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Approved Minutes - 2024-01-30 Special CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES January 30, 2024 aRrr�o� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Buck called the City Council goal setting retreat to order at 12:33 p.m. on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. 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 Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, and Corrigan. Councilor Afghan was excused. Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Anthony Hooper, Deputy City Manager; Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager; Weston Pay, IT Director; Shawn Cross, Finance Director; Erica Rooney, City Engineer I Public Works Director; Don Johnson, Fire Chief, George Burke, Police Chief; Melissa Kelly, Library Director; Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director; Kyra Haggart, PARKS Project Manager; Megan Phelan, Assistant City Manager 3. DISCUSSION OF COUNCIL POLICIES AND AGREEMENTS Mayor Buck noted the meeting was being recorded on Zoom. Community members and City Staff were present, and some community members were joining the meeting via Zoom. The video would be uploaded to the City's YouTube channel. City Manager Martha Bennett began by asking Councilors to reflect on City and Council accomplishments over the past year. Councilor responses were as follows: Mayor Buck: Helped to facilitate groundbreaking on the Habitat for Humanity project, and the wastewater project. Councilor Rapf: Rassekh Skate Park demonstrated collaborative work between the City Council and other parties. Councilor Corrigan: The City kept the Urban and Community Forest Plan on track. Councilor Wendland: LORAC groundbreaking, which was a 10-year project for the City and the School District. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 13 January 30, 2024 Councilor Verdick: The City's June Pride Day event, and improved communications about local governments. Councilor Mboup: North Anchor Project. City Manager Bennett noted that today's Council session would focus on discussing the goals and initiatives. In 2023, the Council pursued 20 initiatives and made substantial progress on 17. Over the past three years, the Council consistently achieved progress on 16 to 17 goals annually, so Councilors were asked to choose initiatives related to what they hoped to work on in the coming year. Via PowerPoint, City Manager Bennett reviewed meeting logistics, the City's mission and values, alignment of Council goals and values, the role of Council and Staff, and the Council's 2023 vision statement for a preferred future. Today, Councilors would discuss strategic goal areas that reflected where the City was headed in the next three to five years. The initiatives for each strategic goal were projects and/or policy choices that took between 12 and 24 months to complete. Staff described the voting tool, noting the tool was not so much a vote as a way to help Councilors organize their thoughts. Goals would not be adopted until they were brought before Council for final approval/adoption in a regular meeting. 4. DISCUSSION OF STRATEGIES GOALS AND INITIATIVES City Manager Bennett noted that in the past, Council had discussed suggested changes to almost all of the eight Strategic Goals, but this year changes were only suggested to three strategic goal areas. She continued the PowerPoint presentation, reviewing the strategic goals, proposed initiatives, and requested changes and addressed clarifying questions. Key comments, discussion points, and Council's vote in terms of level of support on the strategic goals and initiatives were as follows: Public Safety Strategic Goal — Ensure a safe, secure, and prepared community No suggested changes were proposed. Proposed Initiative: Continue implementation of the process to increase preparedness of Lake Oswego residents, especially seniors and people with disabilities, in the event of a disaster. (Slide 11) City Manager Bennett explained the initiative should not be combined with the Strategic Goal on combating climate change and strengthening the community's resilience because Public Safety was about emergency preparedness no matter the reason, while the climate change goal regarded work the City's needed to do to its own infrastructure. Councilors discussed the role of the 50+ Advisory Board be rebranded or expanded to involve a wider range of community members and provide a set forum for community partners to discuss emergency preparedness to help move forward the City's work. Councilor Wendland expressed concern that the work needed a home to sit in, but one at a more strategic level that involved all community partners. City Manager Bennett informed Council that the comments would be captured to inform the Staff creating the work plan on emergency preparedness. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 13 January 30, 2024 Councilor Rapf asked that the City keep in mind whether it was remaining nimble to the staffing needs of the Police and Fire Departments, though he was not sure it needed to be an initiative. City Manager Bennett explained the City did have that conversation during the budget process. The Council vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Strategic Goal — Support Business investment and job creation in Lake Oswego. City Manager Bennett noted the Council had a strategic goal around business investment and job creation for about five years, but this year, one Councilor had asked whether the goal was actionable by the City. Councilors agreed that recent news of two large companies indicating interest in moving to Lake Oswego was proof that initiatives undertaken by the Council on a strategic level and the work done by City Staff had a significant impact. City Manager Bennet read through the initiatives. Discussion of the initiatives was as follows: Initiative 1: Break ground on the North Anchor Redevelopment projects. The Council vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Update the Lake Grove Urban Renewal Plan and begin work on a plan to use urban renewal to support the redevelopment of Foothills Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 3: Implement the initiatives in the 2022 Economic Development Strategy Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 4: Develop a funding strategy for a longer-term contract with the Chamber of Commerce to implement a portion of the 2022 Economic Development Strategy; evaluate the possibility of the business license fee as a funding option. This was a new Initiative. • Mayor Buck wanted the Council to discuss increasing the business license fee because the fee had not been evaluated for five decades and was out of step with neighboring communities. Additionally, payment of the fee was not enforced nor was the fee invested back into the business community. The business community, through the fee, could fund the Council's work on economic development. • There was concern that increasing the fee would be problematic for small businesses and hurt the City's ability to attract small businesses. However, if the fee were invested back into the business community, an increased fee would strengthen the City's Strategic Plan. • The Council and Staff discussed the City's the contract for the three-year pilot program with the Chamber. An increase in the business license fee could serve as a funding mechanism to extend the program by the end of 2025. • Councilors agreed they wanted a funding strategy for the Chamber to be part of the overall economic development strategy and not a standalone initiative. Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 5: Create a long-term programming strategy for lodging tax dollars; develop an active and positive promotion strategy for Lake Oswego Businesses. This was a new Initiative. • City Manager Bennett did not believe the Council's authority over lodging tax dollars could be delegated to another body. The Council was the body responsible for compliance with state City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 13 January 30, 2024 law. The funds were programmed and had not recovered from the pandemic. However, there seemed to be an assumption that the City was sitting on a large sum of unallocated lodging tax dollars, which was not the case. She suggested this goal be addressed as part of the goal on fiscal stability and the Councilors agreed. • Mayor Buck said the Initiative did not seem necessary this year, but having some strategy around those dollars was something to keep in mind as the city added another hotel and the hotel business continued to strengthen. Councilor's votes varied from very low to medium support. Initiative 6: Discuss whether and how to allow new and emerging home-based sharing economy businesses (such as Swimply, Peerspace, Sniff Spot, etc.). This was a new Initiative. • City Manager Bennett noted the City had received complaints about Swimply, a service that allowed owners of private pools to rent the pools out through an online market. The issue involved whether this type of business went against the residential character of neighborhoods. The City's existing Home Occupation regulations addressed impacts to neighborhoods in terms of parking and noise. The standard was subjective, so the City did the best it could to permit businesses, but the regulations were designed for residents who wanted to permit businesses such as a home-based office or hair salon. • Councilor Rapf believed the market should be allowed to decide whether these home-based sharing economy businesses would be appropriate for Lake Oswego. • Community Development Director, Jessica Numanoglu explained that the City had put a moratorium of sorts on home-based sharing economy businesses because it was difficult to determine in a clear and objective way if a business altered the residential character of the neighborhood. In the past, the City had approved those types of licenses with conditions placed on the number of events, parking limitations, and steps to address impacts, but Staff had to make those limitations up and determine in each case what would impact residential character, which some found unfair because it was not in the City's Code. • City Manager Bennett added that despite the moratorium, there were still businesses operating. Unless the City received a complaint, the City was not proactively enforcing anything. • Staff briefly outlined some of the restrictions included in the City's Home Occupation Standards and noted that the standard people cared about was not altering a neighborhood's residential character. They described how the impacts of traditional home-based businesses differed from the impacts of non-traditional home-based businesses. The sharing economy businesses, many of which involved using space for events, had been the most problematic. However, Staff recommended the Council look at all of the Home Occupation Standards because the standards were subjective. • Director Numanoglu confirmed that around ten business licenses had been issued for sharing economy businesses over the past year, but the City did not know how many were operating without a license. The number of businesses could increase, which was why Staff brought the issue forward. • City Manager Bennett said Staff planned a study session for the Council on code enforcement. The City's emphasis was on code compliance, but that did not always work. She supported the concern of the Development Department on the issue, because at least in one case, significant Staff time went into trying to resolve an active neighborhood dispute. Councilor's votes varied from low to medium support. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 13 January 30, 2024 Strategic Goal — Foster a welcoming and inclusive community where all people have the opportunity to thrive and have equitable access to City services. Initiative: Continue efforts related to DEI, including prioritize equity in the delivery of City services: formalize a translation and interpretation policy; explore a partnership with Lake Oswego School District to host an annual event welcoming new residents to the city; and provide information on how to engage and ways to access services and programs. • Council discussion revolved around whether the item should remain a goal or if inclusion was already institutionalized, and if the goal was actionable. Mayor Buck stated the DEI goal intersected with all the City's work and needed to continue as a goal because it was important for the public to see it was a strategic goal fostered in day-to-day work. • City Manager Bennett reminded Councilors the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Board had proposed four bodies of work: how to include an equity lens in discussions about code enforcement and compliance; translation; welcoming new residents; and information for the public about how to engage with the City. Work planning would involve those four programmatic areas unless the Council proposed changes. The Council's vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Council took a break from 1:36 p.m. — 1:44 p.m. Strategic Goal — Combat climate change and strengthen the community's resilience to climate impacts. City Manager Bennett noted the goal had been in place for some time; one Councilor suggested dropping the first half of the goal since efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions would be done on the federal and state level and the Council's focus should be on community resilience. Councilors discussed the purpose of the goal and agreed the goal should remain as is with the understanding that efforts to combat climate change took place at higher levels. The initiatives under this goal were reviewed and discussed as follows: Initiative 1: Integrate climate action and resilience strategies into City projects, such as capital improvement planning, housing policy, and City facilities and fleet decisions. • City Manager Bennett believed this Initiative would require Council leadership because there were dollars in play, particularly around Capital Improvement Planning (CIP). Often, determining appropriate investments that were climate friendly and climate resilient was not always obvious. Sometimes, the areas where the City had money available and the projects needed to become more climate resilient did not line up. For example, there were tens of millions of dollars in stormwater infrastructure missing in the community because of the way it developed over time. If the City wanted to build for climate resilience,that would likely involve more stormwater infrastructure than it conceived. • On City facilities and fleet decisions, Staff needed direction from Council to incorporate climate and sustainability; the City did not have a building or fleet policy right now but was in the process of developing one. The Council had already spent time on this type of decision in a variety of ways. During the wastewater plan conversation, it discussed the tradeoff between sustainability initiatives and cost. • Councilors discussed whether the focus of the Initiative needed to be more specific. There was debate about whether this goal should be a City Council goal or Staff goal. While the Council decided which goals to fund in the budget, it was up to Staff to implement the goals. Several Councilors suggested the Initiative needed to be included as a City Council because City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 13 January 30, 2024 if it were not stated, sustainability and resilience would not be a part of budget discussions and facility and fleet decisions. • City Manager Bennett understood some Councilors felt the policy should be baked into the City's DNA, but it was not. City Staff focused on service delivery outcomes and stretching every dollar; this Initiative added another and different priority. She suggested that Staff include more specific suggestions in their work plan proposals. • Councilors agreed with Staff's suggestion that the Initiative be modified to reflect Council discussion. The Council's vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Engage and educate residents and businesses on strategies to increase clean energy use and energy efficiency decisions. • Councilors questioned why this was listed as City Council goal since the City had Staff dedicated to community engagement. All agreed that the Council should spend time on developing and adopting a strategy to increase clean energy use rather than educating residents. City Manager Bennett agreed to modify the Initiative to reflect Council discussion. The Council's vote resulted unanimous very high support. Initiative 3: Adopt an updated Urban and Community Forest Plan. Begin implementation of any non-regulatory elements in the plan. Start the process for targeted amendments to the Tree Code after adoption of the Plan. The Council's vote resulted unanimous very high support. Initiative 4: Lead a process to accelerate the transition from gas powered lawn equipment for residents and private landscaping businesses. • Councilor discussion focused on whether the Initiative was needed, whether any action to mandate purchase of electric equipment could violate the City's own goals for equity and inclusion and considered feedback from some members of the community who favored restrictions. • City Manager Bennett proposed Lake Oswego put aside the Initiative until it had observed how the issue had played out in Portland. Leaving aside all other issues, Portland's market share in the industry was larger than Lake Oswego. The issue would take up a lot of Council time; there were many people who felt passionately about the issue, and the Council would have to carve out the time to hear them. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Initiative 5: Adopt and implement an EV charging strategy. • City Manager Bennett commented it was difficult to determine the role of the private sector versus the public market. As the market transitioned from one type of technology to another, the public sector often had to step in to accelerate private sector investment. This was a complicated issue, but not particularly controversial. • Councilor Wendland suggested the City let the market decide and suggested most new construction would be built EV ready. City Manager Bennett said the limitation on EV charging would be tied to what was available in the grid. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 13 January 30, 2024 Initiative 6: Update the development code to require Electric Vehicle Charging in new multi-family construction. City Manager Bennett commented the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rulemaking required multifamily construction to be EV ready; it did not require the developer to install the chargers. Initiative 6 was not part of Initiative 5 because it was very specific to multifamily, and she did not believe the City's EV charging strategy would contemplate anything more for multifamily than the CFEC already contemplated. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Strengthen public trust in the city through continuous improvement, outstanding customer service, infrastructure investments, and fiscal stewardship City Manager Bennett noted a change had been made per Council direction in 2023 to focus the goal on public trust. She asked the Council to discuss Initiatives 2 and 3 and how they worked together. Initiative 1: Collaborate with the City of Portland to make a financially and environmentally responsible long-term investment in a wastewater treatment plant The Council's vote resulted in very high support. Initiative 2: Guide implementation of the Library Strategic Plan and evaluate opportunities to improve access to Library service. • The Council agreed Library Staff had shown ingenuity and creativity and developed many opportunities on their own with existing resources. Financial support was limited until there was a strategic plan put together, but the City would try to find money for small projects. Long term, the Council should be explicit it did not envision more than one library in the City. The City should seek ways to enable library access for all residents without building an additional facility. One suggestion was to offer a shuttle service. • City Manager Bennett responded that the Adult Community Center (ACC) did run a van system that included a stop at the library, but that service was not available to students or young people. The Chamber of Commerce had a goal to look at a community circulator service, and a circulator service was a part of the City's advocacy with TriMet as that agency did its service enhancement plan. In addition, the library was looking at a book mobile to enable service delivery all over the city, not just the west side. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Initiative 3: Develop a strategy for an all-ages and all-activities community center on the west side of town that would include event and meeting spaces, public services, and may include library services. Collaborate with the Lake Oswego School District and other stakeholders as part of the project. • Councilors agreed a long-term strategy was needed for community engagement work in an accessible location, but there were funding limitations. Building a comprehensive community facility might be an area to leverage a partnership or use an urban renewal tool. Councilor's votes varied from low to very high support. Initiative 4: Conduct a longer-term strategic review of the City's finances, including revenues, expenditures, and capital funding. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 13 January 30, 2024 • City Manager Bennett reminded the Councilors they had postponed this from last year so it would be done during an off-cycle year rather than during a budget year. • Councilors Wendland and Rapf felt the Initiative was important to give Councilors a good idea of what the financial picture was so the Council could make more informed decisions. • City Manager Bennett noted she made a commitment to the Budget Committee that they would undertake the work in an off year and look at revenue and expenditures to determine trends and vulnerabilities. She did not believe it would happen without a Council goal. Further, understanding long-term trends would inform Council discussion on follow-up items about financing and the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). Councilor's votes varied from low to very high support. Initiative 5: Begin a needs assessment and community engagement process to rebuild the South Shore Fire Station. • City Manager Bennett noted the station's living quarters were not earthquake resilient, but the equipment bays were. In addition, the recent community survey indicated there was public support and interest in making sure the station was resilient. • Councilor Verdick shared that during a recent tour of the station, she was appalled by the bathrooms. The issues impacted equity and safety and went beyond whether the station was seismically sound. She did not think it could be put off much longer. Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 6: Work to improve the perception of Lake Oswego in the state and region. Similarly: Develop a citywide branding and communications plan to strengthen both the City and the Community's image. • Council discussion revolved around whether those outside the city had a negative perception of Lake Oswego and whether Staff time should be spent researching the issue. Two large companies had recently indicated interest in moving to the city, which meant those companies had looked deeply into the city's culture. If the Initiative involved organizational rebranding, that should happen from the top down rather than department-by-department. • City Manager Bennett clarified the Parks and Recreation Department had contracted with a consultant to undertake a rebranding exercise, which suggested there could be an opportunity now for the City to do the same. Councilor's votes varied from low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Invest in Lake Oswego's high-quality parks, natural areas, and recreational amenities. Initiative 1: Guide delivery of the Lake Oswego Recreational and Aquatic Center (LORAC) and Golf Course and oversee the launch of operations of these facilities. • Councilors questioned whether guiding the LORAC was a necessary goal since the County's process for the LORAC was already underway and there was nothing more for the Council to do. The LORAC would still be built if Councilors voted very low support for the goal and Councilors did not want too many goals. • City Manager Bennett encouraged the goal since the facility would cost $40 million and increase the Operating Department. The goal should not take a lot of Councilor's time. However, the Council would not look good if something went wrong and the project had not been identified as a goal. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 13 January 30, 2024 The Council's vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Develop a funding strategy for Rassekh Park Phases 2 and 3. Councilor's votes varied from medium to very high support. Initiative 3: Adopt Parks Plan 2040. The Council vote resulted in very high support. Initiative 4: Update/Adopt/Implement the Luscher Area Master Plan. • Kyra Haggart, PARKS Project Manager, reviewed City work with Clackamas County regarding Luscher Park over the past year. The County had adopted amendments to its Development Code so the City of Lake Oswego could now submit a land use application that would amend the Comprehensive Plan. Preparation of that major application represented about one year's worth of work by City Staff. Following that submittal, the County would then adopt the Luscher Area Master Plan as a County Park Master Plan Document, allowing the City to implement the uses in the Master Plan. • The City had about $2 million in funding from the Metro Local Share program for use on capital investment or design for trails projects as part of the program. City Staff had submitted Luscher access and parking projects for potential funding; both projects ranked highly among the seven projects the community were asked to help prioritize. • The projects were permissible, but the City had to go through the land use application process before it could spend the dollars on capital investments. The land use application process included a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Historical Overlay Modification, and a development permit. • If Council chose this Initiative, Staff would need support during the community engagement process because part of the development application work involved ensuring that Lake Oswego residents as well as residents in Stafford Hamlet were comfortable with the work proposed. • City Manager Bennett clarified Lake Oswego had $2.2 million from Metro in the Local Share and the funding was provided on a reimbursement basis so the City had to have cash to complete the projects. There were restrictions in the Metro Bond that applied to how Local Share dollars could be spent. For example, on the Willamette River Greenway Project, there was a restriction in the Metro Bond that said Lake Oswego could not spend their dollars on property the City condemned. Since the City had condemned the last two easements, Local Share dollars would only partially fund that project if the Council picked it. As the next step, Staff would go to the Parks Board and then to Council to identify projects, parts of which had been preapproved by Metro. • A funding strategy would be necessary to complete the projects, which Staff was working on. Some of the projects were included on the list for Parks Plan 2040, and the projects put forward for Metro Local Share funding were projects with community support. Rassekh Phases 2 and 3 were not eligible for Metro dollars, which was why those were listed as a separate initiative. The top three projects were parking at Luscher and West Waluga and the West Waluga boardwalk. • Council discussion focused on equally prioritizing projects in Rassekh and partially funded Local Share projects. • City Manager Bennett suggested the Initiative be modified so Councilors would vote on prioritizing and developing/adopting a funding strategy for partially funded parks projects (e.g., Willamette River Greenway, Rassekh, West Waluga Trail). City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 13 January 30, 2024 Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Improve Transportation connections, mobility and safety for all travelers and all types of trips in Lake Oswego. Initiative 1: Continue construction of sidewalks and pathways, focusing on safe routes to schools. • City Manager Bennett noted some Councilors had suggested the work include connections to parks and shopping, and the Initiative would involve work for the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). In the past, Council had been very clear the construction of sidewalks and pathways should be focused on safe routes to schools. • Councilors discussed whether the Initiative should continue to be focused on schools. The Safe Routes to Schools program was evergreen and the City had already raised the levy for construction costs, so the goal may not be necessary. However, the goal would maintain the City's strong partnership with the school district and there had been feedback in the community about connections to parks, which also considered children. • City Manager Bennett observed the Council's focus had shifted away from pavement quality to pedestrian facilities. The Street Fund was a limited resource, and the Council should articulate a focus during its goal setting process to express a policy preference. The City would address both pavement quality and pedestrian facilities, but the Staff built the budget based on Council's goals. • Councilors agreed the Initiative as worded helped to ensure the Budget Committee and others prioritized projects in the right way. The Council's vote resulted unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Adopt a transportation framework plan for Stafford/McVey. • Mayor Buck commented that the City should do something with the plan because it cost $60,000 to $70,000 to develop. Councilor's votes varied from very low to medium support. Initiative 3: Undertake two pedestrian safety studies— McVey and Lake Grove —with actionable items in 2024. City Manager Bennett noted that a year from now, Staff would propose a goal around updating the Transportation System Plan (TSP), so as Councilors thought about this Initiative, they should consider whether they wanted to undertake area-specific studies separate from the overall TSP. Councilor's votes ranged from medium to very low support. Initiative 4: Adopt the "20 is Plenty" speed program for residential/local streets. • City Manager Bennett said the City had the authority to enact"20 is Plenty" under state law, but Councilors should consider the proliferation of signs on residential streets and the public's expectation that the City would issue more tickets. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Initiative: Increase investments in road rehabilitation for local, lower traffic streets. • City Manager Bennett stated that if the Council picked this Initiative, Staff would push a more global conversation. On a Staff level, arterials and major collectors were always prioritized for City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 10 of 13 January 30, 2024 investments. Residents of streets that had not seen investment for 50 years may not think this was the best use of funds. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Conserve the community's character, sense of place, and quality of life by planning for change and growth. • City Manager Bennett noted the goal was worded when the City was dealing with House Bill 2001 and wished to ensure Middle Housing was incorporated in a way that was consistent with the community's feelings about residential neighborhoods. However, one Councilor had suggested the current challenge was about ensuring an adequate supply of housing. • Councilors and Staff discussed whether the goal should be changed to reflect current housing challenges or remain as worded to give the City flexibility in addressing policy needs. The goal included but was not limited to housing. Additionally, keeping the goal broad would make it easier for the Council to address long range planning issues. Councilors agreed the goal should remain as worded, though the body of work in the coming year would address housing specifically. Initiative 1: Continue work on key housing initiatives, the housing production strategy, guiding the HACC/Metro project on Boones Ferry Road, and support for other non-profit led housing projects. • City Manager Bennett noted that most of the work necessary to achieve this Initiative is mandated by State law. Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 2: Comprehensive review of the City's development codes and process to make process more efficient and predictable and less expensive. • City Manager Bennett asked the Council to delay this Initiative because Staff expected there would be more housing mandates made at the State level during the short session and Staff had limited capacity to work on long range planning while updating the Code. • Councilors agreed to delay the Initiative, though it was important. City Manager Bennett believed Staff also wished to undertake a comprehensive review given what it knew about the current process, it was just a question of when. Councilor's votes varied from very low to medium support. Proposed Work Plan Items: Address the need for shelters to be part of the City's emergency plans, including day- shelters. • City Manager Bennett said Staff planned to address this because during the last power outage, residents asked the City to open shelters and schools for warmth. There were many reasons the City was not able to do so, but Staff wished to determine what the work program would look like. Currently, if there was a major emergency the City looked to the Red Cross to provide shelter, but they would only open shelters if people were displaced. The City was not yet equipped to open an overnight shelter, but Staff could investigate that if Council wished. It would be easier to look at day shelters. Opening shelters was part of updating the City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 11 of 13 January 30, 2024 City's Emergency Operations Plan, and Staff did not anticipate a great deal of Council time was necessary unless a new program was needed. Councilors agreed. Coordinate with the State to update laws around e-mobility, especially electric bikes, and electric mopeds. • City Manager Bennett noted Mayor Buck had been working on a statewide approach with Councilor Nguyen. Realistically, any approach needed to be statewide because the devices were regulated by the state, not the City. She did not feel it was an issue the Council needed to spend time on. Councilors agreed. Council took break from 3:36 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. 5. DEBRIEF AND WRAP UP City Manager Bennett went over the resulting priorities of the goals and initiatives. Council had identified 17 top Initiatives for 2024 goal setting as follows: preparedness, North Anchor, the four sub projects under DEI, a revised/revamped facilities and fleets policy, adopt a strategy to increase clean energy use; wastewater; LORAC; the Urban and Community Forestry Plan and Tree Codes; PARKS plan; Urban Renewal; economic development strategy; funding strategy for Rassekh Park; housing initiatives; develop a strategy for some kind of presence on the west side; and a Chamber of Commerce Funding Strategy. Councilors were asked to identify three or fewer of the remaining items to include in its 2024 goals. City Manager Bennett advised the Transportation Advisory Board would take the lead on adopting "20 is Plenty." There would be a community engagement process and Council would be the body to enact the program. Councilors agreed to include the adoption of"20 is Plenty" and the strategic financial review, and directed the Sustainability Advisory Board to continue to research and monitor any action Portland took to restrict gas-powered lawn equipment as well as their code and implementation measures, then bring the issue back to Council for consideration in 2025. City Manager Bennett said the results would be sent to departments or key Staff who would help develop work plans. The goals would be brought to Council for adoption before the work plans were brought back for review in the first quarter report. Some of the questions Councilors asked today about specific initiatives would be covered in the work plans, some of which would be very detailed and some of which would be high level because Staff needed to research the scope of the project first. Councilors complimented Staff on the goal setting process, which they thought went smoothy. The Boards and Commission input into the process was helpful, and it was also helpful to have the results of the community survey before goal setting. 6. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council special meeting at 4:16 p.m. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 12 of 13 January 30, 2024 Respectfully submitted, 44x, / . Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on March 5, 2024. Joseph Buck, Mayor City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 13 of 13 January 30, 2024