Astoria City Council Work Session Summary – December 23, 2025
Astoria City Council Work Session Summary – December 23, 2025
This work session of the Astoria City Council took place on December 23, 2025 (note: the agenda and transcript list the date as December 22, 2025; this summary uses the date provided in the user instruction). The council discussed three agenda items: Council Rules of Procedures (3a), Tribal Coordination and Collaboration Policy (3b), and Downtown Parking (3c). No formal votes were taken, but staff received direction on next steps for each item.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No separate public comment period was held. During the parking discussion, Mr. Hayes, Executive Director of the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association, provided input via phone. He emphasized the need for hard data, consistent enforcement, and suggested exploring a paid parking model similar to Newport, Oregon. He offered to share a presentation on Newport’s transition.
Discussion Items
- 3a – Discussion on Council Rules of Procedures for Council Meetings Councilor Adams requested this item to review and amend the rules. She proposed adding an annual review of the rules (or upon any change in council membership) and suggested several changes: clarifying the agenda-setting process, updating the section on statements to the media, adjusting language around public testimony and sign‑up sheets, and replacing the word “obey” in Section 8.3 with more appropriate terminology. Councilor Conklin supported an annual review tied to the election cycle, noting that new members benefit from discussing the rules after gaining experience. Councilor Mazzarella agreed. The council reached consensus to have staff revise the document to include a review at least annually and whenever a new member joins, and to incorporate the other clarifications. The revised rules will be brought to the council for formal adoption at a January 2026 meeting.
- 3b – Tribal Coordination and Collaboration Policy Director Dart McLean presented a draft policy developed with Brian Quigley. Councilor Davis suggested several terminology improvements: using “inherent” instead of “inherit,” preferring “consultation” over “collaboration” or “engagement,” and recognizing tribes as “sovereign entities” rather than “organizations.” He also recommended designating a council member and a staff member as leads (“owners”) for tribal coordination, with appropriate training. The mayor noted a typo (“inherit” should be “inherent”) and supported designating a tribal liaison. Staff agreed to revise the policy based on this feedback and then share the draft with the Chinook Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Clatsop Nehalem for their input. The revised policy is expected to return to council after tribal feedback is incorporated.
- 3c – Discussion on Parking in Downtown Astoria Staff presented an overview of the 2018-19 parking study and highlighted upcoming developments (Oregon Film Museum, Dairy Gold, Department of Human Services – requiring 64 spaces, Owens Adair 2 – 50 units) that will increase parking pressure. Staff proposed two parallel tracks: developing public transit pilot programs (park‑and‑ride, shuttles) in partnership with Sunset Empire Transit District and the Port, and issuing an RFP for an updated parking study (estimated $60,000–$90,000). Council members discussed at length. Councilor Adams emphasized transportation demand management (TDM) strategies, understanding the parking district map, and the link between housing and transportation. She favored focusing on multimodal options and a more strategic study rather than a public perception survey. Councilor Davis expressed skepticism about spending on a new study before the new developments are operational; he argued that enforcement of existing parking regulations (two-hour limits, higher fines) and internal data collection (e.g., using a cadet for inventory) could address many issues. He also supported exploring paid parking and better utilization of private lots. Councilor Mazzarella supported acting sooner on transit options and was intrigued by paid parking, possibly with resident exemptions. She urged that any study include specific recommendations and commitment to action. Mayor Fitzpatrick suggested waiting for the new developments to open before commissioning a major study, and supported moving forward with transportation options in the interim. Mr. Hayes (ADHDA) advocated for hard data to inform a management policy, noted that enforcement consistency has been lacking, and offered to share Newport’s paid parking case study. Staff summarized three directions for moving forward: (1) continue coordinating with community partners on multimodal transit pilots, (2) conduct an internal review of parking enforcement metrics and code by the police department, and (3) develop a limited‑scope RFP focused on technical aspects (e.g., future impacts, TDM strategies, paid parking feasibility). The council generally agreed with these tracks. Staff will bring back a refined scope for the RFP and updates on the other two tracks.
Key Outcomes
- Council Rules of Procedures (3a): Staff to revise the rules to include an annual review (and review upon new member appointments), incorporate clarifications on agenda‑setting, media statements, public testimony sign‑ups, and replace “obey” with more appropriate language. The revised document will be presented for formal adoption at a January 2026 council meeting.
- Tribal Coordination Policy (3b): Staff to revise the policy using council’s feedback (terminology, designated council and staff leads) and then share the draft with tribal partners for their input. A revised version will return to council after consultation.
- Downtown Parking (3c): Staff directed to pursue three tracks:
- Continue discussions with Sunset Empire Transit District, Port of Astoria, and other partners to develop multimodal transportation pilot programs.
- Have the police department conduct an internal review of current parking enforcement practices and code effectiveness.
- Develop a limited‑scope RFP for a technical parking study that addresses future development impacts, TDM strategies, and paid parking options, with a cost estimate to be presented to council for approval. Mr. Hayes’s offer to share Newport’s paid parking presentation was accepted; a future work session may be scheduled.
Meeting Transcript
Yeah. I know that situation just well, good evening and welcome to the Monday, December 22nd, 2025 work session of the Astoria City Council. Director Dart McLean, if we could have a roll call, please. Councilor Davis. Here. Counselor Adams. Here. Counselor Conklin. Here. Counselor Mazzarella. Here. Mayor Fitzpatrick. Here. So on our regular agenda tonight, we have item three A, which is a discussion on council rules of procedure for council meetings. Councilor Adams, you asked to have this uh put on the agenda this evening. Thank you, Mayor. Did see the staff have anything around this or no? Um, well, I guess uh from a staff perspective, we're happy to help facilitate this and make sure we provide the proper updates that you're looking for, and then we'll revisit if there's items that maybe need to be clarified within the policy. Great. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, my intent in bringing this item forward was for us to review it as a group, make sure that we don't need to make any amendments or changes, uh, allow our new counselor to have reviewed the document and then make some uh changes about uh ensuring that we review this document on an annual basis and putting that language into the document itself, and then just going over it together as a group. Great. Okay, so then should I so is is that what you wanted to okay? So has everyone had a chance to review this uh recently and counselor Conklin, were you able to read it front to back? Um sorry, mostly mostly okay. Did you have any questions? Okay. Um I I'm fine with the rules of the procedure as we have them in here. Um does anybody have any changes that they would like to make. I do. Just me, I think. I think I'm the only one. Um better. Sure. Uh Council Adams. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I did want to put into the document an annual review or some type of timeline review in which the changes of council, whether it be an appointment or during election time, that this document is reviewed and to ensure that everyone understands the operating procedures of the council so that we follow those procedures and we all adopt them as a group and adhere to them. So I would like to add into the document a section for review, whether it be annual or based on council changes. I mean, this this document didn't even exist until Andy and I and Mayor came to council. So this is something I think that we need to ensure uh passes along to the next council so that they can make the changes that they need to, but that everyone's working from the same playbook. I I think that's a great idea. Um I don't know if you need like a like I know we're not making formal motions, but look at all three of you now. Yeah, but we we can't vote on anything tonight. Exactly. So we can uh we can discuss, but okay, and then you can you know give a staff direction to work on for a future meeting or yeah, your retreat, you know, which is upcoming in the next month or so too. So yeah, whatever you'd like to do to give us concrete pieces that we can be looking at to um provide changes that then you can review in a council meeting. Yeah, so for for counselor Adams' point, um it sounds like point of discussion here is you want an annual review that might start, you know, first meeting in January, it would be on your exam calendar, you know, it'd go in in alignment with when you do like you know, the election of a new chair every year, kind of like first meeting of the year, or is it something that you also want where it's prescribed that whenever there's a new counselor, either through appointment or you know, just the normal election style cycle that this is reviewed and adopted by that council. So whatever however you'd like that to be operated here for this procedure. Since I'm just a resource.
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