Approved Minutes - 2023-12-18City of Lake Oswego Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes
December 18, 2023
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CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes
December 18, 2023
Approved
Call to Order / Roll Call
Buzz Chandler called the December 2023 meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Board to order at 6:43
pm.
Members Present: Buzz Chandler, Jay Hamachek, Matt Schaeffer, Robin Palao,
Mark Puhlman, Jeanne Enders (Alternate), Matthew Coleman
(Alternate)
Members Excused/Absent: Kara Orvieto, Whitney Street, Nathan Chen, Margaux McCloskey
Staff: Mayor Joe Buck, George Burke, Don Johnson, Amanda Watson
Public: None
Approval of Minutes
Buzz made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 13 meeting as written, Robin seconded
and the minutes were approved unanimously.
Public Comment
None.
Regular Business
A. Emergency Management Program
Fire Chief Don Johnson and Police Chief George Burke sought Sustainability Advisory Board members’
input on a City Council-directed project they are leading to improve emergency preparedness for
vulnerable and underserved populations in Lake Oswego, including seniors and people with disabilities.
The City has been successful in connecting with residents in neighborhoods through CERT teams and the
family radio program, but are working to better connect with seniors and other underserved communities
who can be harder to reach and may need additional support during a disaster.
The City recently received a State grant that will fund a two-year pilot program to get senior living
communities more prepared. The Fire and Police Departments have also been working to get more
residents signed up for Everbridge, the emergency alert system managed by Clackamas County.
Board members shared ideas on how the City could better connect with seniors and other vulnerable
residents:
• Using grant funding to hire outreach workers that could go door-to-door.
• Employing simple technologies, like Jitterbug phones, as well as using existing systems in place
like CERT and the radio program to check up on vulnerable residents.
• Utilizing volunteer ambassadors to serve as emergency coordinators and preparedness educators
in a specific area or for a specific community. Robin shared his experience working with an
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December 18, 2023
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organization that relied on bilingual volunteer coordinators to conduct outreach in the native
protected areas where they lived, where most residents spoke a local dialect instead of Spanish.
• Partnering on outreach and/or educational events with organizations that serve seniors, like the
Adult Community Center, Providence’s gym on Kruse Way, Home Health, and Meals on Wheels.
• Working with activity directors at senior living facilities, who are a good source of information for
residents and are often looking for events.
• Making emergency preparedness training or outreach part of a continuing education or
accreditation credit for staff at senior living facilities.
B. City Council Update
Mayor Buck shared updates on what the City Council has been working on recently.
• Climate Friendly Equitable Communities parking requirements: City Council gave direction to
pursue elimination of parking mandates citywide; they would like to move towards a more unified
set of regulations for the whole city. This policy also involves new bike parking requirements for
multifamily and other developments.
• Smart water meters: The City has been working for the past few years to change out all 12,000
water meters across the city; they are now working on the south side of the lake.
• Celebrated the groundbreaking of the Habitat for Humanity affordable housing project on
Boone’s Ferry. Construction will take about a year.
• Council approved annual inflation adjustments for master fees and charges.
• Council will be referring the question of whether the city should allow psilocybin treatment
facilities and manufacturing in Lake Oswego to voters in November 2024; currently a ban is in
place, but Council has adopted less stringent time, place and manner restrictions in case voters
do vote to allow.
C. 2024 City Council Goals Input
Board members discussed their input for a memo on Board accomplishments and priority issues or themes
for City Council’s 2024 goals to be shared with Council before the Boards and Commissions Summit,
deciding on the following:
Top 3 Board accomplishments for 2023:
• Advanced efforts to increase EV adoption in Lake Oswego: successfully advised the City to install
wayfinding signage for EV charging stations at City Hall and the Maintenance Center, helped
develop and disseminate a survey on EV ownership and charging habits to inform development
of a Citywide EV charging strategy, and provided comments in support of school bus
electrification.
• Engaged and educated community members on sustainability and climate issues through the
Second Annual Sustainability Resource Fair and by tabling at the Lake Oswego Farmer’s Market,
the Clackamas County Master Gardener’s Spring Fair, and the Lake Oswego Sustainability
Network’s Electric Home and Vehicle Fair.
• Continued to work collaboratively with staff and provide recommendations to City Council on
sustainability aspects of the Wastewater Treatment Plant project to ensure a sustainable, future-
ready facility design.
Top 3 themes/issues to highlight to City Council for 2024 goals:
• Sustainable transportation, in particular improving safety and infrastructure for walking and
biking.
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• Continuing work on the Urban and Community Forestry Plan update, and next steps to ensure a
healthy and resilient urban forest.
• Education for residents and homeowners about what they can do to meet community climate
action goals, especially on energy efficiency and clean energy.
On education, Matt Schaeffer noted that educational efforts should be timely, targeted to when
residents most need the information, for example, educating about preventive tree maintenance ahead
of winter storm events. Jeanne shared some insights from research on behavioral change and education.
People who resist change want to feel the following to be more at ease with disruption: status (e.g.
being in the "in" group), certainty, autonomy (do I have choice?), relatedness (am I treated with respect
and care?), and fairness (are others also be asked to change, or only some of us? Are the "wealthier"
also making sacrifices?). Education is a “push” strategy that doesn’t always achieve the desired uptake,
so consider “pull” strategies as well. Board members also discussed the need to share actionable
information with residents about what they can do to reduce energy and use more clean energy,
including what resources and financial incentives are available and how to get them, as well personal
stories and examples from neighbors to help people understand the benefits.
On the urban forest, Board members noted that the mitigation tree list needs to be updated to reflect
changing climate conditions. The City could also consider expanding the Firewise program to other
neighborhoods, which includes urban forest management practices that reduce wildfire risk. Matt
Coleman shared his experience of getting an estimate for solar panels on his house; in order to get the
federal subsidy for installation, he would need to have a 75% rate and could only achieve that by cutting
down trees that were shading his house. Board members would like to explore how mitigation plans for
trees removed for development could include additional GHG reduction strategies in addition to
replanting trees.
In their discussion on accomplishments, Board members also noted their work to conduct further fact-
finding on addressing the impacts of gas-powered landscaping equipment, including by inviting Storm
Landscaping to share their experience using electric equipment for the city’s multi-site maintenance
contracts. Although they moved away from their 2023 goal to develop a proposal for a ban on the
equipment, they have a better understanding of current barriers and opportunities to address the issue
and is interested in continuing to educate the public on this issue and consider creative solutions to
address financial barriers and support companies to make the transition to electric. Ideas included the
City partnering with local credit unions to serve as a backstop/guarantee for financing for small businesses
to purchase electric equipment.
Matt Shaeffer asked about Oswego Lake and the health of the lake. The Mayor explained this is a focus
for multiple City departments, and programs including stormwater management regulations, monitoring
TMDLs, and habitat restoration. Jay can arrange for someone from the Lake Oswego Corporation to speak
to SAB about how the Lake Corps manages the water quality and works with the City.
D. EV Charging and GHG Emissions Inventory
These discussions will be postponed to a future meeting.
E. Staff & Board Updates
• The Board will not be holding a regular meeting in January. Instead, the annual Boards &
Commissions Summit is scheduled for January 11, 6 – 7:30 pm at the Adult Community Center,
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and SAB will join the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Advisory Board for a joint meeting
on the Urban and Community Forestry Plan on January 17.
Meeting adjourned at 8:39 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Amanda Watson
Sustainability Program Manager