Approved Minutes - 2022-04-18
CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes
April 18, 2022
Call to Order / Roll Call
Stephanie Glazer called the April 18, 2022 meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) to order at
6:30 PM.
Members Present: Buzz Chandler, Stephanie Glazer, Jay Hamachek, Susan Mead,
Mark Puhlman, Matt Schaeffer, Kathleen Wiens, Anna Wallin,
Kara Orvieto, Kim Roeland
Members Excused/Absent: Olivia Reinhart
Staff: Amanda Watson, Mayor Buck
Public: Duke Castle, Craig Chisholm, Tom Horman, Stephanie Wagner,
Larry Zurcher
Approval of Minutes
March meeting minutes were approved.
Public Comment
Craig Chisholm followed up on public comment he provided last month related to rooftop solar arrays
and trees. He would like the tree code to be amended to allow the development of rooftop solar arrays,
which are prevented in a number of cases. He argued that solar arrays are more effective at preventing
CO2 emissions than trees are in sequestering CO2, and called for planting seedlings as replacement trees
rather than saplings.
Tom Horman gave comments on wildfire risks and recommended measures to reduce risks in Lake
Oswego including planting less flammable tree species and raising public awareness about steps
residents can take to prevent wildfires on their property, such as those recommended by the Firewise
USA program.
Announcements from Board and Staff
Kathleen noted the Earth Day Proclamation on the agenda for the upcoming April 19 City Council
meeting.
Regular Business
A. Protecting Trees and Natural Resources in Lake Oswego
Stephanie Wagner from the Oswego Lake Watershed Council gave a presentation on protecting and
enhancing natural resources in Lake Oswego. She pointed out the importance of looking at the urban
ecosystem as a whole and taking a systemic approach to promoting a healthy urban ecosystem. It’s
important to understand the cultural history of how we think about natural resources—from White
colonial settlers’ perception of natural resources as something to be exploited by individuals, to
Indigenous worldviews that see humans as a part of nature and the natural system rather than
something separate, and the development of a more widespread environmental ethic in the US in the
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April 18, 2022
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1970s—and consider how we can foster a community mindset of understanding and working with
natural systems to protect and enhance our natural resources.
Stephanie provided information on a number of OLWC projects, including oak woodland enhancement
in partnership with the Westlake HOA, wildfire risk reduction in Mountain Park in partnership with
Mountain Park HOA and the LO Fire Department, “Soil Your Undies” soil health community science
project, and annual Tree Summit.
She recommended SAB develop and employ a sustainability lens for natural resources, considering how
actions will affect soil health, air quality, water quality, terrestrial biodiversity, human health and safety,
and landscape design. We want to look for nature-based solutions, and think about natural
infrastructure like eco roofs, roadside vegetation, and building designs that maximize the benefits of
natural systems.
B. SAB Discussion on Trees and Natural Resources & Planning for May 3 Council Meeting
Stephanie Glazer walked through draft slides she prepared for the May 3 Council meeting, outlining
SAB’s 2022 goals, progress to-date, and initial recommendations and ideas for each, to guide the
discussion.
Reflecting on Stephanie Wagner’s presentation and public comment, SAB members discussed ideas to
explore related to trees and natural resources, including: researching and preparing a position on trees
and solar, evaluating options for community solar as an alternative to cutting trees to facilitate solar
installations, explore options for parking lot solar projects that can also help with groundwater recharge,
codifying the value of trees and natural resources in the tree code, reviewing and evaluating options to
update the tree code to more closely align mitigation requirements with impacts and add flexible
mitigation options that take into account ecosystem benefits provided by trees.
Amanda outlined logistics for the May 3 Council meeting, and the Board discussed which members
would present each of the topics during their presentation.
Amanda shared an update on the GPLE survey, which is ready to be distributed to landscaping
companies via email and to residents and property owners via the City’s website and social media.
Duke Castle provided public comment pertaining to the update on SAB’s EV charging goal. The SAB-
LOSN working group working on strategies to increase access to charging at multifamily buildings was
not successful in reaching property owners, so instead developed a proposal to pilot utility pole-
mounted charging technology. He would like to bring a proposal to City Council before the end of the
year. Duke also noted that the City’s EV chargers being out of service can contribute to range anxiety.
C. Council Update
Mayor Buck noted that City Council’s two annual goals related to SAB’s work, improving climate
adaptation and resilience strategies in the SCAP and increasing green energy use and availability, both
still need to be defined further. Council will be looking to SAB to provide guidance on strategies.
During the same Council meeting as the joint meeting with SAB, Council will be holding a public hearing
on the changes to the demolition code (definition of demolition). Separately, Council will be looking at
strengthening incentives for deconstruction.
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April 18, 2022
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D. Announcements from Board and Staff
The Sustainability Resource Fair is on Sunday, April 24. PGE’s tool exchange starts at 10 am, and the fair
starts at 11 am.
Wrap Up & Adjournment
Stephanie Glazer adjourned the meeting at 8:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Amanda Watson
Sustainability Program Manager