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Record of Proceedings

West Linn City Council and Planning Commission Joint Work Session - October 20, 2026

City Council & Planning Commission — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
BodyWest Linn, Oregon
SessionCity Council & Planning Commission
DateTuesday, October 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:38:42

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

We'll start the recording and Teresa, the recording and everything ready.

0:05

Ready to go.

0:06

All right, we're streaming live to the community.

0:08

I see from Kevin.

0:09

Thank you.

0:10

We have a cut city council has a couple of items to get through here.

0:14

First before the joint meeting.

0:15

First item, of course, is approval of the agenda.

Unassigned speaker

0:18

So I

Speaker 1

0:19

entertain a motion.

Speaker 2

0:21

Thank you, Mayor.

0:22

I move to approve the agenda for the October 20th.

0:27

City Council joint work session with the Planning Commission.

0:31

Second.

Speaker 1

0:32

It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda for the work session with the planning commission.

0:38

Any discussion?

0:41

Seeing none,

Unassigned speaker

0:42

go

Speaker 1

0:42

ahead

Speaker 3

0:42

and call the roll, please.

Speaker 4

0:46

Councilor Brighton Yes.

0:49

Council President Baumgardner.

0:51

Yes.

0:51

Council Graner?

0:52

Yes.

Speaker 1

0:53

Mayor Bielostowski.

0:54

Yes.

0:55

Thank you.

0:55

And Councilor Bonington is excused from the meeting for the record.

1:01

The next item is public comments.

1:07

Are there any public comments today?

Speaker 4

1:09

Carrie Oakes.

Unassigned speaker

1:12

Hi,

Speaker 1

1:12

Miss Oaks, welcome.

1:14

Right there.

1:15

You're our special guest, and just make sure the uh green lights on on your microphone.

Speaker 5

1:28

Good evening.

1:29

My name is Carrie Oakes, and I live in West Lynn.

1:34

So I um am trying to understand and have some questions about some advice you might have gotten from the attorney.

1:47

So at your last at your last special meeting on November 23rd, where you heard or decided to delegate your duties to hear the Tandler Drive appeal.

2:03

At the end of the total meeting, so after well after the agenda of the agenda item for Tandler Drive, Councillor Bonington asked if you were if they were the council meaning we're more free now to speak our minds on Tandler.

2:29

And you you even mayor, and I think everyone agreed that that was a really great question to ask, and it was too bad it didn't get asked earlier when everybody was still there to hear it, the answer to it.

2:44

But it was what it was, and um so um you asked and um got a reply from um the planning director uh that you needed to be careful, and then the attorney, so the attorney weighed in and said that um that uh it was a great question and that um but let's talk about it offline were her exact words.

3:12

So um my question is is what happened after that?

3:17

Um how did you get your advice?

3:19

Did you get your advice?

3:20

I'm looking for councillor Bonnington, but he's not here, is he?

3:23

And I think everybody wanted it, the whole council actually.

3:26

So that's my question.

3:29

If if the mayor would ask uh answer, I'd really appreciate it.

Speaker 1

3:33

Thank you.

3:34

Yes, so uh I would refer that question to our community development director, Steve Coper.

3:41

And I know our special land use legal counsel is not here.

3:44

I just want to be a little bit careful about like disclosing legal advice and want to make sure that everything is uh

Speaker 6

3:50

Yeah, I mean we don't have any we don't have legal counsel here, so I'm not prepared to answer that question.

3:54

I appreciate the

Speaker 1

3:55

question and we'll discuss internally.

3:58

Let me see what we can share, and I'll check in with our attorney and then we'll get you in an answer with what we can share.

Speaker 5

4:03

Oh, okay.

4:04

So um when would that

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Public Use Zoning█████████████████████21%
Strategic Planning███████████████15%
Transportation Safety██████████10%
Environmental Protection██████6%
Land Use Law█████5%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Public Engagement███3%
Noise Pollution███3%
Summary of Proceedings

West Linn City Council and Planning Commission Joint Work Session - October 20, 2026

The West Linn City Council convened a joint work session with the Planning Commission on October 20, 2026, beginning at 6:00 PM. The meeting included a proclamation, discussions on the Planning Department's work plan and docket, and a review of potential public use zoning changes. Staffing capacity and budget constraints were recurring themes throughout the session's presentations and discussions.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Carrie Oakes: Questioned the city council regarding legal advice received during a previous special meeting (November 23, 2025) concerning the delegation of the Tandler Drive appeal hearing. Mayor Bielostowski stated he would check with the city attorney and respond within a few days.
  • Mike Capigan: Representing residents of the Robinwood and Bolton neighborhoods, expressed concern that the city had not conducted adequate outreach regarding the Vision 43 project, specifically requesting a physical open house. He criticized the budget constraints cited for not holding one and requested a staff analysis of how Senate Bill 1537 and House Bill 4037 would affect the proposed zone changes.

Proclamations and Reports

  • Mayor Bielostowski issued a proclamation designating October 30, 2026, as Oregon City-West Linn Rivalry Day, marking the 106th meeting of the historic high school football rivalry.
  • Mayor Bielostowski reported attending a gala for The Caring Place, a homeless services center in Oregon City.
  • Councilor Graner reported attending the League of Cities conference, noting widespread municipal budget challenges across the state.

Discussion Items

  • Planning Work Plan (Docket) Update: Community Development Director Steve Coper presented the planning department's work plan for 2026-2028. He detailed the department's staff capacity (5.15 FTE) and the significant constraints imposed by West Linn's low property tax rate relative to its high assessed value (Measures 5 and 50). Development review applications surged to 101 in the past fiscal year (up from 40), straining capacity. Long-range planning projects include the Housing Production Strategy, Vision 43 (delayed), the Waterfront Vision Implementation (supported by a new $392,000 Metro grant), and a potential Transportation System Plan (TSP) update for grant eligibility.
  • Planning Commission Feedback on Docket: Commissioners provided feedback to the council on the docket. Commissioner Salti raised concerns about reconciling Chapter 58 of the code with recent housing legislation. Commissioner Wolvotney urged updates to stormwater codes (Chapters 28/32) and a review of an 8-year-old Community Engagement and Land Use Process (CCI) report. Chair Salt Hillen requested an update to the city's tree code, citing frequent public complaints.
  • Path Forward on Docket: The Planning Commission requested additional time to review the full prioritized project list before making a formal recommendation. The council agreed, and the commission will make a formal recommendation at a subsequent meeting, which will then be forwarded to the council.
  • Public Use Zoning Discussion: Associate Planner Aaron Goodell presented three options for creating a public use zone to streamline permitting for public facilities. Option A would create the zone language only; Option B would also identify specific properties; Option C was no action. Staff recommended Option A to manage capacity. Council consensus leaned toward exploring Option A, as it is the most resource-efficient path forward.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda Approved: The meeting agenda was approved unanimously.
  • Proclamation Approved: The Oregon City-West Linn Rivalry Day proclamation approved.
  • Planning Docket: The planning docket and work plan were discussed but not formally set. The Planning Commission will conduct its own work session to finalize a recommendation.
  • Public Use Zoning: City Council expressed consensus to proceed with exploring Option A (creating a new public use zoning district). Staff was directed to draft the code for Planning Commission review.
  • Next Meeting: The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

We'll start the recording and Teresa, the recording and everything ready. Ready to go. All right, we're streaming live to the community. I see from Kevin. Thank you. We have a cut city council has a couple of items to get through here. First before the joint meeting. First item, of course, is approval of the agenda. So I entertain a motion. Thank you, Mayor. I move to approve the agenda for the October 20th. City Council joint work session with the Planning Commission. Second. It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda for the work session with the planning commission. Any discussion? Seeing none, go ahead and call the roll, please. Councilor Brighton Yes. Council President Baumgardner. Yes. Council Graner? Yes. Mayor Bielostowski. Yes. Thank you. And Councilor Bonington is excused from the meeting for the record. The next item is public comments. Are there any public comments today? Carrie Oakes. Hi, Miss Oaks, welcome. Right there. You're our special guest, and just make sure the uh green lights on on your microphone. Good evening. My name is Carrie Oakes, and I live in West Lynn. So I um am trying to understand and have some questions about some advice you might have gotten from the attorney. So at your last at your last special meeting on November 23rd, where you heard or decided to delegate your duties to hear the Tandler Drive appeal. At the end of the total meeting, so after well after the agenda of the agenda item for Tandler Drive, Councillor Bonington asked if you were if they were the council meaning we're more free now to speak our minds on Tandler. And you you even mayor, and I think everyone agreed that that was a really great question to ask, and it was too bad it didn't get asked earlier when everybody was still there to hear it, the answer to it. But it was what it was, and um so um you asked and um got a reply from um the planning director uh that you needed to be careful, and then the attorney, so the attorney weighed in and said that um that uh it was a great question and that um but let's talk about it offline were her exact words. So um my question is is what happened after that? Um how did you get your advice? Did you get your advice? I'm looking for councillor Bonnington, but he's not here, is he? And I think everybody wanted it, the whole council actually. So that's my question. If if the mayor would ask uh answer, I'd really appreciate it.

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