6 'r
Mayor Hammerstad recalled that she had talked to David Bragdon about the impact of the City
buying up open space in an area that might come into the urban growth boundary in light of the
population and housing targets mandated by Metro, and whether it led to a problem of density
transfer, including the open space. She said that the answer was yes, according to the City Code.
Mayor Hammerstad said that Metro, in looking at the amount of the area that could come into
the urban growth boundary, would take out the open space. She stated that she wanted to be on
that committee in order to ensure that Lake Oswego did not have density transfer from that open
space, which would put the City in a bad situation.
Mr. Lashbrook clarified to Councilor Schoen that the City either took out the actual amount of
roads, streets and parks or it used the 80%/20% allocation.
Councilor McPeak asked staff to give a clear explanation of density transfer for the audience
this evening. Mayor Hammerstad mentioned including the exemptions.
4. REVIEW FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Mayor Hammerstad noted the addition of a study session on annexation and tax increment
financing on Monday, January 28. She indicated to Councilor Schoen that sign ordinance was
rescheduled for January 29.
The Council discussed going out to dinner after the Friday retreat session but decided to do it
another night. Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that the invitation to civic groups to come to the
Saturday morning session would be in the paper this week. The Council discussed the parking
arrangements at U.S. Bank.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
5.1 Selection of date for tour of Hart Property
Mayor Hammerstad recalled the concerns on the Council that the City might want to preserve
the house instead of demolishing it. She referenced the demolition request in asking for
consideration that the Council was not experts on the question, and it did have a recommendation
for demolition from an expert who reviewed the matter.
Mayor Hammerstad observed that the Council going out en masse might arouse neighbors'
concerns. She asked what the consequences were to a Council desire to preserve the home,
especially in terms of finances. She indicated to Councilor Hoffman that she thought it would
be more appropriate for the Historic Review Advisory Board to tour the house, as opposed to
accompanying the Council on a tour.
Councilor Rohde reported that he looked at the house after the last meeting. He indicated that it
was probably a house worth saving; it was over 100 years old and Lake Oswego had few of
those homes left. He pointed out that the `expert' who recommended demolition also
recommended the demolition of Lantern Lodge, the Thiely residence and the Heritage House for
the same reasons: the houses were in terrible condition and would require a lot of money to
renovate. He argued that those facts did not mean that they simply abandoned the effort.
Councilor Rohde held that the house had some historical value to the community. He spoke to
finding ways to preserve it, such as National Historic Register grants. He argued that, although
it was easier and less costly in monetary terms to tear down the structure, it might be more
expensive in social terms.
Councilor Graham said that she would like to tour the house. She indicated that she wanted to
know why it would be demolished and why it would not be demolished. She suggested splitting
the Council visit if it would attract too much attention.
Councilor McPeak asked if it was trickier politically to have HRAB tour the house, recommend
retaining it and the Council disagree with the recommendation. She said that, in that situation,
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4
January 8, 2002
6b
she was uncomfortable not seeing the house. She questioned the difficulty of an HRAB decision
versus a Council visit.
Councilor Turchi reported that he took looked at the house and saw some architectural merit,
characteristic of the period. He acknowledged the point that HRAB designating the house as
worth preserving left the Council with having to take on an historically designated site, a
situation with which he was uncomfortable.
Mayor Hammerstad indicated to Councilor McPeak that it was best to see the inside rather
than simply to go and look at the outside on one's own.
Councilor Hoffman said that he had no problem touring the home with HRAB. He pointed out
that the citizens on that committee have given the Council their opinion on the head gate and
other items; the Council accepted some of their recommendations but not all of them. He
commented that HRAB wanted to be consulted by the Council on these matters. He remarked
that the house might be worth preserving but the Council might not be able to afford to do so.
He spoke in support of looking at the house.
The Council discussed when to schedule the tour. Councilors Schoen, Turchi, Rohde and
Hoffman each indicated that he could take the tour on Wednesday, January 9, at 10 a.m.; Mayor
Hammerstad, Councilors McPeak and Graham each indicated that she could take the tour on
Wednesday, January 16, at 9 a.m.
The Council discussed setting a date for the Board and Commission/City Council dinner(with
spouses) at the Country Club. It agreed on January 27 at 6:30 p.m. Councilor Hoffman agreed
to confirm the date at the Country Club.
Mayor Hammerstad confirmed to Councilor Graham that she should tell Shirley to re-
schedule the Library Advisory Board interviews (January 24) because they conflicted with the
Clackamas Cities Dinner.
Mayor Hammerstad noted that Lake Oswego was the host for the February Clackamas Cities
dinner. She commented that Councilor Rohde's suggested economist sounded like a good
speaker. Councilor Rohde also suggested Representative Darlene Hooley. Mayor
Hammerstad said that she would ask her.
Mr. Schmitz indicated that staff would respond to the request from a schoolgirl in Rye,NY,
regarding her school project on cities on the West Coast. Councilor Turchi mentioned that
Lake Oswego school children send out letters all across the country requesting similar things,
and that there was a certain reciprocity expected.
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad recessed the meeting at 8:04 a.m. to Executive Session pursuant to ORS
192.660(1)(i), to review and evaluate the performance of an officer, employee, or staff member
pursuant to standards, criteria, and policy directives adopted by the City Council.
Councilor Turchi moved to give the City Manager and the City Attorney a 5% increase to
get them partially towards parity with other jurisdictions, and an additional 2% added on
July 1, 2002, to cover the cost of living. Councilor Graham seconded the motion. A voice
vote was taken and the motion passed with Mayor Hammerstad and Councilors Turchi,
Graham, McPeak, Hoffman, Rohde and Schoen voting in favor. [7-01
7. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad reconvened the morning meeting at 9:33 a.m.
Councilor Graham presented a request from Kay Roney of the Lake Oswego Lakers that the
Council donate a luncheon as an item at the Lakers annual fund-raising auction in February.
Mayor Hammerstad discussed her concern that the Council already had a meal engagement
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4
January 8, 2002
6 �i
donated to the Rotary Club, which has not been taken up. She expressed her discomfort with the
Council donating several of these kinds of things, only to have them all come up during the same
month. The Council agreed not to donate a luncheon.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 9:37 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob hris ie ajl'A:4411
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON
Judie Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4
January 8, 2002 U
4.3.5
02/05/02
MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 2002
SPECIAL MEETING
71
7N
LAKE
1p)
osw
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 8, 2002
atmom
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the City Council study session to order at 6:05 p.m. on
January 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; Sidaro Sin, Associate Planner; Evan Boone, Deputy City Attorney;
Stephan Lashbrook, Community Development Director; Jane Heisler, Associate
Planner; Denny Egner, Long Range Planning Manager
3. STUDY SESSION
3.1 Planning Commission Recommendations for Approval of Neighborhood Notice
Requirements (LU 01-0045)
Sidaro Sin,Associate Planner,mentioned that the intent of the proposed amendments was to
increase notification and citizen involvement in land use applications. He noted that these
amendments would apply citywide and pertain to the required neighborhood association
meetings and mailed notices for pending land use applications.
Mr. Sin noted the change requiring developers to mail notices to the abutting neighborhood
associations, in addition to the impacted neighborhood association. He reviewed the requirement
that expanding the 300-foot mailing notice area in 10-foot increments until 50 property owners
were notified(when there were not 50 property owners living within 300 feet of the property).
Mr. Sin mentioned the requirement that the applicant provide more detailed and specific
information at the neighborhood meetings. He indicated that a neighborhood association chair
would have the opportunity to provide a list of the neighborhood's concerns in addition to the
applicant's separate minutes.
Mr. Sin said that Jeff Novak was the sole testifier at the Planning Commission's November 16
hearing; staff incorporated his comments into the draft amendments, which the Commission
recommended for approval.
Councilor Graham asked for clarification on Point 6 (page 5). She asked if the determination
that an application was complete meant that the application was in compliance or simply
completed. Mr. Sin explained that an application had to meet certain requirements in order to be
deemed complete.
Councilor Schoen noted that, although the requirements applied city wide, four neighborhoods
drove the changes. He asked what input the City received from the rest of the city. Mr. Sin said
that staff did multiple mailings through the Planning Commission and received no comments
from any other neighborhood association.
Councilor Schoen asked what was the rationale behind notifying abutting neighborhood
associations of developments. Mr. Sin said that the concern arose out of the fact that the
impacts of a development in one neighborhood, such as on traffic or water runoff, could
potentially impact the abutting neighborhoods. He clarified that the requirement was to mail out
letters to the abutting neighborhood association chairs, and not to everyone in the abutting
neighborhoods.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 1 of 13
January 8, 2002 ,
(3
Mr. Sin indicated to Councilor Hoffman that the Code consolidation would update the
references in the document.
Councilor Hoffman asked if the 10-foot increment rule was in the Waluga Neighborhood Plan,
stating that he did not remember seeing it there. Mr. Sin indicated that the reference to the
closest 50 property owners was in the Waluga plan but the idea came from Planning Commission
brainstorming sessions on how to notify 50 property owners.
Councilor Hoffman observed that this would apply to all neighborhood plans and land use
applications. He indicated that he did not see this as an unduly expensive proposition for the
developers, who preferred working with the neighborhoods at the beginning of the process as
opposed to hearing objections at the Planning Commission hearing.
Councilor Rohde asked to include First Addition and Old Town on the grid (page 4) because
they were adopted neighborhood plans. He pointed out that First Addition served as the template
for the remaining neighborhood plans.
Councilor Rohde asked why the lake was left off as an abutting neighborhood association. He
pointed out that something done in his neighborhood association was seen by everyone in
Hallinan across the lake. Mr. Sin indicated that the Commission did discuss that question. He
said that staff recommended staying with the abutting neighborhood associations because all the
lake was zoned residential; there was little chance of multi-family or commercial developments
with their significant visual impacts occurring.
Dan Vizzini, Planning Commission, concurred that the Commission concluded that, given the
predominantly residential nature of the neighborhoods around the lake, notifying the across-the-
lake neighborhoods seemed like overkill. He spoke of trying to reach a balance in not making
this too onerous. He indicated to Councilor Rohde that they tried to incorporate as much of the
neighborhood plan noticing requirements as possible while achieving more efficiency in a
uniform code for the city.
Councilor Hoffman referenced Section 49.36.710 (page 10). He questioned giving the
neighborhood associations an additional 10 days to identify issues after starting the 120-day
clock(upon completion of the application). He suggested deeming an application complete
except for neighborhood input and waiting until after the 10 days to start the 120-day clock. He
observed that it was a staff issue of determining whether they needed the time.
Mr. Sin explained that often, between the time of the neighborhood meeting and the application
submittal, the design or application changed. He said that giving the neighborhood the 10 days
was staffs attempt to deal with neighborhood issues at the beginning of the process, as opposed
to at the end of it. He mentioned that, as part of these amendments, they were writing into the
Code that the neighborhood chairs could submit their own list of concerns. He indicated that he
was comfortable that they could get through the process within the 120 days.
Councilor Graham referenced Section D (page 10) and Section 7A (page 11). She asked why
the same sentence was crossed out on page 10 but left in on page 11. David Powell, City
Attorney, indicated that the sentence was duplicative, and did not need to be on the first page.
Mayor Hammerstad noted the public hearing scheduled for February 5.
3.2 Planning Commission Recommendation for Approval of Zoning/Development Code
Consolidation (LU 01-0048)
Mr. Sin explained that the intent was to reorganize the City Zoning Code, Development Code
and Development standards by consolidating them into a more logical flow. He noted that the
consolidation did not include any substantive modification to the text. He mentioned that the last
Code reorganization occurred in 1982.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 2 of 13
January 8, 2002 7 4
Mr. Sin reviewed the three categories of revisions: changing references from Planning Director
to City Manager, correcting typographical errors and providing an explanation for any changes
that went beyond the first two. He noted the errata sheets for errors detected after the
consolidation went to print in December.
Mr. Sin described how the reorganized Code followed the chronological steps of the land use
process. He mentioned that there was no public testimony at the Planning Commission's
November 26 public hearing; staff had not received any written comments. He said that the
Planning Commission recommended adoption of the reorganization.
Councilor McPeak asked why staff changed `Planning Director' to 'City Manager.' Evan
Boone, Deputy City Attorney, explained that the Development Code said City Manager while
the Zoning Code said Planning Director; Tom Coffee, the former Planning Director who worked
on the reorganization, had favored City Manager over Planning Director. He noted that the
definition of City Manager included the City Manager or his designee.
Mr. Powell observed that the Code often referred to City Manager in lieu of another staff
position title because the Charter mandated that the City have a City Manager, whereas the City
could change other staff position titles as appropriate. He said that the City Manager then
delegated those duties to the various department heads.
Mr. Boone discussed the process he, Tom Coffee, Hamid Pishvaie and Mike Wheeler went
through, beginning in 1999, to develop the Code consolidation. He indicated that the Planning
Department has been using the working draft(second draft following staff comments) for 8
months, which resulted in additional comments and revisions. He mentioned the press release on
the draft Code consolidation given to the papers, the Chamber and frequent users of planning
services as well as the inclusion of the draft on the City website.
Mr. Boone indicated that staff issued another press release to the same people following the
Planning Commission's work. He mentioned an article in Hello, LO. He said that they have not
received any public comments, other than from one neighborhood chair who said that he was
pleased with the result.
Councilor Rohde asked how staff has integrated the Code consolidation with the City's e-
government procedures. Mr. Boone explained that, upon adoption and becoming part of the
Code, staff would put it on the City website under the Code page. He mentioned the use of a
PDF mode, which would make it easier to view the Code online. He noted that the consolidation
also included the development standards, which have not been online previously.
Councilor Rohde spoke to staff writing an article on the Code consolidation for the League of
Oregon Cities newsletter. He thought that other communities in Oregon would be interested in
following up on Lake Oswego's process. Mr. Powell mentioned that Lake Oswego's Code was
among those posted on the League website and accessible statewide. Mayor Hammerstad
suggested that Mr. Powell and Mr. Boone send a press release to the League.
Dan Vizzini, Planning Commissioner, said that the Commission was happy with the product
and has been using it since it received the first draft. He mentioned that the most critical user of
the document, Ken Sandblast (a planning professional), was pleased with the flow of the
document and found it a good product from the user's point of view.
Mr. Boone mentioned that they would put the neighborhood notice provisions (and the other
ordinances scheduled for hearing on the same night) into the consolidation format once they
knew that they would be adopted. He explained that the theory was that when the Council
adopted the new Community Development Code first, staff would have already put the other
ordinances into the new format.
Councilor Hoffman said that he thought it was a good product. He asked where the definitions
were for Section 50.41 (drainage standards for major development), as he could not find them.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 3 of 13
January 8, 2002 '( J
Mr. Boone indicated that Councilor Hoffman was the first one to notice that omission; staff
would put those definitions in the definition section.
Mr. Powell mentioned the hard work and time invested by Mr. Boone and the Planning staff
(Mr. Pishvaie, in particular) in reorganizing the Code. Mayor Hammerstad noted that the
public hearing on the Code was scheduled for February 5.
3.3 Draft Waluga Neighborhood Plan (LU 00-0025)
Mayor Hammerstad recalled that the Council appointed a Council subcommittee to work with
neighborhood representatives with respect to Council concerns with the plan. She mentioned
that they also worked on the revisions requested by the Department of Land Conservation and
Development(DLCD) for compliance with state law.
Mr. Sin mentioned that the subcommittee had identified 16 policies of concern. He indicated
that the subcommittee, staff and the Waluga Steering Committee worked over the last 7 months
to find acceptable language for the 16 policies. He noted that the earlier agenda item addressed
the plan policies requiring additional notification. He commented that the working group
reworded the plan policies, which had required a higher degree of scrutiny for changes to multi-
family or commercial zones, to strongly emphasize the City's current requirements for zone
changes.
Mr. Sin indicated that the group eliminated those policies, which the DLCD construed as
unfairly promoting single-family development, and replaced them with a statement regarding the
character of single-family developments as urban space and the use of open space. He noted that
the subcommittee supported the plan policy prohibiting new drive-through window facilities in
the Lake Grove business district (as a means of ensuring a design quality for future development
in the area).
Mr. Sin said that the subcommittee accepted the Transportation Advisory Board's
recommendation to keep the sidewalk and bike lane on the east side of Quarry in addition to
providing a sidewalk along Douglas Way.
Mr. Sin confirmed to Mayor Hammerstad that the neighborhood association agreed with the
changes.
Councilor Hoffman said that he went through the plan pretending to be a developer who wanted
to get a zone change for a tri-plex (a major development). He stated that he could not figure out
what the burden of proof was for the applicant. He confirmed to Mr. Powell that he was
referencing the example on page 9.
Mr. Powell indicated that the Comprehensive Plan Goal 2, Policy 14F, already set out the
burden of proof for an applicant, which was confirmed by case law as applicable in all quasi-
judicial land use proceedings. He concurred that the Comprehensive Plan policy did not include
the words `strictly required.' He referenced Mr. Sin's staff report discussing the DLCD's
objections to the proposed plan policies favoring single-family housing.
Mr. Powell explained that, in the discussions, the neighborhood clarified that it wanted to say
that what it really meant was that a developer had to demonstrate substantial evidence and meet
the burden of proof described in Policy 14F. He mentioned the neighborhood's concern that
prior decisions did not pay enough attention to the existing burden of proof. He said that the
Task Force recommended language, such as `strictly required,' in order to address the
neighborhood's concern, rather than changing the criteria.
Councilor Schoen asked what the rationale was for not allowing new drive-through food
services. Mr. Sin referenced the research on other cities' handling of this issue, which he did at
the subcommittee's request. He said that 50% allowed some form of drive through facilities and
50% did not. He explained that the primary factor was the intent to develop pedestrian activity
in town centers; drive-through facilities were seen as having an adverse impact to that intent. He
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 4 of 13
January 8, 2002
7 6
noted that this prohibition was also consistent with the Lake Grove Neighborhood plan, which
governed the other side of Boones Ferry.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the subcommittee's concern about proliferation, as there were
already several drive-throughs in the area. She pointed out that this prohibited new drive-
throughs as a means of making the area more pedestrian friendly and discouraging drive through
use. Councilor Schoen observed that this was the only area of the City that provided drive-
through services.
Mr. Boone confirmed to Councilor Hoffman that the plan would include the 10-foot increment
in the noticing provisions discussed earlier.
Councilor Hoffman noted a typographical error on page 2, RAM 2.
Mayor Hammerstad opened the meeting to public testimony.
• Jeff Novak, 4322 Collins Way
Mr. Novak expressed his hope that they would see this adopted soon, as they have been working
on it for five years. He noted the active involvement by the neighbors and the Steering
Committee's work in soliciting input from the neighbors. He described the biggest issue for
them as finding a way to communicate the characteristics of their neighborhood for planning
decisions.
Mr. Novak observed that Waluga was unique in that it was the densest of all the Lake Oswego
neighborhoods. He noted that their geography shaped them as an island of residential, which
they wanted to protect from encroachment. He explained that that factor lay behind the wording
`strictly required.' He acknowledged Waluga's status as a primary planning model of what the
City was trying to do in terms of single-family residential surrounded by multi-family residential
and a business district.
Mr. Novak indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that the neighborhood was supportive of the
Council discussion. Mayor Hammerstad noted that the public hearing on the plan was
scheduled for February 2.
Councilor Hoffman asked for clarification of a statement on page 47: "do not adopt criteria that
will include deterioration or demolition as a justification for a zone change." Mr. Powell noted
the deletion of the original policy proposed by the neighborhood to not allow deterioration or
demolition of existing homes as a reason for plan and zoning map amendment changes.
Mr. Powell discussed the subcommittee's concern about having a policy that prohibited
deterioration as a reason for a zone change, while at the same time the City wanted to encourage
the redevelopment of dilapidated areas. He described the statement as a compromise, in which
the neighborhood asked that the City not adopt official zone change criteria that included
deterioration or demolition as justifications themselves.
Mr. Powell indicated to Councilor McPeak that the City has never adopted those criteria. He
noted that this was a directive to the City not to do so. He described the neighborhood's concern
as a developer using the deterioration of a house as it aged as justification for a zone change to
commercial. He pointed out that this compromise provided the neighborhood with some
assurance that the Council would not make that a criterion yet did not delve into the motivations
of redevelopers.
Councilor Hoffman asked what it added to the plan to include the statement on page 49 about
enhancing the character of low-density residential development within the Waluga neighborhood
by requiring the preservation of open space and natural resources per the City's adopted
Sensitive Lands Ordinance. He pointed out that the City already had the Sensitive Lands
Ordinance and overlays.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 5 of 13
January 8, 2002 7 7
Mayor Hammerstad recalled that this was one of many similar comments and a problem for the
DLCD. She explained that the subcommittee decided to leave in basic goal statements of what
the residents wanted their neighborhood to look like while removing other superfluous
comments.
Councilor Hoffman said that he had no problem with the neighborhood character statement,
except that it seemed to be directly contrary to what DLCD said. He questioned whether the list
of characteristics on page 61 was consistent with the subcommittee's intent and DLCD's
direction. Mayor Hammerstad said that the subcommittee looked at this list as a goal statement
and the statement on page 49 as a mission statement. She emphasized that they were not
regulatory statements.
Councilor Hoffman reiterated that he saw a tension between DLCD's direction and the Steering
Committee's discussion of its vision for the future. Mr. Powell pointed out that DLCD's letter
did not oppose the idea of celebrating the idea of the neighborhood's single-family nature and
desiring to preserve it. He explained that DLCD objected to regulatory provisions that made that
harder or impossible to achieve. He concurred that the Task Force did not see the character
statement as violating DLCD's direction; it was a statement declaring the neighborhood's
aspirations.
Mayor Hammerstad recalled that DLCD wanted the neighborhood plan to allow for any type of
housing. She indicated that the lack of that allowance was what DLCD based its objections on.
She spoke to leaving the statement in, citing the numerous compromises by the patient
neighborhood, which was been willing to work these issues through. Councilor Hoffman
concurred that the plan was a good piece of work.
Mr. Powell referenced a sentence on page 66 and several policies under Goal 10, which stated a
goal of encouraging the maintenance of single-family residential uses as the predominant land
use, as long as other housing types were not unduly excluded. He held that that was consistent
with the neighborhood character statement.
Councilor Rohde asked if RAM 9 (page 91) was the only reference to the parking problems in
the area. Mr. Sin noted that it was also addressed under major issues in regulation 6. Doug
Schmitz, City Manager, indicated that this was a compromise between making a policy versus
a recommended action measure (RAM). Mr. Sin confirmed that the neighborhood did this
before the subcommittee formation.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the public hearing on February 5.
3.4 Planning Commission Recommendation for Approval of Density Guidelines (ZC 7-98)
Jane Heisler, Community Planning Manager, reviewed the history of the density guidelines,
starting in 1996 with the adoption by Metro of its Urban Growth Management Functional Plan
that required all cities and counties to change their Comprehensive Plans and Zoning Codes to
meet the Functional Plan requirements. She mentioned that many of those requirements did
result in more efficient use of urban land, the infrastructure, transportation system and open
space as a preventative against the expansion of the urban growth boundary.
Ms. Heisler mentioned the City Council's 1997 adoption of regulating language for R-3 and R-5
zones, which the proposed amendment deleted because it applied to lots created by subdivision
or by partition. She explained that later Metro explained that the minimum that the City had to
do to meet its requirements was apply the guidelines to subdivisions, which the proposed
amendment did.
Ms. Heisler noted that the second proposal in 1999 to apply the guidelines to the rest of the
residential zones including applying minimum density to any proposed lot with a minimum of a
half acre size. She recalled that Council asked staff to meet with Metro to discuss the City's
options and a possible exception; Metro did not find an exception feasible because the City could
not meet its density targets within the city limits.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 6 of 13
January 8, 2002
'( b
Ms. Heisler indicated that this proposal, heard by the Planning Commission on November 14,
2001, did what Council requested by justifying application of the guidelines to subdivisions. She
noted the Planning Commission findings (Exhibit A, pages 115 — 116). She reviewed the
arguments that the Commission heard during public testimony. She summarized the
Commission's response to the testimony as the City was trying to do its part in terms of regional
goals, and that long-range planning involved looking at the future.
Ms. Heisler mentioned that staff originally proposed not including the R-2, R-0 and DD zones
because those three zones based the maximum number of units on floor area ratio rather than on
minimum lot sizes. She explained that staff put them back in when Metro argued that the City
was not dealing with all its residential zones. She observed that doing so was also more in
keeping with the Council's direction to apply the minimum density requirements to subdivisions.
Ms. Heisler mentioned the Commission's concern that a property owner could circumvent the
minimum density requirements through a series of partitions over more than one calendar year.
She discussed the Commission's solution of requiring a `future development plan,' by which the
City would not lose the opportunity for minimum density on the entire parcel.
Ms. Heisler used an overhead projector graphic to demonstrate how the future development plan
worked. She described a scenario of a person applying to partition into two lots, land that was
four times the minimum lot size. The person would draw up a future development plan that
showed how the parcel could be developed at minimum density over time; the City would record
the notice of the future development plan so that any property owner would know about it as
well as the City, and both could use it as a guide for future development.
Ms. Heisler described another scenario of a property owner with a lot with an existing house on
it who wanted to partition it into two lots and build another house; he/she had to locate the house
on the second lot in such a manner that it would not preclude the future partitioning of the
remaining lot.
Councilor Turchi asked if this requirement precluded a property owner with two acres of land
from partitioning his/her property to give half to his/her children to build a house on and use the
other half to build his/her dream house, nestled in the trees in the center of the property. Ms.
Heisler agreed that there was a potential for this requirement to impose a size restriction and a
location restriction on homes, even if the property was not ever subdivided.
Mr. Vizzini concurred, arguing that the zone itself established the restriction because it
determined how many lots could occupy the space, as well as the building envelope through
setbacks.
Ms. Heisler confirmed to Councilor Turchi that a person building on Lot 2 would have to pick
out which of the potentially available lots he/she would put his/her house on. She concurred that
a dream house could not be located in the woods in the center of the property.
Councilor Turchi commented that this was different from his general notion of minimum
density, which has been that it was not a big deal, as a person could partition his/her property
into three lots. He pointed out that this proposal allowed the partitioning into three lots but then
required building on the property as though it were a subdivision. Mr. Vizzini stated that a
person had to build in keeping with the zone.
Mr. Vizzini described the friction as arising from saying, on one hand, that the property owner
needed to plat his/her property according to the zone requirements, and on the other, that he/she
could not build on multiples of the lots once they were platted, because that meant building
incompatibly with the zone. He argued that trying to put a building that normally fit on an R-10
zone in an R-5 zone raised neighborhood compatibility issues. He commented that he heard
concern about the idea that people could not build across lots, once they were platted, and that
this proposal required the building envelope to fit within a single lot on the plat.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 7 of 13
January 8, 2002 7
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Councilor Turchi said that he understood that intellectually but he had a problem with the
larger pieces of land in Forest Highlands. He observed that many Forest Highlands property
owners only wanted to partition their land to build a second house on it; they did not want to
subdivide. He argued that this requirement did not allow them to partition their property and use
it as though it were a one-acre lot.
Mayor Hammerstad referenced the Atherton Heights development on Derby Street. She
pointed out that the developer did cluster the houses towards the front of the five acres, thus
leaving the back land for future development, which was a good decision in light of preserving
the urban growth boundary. She held that it would have been a better decision if it had been a
rule.
Mr. Vizzini mentioned another possibility of not dividing the property but simply placing a
secondary structure on the acreage.
Councilor Turchi commented that he supported the urban growth boundary and Lake Oswego
taking its fair share of growth and development in the Portland metro area but he wanted to be
sure that he understood the ramifications of the proposal.
Ms. Heisler concluded that the language stating 'two lots' meant that her idea of building a
secondary dwelling unit within the square footage of the home or as an accessory structure
would not work.
Mr. Powell discussed the concern of the Forest Highland property owners, who were not as
interested in building secondary dwelling units on the same lot, as they were in partitioning the
land and giving half of it to their children. He observed that clearly the Council had a difficult
choice. The Council could either go strictly with Metro's minimum requirements and allow the
opportunity for serial partitions to get around the minimum density requirement or it could use
the Commission's ingenious solution of requiring a shadow plat for partitions.
Mayor Hammerstad held that, from a practical standpoint, the market would drive the issue.
She argued that property owners would put the maximum number of dwelling units possible on
the land in order to achieve the maximum profit in the long run. She pointed out that Lake
Oswego was already developing at more than 80% density.
Councilor McPeak observed that one reason why the Council let this subject simmer as long as
it has was because of its lack of welcome by possibly the majority of the Council. She concurred
that the Council overall supported the concept of the urban growth boundary, which she did not
want to expand more rapidly than necessary. She stated that she would wait to be convinced that
this was a good idea.
Councilor McPeak argued that if they made this change for the small number of likely serial
partitions, they would be adding to a controversial solution. She described the idea as `difficult
to defend.' She said that she found it hard to support the idea at this time. She held that, in
trying to achieve this perfectly efficient use of land, the Council could harm its chances of
achieving a good but not perfect use of land.
Councilor McPeak stated that if Metro did not ask this of the Council, then she was not yet
convinced that they should ask it of themselves. She held that the gains were small and the
negatives were large.
Ms. Heisler put up a graphic showing what other communities have done. She noted that some
cities have achieved 50% minimum density because they were so close to meeting their targets
while others have included partitions because they could not meet their targets if they restricted
it to subdivisions.
Mr. Lashbrook presented the research staff did per Council's request this morning. He reported
that there were four jurisdictions still pending before Metro on compliance with this issue: Lake
Oswego, Oregon City, Durham and Multnomah County. He indicated that Oregon City was still
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 8 of 13
January 8, 2002
working on it, Durham asked for an extension because it did not want to do it, and Multnomah
County was doing it through a participatory process with its cities.
Ms. Heisler clarified that Multnomah County did not provide urban services; therefore, it used
an intergovernmental agreement process with its cities to achieve compliance, which it needed to
finish.
Mr. Lashbrook reviewed the three questions he asked of individuals at each of the cities,
including whether they applied it to land partitions and whether they had a method of phasing it
in. He noted that, while most of the cities were already doing more than the minimum Metro
requirements, they were not all doing them the same.
Councilor Schoen concurred with Councilor McPeak's comments. He commented that he had
come in with the understanding that the City would not apply minimum density to partitions. He
stated that he could not support the proposal. He spoke to doing what Metro required the City to
do, which would be an easier sell. He recalled that the number of developable parcels in the city
were not enough to create a battle over partitions versus future development plans for partitions.
Mayor Hammerstad commented that if this provision was going to be a fatal flaw in the
support of the ordinance, then the Council wanted to see an ordinance with this part deleted.
Councilor Hoffman asked what problem the City was trying to solve with the future
development plan. Mr. Lashbrook summarized the comments of Mr. Johnson and Mr.
Sandblast, the two Planning Commissioners most strongly supporting the future development
plan. He indicated that these two gentlemen have been around the business long enough to have
seen developers using a series of partitions to get around subdivision requirements. He
mentioned a scenario of a developer asking for a two-lot partition on December 30 and another
two-lot partition two weeks later.
Mr. Vizzini clarified that the Commission thought it unfair to allow two different standards for
identical properties abutting each other. He noted that one coming under the subdivision
requirements had one set of standards while the other coming under a series of partitions had
another set of standards, which reeked of unfair application of the requirements.
Mr. Vizzini indicated that he did not see this as an issue of Metro compliance but rather as a
logical extension of the zoning map. He argued that the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map
established a given area of town for development at a certain density level, which also achieved
neighborhood compatibility.
Mr. Vizzini pointed out that this proposal did not apply to all partitions but only those that met
the four times the minimum lot size requirement. He emphasized that they were not talking
about small lots dividable into two to three parcels but only lots large enough to divide into four
or more parcels. He mentioned that this issue was personal to him because of the situation on
the large parcel in back of his house, in which the property owner built a large house that was
incompatible with the neighborhood and proposed dividing the property in two and building a
second incompatible house.
Mr. Vizzini cited the development behind his house as an example of the problem that could
result from serial partitioning. He conceded that looking at the situation in terms of an owner
wanting to give his/her children a piece of the property was one way to look at it. He argued that
another way was to see that serial partitioning allowed the opportunity for incompatible
developments that were at odds with the underlying zone and the Comprehensive Plan.
Mayor Hammerstad described a scenario, using the graphic, in which a property owner
demolished a little house on his/her land and built a big house under the County standards. Then
the owner wanted to annex into the City and subdivide, which presented a problem because of
the house location. She held that this was happening along the major streets, especially in Forest
Highlands, where a huge house took up a large amount of land and made it almost impossible to
put in development compatible with the neighborhood.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 9 of 13
January 8, 2002 81
Mayor Hammerstad argued that they could prevent this scenario by using the shadow platting,
so that they knew where the house could go. She spoke of doing an intergovernmental
agreement with the County with respect to the minimum density requirements for the region.
Mayor Hammerstad concurred with Councilor Turchi that for these examples, the market was
not working. Councilor McPeak referenced the Mayor's earlier comment that market forces
supported the concept. She argued that zoning was supposed to put ultimate limits on the use of
the land but not force people towards a limit. She held that minimum density did force people
with respect to the use of the land, while zoning simply laid out the boundaries.
Councilor Hoffman disagreed, contending that zoning was a forced use of the land, regulations
that came into existence because the market was not working. Councilor McPeak clarified that
she was speaking of a single piece of property. She pointed out that zoning allowed a property
owner to divide a large piece of property up into a certain number of pieces but it did not force
the property owner to divide it.
Mayor Hammerstad conceded the point but argued that minimum density did not force
anything either. Councilor McPeak disagreed, arguing that a shadow plat prohibited a property
owner from building a big house. She said that zoning currently allowed a person to have one
house on a big piece of land. She contended that the shadow plat added another restriction on
the land use by saying that the property owner could not build a big house on that piece of land.
Mr. Vizzini pointed out that the restriction was what was allowed in the zone. Councilor
McPeak reiterated that zoning was not intended to force that,rather it limited a lot to a certain
size under the zoning and allowed the property owner to build up to whatever the zone allowed.
Councilor Hoffman agreed, commenting that zoning forced the size of the building as well as
the type of development. Councilor McPeak argued that this went beyond that.
Mr. Vizzini pointed out that the Mayor's scenario used an undivided lot with the dream house
built on the back of the lot; then the owner came into the city in order to divide the lot. He
described the situation as a `grandfathered situation,' in asking the question of what did the
minimum density rule require of the property owner when he/she came into the city to divide the
land.
Mr. Vizzini mentioned his and Ms. Heisler's search through the exceptions to see if, under this
circumstance, the owner could divide the remaining property into fewer lots than otherwise
would be required under the zone. He noted that the location and size of the house precluded the
full subdivision of the land per the zone requirements because there was not enough room to
meet the setback requirements.
Mr. Vizzini pointed out that there was a loophole in the way the ordinance was written, which
could be codified by adding an exception under Sec 48.57.15: in cases where there was a pre-
existing structure and insufficient land to meet the minimum requirement, then one divided the
land up to the maximum extent possible under the zone.
Councilor Schoen asked if the reality was that people would develop to the County standards
before annexing to the city. He argued that this put an unnecessary restriction on the use of the
land.
Councilor McPeak asked if the City could put a timing regulation that prohibited partitions
closer than one year apart. Mr. Powell noted that Metro used the state law definitions of
partitions and subdivisions. He conceded that there might be some opportunity for the City to
make that kind of a regulation, as long as it used the same terminology and applied it at least to
subdivisions. He indicated that Metro would not prohibit the City from applying it to partitions
beyond the definition of subdivision.
Mr. Vizzini argued that this was not about restricting the use of someone's property; only a
partition or subdivision of the property triggered this provision. He held that a person could
develop a dream house on his/her property at any time under the current rules and these proposed
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 10 of 13
January 8, 2002
82
rules. He described this as an issue about land subdivision based on the zone, and not about
development.
Councilor Rohde described how one could get around the minimum density requirement under
the Mayor's scenario by using a lot line adjustment. Mr. Sin concurred that there were
loopholes people could use to get around the rules.
Councilor McPeak mentioned that there were some property owners who were families in
which the senior members of the family owned a big piece of land, which served as their
retirement nest egg or which they could give to their children. She held that a partition was their
route. She argued that the City limited their use of their property by allowing a partition into two
lots but not allowing them to use the property as they wished; instead, they had to site houses in
a way that fit in with the ultimate use of the land in the future. She reiterated that she saw that as
a big restriction. Mr. Vizzini concurred that it was.
Councilor Rohde held that a property owner could do that, under the scenario he just suggested.
Mr. Vizzini said that the issue for him was what tools did they have in place to realize the
Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Map that flowed from it. He asked how to address the
demand in the community to protect neighborhood character without the tools in place to do so.
He argued that the most essential tool was the zone.
Mr. Vizzini spoke of the incompatibilities that resulted from not following the zone. He asked
why they went through the effort of the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map if they did not use
it as a blueprint for development. He argued that this was about developing the tools to ensure
that the City used the Plan and Map as a blueprint.
Councilor McPeak observed that Mr. Vizzini spoke of ensuring it while she spoke of allowing
it.
Mr. Vizzini argued that a similar tool was street connectivity. The City required developers to
go through that in order to ensure that they developed in a manner that was in keeping with the
goals and blueprint for the community. He contended that, without the blueprint, they would see
the hodge-podge development of East Portland.
Mr. Vizzini concurred with Councilor Graham that the compatibility question was an issue.
Mayor Hammerstad agreed,pointing out that allowing two houses on a 1.5-acre piece of land
in an R-7.5 zone, which were larger than what was allowed in an R-15 zone, eliminated the
zoning pattern.
Councilor Schoen said that he was looking for the simplest requirement. He held that creating a
situation in which people had to figure out how to get around the requirement was an unhealthy
way to develop land. He reiterated that if Metro required a minimum density requirement, then
they should do what Metro required.
Mayor Hammerstad noted the public hearing on January 15 and the deliberation and decision
on February 5. She indicated that they would leave the record open for a week and a half for
written comments.
Councilor Rohde asked staff to provide a colored map showing the large pieces of land within
the City's urban services boundary. He held that that information made it clear why Forest
Highlands became so upset over this issue, considering that its R-20 County zone translated to an
R-7.5 zone in the city. Ms. Heisler presented a map showing that information. She concurred
that Forest Highlands was the neighborhood outside the city limits most impacted by these
guidelines.
Councilor Turchi asked if the piecemeal annexation and development in the Forest Highlands
area resulted in inefficient engineering of City services,perhaps having to go around County
land and costing the taxpayers money. Ms. Heisler indicated no, noting that provision of
services was primarily 'pay as you go.' Mr. Lashbrook clarified that if all that land had been in
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 11 of 13
January 8, 2002
83
the city 30 years ago, the City could have provided the services more efficiently, as the land was
topographically challenging.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned the exceptions to minimum density requirements (page 120).
She discussed her concern about the effect on development of density transfers for publicly
owned open space. She commented that the City has purchased a significant amount of open
space in the Stafford area or it might purchase open space in other areas. She pointed out that a
density transfer for the open space meant developing the rest of the area as multi-family.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned an upcoming Metro subcommittee that would be looking at
taking open space out of the inventory of developable land, which she wanted to sit on. She
wondered if they could state in the ordinance that publicly owned open space was not subject to
density transfer. She pointed out that, with a movement of the urban growth boundary, the
productivity of Stafford came in at a certain number of units without the consideration of open
space; that number became Lake Oswego's target, which it could not meet with density transfers
for open space.
Mayor Hammerstad spoke of two lines of defense: getting on the committee and exempting
publicly owned open space from density transfers. Councilor Schoen asked if that would
include watersheds and sensitive lands. He observed that by the time they took everything out of
Stafford, there was not as much developable land left as everyone thought. Mr. Powell
indicated that he did not think that it would hurt anything to add it in. Mayor Hammerstad
asked staff to do so.
Councilor Graham questioned whether Metro would disallow Lake Oswego superceding its
rules when it came down to the final crunch. Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that open space
was a value that Metro was looking for within the urban growth boundary.
Councilor Schoen asked if Metro would require density transfer for sensitive lands. Mayor
Hammerstad indicated that Metro did not require it but the City has taken it out.
Councilor Hoffman indicated that his only concern with the ordinance was the future
development plan. He said that he understood that people were trying to ensure that any
development was consistent with the zone, which was why zoning was a planning tool; if the
City believed that R-7.5 was the right zone in an area, then it should not allow someone to split a
20,000 square foot lot into two 10,000 square foot lots. He noted that they were trying to get
development that matched the neighborhood.
Ms. Heisler indicated to Councilor McPeak that the map showing the actual number of acres
affected by the ordinance has changed, and staff would provide the Council with an updated
map. Mayor Hammerstad requested colored maps for the packets, including an updated
unincorporated area map.
4. OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Lashbrook introduced Denny Egner, the new Long Range Planning Manager.
Mr. Vizzini thanked the Council for the opportunity to speak.
Mayor Hammerstad asked the Council to allow a reduction in the testimony time limits for
minimum density from 10 minutes for neighborhood associations and 5 minutes for individuals
to 5 minutes and three minutes respectively.
Councilor Rohde disagreed with reducing it.
Councilor Turchi moved to reduce the testimony time limits to 5 minutes for neighborhood
associations and 3 minutes for individuals. Councilor Schoen seconded the motion.
Mayor Hammerstad explained that by restricting the testimony to those time limits and leaving
the record open for written comment, she hoped to move things along in an expeditious manner.
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 12 of 13
January 8, 2002
84
Councilor Hoffman concurred with Councilor Rohde that they should not reduce the time
limits. He pointed out that this was the only chance for these people to speak and it was an
important issue to some. Mr. Lashbrook suggested allowing those who felt cut off by the time
limits to speak again at the end. He observed that not many stuck around. Councilor Hoffman
said that was fine.
Mr. Vizzini mentioned that Mayor Katz of Portland,upon hearing the same testimony for the
fifth time, would ask for a show of hands from the audience in support of the comments and then
ask that folks not take up additional time stating what has already been stated. He concurred that
there was a civic engagement issue but held that the Council also did not need to listen to the
same thing repeatedly.
Councilor Turchi withdrew his motion.
5. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
�i1�1✓L(dil.(I1J
Robyn Chr tie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON
Judie Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Study Session Minutes Page 13 of 13
January 8, 2002
8J
b6
4.3.6
02/05/02
MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 2002
MORNING MEETING
87
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`° CITY COUNCIL MORNING MEETING MINUTES
January 15, 2002
.O EGOI
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the special City Council meeting to order at 7:34 a.m. on
January 15, 2002, in the City Council Chambers.
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; Janice Deardorff, Human Resources Director; Stephan Lashbrook,
Community Development Director; Joel Komarek, Interim City Engineer;
Richard Seals, Financial Planning Manager; Jane Heisler, Associate Planner;
Chris Jordan, Assistant City Manager
3. REVIEW EVENING AGENDA
Mayor Hammerstad asked Councilor McPeak to review the consent agenda this evening. She
mentioned the presentation of The First 90 Years of Herald and Virginia Campbell, compiled by
Patricia Rovainen, to the library.
The Council asked staff to provide a clarifying explanation of Item 5.1.1, the contract award,
tonight.
Mayor Hammerstad noted two corrections to the minutes:
• p. 51, 6th paragraph, change "Lake Oswego as the last city" to "Lake Oswego as one of the
last cities"
• p. 52, 6th paragraph, change"zoning density"to "zoning"
Item 8.1 Density Guidelines
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that she asked for clarification on the relationship of the
numbers in the analysis of parcels subject to the minimum density of partitions (page 171).
Stephan Lashbrook, Community Development Director, indicated that staff would clarify the
numbers this evening.
Councilor Rohde suggested that Mayor Hammerstad make it clear to the citizens at the hearing
tonight that only one person could speak as the neighborhood representative for the ten minutes,
as there has been confusion about that in the past. Mayor Hammerstad indicated that she
would also clarify that they would strictly adhere to the testimony time limits.
Mayor Hammerstad explained to the Council that her intent tonight was for the Council to ask
questions, get additional information or deliberate but it would not make a decision. She said
that at the subsequent meeting, the Council would deliberate, discuss and vote but there would
be no public testimony. She indicated to Councilor McPeak that tonight was the best time to
make an amendment, although a Councilor could do so on the night that the Council made the
decision. She pointed out that they would need to take testimony again on any substantive
changes.
Mayor Hammerstad indicated to Mr. Lashbrook that she intended to leave the record open for
one week for written testimony. She commented that she thought that this process gave them the
opportunity to give thoughtful consideration to the issues and to be clear about what the Council
wanted to do.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that the City received a letter from OLCC regarding
applications for liquor licenses, stating that Lake Oswego's process was fine (Item 8.2).
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 8
January 15, 2002
Item 9.1 Information from the Council
Doug Schmitz, City Manager, clarified to Councilor Graham that Phase 3 (Item 9.1.1, page
220) had no funding and staff has not scheduled it. He confirmed that Phase 1 of the
recommendation was taking out the crosswalk and the orange crossing flags. Mayor
Hammerstad indicated that they would want to discuss that this evening.
Councilor Rohde mentioned that he had a JPACT report. Councilor Graham indicated that
she had some items also.
4. REVIEW FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Mayor Hammerstad observed that they were in the process of scheduling items discussed at the
retreat. She recalled that during Mr. Schmitz's evaluation, they had talked about doing the 5
Traits of Leadership for the whole Council, but they did not discuss it at the retreat. Janice
Deardorff, Human Resources Director, reported that the cost was just under $4,000 for the
entire Council.
Mayor Hammerstad spoke to this program as a training opportunity. She recalled the
Council's discussion about some Councilors, who were not going to Washington, D.C., attending
other meetings that the Council felt might be more valuable. Ms. Deardorff described the
program as providing an individual profile of personality and management style. She observed
that the consultant would also look at the Council's management style as a group, if all the
Councilors participated, and give feedback on areas of strength and areas needing development.
Mayor Hammerstad recommended that the Council go through the program. She said that they
would write a proposal for Council's consideration at a future date.
Mayor Hammerstad mentioned that Councilors McPeak and Graham would take the Hart
House tour this week.
Councilor Hoffman referenced an e-mail he received regarding the development at the Durham
Quarry. He recalled their conversation at the retreat about the potential impacts of this
development on Lake Grove. He asked staff to contact Tualatin and Washington County to get
information on the plans, traffic studies and other retail information. He asked Mr. Lashbrook to
summarize the information and report to the Council on the development, as well as giving his
perspective on how it would affect the West End.
Mr. Schmitz announced that last night the School Board continued the Lakeridge girls' softball
field matter for 30 days in order to do a hydrology study on Sites 1 and 3. He indicated that this
was acceptable to Mr. Wright, the OCR complainant, and to Mr. Powers, Development Review
Board.
Mr. Schmitz indicated to Councilor Rohde that the District was not under a court order to have
this done by a certain date but they had wanted it online for the 2003 season. He observed that
with the delays and the time it took for the sod to mature to playing level, it would take longer.
He mentioned that Mr. Korach talked with OCR yesterday about the extension and was able to
negotiate something acceptable.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
5.1 Management Compensation Methodologies
Ms. Deardorff introduced Bill Erdle, Compensation Resources, LLC, a consultant who
specialized in compensation and classification work. She mentioned that she has worked with
Mr. Erdle since the 1980s. She noted that he did work at the City of Lake Oswego before her
arrival, based on his reputation in working in the public sector.
Ms. Deardorff mentioned that Mr. Erdle has been helping staff look at how to restructure the
City's management compensation program, with a particular emphasis on finding a way to link
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 8
January 15, 2002
5U
performance more tightly to compensation. She spoke of getting away from the annual cost of
living adjustment, which was somewhat of a shell game played with other organizations. She
noted that they could not get totally away from it because of the way that the market was set up.
Ms. Deardorff spoke to discussing the issue of compensation philosophically this morning,
following Mr. Erdle's presentation on compensation in general.
Mr. Erdle gave a slide presentation (see handout, Compensation Overview). He reviewed the
areas for discussion (page 2) and his background in industrial psychology and compensation (in
both the public and private sectors). He mentioned that the main focus of the majority of
programs that he set up was pay for performance, although he could set up whatever type of
program an organization wanted.
Mr. Erdle noted that compensation programs provided guidance for managerial pay decisions,
supported organizational goals, insured fairness in the pay program and provided for both legal
and regulatory compliance. He observed that the typical objectives for a compensation program
were to attract, retain and motivate employees.
Mr. Erdle discussed the two general areas of rewards in a compensation program: extrinsic and
intrinsic. He described extrinsic rewards as base pay, benefits and any variable compensation
while intrinsic rewards included recognition in the job, the work itself and the organizational
working conditions.
Mr. Erdle reviewed the factors to consider in setting up a compensation program. He
mentioned internal equity (the perceived worth of a job relative to other jobs in the
organization), external equity (the value of the job to similar jobs in other organizations),
individual equity (how employees perceived their level of pay relative to other individuals), and
process/program equity (the employee's perception of fairness in the organization's
compensation program).
Mr. Erdle recommended that organizations be open and explain their compensation programs
clearly to their employees. He cited an example of an organization that had a good program but
did not explain it clearly to its employees; consequently, the employees were suspicious about
what was going on.
Mr. Erdle mentioned other factors to consider(page 6), including performance and productivity
incentives (motivating and rewarding higher levels of employee performance). He cautioned
care in setting these up in order to avoid motivating or rewarding inappropriate behavior. He
mentioned compliance with state and federal laws, ease and flexibility of program administration
and cost-effectiveness.
Mr. Erdle reviewed a diagram demonstrating the process an organization went through in
determining what to pay an employee (page 7). He explained that job analysis involved
information about what the job itself entailed(usually collected through questionnaires or
interviews), which was followed by job documentation(writing up job descriptions).
Mr. Erdle explained that the next two simultaneous steps - external pay comparison and internal
job evaluation—involved identifying the appropriate markets for the various jobs outside the
organization and determining the relative value of the job within the organization. He noted that
internal job evaluation systems, which used four factors of skill, effort, responsibility and
working conditions, were categorized as quantitative and non-quantitative (page 8).
Mr. Erdle mentioned that the job ranking system(non-quantitative) was the oldest type of
system and very simple. He commented that he called the quantitative systems `pseudo-
scientific' because they were also subjective, although they gave the impression that they were
not because they yielded a dollar value based on factors or points. He observed that all the
systems yielded about the same results.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 8
January 15, 2002
9i
Mr. Erdle reviewed the next step, the internal and external reconciliation (page 10). He said
that the result of the reconciliation, a job worth hierarchy, translated into salary ranges.
Mr. Erdle reviewed an example of a salary structure using a 10%progression from mid-point to
mid-point (page 12). He described the process as identifying the market, deciding where an
organization wanted to pay in relation to the market, and setting up the salary structure to fit
those factors.
Mr. Erdle mentioned differences between the public and private sectors. The private sector
typically set the market rate for the jobs within a pay grade at the mid-point, while the public
sector typically set the market rate at the maximum point. The private sector kept an eye on the
market rate annually and adjusted its structure accordingly in order to remain competitive, while
the public sector was either behind the market at the end of the year(lag structure), at the market
at the end of the year(lead structure) or at the market mid-year and behind the market at the end
of the year(lead-lag structure) (page 13). The public sector went through the entire analysis
considerably less frequently than the private sector.
Mr. Erdle reviewed the different types of pay increases (page 14). He observed that across-the-
board increases were becoming less popular among private organizations, as where cost-of-
living increases, but the public sector and union contracts still used the cost-of-living increase.
He indicated that step and promotional increases were used in both sectors.
Mr. Erdle indicated that merit increases, or pay for performance, were the type of program that
he usually set up. He noted that a good performance evaluation system was critical in a merit
increase program. He observed that it was also a lot more work for an organization because of
the time commitment to employee performance evaluation and setting goals, etc.
Mr. Erdle reviewed the factors in maintaining a compensation program(page 15). He recalled
that when the City of Vancouver went from an analysis and review of its pay structures every
seven years to every two years, the number of employee complaints decreased significantly.
Mr. Erdle indicated to Councilor Turchi that a supervisor could adequately supervise five to
eight people and determine merit. He concurred that a Police Chief writing evaluations for 50
people and determining merit was in a difficult situation. He spoke to moving evaluations down
to the supervisory ranks. Ms. Deardorff indicated that in Lake Oswego the sergeants and
lieutenants did the employee evaluations; the Police Chief only did the captains and the
administrative personnel who reported directly to him.
Ms. Deardorff indicated to Councilor Turchi that a typical supervisor in the City supervised
between five to eight people. She confirmed that Councilor Turchi's situation at the school
district, where he supervised 53 people at an elementary school and wrote the merit evaluations,
would not exist at the City.
Councilor McPeak asked if there were guidelines to help define a market. She recalled that the
City had to change the market it used when recruiting for a position. Ms. Deardorff indicated
that the City changed from the metro local market (still used for the labor groups) to a statewide
market.
Mr. Erdle said that the guideline he used with the private sector was with whom was the
organization competing with for its employees. He commented that the market was not
necessarily the same industry, citing a high-tech company losing employees to a sports
manufacturing company. He said that typically agencies gathered that information through exit
interviews. Ms. Deardorff confirmed that the City did exit interviews and used the information
in its analysis.
Ms. Deardorff recounted what happened in the City's recruiting process for a Community
Development Director. She recalled that they ended up identifying the top 10 cities in Oregon as
their market. She observed that the market played itself out when Mark Schoening left for the
City of Eugene (No. 2 in population in the state).
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 8
January 15, 2002
92
Councilor McPeak asked if the factors shifted fast or were predictable. Mr. Erdle said that
sometimes they were. He spoke to re-evaluating every year whether the market was still the
correct market, as some organizations would come in or drop out.
Ms. Deardorff commented that Lake Oswego lost its fire fighters to Tualatin Valley Fire &
Rescue and the City of Portland but it did not use those organizations as market comparators
because that market was so high that the City could not compete. She concurred with Councilor
McPeak that this was a case of a hierarchy of organizations and that Lake Oswego recognized
where it fit in the hierarchy, instead of in a level of competition.
Ms. Deardorff commented that Lake Oswego was an attractive employer within its current
market, citing the 48 interviews for police officers this week. She mentioned that Lake Oswego
has not taken a single position and used a different market than its typical market. She recalled
that at the City of Portland, they had jobs in a hot skills market and used a private sector market
for those jobs because that was whom they were competing against.
Mr. Erdle suggested considering a different salary structure when using a different market, such
as a structure that allowed employees to move along it at a different rate than others.
Councilor Schoen asked how Mr. Erdle's system differed from the Hay system, which was
based on accountability and decision-making. He observed that realistically Lake Oswego could
not complete with Eugene. He commented that he had a difficult time with the merit increases,
given the accountability issue and the budget as the biggest driving force in pay rates.
Mr. Erdle indicated that he tended to shy away from the Hay system because it was complex,
pseudo-scientific and required a large staff to administer. He said that he could include factors
from it in the internal evaluation of jobs portion of a performance system. He spoke to creating a
simple system that was easy to understand and use. He described the whole job ranking
approach that he used successfully with Norm Thompson's in developing a pay structure.
Mr. Erdle described how the salary range for a job (minimum to maximum) interacted with
appraisal ratings (meets sometimes/new to job, meets, exceeds) to determine a pay increase tied
directly to job performance level. He noted that studies have shown that people can only
differentiate between three different levels of performance.
Mr. Erdle said that this system gave managers a tool for figuring out what kind of increase to
give and organizations a tool for budgeting for increases. He explained that once the
organization knew what the employee performance levels were and where the employees were in
the salary structure, then it could develop guidelines for giving increases.
Councilor Rohde asked what an organization did when all the employees did a great job,
exceeding expectations and warranting a 5% increase but the organization's revenues only
increased 3% a year. Mr. Erdle discussed changing the expectations or criteria for the appraisal
ratings, including getting the managers together to reach a consensus on rating employees. He
mentioned `forced distribution,' which made make sure that there were a certain number of
exceeds or meets.
Mr. Erdle confirmed to Ms. Deardorff that forced distribution meant that not everyone would
necessarily get an increase.
Ms. Deardorff observed that the timing of bringing up this discussion was difficult in face of the
budget crisis and the need to reduce personnel costs. She pointed out that they did need to
maintain the City's compensation program in order not to lose people, which cost the City more
money in the long run.
Councilor Rohde clarified that he did not want to set up a program based on market and merit
that set up unreasonable expectations in a restricted revenue environment. Ms. Deardorff
concurred.
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 8
January 15, 2002 ,
Councilor Hoffman commented that staff's challenge might be to reduce managers. Ms.
Deardorff concurred. She indicated that they did take advantage of opportunities not to fill
positions vacated due to attrition. She mentioned that the Library Advisory Board felt that the
reduction in the number of supervisors at the library resulted in an understaffed library. She
observed that the Board did not consider that the library might have had too many supervisors
for too long, and this reduction brought the City in line with where it needed to be.
Councilor McPeak held that it was difficult to maintain a tough grading system, as
organizations tended towards grade inflation. She asked if it was possible in the public sector to
have an objective merit system. Mr. Erdle said that he did not know. He indicated that he did
not know of any one in the public sector using merit, although that did not mean that no one was
on the national level.
Mr. Erdle indicated to Councilor Schoen that he would recommend removing the step system
in a new system or moving to a combination system, which allowed rapid step movement during
a training period. He mentioned seeing the combination system in the private sector.
Ms. Deardorff referenced the handout"Year 2002 Compensation Program,"which outlined the
transition steps staff intended to take during the year 2002. She noted that they would maintain
the current step and pay program for 2002. She explained that the resolution for a 2% cost of
living increase was before the Council today in order to keep the City on the market in the next
year.
Councilor Turchi asked why this program ran from January to January rather than with the
fiscal year. Ms. Deardorff said that she understood the history behind that fact as there had
been a desire 10 years ago to move the management non-represented group away from the
collective bargaining effective dates, which ran with the fiscal year.
Mr. Schmitz indicated to Mayor Hammerstad that he thought it was timely to pursue this
option, as they have talked about making the transition for several years.
Ms. Deardorff indicated that staff would work on developing the program over the next year
and present it to Council; at that point, Council could consider the financial situation and decide
whether to adopt it. She did not advise trying to sell widening the pay ranges to the public right
now. She spoke to having concrete evidence that the City linked performance to the pay ranges
before doing so.
Mr. Erdle commented that the City could gradually move into the system, as the Metro Area
Communications Commission did, and set the market at the mid-point. He mentioned his
personal opinion that the public would be receptive to a merit system, as most people already
worked under a pay for performance system.
Ms. Deardorff discussed the other side of pay for performance, what happened when someone
did not meet the performance criteria. She disagreed with the common perception that people in
the public sector could not be gotten rid of. She argued that it took a commitment to more
documentation and performance monitoring but it could happen.
Ms. Deardorff asked for the Council's concurrence to start talking to the directors, managers
and supervisors about their commitment to managing performance, setting performance
criteria/standards and evaluating performance. She observed that right now the City's system
was mixed in terms of doing performance reviews. She described it as a commitment to the
Council and the public that the public would be happy to know what the City was doing as an
organization.
Councilor Graham asked if it was common in the public sector to give severance pay to an
employee who clearly went beyond the rules. Ms. Deardorff said that it was not common in the
past but she thought that it was becoming more common. Mr. Erdle concurred but pointed out
that the City did not have to have a severance package at all. He mentioned seeing severance
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 8
January 15, 2002
9;I
packages in layoff situations that were not due to the employee's performance, but not in a
performance based system.
Ms Deardorff mentioned that they were moving department heads into an 'at will' status, which
meant that they were working 'at the will' of the City Manager. She explained that the contract
typically provided for some sort of payment if they left the organization, although termination
for cause would be a lesser payment. She indicated that they did not have that structure for the
current supervisors, managers or other department heads but they set it up for new department
heads.
Ms. Deardorff observed that people were more litigious now than they have been in the past.
She mentioned that it could cost the City less to settle a payment on an employee suing the City
for whatever the employee felt he/she was owed than to go through the court process, which was
time-consuming and expensive. She described it as an unfortunate cost of doing business today.
Councilor Schoen asked if the City stated clearly in these contracts the 90 day and 120 day
performance reviews, and the option to let the employee go in the event that their performance
was unsatisfactory. Ms. Deardorff said yes. She mentioned a provision for an annual contract
renewal that included a review.
Ms. Deardorff indicated that their next management training for supervisors, managers and
department heads would include performance management from a legal context as well as
coaching in performance evaluation.
Ms. Deardorff indicated to Councilor Schoen that they projected a cost of between $5,000 and
$10,000 to develop the program. She said that she would come back with a more exact figure.
She confirmed to Councilor Rohde that the cost was in the 2001/02 budget.
The Council agreed by consensus to direct Ms. Deardorff to proceed with developing the
program.
Councilor Turchi moved to approve Resolution 02-05, adjusting management confidential
salaries. Councilor McPeak seconded the motion.
Ms. Deardorff clarified to Councilor Turchi that people would get a 2% increase plus a step
increase (if they were in a position to get a step increase).
Richard Seals, Financial Planning Manager, indicated to Councilor Turchi that the staff
estimate of$100,000 for the salary increases included all related benefit increases.
Ms. Deardorff clarified to Councilor Schoen that the City was not doing any additional salary
adjustments in 2002, other than for those under Step 5 who were eligible for a merit increase; a
merit increase became effective on the employee's anniversary date. She confirmed that charter
officers were not included in this program.
A voice vote was taken and the motion passed with Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors
Turchi, Graham, McPeak, Hoffman, Rohde and Schoen voting in favor. [7-0]
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad recessed the meeting at 8:50 a.m. to Executive Session pursuant to ORS
192.660(1)(a), consider the employment of a public officer or the evaluation of a public officer.
David Powell, City Attorney, reviewed the Executive Session parameters.
7. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad reconvened the morning meeting at 8:53 a.m.
Councilor Schoen moved to adjust the municipal judge's salary by 2%. Councilor McPeak
seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken and the motion passed with Mayor
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 8
January 15, 2002
9J
Hammerstad, Councilors Turchi, Graham, McPeak, Hoffman, Rohde and Schoen voting in
favor. 17-0]
8. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 8:55 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
.V0-
300tGat)2.1-
Robyn Chritie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON
Judie Hammerstad, Mayor
City Council Morning Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 8
January 15, 2002
96