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Estacada council approves Title 2 code update; ordinance includes directive affecting DEI committee
Summary
The Estacada City Council approved Ordinance 2025-002 to formalize prior council directions to update Title 2 of the municipal code. The ordinance, which will return for a second reading before taking effect, includes language the council discussed that affects the city's diversity, equity and inclusion committee and prompted public comment.
The Estacada City Council on a roll-call vote approved Ordinance 2025-002, amending Title 2 of the Estacada Municipal Code to codify changes the council previously directed staff to prepare. The ordinance passed on its first reading and will return for a second reading before taking effect 30 days after final adoption.
Councilors said the ordinance collects prior direction from council goal-setting and previous meetings into a single code update. The measure was put on the floor as the formal step to make earlier policy directions permanent.
The passage drew public comment from residents who objected to language in the update that council members tied to changes affecting the city's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) committee. Heather Boone, who had applied for a vacant committee seat, urged the council to reconsider dismantling the DEI committee and said the group provided community outreach and education she considered important to address local discrimination and threats on social media.
Boone said, "This committee was not responsible for hiring initiatives ... we were working toward community outreach," and urged the council to explain what components of diversity, equity or inclusion it opposed before making permanent code changes.
Council discussion before the vote included councilors who said they preferred restructuring the committee rather than leaving it unchanged; other councilors said they had concerns about the committee's scope. The council carried the ordinance on a recorded roll call: Councilor Blevins — yes; Councilor Dolezal — yes; Councilor McElroy — yes; Councilor Metcalfe — yes; Councilor Prokop — no; Councilor Tenbush — no; Mayor Drinkwine — yes.
Because this was the ordinance's first reading, the council and staff said the update will be presented once more before becoming final, allowing time for additional public input or technical edits.
The ordinance text formalizes multiple Title 2 updates that staff said reflect prior council direction; councilors and members of the public debated only portions related to committee structure and outreach naming.
The council acted on the ordinance as part of regular business; no immediate implementation timeline beyond the standard two-reading process was set for the DEI-related changes.
