Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Well, good morning everyone and welcome to administrator issues and updates on March 31st, 2026. County Administrator Gary Schmidt, would you please call the role? Yes. Thank you, Chair. Good morning. Commissioner West is out of the office on military leave. Commissioner Shrader is out of the office on personal leave. Roll call. Commissioner Savis, present. Commissioner Helm, here. Chair Roberts here. Thank you, Gary. I want to introduce our first agenda item for the day. Yes. Thank you. The first item is Canby Ferry fee waiver requests. Presenting is Dan Johnson, director of transportation and development.

Good morning, Chair Roberts, commissioners. Um again a congratulations um I'm part of your 1,400 linear miles of roadway system in Quacamus County. You and a ferry as well and we operate a ferry and we are here to have a discussion about some adjustments to to some minimal fees um a one-time ask uh for two public facing events. So essentially we've been approached by um first um let's back up make sure we're clear about this. Cami Ferry um provides uh ferry service for cars and or a walk-on um um participants as well and or bicycles. Um for motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians, it's $3 a trip across the the ferry. Two groups have requested a fee waiver. One is the ride and roll, which is a motorcycle charity event supporting the Sergeant Mad Dog Watts Veterans Foundation. It's a 501c3. Um it's a nonprofit organization. um asking for one way. So, it's not a return trip, just one one trip across. Um essentially, um their intent is to raise awareness and support uh for veteran services. And if you look at their website, they've got a number of different entities they invest in or partner with to provide uh services to veterans. The second is Cami School District. Um they have requested a fee waiver for their third grade students um during their annual local history field trips. Uh the requests are April 28th and 29th of this year. Uh with multiple crossings between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30. They provided us uh they've been good partners to provide us a schedule about when those events may take place. There are six schools participating. Um it's about 20 to 30 38 uh students per crossing. Uh staff believes the waivers uh approval of each of these waivers will provide positive community exposure and an opportunity for local youth to learn about the history of Clackamus Countyy's transportation services. Uh the impacts to the ferry operation are minimal um at those at the times proposed. So uh with that you have a

recommendation here from staff to approve these but we be happy to answer any questions you might have. All right. Thanks Dan. Questions, comments? Sure. I move to approve the waivers. Second. All right. Commissioner Savis has moved to approve the Cami ferry fee waiverss for ride and roll and the Cami school district field trip and Commissioner Helm has seconded that. Any further discussion? Only that I'd like to say thank you for bringing us something easy. No problem. And I would Oh, sorry. And I would say what a wonderful cause. So, thank you for doing that. I think it's really giving back to the community. So, thank you, Dan. So with that being said, clerk, would you please call the poll? Commissioner Helm,

I. Commissioner Savis, I. Mr. Chair, I. Motion passes three to zero. Mr. Chair, thank you. Thanks again, Dan.

Thank you. Next is City of Sandy Transit Building Grant Support Letter Request. Presenting is Philip Mason Joiner, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, Housing, and Human Services. Go ahead, please, Philip. Good morning, Chair Roberts and commissioners. Uh hopefully another easy item for you this morning to keep that uh trend moving. Um the city of Candy uh Sandy has approached us with a uh request for a letter of support for a competitive grant funding opportunity. This would help support their project that they've been working on um to support construction of a new transit maintenance bay and operation building. To date, the city has secured 1.2 million. They're um seeking additional funding. Um the total project cost is 4.1 million. This would go a long ways if they're awarded to help with this project's completion. Um the facility will support the operation, maintenance, and long-term sustainability of transit services that are operated by the city on behalf of the county. our uh social services division in H3S partners with the city of Sundee on a couple of important transit programs, the Mount Hood Express Service and the Village Shuttle Service. So, this would um provide vital services for our residents and visitors up on the the mountain. Um and we are asking today for your uh approval that uh Chair Roberts signed a letter on the commissioner's behalf and that the city can include that letter of support with their grant application.

All right. Any questions, colleagues? Yeah, go ahead, Paul.

More of a comment and I just want to just say that um I appreciate our small transit providers. Um I think Sandy um has been a great partner as has Cami and others. Um so I strongly support the letter and I just want to just kind of again do a shout out to our small transit providers. We've been working together at the C4 table um way back when we formed a subcommittee uh for them to work together to help make connections um into not just this for example the city of Sandy but connections into the rest of the county and uh you know just to do a shout out to Sandy recently they opened a line from Sandy to the Clackmus Town Center way out of their city boundary as part of those those connections. Um so uh I'm really uh um just tickled with uh the fact that our transit small transit providers are working together uh under these circumstances of tough economics but they're providing the services that people need and uh this will help ensure that they can continue that in the future. So chair I move to approve the letter.

Second. All right. Commissioner Savis has moved to approve the letter as presented. It's been seconded by Commissioner Helm. Any further discussion? All right. Seeing none, clerk, will you please call the poll? Commissioner Helm, I. Commissioner Savis, I. Mr. Chair, I. Motion passes three to zero, Mr. Chair. All right. Thank you. And Gary,

thank you. Next is request to reschedu public hearings for ordinance 02-2026, which is the public land corner fee, and ordinance number 03-2026, the county internal auditor. Both of these are second public hearings and we need your permission to reschedule them due to cancelling your prior meeting. Jeff Muns, assistant county council will present. Go ahead, Jeff.

Yes, thank you. Uh in addition to those two, there's also ordinance 04-2026 was which is amendments to chapter 2.03 hospital facility authority that was also along with the other two initially scheduled for April 2nd, 2026 for the second uh public hearing. So, all three of these ordinances need to be reset for their second reading in the public hearing for consideration for adoption to April 9th, 2026.

All right. Thank you, Mr. MS. Any comments? So, um, so it looks like there's no motion needed today unless there's any other concerns. I'll now formally announce we will have a reschedule the second public hearing for the ordinance on 02-2026 and 03-2026 to April 9th. And we'll What's the third one? because we didn't have that in the notes. Jeff, yes. 04-2026, amendments to chapter 2.03 Hospital Facility Authority 04 2026. Okay. And I'll add that on that one is 042026. All of them for April 9th. Yes. Okay. Thank you. We'll set that. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Next. Advisory board and commission appointments. You have several. Andrew will lead you through these. Andrew, go ahead.

Mr. Chair, I have three advisory bodies for your consideration. The first is the public health advisory council staffed by the Health Housing Human Services Department, which currently has two members eligible free appointment due to term expirations. These members currently serve as the council's co-chairs. The recommendation is as follows. Ivonne Smith to a second term ending April 2029 and Yanu Knox to a second term ending April 2029. The board could select other candidates or require further recruitment. Mr. Chair. All right. Any questions? All right. May I have a motion then?

I move to reappoint Ivonne Smith and Jeanu Knox to the public health advisory council. Second. All right. Commissioner Helm has moved to reappoint Ivonne Smith and Janu Knox to the public health advisory committee. It's been seconded by Commissioners Savis. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, would you please call the poll? Commissioner Savis? I. Commissioner Helm, I. Mr. Chair,

I motion passes zero. Mr. Chair, thank you. Next. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The next advisory body for your consideration is the Milwaukee Community Center Advisory Board, which is staffed by the North Clakamus Parks and Recreation District. It currently has one opening due to a vacancy. Recruitment opened in January of 2026 and closed in February of 2026. Two applications are received and one is recommended for appointment. The recommendation is as follows. Henry Epstein to a first term ending March 2029. The board could select other candidates or require further recruitment. Mr. Chair,

thank you. Any comments, questions? How about a motion? I move to appoint Henry Epstein to the Milwaukee Community Center Advisory Board. Second. All right. Commissioner Helm has moved to appoint Henry Epstein to the Milwaukee Community Center Advisory Board. It's been seconded by Commissioner Savas. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, do you please call the poll? Commissioner Savis I. Commissioner Helm I. Mr. Chair I. Motion passes three to zero. Mr. Chair. All right. What is the final advisory body we have to look at today?

The third and final advisory body, Mr. Chair, is the local public safety coordinating council staffed by the Clackamus County Sheriff's Office. It currently has one opening due to incumbent resignation. This position is reserved by state statute for an elected city official, a city manager or other city representative. Recruitment solicited applications directly from cities in the county. Two applications are received and one is recommended for appointment. The recommendation is as follows. Glenn watched her to a first term ending March 2030. The board could select other candidates or require further recruitment. Mr. Chair,

thank you. Andrew, any questions or comments? Seeing none, can I have a motion? I move to appoint Glenn Wakner to the local public safety coordinating council. Second. All right. Commissioner Helm has moved to appoint Glenn Wner to the local public safety coordinating council. It's been seconded by Commissioner Savis. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, will you please call the poll for us? Commissioner Savis. I. Commissioner Helm I Mr. Chair I motion passes three to zero Mr. Chair.

All right. Thank you Gary. Next is Wamut Falls Locks Authority funding request. You have a request from the Wamut Falls Locks Funding Authority. The Clackamus County helps fund the authority operations and the request is for a financial contribution of $120,000 from Clackamus County. A quick history as you know the Alma Falls locks was the oldest operating continuously multi-chamber locks in the United States opened in 1873 but for most of the last 30 years Congress slowly stopped giving funding to operate that locks which was operated by the United States government. There's a process now finally after decades of work including Clakammus County's efforts that the locks will be transferred from the federal government to this authority to then maintain and operate the locks afterwards to help maintain that really connection of on the Wamtt River because the river is at different levels and it's a great uh path that many uh businesses use. So we are a member of the L Wama Fox Locks Authority. The county has given significant financial contributions over the last 15 years on this effort. It's been on your legislative agenda for many, many years. So with that, the request is $120,000. You most recently gave $120,000 over three years that ended in 2025, and that came from lottery dollars. So the request for you again is to help maintain the operations of the Wama Wamid Falls Locks Authority. Other local jurisdictional partners are also being asked for funding. And I must say, I request you reject this because you already gave $120,000. You told them at that time you will give no further funding for this effort. However, more funding is needed. I'm not sure if this means the end of the authority. I don't think so. I hope not, but it could mean that the authority doesn't have the funds to operate. If you were to authorize this, I recommend it come from lottery dollars, not general fund. And if you do that, you would have to give

up some of the funds you've already earmarked, mostly for business development grants. That's where most of the lottery dollars are now going and to maintain the lottery, the economic development office. So, I'm sorry this is a hard decision for you and I'm off I'm recommending you don't accept this, but it's your decision to make and I'm happy to answer your questions. All right, Commissioner Salis.

Yeah. Well, um I've been here ever since the the mill closed and um and our you know the effort related to the locks and trying to get that uh opened up. um you know been on participated in meetings all along the way to see this happen. Uh I know you're right. We spent a lot of made a lot of investment and um I know related to the locks and related to Wyatt Falls, the governor, you know, awarded the locks a heck of a lot of money, 45 million

um millions. And um at the same token is you know I am aware that there are factions I guess I'll just put it that way uh or different interests um about the future and I think everyone I I don't think anyone does not want to see the locks open but I think there's a lot of uh things that are um intrinsic or tied to one another in such a way that I think we're I I feel I'm due for an update. where where where we headed, right? I you know, I I could possibly get to contributing to this with lottery dollars, not general fund, maybe perfectly clear lottery dollars only. But I I really want to know that we're on a trajectory towards, you know, cooperation and some kind of, you know, is is there a light at the end of the tunnel or are we just going to be compromising the $120,000 in a sense that there might not be a uh an outcome? So, I'm looking for a measurable outcome. Um, and and I think we're do an update, frankly.

Thank you, Commissioner Helm. Yeah, I I think that I remember there being a um if I'm not mistaken a $45 million contribution and um do correct me anyone if I'm wrong, but um I but I did read through and I know that they're way behind on this um project. Um and I do understand there's shortfalls in money and I know under that things have been getting more and more expensive as well. Um I am concerned with our budget shortfalls um and where we prioritize our funds going forward. So um I I I I'm at this time I'm not on board just until I find out what their funding sources are and how how close they are to um to opening this. Um, yes. And I did I did the the packet included a lot of history on this that that helped, but I our our our budget at the county level is um is is stretched very very tight right now. So I'm I'm not inclined to approve it.

Okay. Thank you. I can answer that. So the 45 million from the state legislature was to the Wamut Falls Trust. That is a separate effort from the Wamut Falls locks authority. all in the same area, but that's not for the locks authority. That was for the trust. Okay. Thank you.

Yeah. Uh I echo a lot of the concerns my colleagues have. First of all, I I I've been sitting in with Gary on some of the budget stuff, and I have to step up and say that boy, we our general funds don't have any kind of uh ability at this particular point in time. And so any dollars would have to be used out of those lottery dollars uh to help support that. I I do believe it's important um and it has can provide a lot of uh economic impact. Um, one of the things that, um, uh, Tom Bernard, who owns, uh, was the owner of Wilsonville Sand and Gravel and used to run all the barges up and down the river and I know that on the upper Wamut that they don't have the ability to get equipment up there. Um so I think um for a number of reasons people that have had landslides and the only repair that can be made from the water uh needs that equipment those big barges and to get up there. So I think um it is it is important to uh get this open at some point in time and I think that um our um our dollars I think that we're using them very effectively on economic de development for the businesses. I I get pretty excited about how that's helping um uh businesses in our county and I would probably be more entertained to looking at um perhaps a reduced amount uh so that we don't devastate what we're already doing um but yet perhaps uh uh help in in some way. I'm I'm optimistic and believe that the economy and everything else is going to turn around. Uh but right now we're have we're we're in the midst of some challenging times. So,

uh, I guess what, um, I'd really would want to kind of know what kind of impact we would have to those dollars that are being used. Um, and have a further discussion about that, uh, make sure because I I know that has been a huge success and so, uh, perhaps we can get a little more information about that and, um, uh, and I've recently been assigned to this. I I've attended one meeting. And um I I asked a lot of the same questions. And so I think we're um I I don't have a lot to report back to you at this time, but I think uh there's some folks on that board that perhaps um we could have present or come and talk more about it.

Could we May we invite them to come and present to you to answer your questions, give a full background before you make a final decision? Would that be all right? Yes. Okay, we will do that.

Is that all right? Y okay chair one last thing um if I can uh I just appreciate what's in the packet. I see the timeline. I I see that they want to you're anticipating opening in 2930 year 2029 2030. Um not much information on what the financial path is. I want to be be sure that there is a viable path towards finishing completing and doing this. I do see the economic value. Um, and I think the a lot of dollars are the appropriate dollars, but I I know I know this board is committed for economic development and um moving product, you know, through the through the locks has been something that goes back uh over 100 years. Um, it's important and uh I know that we've all personally put a lot of energy. I remember several trips to Washington DC, even the Pentagon to meet with the to the US Army, US Army Corps of Engineers in their offices in the Pentagon to try to move this forward. I appreciate our uh federal delegation um that have contributed, you know, u um our senators and and Congress folks. So, we have this is a huge lift and I I think it's it's worthy and and due time for um an update and hopefully shine a light on how we how we get there financially.

All right. Thank you. All right. I think we have a consensus on that. We'll bring back a presentation with the authority staff and then after that you can decide what you'd like to do. All right. Thank you. Final item today, chair, is commissioner communications. All right. Uh, Commissioner Savis, you're up there.

Oh, it caught me by surprise. It's pretty sudden. Um, I uh I have been really busy. Um, I'm uh out there. I have, as I mentioned earlier to some of you, um, been kind of watching and talking to folks regarding the PG Tonkquin project um, in the Stafford area. I've been talking to people about short-term rentals because we're going to be there, what, this week, Gary? We're going to be up tomorrow. Uh, yep. Yep. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

So, we have a lot of things happening. Um, I'm I'm pleased by all our opportunities with with regards to um how we are being received as a board uh with regards to our economic development efforts. Um and um as I shared with the chair earlier, continuing to receive a lot of positive input um as far as how not only has the county delivered and are we working well together as a team, but but how well the county is working with our partners. So, I just want to just say that just feels um that we're in a real good place at the time. Um of course, we're always going to have challenges and we're trying to work with our constituents. Uh I will let you know um that some of the issues that are the committees that I've been working on lately are going to start up new ones related to transit related uh how metro or transit's represented at the JPAC meeting. So those meetings are about to occur this week I believe and so they'll be ongoing. Uh so there's a lot of things that are in the works. Um, and there also, you know, no surprise, but I just want to just let you know that, um, the governor apparently is trying to construct a workg group of non-elected officials to initiate the, uh, conversation about or towards a bipartisan transportation package. So, I don't know what that really looks like. I was I got that briefing about that. There was an article in the Oregonian about that, but I want to let you know that as we look forward that the um state legislature and the governor's office are going to be focused on um a solution for ODOT. Um and hopefully there's um some of those things are tied to some of the urgent projects out there and I I have been and the board just let you know uh just going back to transit a

minute transit moment for a minute that is that we are our citizens out there out of their paychecks right now are playing an employee tax for transit which is new was new as of 2017. Um and uh we were supposed to get a a service for that, right? Fee for service essentially. Um granted there was some of those dollars were flexible to some degree, but um in times of we're in a situation now where the opposite is happening. We're getting less service for the dollars we're paying employers are paying through on their payroll tax and also what employees are paying are seeing nothing for that or very little for that. So, I'm just really concerned and hopefully maybe we can have a um in the future, not in the immediate future, but some kind of a work session or a town hall to tackle this because transit right now is a very hot issue around the region. Our partners in Washington County and Moloma County um and u here in Clakamus are all over this. Uh our mayors are are on um are concerned about this as well. So I I see a lot of uh movement in this regard and I'll do my best to keep you all um apprised and and chair I know that you know you have opportunities to meet with the mayors. Uh they have brought that up and uh so you'll probably hear some of that but by all means um uh just let you know that if they have any questions or concerns you know we're all willing and I just just alert you that I I see an opportunity for for more coordination and collaboration with our cities. So, it's not us or them. It's really us as a as a county and and cities and mayors. So, um when that conversation comes up, please uh please um um convey um our efforts to work with them.

No. Great. That's all I have for today. All right. Thank you, Commissioner Hill. Thank you, Chair. Um Thursday, um I know probably all of you have met with uh Mayor Wilson from Portland, and I had lunch with him on Thursday, um listening to his pitch. Um, I will say, um, I give him a lot of kudos for the work that he's done in a very short period of time. And I know that he's, uh, he's trying to take care of a problem that has been going on for, uh, 10 years at least. So, um, that's a discussion we all need to have at some point coming up. I know. Um, his, uh, positivity is infectious. I will say it's uh

he I I'm I'm proud of the work he's done, but I think the people in the city of Portland are still waiting to see some of the the results of that. So, um we had a great lunch. Um Thursday evening, I attended the city's dinner out in Esticada. Um and they gave a nice city gave a nice presentation on the work they've been doing with their um water treatment plant and um also the other things they're they're working on out in in that area. They served us a very nice dinner from a new barbecue food cart um that just opened out there called the Red Barn. So, and if you love uh some good um charred meat, that's the place to go. It was wonderful. Um Friday, um kind of tagging on to what Commissioner Savas said, I attended by Zoom the House Bill 2017 uh transit advisory committee meeting. I have grave concerns for Clackamus County. I can't even tell you. They use the word equity a lot and equitable and I have yet to see where there's any equity in this for Clackamus County. I was rather um quiet I think because I was so stunned by uh the maps that they were showing and this is something I want to talk to you further about and also want to talk to um Jamie Stazzy um on how to approach this because um there's going to be uh bigger transit deserts than we have right now. So um and yet everyone in the state that pays a payroll tax is paying for this. So um very concerning um to the point of being disturbing. So um I know that they are trying to shine this with a light that uh addresses their shortfall in funds. Um but at the same time I there's there's there's got to be a better way to make this more equitable for for the citizens of our county. So uh that's something we need to work on.

Uh yesterday I did a ride along uh with a friend for uh Meals on Wheels. Um nice.

Yeah, it was it was interesting and I got to uh to see the the back room there at the Milwaukee uh community center. Um what's going on? The people there are very passionate about it and they rely on the volunteers to deliver these meals five days a week. It's it's a it's a great program. But anyway, I'm I'm really glad I got to do that. And um thank you, Lisa, for your for your time that she spent with me yesterday. It was it was great. She does a great a great job there. Um and then yes, tomorrow evening is the short-term rental forum up at Resort at the Mountain. I'm looking forward to that. My my hope um not only just personally but as a uh a commission is that these people have a lot of um concerns, valid concerns. Um I want us to not just listen, but I want to find ways that we can resolve some of their issues. I don't want this to simply be a listening session. I want it to be I want to close the loop on it. And I think it's really important that we do more than just listen, that we find ways to um uh come to some agreement on how we can alleviate some of their concerns. Um I understand a lot of them and um I think there's a way to address it, especially with a software program that's being used. it it's just very cumbersome and that's what we heard on the first Zoom uh meeting that we had was it it's it's not very user friendly and we're making it harder on them than it probably needs to be. So anyway, I want I'll we'll we'll work on solutions. I think there are things that we can do but um it should be an interesting an interesting forum. So back to you Chad.

All right. I know we all have another meeting to get to. So, just a couple quick comments and I think the first one to follow up and again we've been meeting with um Mayor Keith Wilson met with him yesterday again and um I know that Gary and uh Mr. Williams. We also spent a few minutes uh catching up on the issues. And I and I do I I think that um that I just can't emphasize enough so much that as a region um if Portland doesn't do good, it impacts us, right? And um and I would say right now we we have an opportunity where we really are trying to work together to solve some of these issues. and and I as you I I love his energy. Um uh he's the energizer. He's he is making a lot of headway. Um I asked him if he would be willing to come and really present to our board about some of the things that are going on and how they've are making a lot of progress. I think it comes better from him. Um just a few highlights that that he made to me. You know, I mean, they've opened 1,500 new shelter beds that no one will be left on the streets if they want a bed right now. And they're assisting anywhere from 5 to 900 people day on day centers. And and he's also talks about uh what they're doing to clean the city up. And I'll be honest with you, I I heard what he said, but I wanted to go check it out myself. And I know a place on Marine Drive where the bridge is and there's a nice bike path which I've used in the past a lot and I drove over there and checked it out and it was all cleaned up. Uh there were a couple other areas that I know have been chronic issues in the city of Portland and I went and looked tried to find those same ones that I knew were there in the past and and it was cleaned up.

So I I do believe they are making progress. you know, uh I I I believe there's, you know, work ahead of us. Um but I also think it's really important. So I I think it would be beneficial for us as a board and even the community to really listen to what um he is doing in the city of Portland. So maybe that's one of the things we can set up in the future. And I'm going to not talk about it too much today, but um uh I'll just highlight it. I know uh Commissioner West is going to be back. I want him to be present. But we had that uh uh Clacamus County Healthc Care Roundt. I want to thank the commissioners uh you two in particular because if we had everybody there it would have to be a public meeting and we really just uh wanted to have an open frank conversation about what are the challenges going on and I think it was real beneficial. So, we really um plan on having further followup and really looking at some issues that we can work together on so we can talk about that more hopefully on Thursday. And then the last thing I'm going to give another shout out to which uh yesterday I went to visit um the community warehouse. So, I actually had to go visit it, right? And oh my gosh, you know,

and and uh county council, we had a conversation. And I told them you had went there and purchased some stuff and they were just blown away. I said, "Yeah, he's uh" was talking about his Amish recliner chair, rocking chair that you bought. And and so that's what I think is so important to help support this. So, thank you for supporting it because what they do is that people that are put into housing, they have no furniture and there is nobody else. I mean, and so that's what this group does. It'll be a further conversation for us in the future, but Washington County actually uh uses some of their SHS dollars. Um they're set aside to do that. And I was also shocked at what they told me as one of their biggest needs that they go through them so drastically are beds. Yeah.

And so I did uh introduce her to Sher Heiner down on Mclofflin who's been a big advocate for helping um less fortunate population and perhaps she can get those at cost or some way to help. So try to make some connections there. So the place that I visited uh was at 3969 Northeast MLK Boulevard in Portland. And so they provide all the furniture for um uh people that we put in housing in the really in the tri county area. They also have a location at 9808 Southwest Tiger Street and they have one at 464 Northeast 219th in Gresham. And so if you would like to donate your furniture, they'll come pick it up. And um and Tara Wayne um is a tremendous leader in that effort. So, I think that's enough for today and uh just um I know we have to get going. So, Gary, do you have anything?

No. All right. Well, with that being said, we'll conclude our administrative issues and updates. I want to thank everyone for joining us and we'll return at 1:30 for policy sessions. Correct. All right. Thank you. Well, uh, good afternoon everyone and welcome to this afternoon session of the board of county commissioners on March 31st, 2026. County Administrator Gary Schmidt, would you please call the role? Yes. Thank you, Chair. Commissioner West is out of the office on military leave. Commissioner Schrader is out of the office on personal leave. Roll call. Commissioner Savis, present.

Commissioner Helm, here. Chair Roberts here. All right. Thanks, Gary. What's our first agenda item today? Thank you. First item today is vector control district annual report and 2026 work program. Presenting is Amber Whimsat, who is the interim executive director of the Clackamus County Vector Control District. As you know, commissioners, you appoint the board of trustees for the vector control district, yet they are an independent operating OS uh special district within Clakamus County. So, Amber's here to present their annual report and their work program. Go ahead, please, Amber.

All right. Thank you. Um, if there's any questions, I know a couple of you guys have seen uh the similar presentation before, but I also tried to update it with some of our new programs. Um, today we have with us Chairman Dan Green, Treasurer Lil Hannah, and our secretary James Rhodess. Um, we also have Everett serving on the board and um, Whan Martin actually recently resigned from the board.

So, um, ready to move on. Okay. So, our vision has stayed relatively the same, which is to progress towards keeping Clackamus County free of vectorbor diseases, but how we approach that has changed slightly. Um, our mission is that of public health focused more so than pest control, which is why we've really been changing how we do some of the things um, environmentally conscious wise and how we use pesticides. Um, as mentioned, we are under OS 452 and so we have a permanent tax levy and a local option levy which we are in year two of that. Um, can move on next slide. So, some highlights from this past year. This was my first year serving as interimm executive director. Um, we spent around 1,333. Um, this is what we have four full-time positions. Um, we recently filled a fourth full-time position in December. Um, so we do now have a biologist on staff full-time. Um, last year we had eight seasonals I believe, but anywhere from five to 10 has been pretty typical. Uh, we have 13 active vehicles in our fleet with one equipped for fogging. Um, that is kind of a contingency plan. That is not something that we regularly do. We had 499 citizen requests. Um, these were people that called in and requested our services. Um so mosquito treatments both with laral and adults was 5,765 treatments. Um which that was a lot more laral heavy than barrier treatments this year. Um we did we had a lot of people on last year. So, we were able to collect 40,000 uh 261 larville mosquito samples

and 21 thou 20,172 adult samples, which just for some perspective, the prior year it was a little over a,000. So, we had the lab very busy this last year. Um, we also delivered a little over a thousand gamboo fish to ornamental ponds and places that are not available for active waterways to keep them since they're an invasive species. Um, in addition, I wanted to include information on um, things that we tested. We tested 70 pools of mosquitoes, which comes out to 1,754. We send those down to the Oregon veterinary diagnostic lab and they're tested for West Nile, St. Louis and sephilitis and western ecoin and sephilitis which they all tested negative for. And in addition, we had a new source reduction program which we were able to collect 378 tires from residents throughout the county. And I also want to give a thank you to Gary and some other individuals that helped us get the word out for that as well. Um, so one of the primary things we've been concerned about is West Nile virus. As you can see, it's primarily on the eastern and southern side of the state. That's pretty typical. Um, Q-ike species are going to be the most common species that vector um, West Nile virus. Um, it does play into different birds in the area. They're an intermittent host. and humans, horses are dead end hosts. Um, this is true for West Nile. It is not true for all vectorbor diseases. So, as we think about climate changing, whether it's warming, humidity patterns, precipitation, um, there's ability for other vector species to come into the area. This is just a quick map of the Westnile

virus activity um in California. Just kind of a comparison to last year's. So, speaking of invasive species, this is something we're more and more concerned about all the time. The past two years in 2024 and 2025, um 80s egypti, which is a species of invasive container breeding mosquito, has been found in southern Oregon. that was in Jackson County both times, but this has become a big problem in throughout California and coming up through Northern California. Um, so in addition to West Nile, we also have things like Chickagunia, Zika, Denge, yellow fever, and some additional ones including um an actual parasite that they will also transmit, but that's a different a slightly different species. So anyways, we just want to mainly focus on having a lot of surveillance so we can have early detection if these species do start showing up in our area. So with that um to help manage these species, we want to make sure that we're using pesticide when we need to use pesticide, but there's a lot of other things that plays into that. So helping coach people on how they can prevent mosquitoes from breeding in their in their backyards around their homes because that especially these invasive species will breed in very little w amounts of water as small as a bottle cap and that can produce hundreds of mosquitoes. So by coaching people on what different plants they can use, how to get rid of these water sources, and what services we offer is one way to kind of help the community be agents of change for themselves as well. So moving forward for 2026, um I wasn't sure at the time when we were doing this presentation. Last week, um myself, my field manager, and a third-year

returning um seasonal technician were able to attend the American Mosquito Control Association. It was held in Portland at the convention center. Um it was a really great opportunity to meet with other district managers and the Oregon Mosquito and Vector Control Association, which I'm also serving as vice president of this year, hosted the American Mosquito Control Association. So, we were able to volunteer at a booth and do some fundraising for their programs as well. Um, they also kind of set the gold standard for integrated mosquito management. So, it was a really great opportunity to get some more training for staff. In addition, another opportunity is we're planning on doing a second tire drive again in September since there was good success with that last year. And this is again another way to help reduce those container breeding populations that are really prone to transmitting disease. So the goal of our program is to mitigate the problem, not to completely extrapate. Um, and just a little note for some people that they're mosquitoes are also pollinators. They're important for biodiversity. Um, they're a big part of the food web. But what a lot of people don't understand is that not all species transmit disease. It's only the females that bite and not all species bite humans. So it's really important through our program to help understand why these are so important to the environment, but also understanding why we need to manage them for both public health and socioeconomical factors with them being a nuisance species as well.

Right. Thank you. All right, chance for questions. Any questions from my colleagues? Go ahead. Yeah. Can you I see the uh I don't know the capital plan, the work plan for something like billion dollars. Can you talk about what's in that plan?

Yeah. um in the work plan. So, we're focusing on how an Imm starts is we really want to ramp up our public outreach, making sure that we're doing things that we typically do um the fair, other different public outreach, working with our public outreach team. And with that, we're also going to do the source reduction both through the tire drive and then also helping coach residents. And then along with that, um, we hire, like I said, you know, five to 10, um, seasonals every year. And they're the ones who regularly monitor different zones throughout the county. And while they're out there, um, they use our Fieldseeker program and when they find they'll sample mosquito populations, both adults and laral forms, and in addition treat them when needed. So, this is going to cover personnel services. It'll cover various contractors that work with us to facilitate getting the pesticides and um

Yeah. Did you have a question about a specific area that you'd like me to? Yeah, I have a follow. And the follow is is that is that six I heard what you kind of laid out some of the detail about what it's going to be, but is that over a 10-year period, a 5year period? not going to spend 6 million in one year I don't think right

no so um that included so I'm sorry in that budget form um I tried to update it so the total requirements that's includes the 2 million of the unappropriated fund so that's a reserve fund that we have so we're not planning on spending that it looks like um I'm sorry I'm trying to find out where I'm here All right. Um, so my math is not doing well. Um, it's around $3 million that we're proposing to spend. There's a lot of I estimate I overestimated in some areas because we're in the process of doing the executive director recruitment. I've been serving as interm for the past year. Um, so and also in I'm trying to think how to phrase this. In understanding that this is the second time that I've came in to do the budget. Last year the budget was partially done. As I started to update some of the different forms, I want to make sure that I'm not underestimating in some of the materials and contractual services because you can see in capital outlay the only area it's $150,000. That is all in contingency. Um, we're not buying new vehicles this year. We're not buying a new building. So, I'm trying to make sure that I'm compensating for that in some of the materials and services and contractual services because that's where vehicle maintenance is going to fall. That's where building maintenance is going to fall. So, that's why some of those numbers are kept a little higher because as we're trying to modernize and updating our accounting system, I want to make sure that I have an accurate value for those. So, I don't plan on

spending that this last year. the 10 months during or the 10 months I was on from February to the end of mosquito season, we actually saved the district $340,000. Um, so a lot of that included, you know, getting proper PPE and actually updating a lot of things. Um, I do not anticipate having to spend this, but I also want to make sure I budget wisely so that I'm not running into a situation that either myself or whoever takes over as the permanent executive director, cuz mind you, I'm also projecting out for somebody else as well. I imagine depending on how things go, given a couple years, these numbers are going to look much more accurate. And that's just with getting things updated and making sure we have all our expenses being expensed to the proper categories.

All right, that helps. Thank you, Mr. Helen. Thank you for the presentation, Amber. Um, help me out. Um, the tire drive is in September. Yes. Is So, is that when most of the larvae appear or don't they appear earlier? Yes. So, um, last year when we decided to do this, it was kind of proposed to me by Pacquest Resources, who helps us with our public outreach. And so, we always do the fair, um, in August. And so, we kind of thought we we'll push it at that time of year. So, by having it um, at the end of the year, we kind of see it as we're cleaning up before the next season. Ah,

and so this way the tires aren't muddy and because Lushwab will charge more for recycling the tires if they're they're dirty. And also our busiest time of year is in the spring, right? So we have more time to let people know about it, get out and educate people at some of the other programs because we'll also be at the garden fair. And so I think it gives a really good opportunity to kind of set the stage for it and have it to kind of help the following year's problem. Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, but it's one of those things, you know, it's was our very first year doing it. If it makes sense to do it at a different time, we could totally look at that, too. So, it's just when it happened to fall last year. All right, cool. Yeah,

great. Thank you. Uh, just a couple comments. First of all, great presentation. Very much appreciate that. So, thank you. Uh, couple questions. Um, so you have citizens call. So, if they have concerns, maybe it's somewhat of a wetland or they have a mosquito issue. I mean, uh, what number do they call and what if somebody calls, how do you assess it and then some somebody out? Maybe you can just talk about that if somebody's watching us.

Um, so what we do is they just call either um our office phone number or they can go to our website the fightes.com and they're able to put in a service request. And so that email is generated and it goes to a member of staff, typically our office manager. And then at that point, we usually call them to verify what kind of situation they have. Once we've figured out if it's mosquito or fly related, we kind of try to see what the what the problem is that they're wanting addressed, whether it's a public area such as a park, um we will send somebody out there to in do an inspection. And so if it's at their home, there's a variety of services essentially that we offer. So if they have troughs or ornamental ponds, we can bring them the gamboo fish to help keep the larville population down. They give live birth. They reproduce very fast. So it's a really effective way for those natural contained areas. We also can do larvida treatments to their ponds. Um or the other option that we have is if somebody's concerned about adult mosquitoes and have a lot at their property, they would call up and then at that point we would send um either our biologist or somebody who's been trained in trapping in the lab and we are trapping every house. So if they don't meet the the thresholds that we have set and they're different thresholds for both vector species and then just nuisance species. So it's going to be higher for nuisance species. If they don't meet those thresholds, we kind of explain to them we don't want to be spraying a pesticide that they can become resistant to, but we would be happy to come back. So this was kind of the first time we've started to do it this way again last year. And this really it facilitated a conversation

with people about, you know, we're happy to keep checking in with you. We're happy to offer you these other solutions, but we're not going to irresponsibly put pesticide in the environment because there's so few different active modes of pesticides that we don't want to come to a point one day when we do have a disease outbreak and have nothing to treat these mosquitoes with. M you kind of touched on my second question. This gambooza fish. So talk a little bit more about that. I caught you just say that. So you you you plant those in different areas and then they take help take care of the mosquitoes. Can you just explain that?

Yeah. Um so they're similar to guppies and they give a live birth. Um but since they're non-native to Oregon, um we have an agreement for vector control districts throughout the state with the Department of Fish and Wildlife that we can transport those. So if somebody calls, we have a field technician take them out there. But it's very very important that there's no possible way they can get into natural bodies of water. So, if the pond happens to be too close to a creek or if there's any outflows, we're very mindful of that because there's some pretty strict repercussions for putting these into natural bodyways because they will destroy native salmon habitat

and things of that nature. So, they're a great resource, especially for people who have big cattle troughs or in the middle of a pasture, but we would not deliver them to somebody that there's just other options that are not really harsh on the environment as well as far as, you know, biological larvides and things of that nature that we wouldn't want to put fish in a place that's not a responsible place to put them. Great. Yeah. Well, thank you again. Great presentation. Thank the board for being here as well. Um, I'll just tell you I'm one of those guys that mosquitoes love me and uh it seems like they always bite on my ankle. I know that.

But, um, I took away a message here today and that is rosemary. So, I saw that was one of your plans. So, I will be planting more rosemary in my house. So, uh, see all these we're going to have to make sure we kind of get that out. So, uh, great advice. I really appreciate everybody's hard work and, uh, thank you so much. So, I think we need to um really adopt this plan as submitted. Correct, Gary? There's a motion for you to Yeah. So, um I would turn to my colleagues if they have a motion for me by chance. I move to accept the 2025 annual report and the 2026 annual work plan as submitted.

Uh second, but I I do have a comment I'd like to make afterwards. All right. Commissioner Alman's move to accept the 2025 annual report and the 2026 annual work plan is submitted. Commissioner Saves second that a motion and Mr. Savage you have a comment.

Yeah and that is I my earlier question um you know I'd like to get more understanding of the uh the money allocated for the work plan that 6.2 2 million. Um, is that going to be again one year, fiveyear? And, uh, maybe how that how those dollars where they're going to be assigned to, right? What what categories I see the work plan there, but there's no monetary connection between what's the objectives are of the work plan to the dollars that cost. So, just no rush, but just want just like to get a better idea of that. And if that 6.2 can last 10 years as a 10ear work plan, then okay, that's great. uh if it's one year that sounds like a lot and and you won't have any reserves for a big event uh otherwise right so it seems to me there probably a strategy there I just like to better understand it

yeah and this is a form um I had somewhat updated but it is kind of an antiquated form that's been in the work plan previously um we are working on we're going to have our budget committee come April and so there is a really a lot bigger breakdown to different areas is um so that's a good takeaway to maybe have that a little more broke down for when we do that as well. But I can also get that information along when we have that finalized too. Okay. I just have I was really surprised to see tanzy on that list of things to plant around your house cuz I go pull all my tanzy. Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

H basin for cattle. Yes. as well and horses and yes other farm. Excuse me. Interesting. All right. With that being said, clerk, would you please call the poll? Commissioner Savis. I. Commissioner Helm. I. Mr. Chair. I. Motion passes three to zero. Mr. Chair. All right. Thank you very much again. Thank you. Thank you, Gary. What's next? Thank you. Next session is property disposition updated policy and procedures. Presenting is the team from transportation and development, Dan Johnson, the director of transportation and development, and Sarah Ecman, assistant director of transportation and development.

Good morning, Chair Roberts and Commissioners. Good afternoon, Chair Roberts and Commissioners. My apologies. Uh we are here to share with you some adjustments we're looking to make to the policies related to um real property and our uh property disposition program. Um just just for the sake of the public who may be listening to this who aren't familiar with this process, I want to be clear, we are not assessment and taxation, but these are properties that come into uh property resources possession through foreclosure through assessment and taxation. Essentially after six years of failure to pay property taxes, there's a legal process in which um a foreclosure is executed on these properties and they come under the ownership of Clackamus County. Our role in that process is to take these properties and get these properties prepared to get back on the tax roles um sell them um liquidate them and get them on the tax roles uh to meet the various needs and objectives that we have um to facilitate these property transactions going forward. So with that, I'm going to turn over to Sarah though briefly to talk about the policy adjustments um under consideration today.

Good afternoon. Hi there. So work for property disposition program was quite different prior to 2023. Um if anybody uh was around at that point and familiar with it. Um there was Oregon revised statutes that drove how we process properties that came in via tax foreclosure. In 2023, the Tyler versus Henipin County Supreme Court case came out that changed how surplus proceeds from this sale of tax foreclosed properties are processed, handled, and distributed. So, the old way was that counties could retain those surplus proceeds for administration of their program and then if there was excess, it would be distributed to taxing districts who were impacted by those tax foreclosures. That changed in 2023 and we're operating on a new basis now where anything that's surplus proceed is distributed back to the former owner and the county is able to retain um direct costs, management costs to make itself whole, but then everything else goes to the former owner. Um, additionally, um, that Supreme Court case gave us kind of the direction, but we didn't have a lot of implementation um, instruction. So, the Oregon legislature in 2025 passed House Bill 2089, which gave us more direction on how to facilitate that process. We've also had a class action lawsuit settlement that a certain number of these properties were involved in that has further stipulated how the proceeds from those sales are distributed and we've been abiding by that. Of course, all of this really necessitated a lot of change. Our policy that was last adopted by the board was from 2018. Um, so as we've moved through all of the changes that have come through these legal actions, we've memorialized how we need to now operate to comply with all of those requirements.

So, the policy that you have before you today has several changes. Um, it's been entirely rewritten from 2018. We've revised the language to bring it current to the new requirements. Um we've confirmed the policy that we've decided in um coordination with legal counsel is required to be compliant with all of these um rulings and changes in the law. And we've changed the cost recovery and fee structure to be able to um reimburse the county for the costs incurred for the properties. And these are the fees that were adopted earlier this year through the fine and fee process that the board reviewed and approved. So in the policy there is an appendix that captures our proposed u cost recovery schedule. So as you can imagine changing from a program um where we were able to retain funding for the program we now have to fund the program through those cost recovery mechanisms and that's what's been developed and proposed. A few other items to note um to comply with the surf surplus fund distribution we now send funding to the Oregon State Treasury. So when a property is sold, those surplus funds are determined after we've calculated all of our costs against the sales price and we send that money off to the state. They run it through their unclaimed property site. So if you've ever gone to that to see if you have unclaimed property, you can now do that if you had a tax forclosed property. We have shifted and are intending to sell our properties as is and that is the most expeditious way to return them to the tax rules. Um so that practice is um well established in the real estate community and we feel that it's the best way to get them out the door and meet the timelines that we have stipulated under these legal requirements. We've also shifted that a former owner may request to repurchase their tax foreclosed property at any time as long as the county still holds the title to it and doesn't have a pending sale on it. So that provides an added layer of

protection to those former owners to be able to come in and repurchase their property and not experience the loss should it be sold. Um, all sales come to you for approval. That happens through a variety of processes. So maybe a surplus property declaration, which we do when the properties come in from assessment and taxation. and that's when you give us your approval that those properties are not needed by the county and we can proceed with selling them according to these requirements. Um the other change that has occurred is transfer requests are now handled the same as a sale. So former law allowed us to transfer properties, retain them for public use or transfer them to other public or nonprofit partners. that now has to happen um the same as a sale process so that the property is given the most opportunity to recoup surplus funds for the former owner. So that's a summary of all of the changes that are in the policy before you today as well as the cost recovery schedule that we've attached.

All right, any questions, comments? All right, with that being said, is there a motion? I move to approve the updated property disposition policy and procedures as proposed. Second. All right. Commissioner Helms move to approve the updated property disposition policies and procedures as proposed. Commissioner Savis has seconded that motion and any further discussion. Seeing none, clerk, will you please call the poll? Commissioner Savis, I. Commissioner Helm, I. Mr. Chair, I.

Motion passes three to zero. Mr. Sure. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you for your hard work. Nice job. All right, Gary. We're moving on. Next session, ZDO289, zoning development ordinance diagnostic report. Presenting is transportation and development. Dan Johnson, the director, Karen Bureick, long range planning manager, and Martha Fritzy, principal planner. Go ahead, please. Apologies for the quick um change of seating positions. Um but to give room for those folks who have more detailed understanding of the uh discussion before you today, we invited Martha Fritzy, our principal planner, one of our many or principal planners that we have, a couple principal planners that we have, two principal planners we have.

Thank you. So yeah, perfect. Half of our principal planner pool is here today um to share with you a discussions regarding ZDO 289, the zoning development ordinance, the diagnostic report. And I want to I'm not going to take a lot of time. I'm going to hand it over to Karen here in one second, but I think first and foremost, I'm going to go back to the strategic plan that you approved. And the plan that you approved was the county will conduct a review of all development regulatory processes to minimize burdens, provide an effective and timely permitting process for the community. The discussion that you're going to hear today is one significant step in that process. Uh, one of the single biggest regulatory responsibilities Clackamus County has is through our land use u permitting policies and practices. So with that, I'm going to hand it over to Karen and Martha and they can kind of run through the presentation for you.

Wonderful. So um good afternoon chair and commissioners. Um I'm Karen Burig. I'm the long-range planning manager and it's great to be with you here today. So over the past month um our team has brought forward several different projects uh that impact the zoning development ordinance in a variety of different ways. Um there's the minor amendments package that you heard about previously that are addressing some near-term changes. There was the um presentation on the clear and objective standards which really is taking a deep dive into the guidance u for protection around our natural features. And then in addition we have been working uh very closely on the um transportation system plan update project and I bring this project up because ultimately at the end of that project we will also have ZDO amendments um related to our um transportation stat standards that we're bringing forward. And so for today however we are here to talk about the ZDO diagnostic report project which is um different in that it's a comprehensive assessment of how the ZDO functions and it it is focused on the urban area. So, we want to be able to talk about that a little bit more, but its purpose is um to identify ways to improve usability as well to align with other state mandates, those that aren't as immediate as the ones that are in the minor amendment package, as well as to identify other ways that the um ZDO can be streamlined. And so um this project concept was brought before the board uh originally in August of 2023 when we talked about it during the long-range planning work program and we were requested um to apply for a grant. So this is a grant funded pro project and that we have been working on it since 2024. Um so as Dan noted um it's really important to recognize that the ZDO is the primary regulatory document used by the planning and zoning um public planning and zoning staff and the public

to communicate about the c county's rules about land use. So with that um one of the things I did want to comment on is is that during the project we've also referred to it as the urban zoning development rules assessment. The ZDO diagnostic report is sometimes hard to get your hands around, but what what it really is, but we were really doing this assessment of our um zoning and development rules. And so it it includes a compilation of recommended improvements that we can make. Um and there's also going to be an action plan that's associated with it that will help us look into the future of like how are we actually going to make these changes? And so your packet today includes an executive summary of that. um ZDO diagnostic report. And so I'm going to pass it over to Martha who is the project manager and she'll give you a high level um kind of view into what we're expecting in the ZDO diagnostic report.

Thank you Karen. Hi, good afternoon. Martha Fritzy. I'm a principal planner um with the county's planning group. And um so we have been working on this for quite some time. I can talk about it for hours and hours, but I promise you I will not. Um just before I start talking about some of the conclusions and some of the recommendations we're getting out, I want to talk a little bit about process. Um this was led by a consultant team um who were, you know, familiar with zoning co codes and had done work like this before and we thought it was really important that somebody who wasn't always in the code every day um really take the lead on this assessment. And through the process though we reached out to community members um to internal stakeholders. We talked with groups in planning and engineering and building and economic development people who use the code sort of internally and then some external stakeholders um developers and some architects just to understand what experiences were to help identify issues um and to also discuss potential solutions. And so as we went through that process, the consultants created this series of technical memos. There's seven coming um which are essentially the the detailed appendices identifying issues and then also identifying some recommended solutions. And then the report itself is a compilation of all of that. And I mean a lot of the conclusions are not real surprising as somebody who has used our ZDIO um and has updated our ZIDO over the years. Um, you know, some of the some of the main findings were that there's a lot of fragmented organization. Um, there are some inconsistent um, design standards that are being applied for not real obvious reasons in different areas where maybe they should be the same. Um, there's some confusion about how we calculate density in some cases. Um, there's definitely fragmented

connectivity standards. Um, and then just quite frankly, the the way that the um, ZDO has been updated over the years without doing this wholesale deep dive um, has really limited its um, its structural resilience. And every time we go in to change something, it's it's like pulling a string. And so the hope is that in working through some of the recommendations um from the consultants, we can create a more efficient um easier to understand, simplified zoning code that helps both staff who is trying to implement this and us training other staff on how to use it, but also helps the public and and developers and people um people on the outside who are trying to understand and you know, it will help get through the process faster. And so really there's four sort of big buckets of recommendations that are coming out of this. One has one big bucket is usability usability and clarity. Um and that's huge. It's both structural um recommendations for structural changes to our zoning code. Um but also substantative. And um some of the some of the more interesting ones that I think are more interesting is really creating um upfront creating a road map that that explains to people how to use the code, creating a dedicated measurement section that explains very clearly how to measure things. Um you recently had a conversation with uh planning director about we were talking about setbacks and how much time is spent trying to explain to people and trying to understand how to measure things like setbacks. And so the hope is that um to create a a a more straightforward um explanation of how to do that. Um making a clear distinction between urban and rural uses. This um as Karen mentioned, this was focused on the urban area partly because of the grant um

partly because we had to focus, you know, that's where most of our development is. Um and so it became pretty clear that there is often confusion um about which standards apply where and so so clarity there is definitely needed um as well as a number of other substantive changes that are recommended. Um the second bucket really has to do with housing. Housing has been a big conversation lately and as we dig deeper into our housing standards and we're responding to all of the recent legislation from the state, it's become clear that um there are a lot of good opportunities to simplify um our both simplify our standards for housing but also just reduce the number of zones. We have 18 urban residential zones. Um, and at least eight of them are really not substantively that different or functionally that different. Um, and so there's definitely opportunities there to streamline. Um, and also to move toward a the recommendation is to to move toward a more formbbased code, which I don't even pretend to understand. I'm still learning about now, but it really largely has to do with um flipping your regulatory scheme to regulate more toward the form and bulk and scale of development rather than um these extraordinarily long lists of very specified specific uses. It's not that you wouldn't regulate uses, but the focus is more on the form of what's being built and a little bit less on what is in that building once it is built. Um, so we're going to do some work on how actually to do that because that's something other jurisdictions do and we have lots of good examples, but that's something that we are not as familiar with. Um similarly with employment lands, you know, we wanted to

look at barriers to development both for housing and employment um and identify ways to address those. And so um we also have way too many urban commercial zones. I think there's an opportunity to consolidate um some commercial zones and also really take a a look at how we are identifying uses and allowing uses in various areas. Um, and then the last big bucket has to do a little bit um is more in Karen's wheelhouse. It has to do with improved neighborhood connectivity um and standards for connectivity. Um some of those are we do need to respond to some changes under state law. Um but just add clarity and make sure that those are consistent um across the various zoning districts. Um and then there is definitely a need to identify um and be clear about triggers and thresholds for certain transportation improvements. Um but also certain design standards. It's not real clear in our codes sometimes or it's just not dis distinct or not there's not a difference between sometimes between standards that are applied to this extraordinarily large development versus a just a really small very minimal impact development. And so it may be appropriate to actually distinguish between those things. And so those are some of the big things that are coming out of this. There is a lot lot more. The report is well over a 100 pages long. Um talks about a lot of it will talk about a lot of background and recommendations. Um and so the we are expecting to have the final report um soon in the next week or two. Um and we will distribute that to people who are interested in it. And then basically what we are doing is we're taking all of these recommendations and the action plan and we are going to sit

down um and talk about how we how we implement these recommendations. And so what that will mean for for you is that there will be likely a couple of packages of code amendments coming in the next couple of years. um and we will map those out and try to figure out exactly how we're going to do all of that work. Um this is a little different than some of the packages of code amendments that certainly the one that's coming to you the minor and timesensitive code amendments which are real small items um that don't involve a lot of policy decisions. Um I would expect whatever comes out of this project are going to be pretty substantive changes to our zoning code. Um and the hope is that they're for the better.

Yeah. And I guess sort of in conclusion um this this is information only um today um but we really wanted to provide you with an opportunity to understand the background because as um Martha was saying is some of these changes structurally will be significant right in how we um how our zoning code is structured. And so, um, we will be spending the time over the next couple months to really understand what's the best grouping of packages that we can bring together. We're hoping to connect with, um, some of our community partners to be able to get their input. A lot of people, we did have some, um, a a small and focused on the urban area in interface with our CPOS, but we've had a lot of interest in understanding what this project's about. So, we'll get input as we're developing those packages. And then there are other projects that we want to make sure that we're coordinating with. And as I mentioned before, kind of the work that's being done um with the transportation system update, making sure that any type of standards and changes that we're making are being recommended as a part of this kind of are able to be woven into those particular recommendations. So, um with that, uh we're definitely open for questions.

All right, Commissioner Helm has a question there. Well, a I'm super excited about this, as you know, and I know it's hard work. I know you're you're kind of rewriting a lot of stuff that's been out there for a long, long time, but um I think it's exciting changes and simplifying in any way possible, I I think is is helpful to our community, our constituents. One thing I want to ask and I'm not sure where it falls into this, but let me just say from uh standpoint of where I live out in Damascus, we have a couple of areas, Orchard Lake when swept waters, right? They're very separated from Happy Valley. One is actually Happy Valley, one area is not. Um, one of the complaints I hear is that there's no little like little mixed juice area in the middle of that for people to walk and have a cup of coffee or get their haircut or or something. Uh, same at the top of a hill in Happy Valley, right? Where those people don't want to have to they can't walk down to a coffee shop. I they're just like looking for something that's neighborhood friendly. Um, will this allow for Does it is this in here anywhere? So I'll I'll say a few things and then Martha might add. Um the intent of this particular pro process isn't to reszone or change like look at an area do we want to change the type of uses but we are kind of under the employment type of section and with the formbbased code piece is are there changes to what the allowed uses might be in these districts we already have that might open things up to something different now. So, I'm not quite sure if it's going to be the the answer that you're looking for. Um, but I I just wanted to be clear that it isn't about, okay, do we have the right zoning district and we're going to change this from residential to neighborhood commercial. Um, but it's more looking about the uses

within those districts. Okay. Well, that falls under improving neighborhood connectivity. So, that's sort of kind of versus versus just strictly transportation, right? Correct. Just like Yeah. and and the other things that are in that um like improving connectivity has to do with standards around um the way walkways are on commercial development and how we better connect to different areas like the residential areas so people when they're actually on those commercial developments can get around. Okay. All right. Would you say though that um I used to be a planner so I can say this um

the formbbased code does allow more flexibility than we've generally historically seen within the codes that have very a a lot of specificity around specific uses and so it's those I'm not sure those examples that you shared those two like with Orchard Lake and Windsip Waters because they came in through a developer pool but when you look at this form based code it allows a broader dialogue around uses that can go in those areas that um may not be pinpointed by Joe's coffee shop and this but it may say small retail ne you know neighborly focused kind of elements things like that

and and I do believe that when we did all the city of Damascus planning we were focused more on foreignbased code than we were on the specifics the specific type of businesses it was more of that look and feel that's what we were going for is what do we want this community to look like um who goes in there is what you the I think the uh the business community drives that in a lot of ways. So um I think that's where that all comes wow come full circle here. Right.

All right. I just want to say thank you. It is a big lift as I'm listening to you and a long process and just uh want to thank you both for your diligence and hard work on this. Um still a long ways to go but we're getting there, right? Yep. So um uh thank you both and this is as you mentioned this is information only at this time. So so with that I we'll conclude this uh chair. Yes I did have one one question. Um I'm looking at the bullet that says inconsistent design standards. Is that solely form or is that part of our challenging conversation we had a couple weeks ago with regard to some of the mandates coming from the state?

Some of I didn't hear you. I'm sorry. with regard to some of the what it's the design standards. I think it gets down to some of the nuances. Um um it's hang on quit moving. Go back up. No, he's scrolling so fast. Wow.

It's the structural resiliency component that you see to some extent. And so you have inconsistent you may have small design standards inconsistencies that are like between our residential zones that may differ from one to another. Um, and I mean it's it's interesting because when we work with the development community, the the primary thing that they're concerned about or even any citizen who's doing a project of any size is just consistency and accuracy and specificity and those things are are kind of the things that I'm I'm so bummed. I've always wanted to do this. I wanted to bring the ZDO here and show it to you. It is ginormous. And the attempt here, this is I mean this is a discussion that we've all been having, including Jennifer Hughes, the plan director, about going back and somewhat reimagining this code to just make this code a little bit smaller. I mean, it's simple wins. Um, and it's got a lot of lot of components to it, a lot of um planneres in it. Um, it's how do you kind of that's good stuff. Don't take it poorly, but um but it's just how do you simplify that to some extent? So,

okay. So, if I could also jump in, I mean, some of that there's a lot under that bullet. It's it's what Dan said and some of that is really just understanding for various types of development what design standards you want because even among different commercial zones, sometimes there's just slightly different standards for things and and there really might not be a good reason for it. And so it's it's part of this simplifying and streamlining and really trying to keep things in there that have value and that are meaningful and that you're not creating a different standard just because or just because you forgot it was over here in a slightly different way. Okay. Thank you.

And allows for flexibility, I would think, too. Yeah. All right. Thank you both very much. Thank you, Dan. Thank you. And Gary, that is it for today. You sure you don't have anything else on my not for today? Are you complaining? Do you want that? No, no, I'm uh I'm ready at this point. So, we'll go ahead and conclude our business meeting for today. And obviously, on behalf of the board, I want to thank you all for joining us. And uh we are officially journed. Thank you everybody.