Lake Oswego City Council Meeting – September 16, 2025: Pavement, Housing, Utility Fees, and Redevelopment
Lake Oswego City Council Meeting – September 16, 2025
This meeting of the Lake Oswego City Council covered a broad agenda including the 2026 pavement rehabilitation project, legislative updates on housing and transportation, a study session on Senate Bill 1537 mandatory adjustments and exemption, a public hearing on utility facility regulations in public rights-of-way, and approval of the Fifth Addendum to the North Anchor Development and Disposition Agreement (DDA) in the redevelopment agency session. The council also approved sending a letter to the EPA regarding climate change findings.
Consent Calendar
- Resolution 25-39 authorizing the mayor to execute a municipal judge employment agreement. (Adopted 7-0)
- Resolution 25-40 authorizing the city manager to sign a franchise agreement extension between the city and Comcast Oregon. (Adopted 7-0)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Catherine McMullen (Clackamas County Clerk) presented a proclamation for National Voter Registration Day, highlighting that Lake Oswego has 30,741 registered voters across three counties (93% in Clackamas County), comprising 8.9% of Clackamas County's 319,600 total registered voters. She encouraged voter registration and ballot tracking.
- Carol Alkart (land use liaison, First Addition Forest Hills) expressed support for the Fifth Addendum to the North Anchor DDA (Item 13.1), noting that interest earned on a refundable deposit held by the city (estimated at $70,000–$100,000) would benefit the downtown urban renewal district.
- Young Palmer (Oregon resident) gave a presentation on phototherapy devices for first responders, describing a technology that uses amino acids and sugars activated by body heat to produce GHK-Cu, a copper peptide that promotes healing and reduces inflammation. He offered to donate a patch to the council.
- During the public hearing on utility ordinances, multiple industry representatives testified:
- Troy Gagliano (Verizon) raised concerns about fees on wireless providers without facilities in the right-of-way, arguing that being a customer of fiber service should not trigger right-of-way fees. He noted that Verizon does not own towers or fiber in Lake Oswego, only leases capacity.
- Leila Vega (Verizon) echoed the argument, calling the fee a "philosophical difference" and stating that the $400 annual fee is not the issue but the principle of charging for indirect use.
- Meredith Pabst (AT&T) argued that the fee methodology is improper because AT&T has no facilities in the right-of-way; she cited a state case (Qwest v. Portland) distinguishing actual vs. indirect use. She stated AT&T would likely decline to pay the fee.
- Kathy Putt (Crown Castle) expressed concerns that the proposed ordinances would create a prohibition on leasing capacity and that fees for both operators and customers constitute double dipping. She urged the city to delay adoption to reach a mutually agreeable solution.
- Skippy Newberry (Technology Association of Oregon) encouraged the city to keep regulations flexible to avoid discouraging wireless investment, particularly regarding volume restrictions on small cells.
Discussion Items
- 2026 Pavement Rehabilitation Project (Work Order 378): Stefan Brodus (Director of Special Projects) presented an update on the pavement management program. The Pavement Condition Index (PCI) dropped from 75 to 70 due to reduced funding ($3 million total over three years vs. $8 million per year during the 2018–2022 program). The 2026 project includes paving, 88 ADA curb ramps, and stormwater catch basin retrofits. Staff sought approval to amend a professional services contract with Concer North America Inc. by $650,369 for design engineering. Councilors discussed the importance of paving and the need for long-term funding. The amendment was approved 7-0.
- Legislative Update: Madison Thiesing (Deputy City Manager) and Director Numanolo provided a recap of the 2025 legislative session. Key items: restoring recreational immunity (passed), housing bills (HB 2138, HB 2658, HB 2258, SB 974) with implementation deadlines, and the transportation package (HB 3991) which stalled but is now in a special session with a temporary funding fix to avoid ODOT layoffs. The housing bills include changes to middle housing definitions, density bonuses, and streamlined land divisions, with significant unknown details pending DLCD rulemaking.
- Study Session on Senate Bill 1537 – Mandatory Adjustments and Exemption: Johanna Hasty (Planning Manager) explained the city's approved exemption from the mandatory adjustment program, subject to conditions including a 90% approval rate on housing-related land use applications that include adjustments. Three areas not exempt: special street setbacks, building height (conflict with city charter 50-foot limit), and maximum density. Staff recommended keeping the mandatory adjustments for these three areas rather than amending the code, given the program sunsets in 2032. Council endorsed this approach, expressing frustration with state overreach.
- Public Hearing – Utility Facilities in Rights-of-Way: Nell Diamond and Director Rooney presented three items: Ordinance 2931 (amending Chapter 51), Ordinance 2965 (wireless facilities regulations), and Resolution 2429 (fee updates). Key changes: separate fees for facility owners ($627.47 per small cell) and service providers ($400 flat annual fee), replacing the 5% gross revenue charge for wireless providers to comply with federal cost-based requirements. Industry representatives raised concerns about scope and fee methodology. City attorney Nancy Werner defended the package as a compromise and compliant with federal law. Council adopted all three items 7-0.
- Redevelopment Agency – North Anchor Fifth Addendum to DDA: The city council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency, considered a fifth amendment to the DDA with Urban Development Partners (UDP). The amendment converts a $749,000 cash payment originally due at project completion into a loan to allow an external investor to purchase the multifamily property via a 1031 exchange. A clawback provision allows the city to repurchase the property at the same price minus hard costs if UDP fails to perform. The amendment also adjusts the timeline for city contributions. The motion passed 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Adopted 7-0.
- 2026 Pavement Rehabilitation: Motion to authorize the city manager to amend the contract with Concer North America Inc. for $650,369 passed 7-0.
- Utility Ordinances and Resolution: Ordinance 2931, Ordinance 2965, and Resolution 2429 were adopted 7-0 after a public hearing.
- SB 1537 Mandatory Adjustments: Council directed staff to keep the three mandatory adjustments (special street setbacks, height, density) in place and not amend the code at this time.
- Redevelopment Agency: Fifth Addendum to the North Anchor DDA approved 7-0.
- EPA Letter: Council unanimously authorized sending a letter to the EPA opposing the proposed rule to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding, which underpins greenhouse gas regulations.
- Community Resilience Board: Councilor Afkin reported that the board is reviewing its mission and will bring recommendations to council in the fall.
- City Recorder: Mayor Buck welcomed new City Recorder Laurel Hawkins and thanked outgoing acting recorder Ms. O'Neill for her service.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. This Tuesday, September 16th, 2025 meeting of the Lake Osico City Council is now called to order. Ms. Hawkins, will you please call the roll? Yes, Mayor Buck. Here. Councilor Rath. All right, here. Councillor Afgan is on Zoom. Councillors Maboop. Wendlin. Here. Verdict. And Corrigan. Here. Thank you. Thank you so much. Now, everyone, will you please stand or move your hats and join us in the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Thank you. First item on the agenda is uh public comment. And if you are here to provide public comment and have not already done so, please saw White Forms back to the table and hand it to Ms. Hawkins there. But first up, we have our Clackamas County Clerk, Catherine Whitmall in here to talk to us about National Voter Registration Day. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Catherine McMullen and I'm the county clerk for Clackamas County. I want to thank you, Mayor Joe Buck and the City Council for allowing me to speak today. Today is the National Voter Registration Day holiday. It's an opportunity for us to celebrate every eligible citizen's right to vote easily and without hassle. I want to invite invite you as local election officials, local officials across Oregon and the count country as we celebrate National Voter Registration Day. We're encouraging Oregonians to take a few moments today to check their voter registration to make an impact and to vote local in this election in the next one. In Oregon, you're eligible to register to vote if you're a resident of Oregon, a citizen of the United States, and at least 16 years old. Once you turn 18, you'll get that first ballot in the mail. So it's always a good idea for people to maybe instead of getting a car on their 16th birthday to get that voter registration card. The City of Lake Oswego has 30,741 registered voters across three counties, with 93% residing in Clackamas County. Lake Oswego voters make up 8.9% of Clackamas County's 319,600 total registered voters. County election officials recommend you take three steps.gov. Second, sign up for track your ballot. That's a service that's available here in Clackamas County, and you can go to Clackniss County elections to find the link and sign up. You'll receive an alert when we mail you your ballot, another alert when we've received it back, and a final one whenever we verified your signature and accepted your ballot for counting. And finally, make a plan to vote in the next election and everyone thereafter. And that plan includes knowing when your ballot's going to come to you in the mail, when and where you're going to vote, and then how you'll be returning your ballot, whether it's through the mail or directly back to an official ballot drop site. County elections officials are a reliable source of trusted and accurate information about elections processes and voter resources. So I invite you to visit Clackamas County Elections website, which is Clackamas.us forward slash elections for the most up-to-date information about each election. So I want to thank you for your time today and happy National Voter Registration Day. Thank you, Clerk McCallin. I appreciate you being here. Thank you. Carol, Carol Alkart.
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