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Approved Minutes - 2023-09-05 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING rrA MINUTES V ! September 5, 2023 aREGO� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Buck called the regular City Council meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. The meeting was held both virtually via video conferencing and in- person in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 380 A Avenue. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Buck, Councilors Mboup, Verdick, Rapf, Afghan, Corrigan, Wendland Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Erica Rooney, City Engineer I Public Works Director; Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager; Erik Olson, Long Range Planning Manager; Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director Others Present: Evan Manvel, Climate Mitigation Planner with Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Buck led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. PROCLAMATIONS 4.1 National Recovery Month Mayor Buck read the City's first ever proclamation declaring September as National Recovery Month, recognizing all those within the community who celebrate their recovery from addiction each day, along with those who support them in their families and communities. The signed proclamation was available through the City's website. 4.2 National Hispanic Heritage Month Mayor Buck read the proclamation declaring September 15th - October 15th as National Hispanic Heritage Month, noting the City would host the Cultural Exchange Festival on Sunday, September 17th from 12 pm to 7 pm at Millennium Plaza Park. He invited the community to join the celebration at the multi-cultural festival, noting more details and the signed proclamation were available on the City's website. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 9 September 5, 2023 5. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment was provided. 6. CONSENT AGENDA 6.1 Resolution 23-38, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Clackamas County Health, Housing, and Human Services Department's Social Services Division for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. 6.2 Approval of Meeting Minutes. August 1, 2023, Draft Regular Meeting Minutes END CONSENT AGENDA Councilor Mboup moved to adopt the consent agenda. Councilor Afghan seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Mayor Buck and Councilors Mboup, Verdick, Rapf, Afghan, Corrigan, and Wendland voting `aye', (7-0). 7. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA No items were removed from the Consent Agenda. 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS 8.1 Vacating the Public Interest in a 6-ft. wide Unimproved Pathway Right-of-Way Located Northwesterly of the Railroad Right-of-Way of Union Pacific Railroad from Boones Ferry Road to Bryant Road. Erica Rooney, Public Works Director, presented the Council Report via PowerPoint, reviewing the City's 2006 resolution which included four principles that framed vacations: the two Oregon Revised Statutes governing private-owner initiated vacations, and City-initiated vacations; the background of the proposed vacation and the ordinance that had failed to pass by the City Council in the spring of 2023; and feedback the City had received since the ordinance had failed. The impact vacating the right-of-way could have on adjacent properties' tax-assessed values was also presented, as well as three alternatives for the right-of-way, and examples of similar rights-of-way throughout Lake Oswego. Staff sought direction from Council about the three alternatives. No resolution or ordinance was being presented at this time for Council's consideration. Staff addressed clarifying questions and comments from Council as follows: • If the City proceeded with a vacation on the five lots attached to the Habitat for Humanity property, the affected area would be smaller. • Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney, clarified the City Council could not modify a proposal to vacate during the public hearing. The City had to properly notice the description of the property and could not modify the property without re-noticing because affected property owners had City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 9 September 5, 2023 the right to due process in order to be able to come and speak to Council about what affected property they understood the notice description referenced. • At the previous public hearing, a property owner testified they had asked for the right-of- way to be vacated once before, and the City had declined because it did not want to vacate one small piece. The vacation before the Council this evening was a larger piece and vacating the larger strip was a more efficient process. Staff believed vacating the right-of- way as a whole would prevent confusion and keep the record clean. • Staff clarified ORS 271.080 outlined private owner-initiated vacations and called for two-thirds of the affected owners to sign the petition in agreement with the vacation. ORS 271.130 outlined the City-initiated vacation process and called for a majority of the affected property owners, or one half plus one, to write in opposition of the vacation prior to the public hearing. Both processes dealt with the same affected area. • Staff understood if the five lots comprising the Habitat for Humanity property had not yet consolidated, the lots were legal lots and would get five votes. • Seven to eight residents who objected to the vacation at the previous hearing lived in the affected area. • Staff confirmed receipt of communication from Dan Anderson, Chairman of the Lake Grove Neighborhood Association. Director Rooney remarked it was possible she misunderstood that Mr. Anderson's email was not in support of the vacation. If Mr. Anderson supported the vacation, then one resident on the Upper Drive section supported the vacation. Mayor Buck clarified he had been forwarded an email from Mr. Anderson which stated that during the May 18 Lake Grove Neighborhood Association meeting, residents discussed the vacation and expressed support, although no formal vote was taken. Mr. Anderson supported the vacation of the pathway and would benefit from the added land that had never been used. • Ms. Osoinach stated she did not believe if the City kept some of the right-of-way, there would be a legal risk in terms of any City statutes, local laws, or the Transportation Systems Plan. In order to vacate the pathway, the City needed findings to show there was a public interest in vacating the five lots for Habitat for Humanity, would apply to the totality of the pathway. However, nothing in the law required the City to vacate the totality of the pathway due to public interest as opposed to a portion at the time. • Ms. Osoinach stated she did not believe if the City kept some of the right-of-way, there would be a legal risk in terms of any City statutes, local laws, or the Transportation Systems Plan. In order to vacate the pathway, the City needed findings to show there was a public interest in vacating the five lots for Habitat for Humanity, because the City no longer needed it and there were other public interests in vacating it, then that would apply to the entire the pathway. However, nothing in the law required the City to vacate the entire pathway as opposed to a portion at a time. During discussion, the Councilors agreed it was in the public interest to vacate the portion of the pathway needed for Habitat for Humanity to complete its development project, which would create needed affordable housing. If adjacent property owners wanted to vacate, they could do so in the future. Councilor Wendland moved to direct staff to initiate vacation proceedings pursuant to ORS 271.130 for a 6-ft wide portion of public right-of-way just along the Habitat for Humanity frontage. Councilor Rapf seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Mayor Buck and Councilors Mboup, Verdick, Rapf, Afghan, Corrigan, and Wendland voting `aye', (7-0). City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 9 September 5, 2023 Ms. Rooney noted the resolution for the vacation would appear on the September 19 Consent Agenda, and the public hearing would be noticed and held on October 17, 2023. 8.2 2023 Legislative Session Recap. Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager, presented the Council Report, providing a brief update on the legislative session that concluded in June, highlighting legislation that had passed, and noting bills of concern that had not passed but may be presented next session. Staff sought feedback on the City's strategies for the next legislative session. Councilor Rapf appreciated the offensive strategy to conduct regional housing tours for members of the Governor's staff and area electeds and suggested the City take the opportunity to talk not just about housing, but also about tolling impacts. Councilor Wendland asked if Staff knew the impetus behind the ethics bill. Ms. Thesing agreed to look into the matter. Councilor Wendland expressed concerns about the State's adherence to public meeting laws in the past. Locally, public entities complied well with the public meeting laws, though compliance sometimes hindered productive conversations. The conversation about tolling had dominated the discussion at recent Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) meetings where citizen members expressed concern about the process and lack of local input. It was important to keep local citizens informed about these issues early on, as TAB was unaware when they learned about it. Most people seemed opposed to tolling and suggested alternative funding methods, such as changing the gas tax. People might be more willing to pay for projects through car registration fees or mileage-based fees. Councilor Afghan asked if the variance bill included minor variances, major variances, or any kind of variance. City Manager Bennett clarified no proof was needed as long as it was stated that the variance was necessary. Councilor Afghan stated the most alarming of all, for example, was if the City would be required to automatically approve a variance for 100 percent lot coverage. Councilor Afghan confirmed with Staff that the variance bill included any kind of variance demonstrated to be necessary and stated of all the topics covered, the variance bill was the most alarming. For example, the City would be required to automatically approve a variance for 100 percent lot coverage. Mayor Buck responded the lot coverage variance was not included; the variances were similar, but not as extreme. Mayor Buck believed the transportation conversations taking place currently suggested the State was considering a more comprehensive package for the next long session. Officials were beginning to discuss the Road User Charge (RUC). Tolling was expected to be a part of the system, particularly on the Interstate and Abernathy Bridges, however there was a pause in the tolling process with ODOT focusing on other projects identified by local jurisdictions. Other committees were exploring different approaches to find a solution for funding the future of transportation. ODOT was making presentations in this regard and was aware of the significant resistance to selective tolling. Hopefully, a funding scheme would be developed that was fair to all Oregonians and provide localities a share of that funding. Ms. Thesing commented that the off season was an opportunity to pause and have some of those larger conversations. Representative Daniel Nguyen would be in Lake Oswego on October 17th and Council would have an opportunity to ask him questions. Staff would keep the Council updated on its work behind the scenes. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 9 September 5, 2023 Ms.Thesing concluded with an update regarding the Clackamas County Coordinating Committee (C4) tolling letter. At its spring retreat, C4 established the tolling values meant to guide the County's approach over the next year when participating in discussions related to tolling, transportation funding packages, and priority projects. Staff would share the tolling values draft with the City Councilors for feedback, then Mayor Buck would return to C4 with any comments and the values would undergo final editing at the next C4 meeting. 9. STUDY SESSION 9.1 Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities Rules (Parking). Evan Manvel, Climate Mitigation Planner, Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), stated that while the parking reforms adopted by DLCD in June of 2022 did remove parking mandates, it did not mean parking could not be developed, but rather that the market would be free to decide how much parking to develop. He presented via PowerPoint the reasons behind DLCD's parking reforms, the parking reform details and implementation schedule, three options for Lake Oswego beyond the reforms mandated by DLCD, and examples of actions taken by other cities. He also described what actions the City had taken to comply with the DLCD rules to date and the schedule Staff proposed to meet the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) Act requirements. Staff sought feedback and direction on the work plan presented. Mr. Manvel clarified the reform's tree canopy policy was not retroactive and applied to new parking areas of more than one-half acre and required 40 percent tree canopy coverage after 15 years of growth, so essentially a 20-year canopy measurement. If a developer did not wish to provide a 40 percent tree canopy, solar panels could be installed on site, or a fee-in-lieu could be paid to a solar fund. Long Range Planning Manager Erik Olson noted the City's existing standards regarding landscaping and parking did not have 40 percent tree canopy coverage. Director Numanoglu added Lake Grove had specific requirements for parking as parking lots could only have a certain number of spaces before a landscape island was required. A specific number of trees were also required, but not a canopy percentage requirement per se. Lake Grove was the primary area in the city with parking lot requirement standards. Councilor Afghan confirmed parking was not required for units of 750 square feet or less and asked if that meant a developer could build four, 750 square-foot units on a 3,000 sq ft lot in a residential neighborhood without providing parking. Mr. Manvel responded that was accurate and noted that when predictions about parking demand are wrong, parking management, such as signage and permits, would be required, which could be a responsibility of the developer or the City. Similarly, in First Addition, an existing, crowded, residential area with competition for on- street parking, parking management may need to be considered. Mr. Olson clarified there were multiple reasons 750 square foot units would not have parking requirements, adding that most of First Addition was not subject to parking requirements. Tonight's study session was to discuss next steps in taking the reduced mandates even further than that geography near Highway 43. He confirmed building a house in First Addition did not require parking or a garage, noting that the City had not seen any development with no parking provided. The market often provided parking even when it was not required. Councilor Afghan agreed with reducing the number of cars but was not sure the parking reforms would accomplish that. Had there been conversations about improving public transportation when City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 9 September 5, 2023 the law was being considered? He was concerned about forcing certain things, like two-hour parking time limits without understanding the consequences. Mr. Manvel replied public transportation was a repeated theme of the rulemaking over two years. Local governments had raised the issue, and a transit district was represented on the advisory committee. If required parking made driving easier, people would not demand public transit, which would then not expand. The parking reforms were a step forward that would hopefully result in more walkable communities, more demand for transit, and better transit service. Residential areas do not usually have a two-hour limit, but rather, residential permits to allow all-day parking for a nominal fee. DLCD did not regulate or require anything of transit districts. Transit districts required money, not regulation, so DLCD could not solve public transportation issues, but hoped to create additional demand for transit that would support transit systems expansion, which was certainly part of reaching the State's climate, equity, and housing goals. Councilor Mboup noted no parking was available in downtown Paris, but public transportation was everywhere. Public transportation would not be everywhere in Oregon any time soon. Some people in Lake Oswego opposed even light rail coming into the city. He agreed the market would determine whether parking was included in development. He supported the reforms but would support them even more if public transportation was developed, and it could be as the United States was wealthier and had more technology than countries in Europe with available public transportation. Mayor Buck asked whether jurisdictions that had removed parking mandates had incorporated other policies that contributed to successful outcomes. Mr. Manvel responded some jurisdictions had, noting Minneapolis received national press for its work on housing diversity as well as repealing its parking mandates. Some cities, like Boston, were trying to invest significantly in active transportation as well as reducing auto parking mandates. Parking was one piece of the puzzle, and it really varied from city to city. In Oregon, Madras was leaning into its downtown redevelopment and as part of that repealed its parking mandates. Lincoln City reduced its parking requirements and was seeing new developments; Coburg had also reduced its parking requirement significantly. Redeveloping a community in a way that supported active transportation and reduced driving was a slow process; many people would be car dependent for a long time given the existing structure of cities particularly in Oregon. Mayor Buck ainquired if communities that removed parking mandates were now experiencing parking shortages. Mr. Manvel replied generally, no as those communities were still building parking. Parking was location specific, so cities might be short on parking in a couple blocks, but generally, the market figured that out. Of the scores of cities that had reformed parking, Miami was the only city to reinstall some parking mandates. Mayor Buck asked if proceeding with Option 1, which would remove all parking mandates, would shorten the timeline presented and what the remaining issues would be. Mr. Olson confirmed Option 1 would shorten the timeline and reduce the number of study and work sessions required by about 20 to 30 percent. City Manager Bennett added the most important element was the public engagement piece so people understand the market would still supply the parking. A parking problem was a good sign, because it meant something so attractive had been developed people wanted to be there. There was always plenty of parking, just not always where people wanted to park. The City would want to spend time talking with the community about the ramifications of repealing parking mandates to avoid the situation the City had with House Bill 2001 compliance, which seemed to have caught the public by surprise. She asked how much engagement the City would need to do if the City proceeded with Option 1 to ensure the public City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 9 September 5, 2023 understood the issue and the likely impact. Mr. Olson replied there would be significant outreach for any option, in addition to the public workshop on the schedule. Outreach could involve a community survey, which would only scratch the surface. Option 1 would need more outreach, but the City would want outreach regardless of how it proceeded to make sure people were on board and understood the changes. Mayor Buck confirmed the City had parking regulation improvements which had to be codified. Mr. Olson added regardless of which option the City acted on. He verified the parking regulation improvements and the parking mandate repeal would all be part of the Planning Commission's work and Council study sessions. Repealing the parking mandates could result in having other policy questions to consider. The options outlined by the State were minimums which the City could go beyond; for example, if the City proceeded with Option 1, some version of parking management might be wanted. He did not believe the City would be precluded from doing that by the rules. There were many forms the parking regulations could take, and the City did not have to just throw out unbundling parking or other types of approaches if it proceeded with Option 1. Councilor Mboup asked how long the process would be with Option 1 and whether it meant less work for Staff. Mr. Olson believed Option 1 was less work for Staff and simpler than the other options. In terms of the actual process to get the City to adoption, Option 1 was the clearest and most streamlined approach in terms of moving forward and implementing the changes in the Code. Neighboring cities, both larger and smaller than Lake Oswego with varying car dependencies, had proceeded with Option 1. Councilor Wendland asked how the parking regulations might impact a hypothetical development of 500 multi-family housing units in Foothills. Mr. Olson replied Foothills was within the area where parking was already exempt; there were no parking requirements in the area. Councilor Wendland believed Option 1 was the best way to proceed many reasons. It would help to simplify the City's codes to make building and development in Lake Oswego more efficient and hopefully, less costly. Calling the parking regulations, "The Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities Parking Rules," was a stretch. A lot had changed since the DLDC data was put together. Many economic indicators ebb and flow with cities and the use of parking that were not necessarily related to a parking policy. If the City proceeded with Option 1 and planned open conversations and forums, it should bring in parking rules as well as the housing changes to provide residents a broad overview of what Housing Bill 2001 was doing. Councilor Verdick concurred, adding she leaned toward Option 1, not only for the short term but for the Planning Department long term as well. It would reduce confusion for builders and developers. She expressed concern about areas that were already mandated and suggested the City consider areas where parking management might be needed and what it would look like. Councilor Corrigan stated she was interested in Option 2 because it provided incentives for the City, such as reducing parking mandates in exchange for solar panels, EV charging, and fully accessible units for those with mobility problems; however, she did not understand the burden involved in administering Option 2 over Option 1 once the option was in place. She reminded that Lake Grove is different than downtown and asked Staff to discuss the impact of Option 1 on Lake Grove, which did not have a grid to park around as downtown did. Mr. Olson replied the cost burden of administrating Option 2 would depend on what the City selected. Two of the five options the City could choose related to unbundling parking, which the City had not explored before. Staff was not sure about the cost, or the number of hours involved, but the City would be required to City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 9 September 5, 2023 manage fair market parking and would have to set the fair market price for commercial and residential parking spaces based on area market rates. Option 2 or 3 would likely involve parking management, including a permit system or something of that nature, or the unbundling where the City would play a more central role in setting the price for parking. Unfortunately, as far as Lake Grove, regardless of which option the City chose, a lot of the parking reform would be centered in the Lake Grove area due to the town center-based approach, and a lot of the reforms were already implemented in the downtown area in Phase A. Options 2 and 3 involved choices on whether to remove parking requirements within Lake Grove and areas with a quarter or half mile of Lake Grove. Option 1 would remove parking requirements citywide without targeting Lake Grove. Even the parking management or fair parking approaches would focus on Lake Grove based on the way the rules were set up. Councilor Wendland asked how bus service changes could impact parking regulations. Mr. Olson replied bus routes could change or become more frequent, and the City would have to respond. A citywide parking requirement repeal would take away the moving target and have a consistent set of regulations citywide. The other approaches would be more targeted and focused on the Highway 43 corridor and Lake Grove, which could change if the bus line's frequency or route changed. Mayor Buck said he owned a business downtown and a business in Lake Grove, and the downtown location had no onsite parking at all, but because of the bus service, more people took the bus to get to work in the downtown location. No one took the bus to get to work at the Lake Grove location. The market would make adjustments. There was no way to under park in Lake Grove because there was nowhere for people to park. Any business going into Lake Grove would provide the appropriate amount of parking due to the lack of on-street parking and public parking like that downtown. Councilor Wendland noted that like Zupan's, which followed a parking model initially and then reacted when the parking was not enough, the free market would add more parking due to supply and demand. Mayor Buck agreed a free-market approach could better manage parking than a one-size-fits-all system that tended to be the regulation. Councilor Afghan understood Option 1 was the easy way but was not sure if it was the right way. He could not determine which of the three options was the right one for Lake Oswego without more information about the impacts to neighborhoods. Mr. Olson clarified Staff was not requesting a decision on whether to proceed with Option 1, 2, or 3, but he appreciated the Councilor's preliminary input. Mayor Buck reminded this was just one piece of the puzzle that would begin toward achieving the City's goals to maintain its commitment to promote economic development, encourage more diverse housing types, promote the reduction of emissions through transportation, invest in safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure, and streamline processes. However, encouraging more nonvehicular options and reforming the town through better managed parking would take investments on the other side and would take time. He summarized that Council was interested in looking at the complete repeal in Option 1, while looking at other options that would help with the management and additional climate-friendly incentives. While many options were presented, Council did not want the Planning Commission to go through every single option under Options 2 and 3 and Subgroup 3 and 4, because that would take forever. The full repeal with community engagement sounded good, with the added discussion about additional management options. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 9 September 5, 2023 Mr. Olson said he appreciated the direction and would continue to speak with Council about housing strategies and other issues that had been identified, noting there were many opportunities for crosspollination. 10. INFORMATION FROM COUNCIL None was provided. 11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS City Manager Bennett verified Councilors had reviewed the letter attached to her Friday email and confirmed Councilors agreed with signing the letter to Clackamas County in support of the adoption of the County Zoning Code. 12. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council meeting at 7:42 p.m. Respectfully submitted, k,4.1 Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on October 17, 2023. Joseph . Buck, Mayor • City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 9 September 5, 2023