The council devoted substantial time on Dec. 9 to the city's general plan process, hearing from dozens of residents and board members who had worked on the plan and debating whether to send the March 25, 2025 draft to voters, start over with consultants, or use a council subcommittee.

Residents and committee members repeatedly urged adoption of the March 25 draft and emphasized two suggestions that surfaced repeatedly in public comment: simplify the language with an executive summary and ensure required statutory elements (for example, a circulation map) are present.

Mayor Roosing proposed using a consultant as a catalyst to synthesize the existing work and make statutory corrections so the council could present a compliant, voter-ready version. After debate, the council voted to direct staff to bring the March 25, 2025 version back for potential council action at its Jan. 13, 2026 meeting (the minutes record the motion as "Passes for 3"). The council also voted to hire a consultant (motion passed, recorded as 6-1) and to dissolve the General Plan Review Committee and direct staff to prepare a council subcommittee (motion recorded as passing 6-1). Staff said ballot-language deadlines for a November 2026 election would require adoption of final language no later than the council meeting on June 23, 2026 if the council wished to place the plan on that ballot.

Council members differed on whether the March draft needed only editing (some argued it required statutory fixes and clearer maps) or whether a consultant and subcommittee would be helpful. Council directed staff to provide the March and June versions of the land-use map in the Jan. 13 materials to facilitate side-by-side review.