Resident group forms to defend charter vote on urban renewal after city steps toward legal challenge, speaker says

Jim Nacita, an Oregon City resident, used the public-comment period at the March 3 Citizen Involvement Committee meeting to describe a citizen-led effort to defend a 2012 charter amendment that Nacita says requires voter approval before the Urban Renewal Agency issues bonded indebtedness.

Nacita said the city commission and the urban renewal commission were taking steps he characterized as attempts to “invalidate” that charter provision and that an informal group—currently calling itself “right to vote defense”—is organizing educational forums and plans to support candidates in the 2026 municipal election if necessary. Nacita said the group’s goals are to persuade elected officials not to pursue legal action, to educate residents and, if needed, to contest the issue electorally.

Nacita said educational sessions held at a library were “quite successful,” that about 25 people were in a Google group and that the group will publicize upcoming forums broadly. He provided a contact phone number and email (james.nacita@gmail.com) to CIC members and attendees and invited neighborhood associations and other community groups to host presentations.

During later discussion, a city official noted that a lawsuit has already been filed challenging part of the charter and that courts had previously ruled on related issues, creating legal uncertainty about whether the charter provision controls urban renewal actions. The official said elected commissioners remain accountable to voters and that judicial clarity will determine which provisions are enforceable.

The remarks were delivered during the public-comment period; no formal action or vote was taken by the CIC on the subject during the meeting.