A Win for Lake Oswego Residents: NOW all Appointees to the City’s Development Review Commission Must Live Within Lake Oswego’s Urban Services Boundary

Published November 25, 2023

Author: Frédérique Lavios, PNA Chair

In response to community concerns Neighborhood Association Chairs Council (NCC) members advocated strongly for an amendment to the residency requirements for those serving on the DRC. Previously, three of the seven members of the DRC were not required to live in Lake Oswego.

Carole Ockert, Chair of the L.O. Neighborhood Association Chairs’ Committee, diligently tracks issues raised at City Hall. Together with other Neighborhood Assoc. Chairs, Bob Ervin, Tom Bland and Grant Howell were able to get the City Council to amend the DRC residency requirements. Since the Development Review Commission (DRC) deals with land use and tree issues, it is extremely important that it’s members are residents who are familiar with our own community.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve the new policy. It now states that four members of the DRC must live in Lake Oswego and the other three must live within Lake Oswego’s Urban Services Boundary (USB). The USB is an area where the city provides public services like water and sewer. Previously the DRC was the only city commission that did not require all members to live within the Urban Services Boundary.

This is a small but important step towards citizens representing their own community and Neighborhood Associations making a positive difference in our community.

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Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP) Project Coordinator

Primary Role:

  • Handles NEP grant applications, grant approvals, reviews receipts for reimbursement and is the single point of contact between the entire Palisades Neighborhood Association (PNA) and the City.
  • To be successfull in this role you should be organized, communicative.
  • Time commitment: From 8-12 hrs. throughout the year

Process:

  • Accepting NEP proposals: Anyone living in the Palisades Neighborhood Association can submit proposal(s) to the NEP Coordinator along with estimated costs throughout the year. They should follow the application guidelines and answer the questions related to their proposal.
  • PNA Board will Vote on Which Items To Include in our NEP Proposal: During the month of March PNA board meeting the NEP Coordinator asks the board to vote on the proposed item(s). NEP Coordinator encourages person(s) proposing the item(s) to attend the meeting to answer questions that might come up. The PNA board then votes on which items should be included in the NEP grant proposal.
  • Developing and Submitting the NEP Grant Proposalt: During the NEP grant proposal period (usually the month of May) the NEP Project Coordinator:
    • Fills out the NEP grant proposal application based on items approved by the PNA Board;
    • Gets sign offs from the PNA Chair
    • Submits the proposal form to the city in early May for the initial review process
    • Provides additional information requested by the city
    • Revises and submits the final application to the City by the deadline (typically May 31).

What Happens Next:

  • Iris McCaleb from the City forwards the NEP grant proposals to the grant review committee and then to the City Council who review it and awards certain grants.The NEP Coordinator will receive a letter of award from the City and will share it with the PNA Leadership Team.
  • As items are purchased from the approved grant list, the project close-out form is filled out by the person requesting reimbursement. They will attach digital copies of receipts and photos and then submit all to both the NEP Project Coordinator and the PNA Chair. The NEP Project Coordinator submits the reimbursement request to Iris at the City for reimbursement.
  • Reimbursement checks are then sent directly to the person who purchased the item(s).