Tualatin City Council Work Session - November 24, 2025: Housing Code Update and Tourism Program Review
Tualatin City Council Work Session - November 24, 2025
The Tualatin City Council held a work session on November 24, 2025, to discuss two main agenda items: a development code update for clear and objective housing standards and a status update on the city's tourism program. Council members also provided communications on various committees and community events.
Discussion Items
Development Code Update: Clear and Objective Standards for Housing
- Madeline Nelson, Associate Planner, presented a project to update the Tualatin Development Code (TDC) with clear and objective language per Oregon Revised Statutes 197A.400 (Senate Bill 1564). The goal is to reduce discretionary barriers, uncertainty, delays, and costs that could discourage housing development.
- The city partnered with consultant MIG, funded by a DLCD grant. The consultant is auditing the code to identify sections not conforming to clear and objective standards related to housing. The final audit is expected in January 2026, with draft code language in June 2026, a final draft in August 2026, and a formal hearing for adoption in fall 2026.
- Councilor Halligar asked about local autonomy versus state standards, particularly regarding parking requirements. Staff noted the consultant's scope is narrow but may provide additional guidance in the memorandum.
- Councilor Brooks asked for a rough estimate of percentage of code changes and whether environmental standards related to housing could be addressed. Staff stated the scope is limited to housing but environmental code sections tied to housing may be identified.
- Councilor Pratt inquired whether the update focuses solely on meeting state rules or also on simplifying the development process. Staff confirmed the intent is to make it easier for developers to build housing. Pratt also asked about the role of consultants (audit and draft language) and how numerical standards (e.g., 30% windows) will be determined. Staff said policy direction from council and planning commission will guide those metrics. Pratt suggested involving the Architectural Review Board (ARB) for input; staff will bring that back to the consultant team.
- The update covers the full spectrum of housing from single-family to multifamily. No votes were taken; staff will return in January with the code audit memorandum for policy direction.
Tualatin Tourism Program Update
- Megan George, Deputy City Manager, and Jill Coleman (summer intern) presented a status update on the 2019 Tourism Program. The program is funded by the city's Transient Lodging Tax (TLT), a 2.5% local tax on hotel stays (plus a share from Washington County). Restricted funds (70% of local TLT) must be used for tourism promotion or tourism-related facilities. The city ended fiscal year 2024-25 with $882,145 in restricted tourism funds.
- Jill Coleman reviewed the five key areas: capital development, events, placemaking, visitor services, and marketing. Most targets have seen significant progress (e.g., expanding the Pumpkin Regatta to a multi-day event, updating the image library). The only area with minimal progress is video marketing. A recommendation was made to hire a consultant to develop a more robust strategic plan with measurable targets and timelines.
- Councilor Brooks suggested leveraging the city's unique assets: the Ice Age Trail, National Water Trail (one of only 35 in the nation), and a national bike path. She expressed interest in a nature/visitor center to attract tourists and capture state/federal funding. She also emphasized the need for more cultural and creative opportunities. George noted that internal staff collaboration across departments would be key.
- Councilor Pratt proposed a community-wide events calendar (not just city-run events) to promote activities like the Grange Farmers Market. Mayor highlighted the importance of timing the tourism study with the downtown revitalization (code phase) to align objectives.
- Clarification: The $882,145 is from the local TLT only, accumulated over time. The city collects about $300,000 annually from the county TLT and $300,000 from the local TLT (of which $210,000 is restricted). No votes were taken; staff will incorporate feedback for future planning.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or decisions were made during the work session.
- For the development code update, staff will return in January 2026 with the code audit memorandum and seek policy direction from council. Councilors raised questions about local autonomy, environmental linkages, and ARB involvement, which staff will consider.
- For the tourism program, council expressed support for updating the plan and suggested aligning it with the downtown revitalization project. Staff will consider hiring a consultant for a strategic plan and will bring the topic back for further discussion, likely during the council's annual advance meeting and next budget cycle.
- Council members provided updates on committee meetings (e.g., Metro Mayor's Consortium, Washington County Coordinating Committee, CIO meetings) and community events, but no action items resulted.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the November 24th, 2025 Towalton City Council work session. First item on our agenda tonight is a development code update, clear and objective standards for housing. And this conversation will be led by Madeline. Welcome, Madeline. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Madeline Nelson. I'm the associate planner with the City of Twaleton. And tonight I want to bring to you a new project to update the Tualton Development Code with clear and objective language related to residential housing. All right. So as a quick look at tonight's agenda, we'll start with an overview of the project, which will include the timeline, next steps, and then we will conclude with any questions you may have for staff. So as previously mentioned, this project is to update the TWALT and development code with clear and objective language related to housing. The purpose of the project is to audit and update the TDC to create an adoptable code that meets Oregon revised statutes 197A.400 or Senate Bill 1564. For this project, we partnered with consultant group MIG to assist in the audit and draft code development. And this was funded by a grant with DLCD. So ORS 197A400 mandates that local governments regulate housing development using clear and objective standards, conditions, and procedures. The statute is intended to reduce discretionary barriers, uncertainty, delay, and costs that could discourage housing development. Clear and objective standards are intended again to reduce barriers, support housing needs, and improve accessibility and equity to development. For some additional context, here's an example of discretionary language that a jurisdiction might find in its code versus clear and objective language. So a discretionary standard might say new buildings must be compatible with the character of surrounding development. In this example, compatible in character or subjective and open to interpretation. The ORS would require clear and objective language, like the example on the right, which states building facades must include at least 30% windows or doors on street-facing elevations. So in this example, it is the language is specific, measurable, and enforceable. So our project consultant is currently completing an audit of the Twalton Development Code to identify sections that do not conform to clear and objective standards related to housing. This final audit should be complete in January. At that time, we will return to seek the council's feedback on the code audit and receive recommendations on code concepts that are policy driven. A draft potential code update will be prepared in June of 2026. This draft will then also be provided to the council for recommendations. The final draft of the code update should be made available in August of 2026, and that will be revised based on your previous feedback. And then a final adoptable code and formal hearing is planned for fall of next year. So when looking towards our next steps, we will return in January with the code audit memorandum, and we'll seek policy direction based on the findings of that audit. And that concludes our very short introduction of the project. Are there any questions for staff at this time? Questions from Madeline. Council Halligar. Thank you, Madeline. Um I'm curious about, and I I haven't looked at them in a while. What will the audit also look at places where there's might be opportunity to push back on certain things that the state brings as their standards? I know the goal is to get us in line with state standards, but I think our community is pretty clear about the parking, you know, requirements at the state level and different things like that. I'm assuming the answer to that question is absolutely not. We're just making this in line with the state, but I am curious about where we can have local any local autonomy on the rules. And so that is something that I would look forward to seeing in the January report. Yeah, absolutely. And just to provide a little bit of extra context, um, our consultant is has a very narrow scope on just housing and how that relates to our clear and objective standards, but they will probably provide some additional guidance within the memorandum. Other questions? Council Brooks. Um, do we have like a like a rough estimate of the percentage of changes that we need to make? Not at this time. Once we get the memorandum in January, it'll kind of give us a better scope of how much of the development code will be impacted by these changes. But again, within the narrow scope, we're just going to be looking at our code standards related to housing.
openpublica.com