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Council moves to reconfigure advisory bodies: retain Planning and Old Town advisory panel, plan workshop on new 'people' commission
Summary
After a months-long review, council directed staff to start a workshop process with current commissioners and return with proposals to consolidate the Community Services and Ready commissions into a new people/quality-of-life body, fold Traffic Safety duties into Planning, and change appointment rules effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The City Council on April 22 directed staff to begin implementation planning to reconfigure several of the city’s advisory groups. By consensus the council said it would retain the Planning Commission and the Old Town Local Advisory Committee (OTLAC) and asked staff to bring recommendations to consolidate other advisory bodies into a new, community-oriented commission tied to the Quality of Life Master Plan (QLMP).
Key points and council direction:
- Retain Planning Commission (statutory land-use body) and OTLAC (Old Town-specific advisory body). Council asked staff to adjust OTLAC membership language to remove an unfilled architect slot and add a seat open to an Old Town business at-large while keeping the committee at seven positions.
- Consolidation idea: council expressed consensus to merge the Community Services Commission and the Ready Commission functions into a single people- or quality-of-life-focused commission (working name used in discussion was “people commission”) with a jurisdiction to be defined. Councilmembers urged that any new body have substantive, task-driven work tied to QLMP priorities (seniors, housing, mobility, inclusion, youth, etc.) rather than be purely ceremonial.
- Traffic and safety matters: council signaled that traffic safety technical matters would be integrated into Planning Commission responsibilities; staff noted that some traffic-related authority already overlaps with planning functions.
- Process and timing: the council directed staff to convene a noticed workshop (conference-center format) with current Community Services and Ready commissioners to solicit their input and produce a concrete proposal. The council set an effective date for organizational changes of January 1, 2026, and directed that all existing advisory terms be set to expire December 31, 2025 so recruitment and appointments can proceed for the new structure in January 2026.
- Appointments and recruitment: councilmembers agreed to change the appointment process so each council member will appoint commissioners concurrently with their own terms (appointments to run concurrent with the appointing councilmember’s term). Staff will run a citywide recruitment and provide an application with a preferred councilmember selection (drop-down) and then each councilmember will make appointments for the positions allocated to their seat in January.
Councilmembers and staff also discussed workshop formats, community outreach, and the possibility of limited-term task forces for discrete projects. The council approved the motion embodying the general directions as discussed; the motion passed 5–0.
Councilmembers emphasized they did not intend to eliminate resident participation and encouraged staff to design a process that preserves substantive engagement, includes commissioners’ input, and creates measurable work for any new body.
