City Recorder Rachel Thomas told the Newberg Planning Commission that City Council recently consolidated separate council and committee rulebooks into a single set of board, commission and committee guidelines intended to simplify procedures and reduce legal risk. "We want clarity for the public so they know how to engage with city commissions," Thomas said, describing the change as part of the councilads' stated goals to improve consistency and legal compliance.

Thomas outlined the authority ladder the city will follow: federal and state law, the city charter and code, the newly adopted council rules, and then any lower-level bylaws. "If there are conflicts, the city council approved rules here will win out," she said. The new document adopts Robert's Rules of Order for Small Boards as the default parliamentary reference and formalizes several procedural topics the Planning Commission must follow, including quorum calculations, motion and amendment process, and how votes and conflicts are recorded in minutes.

On public participation, Thomas said Oregon law protects the public's right to view meetings but does not guarantee a right to speak; the city will limit Planning Commission public comment to matters relevant to the commission's work (generally land use and development) and refer off-topic remarks to City Council. "Oregon is a presence law, but not a participation law," she said. Staff will screen speakers at registration and advise people whether their comments are appropriate for the commission, Thomas added.

The rules also change handling of written comments and remote participation: written submissions must be received two days before a meeting to be included in the packet, and staff will not read written comments aloud during meetings except when required for ADA accommodations. To reduce disruptive online behavior, Thomas said remote participants must preregister by noon on the day of the meeting; she cited past incidents of online disruption and said preregistration is a low barrier to reduce the risk of "Zoom bombing."

Staff asked the commission whether to retire the Planning Commissionads existing 2022 bylaws or carry forward specific provisions. Director Scott Siegel said staff prepared a comparison memo and recommended the commission follow the citywide rules by default until the commission adopts any more restrictive provisions it prefers. Commissioners discussed several particulars, including whether minutes should continue to be voted on in session (some commissioners favored retaining approval as a safeguard) and whether abstaining members should step out of the meeting room for certain ex parte contacts; Thomas said removal from the dais is required for conflicts of interest, but leaving the room for ex parte contact is a discretionary, prudent practice.

Siegel also notified the commission that the mayor plans to nominate two people to fill two open seats (one vacancy after Commissioner Kayla Maverick did not reapply) and that staff expect a Yamhill County referral on a partition application in an urban reserve (Zimri Road) that the county has sent to the city for advisory comment under the urban growth management agreement.

The commission decided to take more time to review staffads comparison memo and asked staff to return with the item on a future agenda. Before adjourning, members agreed to move the regular meeting start time from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., subject to formal publication by the city recorder's office.