January 2023

Embedding Sustainability in the City

The City of Lake Oswego embeds sustainability in their strategies and operations following a number of paths including making a significant investment through:

• Prioritizing sustainability initiatives in the City Council Goals for the year.
• Staffing a full-time Sustainability Program Manager position.
• Commissioning a citizen’s advisory board on Sustainability.

We’d like to share with you the goals for each of these areas for 2023.

City Council Goals for 2023

The city councilors just completed a full-day goal setting retreat Saturday, January 21st, where they gathered feedback and suggestions from citizens of Lake Oswego, a number of community groups and the various boards and commissions and other stakeholders to come up with a prioritized list of initiatives under eight major goals.

For each of eight areas, they reviewed the proposed goal language and discussed the specific initiatives related to each area. They started with 40 initiatives, several which were carried over from the previous year. Their task was to prioritize the top 15 to 20 initiatives which will direct how they (and the city government) spend their time this year.

On Feb. 7, the council will vote to approve their goals for the year. (Approved goals will be available on this page after approval.)

Below are the eight areas and proposed goal language.

Climate Action. Combat climate change and strengthen the community’s resilience to climate impact.

Parks, Natural Areas, & Recreation. Invest in Lake Oswego’s high-quality parks, natural areas and recreational amenities.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Foster a welcoming and inclusive community where all people have the opportunity to thrive and have equitable access to City services.

Transportation. Improve transportation connections, mobility and safety for all travelers and all types of trips in Lake Oswego.

City Operations. Strengthen public trust in the City through continuous improvement outstanding customer service, infrastructure investments, and fiscal stewardship.

Economic Development. Support business development and job creation in Lake Oswego.

Community Development. Conserve the community’s character, sense of place and quality of life by planning for change and growth.

Public Safety. Ensure a safe, secure and prepared community.

Many of the specific initiatives are directly related to sustainability. Two initiatives under Climate Action received unanimous support:

1. Integrate climate action and resilience into City projects such as capital improvement planning, housing policy, and City facilities and fleet decisions.
2. Update the Urban and Community Forest Plan using the findings of the 2022 State of the Urban Forest Report. Address issues related to equitable outcomes, tree species, and climate change.

Other sustainability-related initiatives that maybe be adopted include:

• Make a financially and environmentally responsible long-term investment in a wastewater treatment plant.
• Continue construction of sidewalks and pathways focusing on safe routes to school.
• Continue to work on key housing initiatives and housing production strategy.
• Implement community policing recommendations.
• Create disaster preparedness processes and plans in collaboration with the community.

LOSN submitted input to the goal setting session. See details at this link. Although not all our initiatives made the top priority list, the two Climate Action initiatives listed above are strong endorsements of support for sustainability. In addition, a progress report on the Climate Action plan is already part of staff’s work plan.

City of Lake Oswego’s Sustainability Program Manager

Amanda Watson has been the city’s full-time Sustainability Program Manager for the past year and a half and provides a wealth of expertise and guidance to the city and the community. She is responsible for implementing the City’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan in collaboration with other city departments and community groups. She also manages the City’s solid waste and recycling franchise with Republic Services.

Amanda serves as staff liaison to the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB). Buzz Chandler, Co-Chair for the SAB, says, “As one of the Co-Chairs of the LO SAB, I work very closely with Amanda, in her role as Sustainability Program Manager for the City, and she has helped elevate our Board to becoming an ever more effective and forward-thinking advisory body for the City.  She always has a big smile, is very knowledgeable and most importantly works tirelessly at helping us manage and achieve our goals for the Board every year. She is a truly fine example of the high quality and character of LO City Staffers. We as a Board and as a City are fortunate to have her.”

Amanda has also proven to be a great partner for LOSN in promoting sustainability. Duke Castle provides a LOSN perspective, “Amanda is great sustainability advocate. She is well versed in the triple bottom line concept and has a good understanding of sustainability issues both within the city and out of it. She is a real pleasure to work with because she is so collaborative and open to the variety of ideas we bring to her.”

Amanda led the collaborative effort for putting on the first Lake Oswego Sustainability Resource Fair last year and will be helping again this year (April 15, 2023 – check the events section for more) for what has become a terrific annual event full of resources for Lake Oswego residents.

In addition to her support on the Council and SAB’s goals, she will be focused on:

• Completing a progress report on the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan.
• Increasing use and availability of clean energy in Lake Oswego, including sharing information with community members and businesses about available financial incentives and programs for clean energy and energy efficiency.
• Website improvements for the EcoHome LO residential sustainability certification program that launched last year.

City of Lake Oswego’s Sustainability Advisory Board

The Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) is a citizen advisory body appointed by the City Council to provide advice, citizen perspective, and expertise on issues relating to sustainability. Consisting of 7 members with staggered 3-year terms and 2 youth members with 1-year terms, these citizens promote a sustainable economic and ecological quality of life in our community. This year, their goals are:

• Advance the adoption of electric vehicles.
• Develop recommendations to the City Council for a ban on the sale and use of gas-powered landscaping equipment in Lake Oswego.
• Continue progress on climate mitigation and resilience planning and implementation.
• Expand outreach and engagement to enhance the sustainability of the city as a whole.

The full goals with the planned initiatives can be found here.

LOSN partners with SAB in many areas including the annual EV Fair, promoting the transition to electric landscaping equipment, collaboration on goal setting, and the annual Lake Oswego Sustainability Resource Fair.

Here are some ways you can get involved with SAB if you want to work with the city on sustainability and/or climate action:

• Attend an SAB meeting. (Meetings are the 3rd Monday of the month, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Check the LOSN calendar for more information.)
• Provide public comment at a meeting.
• Apply to be a member of the board. (Applications are open in the April-May time frame at this link).

Save the Date: What’s Really Going on with Climate?

When:   Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Time:     6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Where:  online forum (registration link coming soon)
Panelists: Gregg Small, Executive Director of Climate Solutions, and Meredith Connolly, Oregon Director of Climate Solutions

We have climate anxiety, climate solutions, cli-fy novels and climate impacts. But what is really happening? Climate change is a complicated issue and it’s often hard to track the intricacies of what is going on and how each of us can be part of the solution.

To answer our question and more, LOSN is proud to host Gregg Small and Meredith Connolley, two of the leading climate advocates at Climate Solutions, in this timely and informative forum.

Save the Date: 2nd Annual Lake Oswego Sustainability Resource Fair

When:   Saturday, April 15, 2023
Time:    10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Where:  Lakeridge Middle School, 4700 Jean Rd, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035
What:    Groups throughout our community will be at the fair with sustainability information and how you can get involved and take action.

Brought to you by a collaboration between the City of Lake Oswego and SAB, the Oswego Lake Watershed Council, the Lake Oswego School District and LOSN.