Approved Minutes - 2022-05-16
CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes
May 16, 2022
Call to Order / Roll Call
Stephanie Glazer called the May 16, 2022 meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) to order at
6:33 PM.
Members Present: Buzz Chandler, Stephanie Glazer, Jay Hamachek, Susan Mead,
Mark Puhlman, Matt Schaeffer, Kathleen Wiens, Olivia Reinhart,
Kara Orvieto
Members Excused/Absent: Anna Wallin, Kim Roeland
Staff: Amanda Watson, Megan Big John
Public: None
Approval of Minutes
April meeting minutes were approved.
Public Comment
None
Regular Business
A. Council Update
None – Councilor Nguyen was absent.
B. Natural Areas Habitat Management Plan
Parks Manager Megan Big John provided a presentation on the City’s Habitat Enhancement Program
and Natural Areas Habitat Management Plan project. The City’s Habitat Enhancement Program grew out
of the Invasive Removal Program started in 2011, which focused on removing English Ivy. The HEP was
created to help meet requirements from Metro regarding Sensitive Lands and focuses on restoration
efforts on City properties, restoration work on private property through a grant program, and provides
plants for Friends Group work parties. Parks department manages around 460 acres total and ~370
acres in restoration since 2011. Staff uses photo monitoring to show habitat improvement over time;
success is measured by the habitats created and not just number of plantings that survive.
Invasives removal helps improve resilience, including through reduction of ladder fuels to reduce
wildfire risk. Parks staff are meeting with Clackamas County, the State Fire Department, and LO Fire to
coordinate on fire mitigation efforts.
The Natural Areas Habitat Management Plan project will develop an overarching management plan
focused on the ecological restoration, enhancement, and resiliency of the City of Lake Oswego’s natural
areas. It will inventory and map general habitat types present in City natural areas, outline management
goals and objectives, and detail recommended management prescriptions for each habitat type. It will
provide a framework for Parks maintenance activities and priorities but is intended to be usable by
others as well, for example managing similar habitats on private property. Parks is working with a
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May 16, 2022
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consultant team (AECOM) to develop the plan, and a technical advisory committee that includes
representatives from the Parks Board natural areas subcommittee, Parks Friends Groups, and the
Oswego Lake Watershed Council.
Management goals and objectives include supporting natural ecological processes, reducing non-native
species, improving climate resilience, minimizing habitat fragmentation, reducing wildfire risk and
improving public safety and public recreation, education, and volunteer opportunities. Parks is also
working with the Planning department on a process to streamline permitting for tree removal in
sensitive lands for habitat management purposes (programmatic permits).
There will be a public meeting on June 7 at 6 pm (Updated: June 14) introducing the project. The project
team aims to prepare the draft plan by the end of July, and final plan in fall 2022. The plan will be
implemented beginning in Spring 2023.
C. Debrief from May 3 Council Meeting
The Board discussed takeaways from their May 3 joint meeting with City Council. They observed that
feedback from Council was diverse. SAB members would have liked more opportunity for dialogue, to
respond to Councilors’ comments during the meeting, but agreed that they got helpful feedback
including on which ideas Councilor’s liked, what they were not interested in, and where SAB could
provide additional information.
Amanda stressed the importance of coordinating with other advisory boards where there are areas of
overlap or common topics of interest (e.g. SAB and Parks Board, related to protecting trees and natural
resources). City staff liaisons will be meeting regularly to help facilitate that coordination. When SAB is
taking up a topic that would impact the operations of other City departments, she would also like to
make sure there is time to arrange for a presentation/discussion between SAB and relevant department
staff so that SAB has all of the information and context before making recommendations to Council,
which will help them be as effective as possible.
Stephanie noted that from her experience serving on SAB, they have had much greater success
advancing recommendations through writing (e.g. memos), and having written correspondence back
and forth. She recommended SAB develop a clear response that addresses the comments and questions
SAB heard from Council during the meeting, and make recommendations as a Board to be included in
the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. She also noted it can be impactful to send a message of “keep
up the great work” when SAB agrees with the direction Council is going in. There is also a lot to
celebrate in what SAB and the City has accomplished over the years. Matt recommended regular
educational updates to Council on topics SAB is focused on, for example an EV report,
demolition/deconstruction report, focused on information sharing and to encourage dialogue.
D. Announcements from Board and Staff
Mark shared that LOSN will be holding an Electrify LO vendor fair in conjunction with their annual EV fair
this fall. The goals are to share information with residents about electric appliances, and connect them
with vendors to prepare them to make the decision to go electric when they need to replace appliances
like a water heater or furnace.
The GPLE survey is up and has been shared via the City’s social media channels and on NextDoor.
Amanda distributed the version for landscaping companies by email.
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May 16, 2022
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SAB has two Farmers’ Market Dates this summer, on June 18 and September 17.
Amanda will be presenting to Council on June 21 about the garbage and recycling franchise agreement
renewal.
Jay and Buzz are willing to step up to serve as co-chairs after Stephanie and Kathleen’s terms end. The
Board will vote at their June meeting.
Wrap Up & Adjournment
Stephanie Glazer adjourned the meeting at 8:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Amanda Watson
Sustainability Program Manager