2009-03-17

HIDDEN SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 17, 2009 CALL TO ORDER. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM at the West Linn Adult Community Center by President, Lynn C. Fox. Other officers in attendance: Harvey Schultz, Vice President, Donna Baker, Treasurer; Charles Lytle, Secretary. QUORUM DATA. Thirty six members have attended meetings in 2009. Therefore the quorum was four. There were 11 members at the beginning of the meeting, 17 total. PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES. Member Jerry Newville objected to the summary of the Palomino Loop Trail discussion, stating that he didn’t recall hearing portions of what was transcribed. Secretary Lytle noted that during most of that discussion, several (many) people were talking at once, and it was impossible to write down multiple conversations and arguments. Lytle said that audio and video tapes were available for review. President Fox stated that she had repeatedly requested written submissions of corrections or additions to the minutes of the meetings in question but no one had responded. Mr. Brown advised the membership that approval of the minutes would make them part of the public record. Approval of the minutes was tabled to the next meeting. President Fox also stated that the November minutes were approved at the very end of the regular January 2009 meeting. Secretary Lytle noted that Kristen Wyatt of the City had sent him two emails requesting that draft minutes be forwarded to her for posting on the City website and that he had waited until this meeting to get the sense of the membership on the issue. After a brief discussion, Jim Brown moved and Scott Howard seconded the following motion: “Resolved that the HSNA President communicate with the City stating that the HSNA will forward only approved minutes for posting on the City website.” Motion passed 15 – 0 – 0. TREASURER’S REPORT. The current balance is $1872.02. POLICE REPORT. None. ANNOUNCEMENTS. 1) President Fox called members’ attention to a free seminar at City Hall by METRO representatives on the subject of the urban/rural reserve process. It will be 6:30 PM on Thursday, March 19th. 2) President Fox read from an email from the City asking that the new Finance Director be allowed to give a presentation on finances and the budgeting process. An informal show of hands (no motion) showed approval by 8 – 1 - 0. 3) President Fox noted that the city recently held its first training session, which was focused on people appointed to boards, committees, and commissions. Several NA presidents have requested that the city conduct another training soon for elected NA officers. In response to a member question, she stated that it is her understanding that this second training would be open to any interested citizen, whether or not they were a NA officer. GUEST SPEAKER. Terri Cummings, City Councilor. Councilor Cummings stated that she has attended over a dozen METRO meetings on the issue of designating lands outside the urban growth boundary as either urban or rural reserves. METRO is charged with developing a 20-year plan for urban reserves and a 50-year plan for rural reserves. The city of West Linn has gone formally on record as opposing designating the Stafford Triangle as an urban reserve because of the huge cost to existing West Linn citizens to provide infrastructure for development. The landowners within the Triangle are not in agreement on the designation. In response to a question about the proposed school at the Erickson property, Councilor Cummings said that the school district has presented a moving target. The current economy has changed earlier projections of continued high growth in West Linn, and diminishing revenue streams has created school budget-cutting situations throughout the state, including the HSNA Meeting March 17, 2009 Page 2 WestLinn – Wilsonville School District. Some members expressed the concern that the proposed school would be used to justify housing development within the Triangle. Someone recalled Superintendent Woehl stating that there is a new law requiring that any new school built on county land must have at least 85% of its students be county residents. Someone also noted that Lake Oswego cannot fill its current schools and is accepting students from other districts in an attempt to fill its classrooms. Members also asked what goes into the decision process for designating an area one way or the other. Councilor Cummings exhibited a study document that contains the attributes of what METRO calls a “model community.” She felt that one stumbling block for the Triangle is the large amount of “hilly” land with slopes greater than the < 6% limit in the METRO document. The ultimate decision lies with four people, a METRO representative and one representative from each of the counties within the METRO jurisdiction: Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington. A member noted that the city of Sandy has a permanent, rural buffer strip at its western edge to prevent growth extending eastward from Gresham right up to the Sandy city limits. Councilor Cumming was hoping that the County would agree to hold an outreach meeting in West Linn before the screening process continues. West Linn is one of the largest areas that will be impacted yet the County and Metro have yet to have a meeting with West Linn citizens to present the Reserves issue to them. Finally, a member noted that I-205 provides an excellent transportation corridor that would make a strong case for development along the freeway. OLD BUSINESS. 1) 19650 Suncrest Development. President Fox stated that, per the resolution passed at the February meeting, the tapes were reviewed of the developer’s presentation to the HSNA. They indeed showed that the statement was made that the treed water resource area would be deeded to the city. Per the resolution, she then forwarded a letter to the city stating that the HSNA opposes development of the entire property and that the city should hold the developer to his original promise. President Fox noted that she did not know what the HSNA could do at this time but wait for the application to be complete. However, members can communicate with the city on the issue as individuals and ad hoc groups could be formed to convey their concerns to the voters. 2) Sunset School. President Fox passed out copies of an email from school district superintendent Dr. Roger Woehl to Sunset NA representative Troy Bowers regarding what the district plans to do with the Sunset school. Dr. Woehl’s reply emphasized that a process for decision making must be agreed upon first, and that all options are on the table from renovation to closing the school to selling the property for development. An HSNA member noted that renovating the school to current code standards would be a very expensive process and that adequate parking would somehow have to be addressed. 3) Erickson Property Annexation. President Fox reviewed three major errors committed by the city through the entire process, from the pre-application hearing through the step two annexation hearing before council. After a discussion of the annexation process in general and the specifics of this particular process, the following motion was made by Harvey Schultz and seconded by Donna Baker: “Resolved that the HSNA urges the city council to bring the step one annexation of the Erickson property back to the council for review and reconsideration.” The motion passed 15 – 0 – 1. Member Jim Brown objected to the motion as being too summary and felt that to carry weight with the council in should include all of the procedural errors discussed by President Fox. Ms. Fox explained that, because of the time constraints involving city business, the resolution would have to be in the hands of the city by close of business March 19th. She agreed to have the draft resolution sent out for member review as soon as possible. Mr. Brown requested that it be by 5 PM the next day (Wednesday), and Ms. Fox said that she would try to make that deadline if possible. HSNA Meeting March 19, 2009 Page 3 4) Palomino Loop Trail. Members present again expressed dissatisfaction at the situation involving the trail. Member Jim brown made the following motion, seconded by David Van de Water: “Resolved that the HSNA will take no further action regarding the Palomino Loop Trail until HSNA members with property contiguous with the trail have resolved their issues with the city.” The motion passed 13 – 1 – 1. NEW BUSINESS. 1) Neighborhood Plan. Member Scott Howard asked about the neighborhood plan. Secretary Lytle stated that an electronic copy was available and could be emailed to interested members. It was agreed to put the plan on the agenda of a future meeting. 2) Guest Speakers. Member Jim Brown complained about the length of time taken up by speakers and that speakers who take up significant time push other important matters requiring discussions and/or motions are then put off until late in the evening. President Fox agreed and stated she would tell future guest speakers to limit their time. No motion was brought forward. 3) Motions. Kris Kachinsky suggested that motions should not be made until everyone has all the information on both sides of the issue and not be made at a meeting unless people representing both sides are present. There was a brief discussion on the logistics of making all of that possible. No motion was brought forward. ADJOURNMENT. There being no other business to come before the membership, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 PM by President Lynn C. Fox. NEXT MEETING DATE IS APRIL 21, 2009. Recorded by HSNA Secretary Charles Lytle.