Waterways advisory to meet 'as needed,' defaulting to third Thursday when scheduled

City staff recommended aligning the Waterways Advisory Committee with the city’s advisory‑body guidance by moving to an "as‑needed" meeting schedule to reduce administrative work from repeated cancellations. Staff said when meetings are scheduled they would default to the third Thursday and members would receive at least a month’s notice to help maintain quorum.

Committee members debated options including quarterly standing meetings, trigger meetings if no projects appear for six months, and the practical challenges of room and calendar conflicts with other advisory bodies. Several members said periodic standing meetings would help maintain continuity; others said the "as‑needed" approach is more efficient for the city and applicants and would allow scheduling earlier in a project’s entitlement process.

Public comment favored quarterly meetings as a minimum to ensure public oversight; one commenter, Janice Harmon, said strong, regular oversight is needed because of flood and climate risks in some neighborhoods. After discussion, a motion to adopt the as‑needed schedule with the third Thursday as the default when meetings occur passed in a roll‑call vote, 6 yes, 1 no.

What’s next: Staff will implement the new scheduling approach, provide at least one month’s notice for scheduled meetings and monitor whether the as‑needed cadence meets the committee’s needs; the committee agreed to revisit the schedule if quorum or process issues arise.