The Roseburg Planning Commission on Jan. 6 re-elected Jamie Irauguan as chair and Shelby Osborne as vice chair in unanimous voice votes and heard staff outline priorities for the coming months, including a mandatory floodplain rule modification due by June and planned housing code updates later in the year.

Commissioner Jarrett Nelson moved to nominate Jamie Irauguan for chair; the motion was seconded and carried by unanimous voice vote of the commissioners present. The commission then nominated and re-elected Shelby Osborne as vice chair by unanimous voice vote.

Staff member Stu told commissioners the city plans to reconvene with key staff in the coming weeks to set priorities for the year. "Stew is hoping to sit down with me and, the city manager and the public works director in the next few weeks to reevaluate the priorities for the coming year," Stu said. He listed several items the department expects to bring to the commission for discussion and work sessions: a housing code update to align local code with recent state mandates (the department described being roughly three years behind on some housing code issues), an OpenGov software transition expected to occupy staff time for approximately six months, and a mandatory floodplain rule modification package that must be completed by June.

Staff also briefed the commission on transportation projects that may intersect with planning work. The Diamond Lake Boulevard (OR-138E) project, led by ODOT, was reactivated after a multi-month pause; staff said design concepts are being revised and that the consultant's contract runs through June. Commissioners were told preliminary designs include multiuse trails, bike lanes and sidewalks on parts of the corridor, and staff urged additional crossings and ADA-compliant walkways where missing. A separate ODOT roundabout project at Garden Valley and Old Melrose Road was mentioned as advancing with secured funding.

Commissioners discussed code conflicts that have arisen when implementing updated regulations, particularly where FEMA floodplain requirements, building and electrical codes can conflict with fire-safety standards. A commissioner described instances where floodplain venting requirements conflict with fire-safety venting restrictions. Staff said the commission will have opportunities to discuss the broader legislative package and that some technical building-code conflicts may be addressed by other departments or specialists rather than in a planning-commission-level legislative package.

Staff indicated a likely schedule of work: a spring work session to present a broad menu of proposed code changes and priorities, an April'May timeline for the floodplain package, and later in the summer or fall further housing code fixes and other code streamlining. No binding policy decisions were recorded at Jan. 6 beyond the leadership elections and the planning of future work sessions.