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Council narrows topics for 2025 community survey: lawn equipment and community‑center needs among priorities
Summary
Council asked staff to include policy questions on lawn equipment restrictions and community‑center needs (West Side amenities) in the city’s 2025 statistically valid community survey and directed staff to return with one additional departmental question.
Lake Oswego city staff told the council on June 17 they plan to run the 2025 statistically valid community survey in September–October and asked council to choose up to three policy questions for the survey’s policy block. After discussion, council coalesced behind two clear topics and asked staff to provide a third question based on department input.
What the council asked to include: Councilors agreed to include (1) a question about lawn‑equipment policy (to test community sentiment on the recently active lawn‑equipment issue) and (2) a question about community‑center needs and amenities—particularly whether residents would prioritize an outdoor event space, programmable teen spaces, enhanced library services or other amenities (councilors emphasized they wanted “needs and wants” ranking rather than a specific location). Council members said the survey should be designed by the city’s polling contractor to produce clear, actionable results.
Staff direction: Deputy City Manager Madison Thiesing said the survey vendor will help craft the exact wording to avoid leading questions and that council will get results in time for the boards & commissions summit and the council retreat in January. Thiesing said a third question will be proposed after further department conversations; if staff return with no strong candidate, council accepted running only the two questions.
Why it matters: The statistically valid survey shapes short‑term priority setting and provides benchmarking against past survey cycles. Councilors tied the questions to near‑term policy actions: evaluating lawn‑equipment rules, scoping community‑center amenities (with an eye to West‑Side needs), and prioritizing transportation investments if state funding materializes.
Next steps: Staff will finalize question language with the survey contractor and proceed with the fall survey timeline; results will be presented to council and boards in January 2026.
