This year at Vancouver City
Council meeting. Today is
Monday, May 18th, 2026. This
afternoon we had three
workshops. The first one was on
the Portland International
Airport Master plan that they
are updating. Then we talked
with staff about the climate
action framework that we're
working off of, and we heard
about the Fruit Valley for all
action plan that is being
updated also. So would you
please stand and join me in the
Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge.
>> Allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America
and to the Republic for which
it stands one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
>> Thank you, Miss Dolor.
Please call the roll.
>> Council member Harless.
Present. Perez. Present. Fox.
Here. Paulson. Here. Stober.
Here. Hanson. Mayor. McEnerny
Ogle present.
>> Thank you very much.
Councilors. Let's move into the
approval of the minutes. You
have the minutes of May 11th,
2026. Any corrections or
changes? Hanson. Seconded by
Hawk. Fox. Thank you. All those
in favor say aye.
>> Aye.
>> Opposed.
>> Abstain.
>> Paulson. Abstention. Perez.
Abstention. Motion passes.
Thank you very much. And now we
have proclamations. Let's start
with our Taiwanese American
Heritage Week. We have all
sorts of people here. Easton
and Angela and the Formosa
Association of Student Cultural
Ambassadors from Greater
Portland are. Is that all of
you? And you cross the river
and the bridge was down and you
came over easily.
>> Yeah. Yes. Actually, they
are from Taiwan.
>> Oh, they are. Oh how
exciting. Let me read a little
bit and then we'll do pictures
and we'll hear from you.
Whereas America has been
continually renewed and
enriched by the people from a
diverse background, each
bringing their unique heritage,
which over time becomes a part
of our common heritage. And
whereas Taiwanese Americans
have made indispensable
contributions to the diversity
and prosperity of American
society, and this week
recognizes the long standing
friendship between the United
States and Taiwan. And during
this special week, Taiwanese
Americans can embrace America's
diversity and celebrate our
shared traditions that make
America a great nation. Whereas,
this year's celebration
includes invited guests from
National Taiwan University of
Sport Dance Company who will
perform at the Winningstad
Theater in Portland tomorrow
night, May 19th, 730 to 9:00.
Now therefore, I Anne McEnerny
Ogle, Mayor of Vancouver,
Washington, do hereby proclaim
and recognize the week of May
10th through 16, 2026 as
Taiwanese American Heritage
Week in the City of Vancouver
and encourage all community
members to join in celebrating
the diverse character of our
community. And you probably
don't know this, but during our
Covid in May of oh my gosh,
2020, the Taiwanese Chamber of
Commerce brought us 15,000
masks so that we would have
them for that pandemic. So we
thank you so very much here.
>> Let's just councilors, if
you'll stand and join us, okay.
And kind of get together. Come
on in. Come on. Wow. Yeah.
You're just. Okay. Yes. Oh.
Yeah. No, we're fine, we're
fine. Thank you. Okay. Okay.
Thank you, thank you.
>> Yes.
>> On the microphone.
>> Oh, just a moment. There's a
microphone. And if you press
down on the little head. There
you go. Perfect.
>> Thank you to Mayor Anne for
continuing to recognize
Taiwanese American Heritage
Week. We feel truly included
and honored. My name is Stan
Lee, president of the Taiwanese
Association of Greater Portland,
a nonprofit all volunteer
organizations dedicated to
promoting Taiwanese culture and
strengthening our community
connections for our community.
This week is about both
heritage and values, sharing
our values, sharing our culture
while recognizing the value we
share with the United States.
Democracy and freedom. And
recently, the documentary
Invisible Nation, now featured
on PBS during Taiwanese
American Heritage Week, has
helped more people understand
Taiwan effort to safeguard its
democracy and freedom. Told
through the story of its first
female president. As Taiwanese
American in this area, we are
proud to call the Vancouver,
United States home. While
caring deeply about Taiwan, we
are grateful for the strong US
Taiwan Partnership and
continuing support for Taiwan's
self-defense have ensured peace
and stability in the region. To
celebrate this special week
locally, we invite you to join
us for OER Taiwan by National
Taiwan University of the sports
tomorrow at Winningstad Theater
in Portland, a performance that
showcases the richness and the
vibrancy of Taiwan's Taiwanese
culture through dance and story
telling. We are honored that
mayor will be attending. Thank
you. And we are also very
especially pleased to have this
performance from Taiwan with us
here tonight to witness this
meaningful moment. Thank you.
>> Good evening everyone. My
name is Angela Liao and I'm
currently a sophomore at
International School of
Beaverton. At the same time, I
serve as a president of Asca,
the Formosa Association of
Students Cultural Ambassadors.
Through this role, I have the
opportunity to work with other
Taiwanese youth living around
here, sharing our identities
and introducing Taiwanese
culture to others. It is an
honor to be here today for
Taiwanese American Heritage
Week, a celebration of identity,
culture and the stories that
continue to shape who we are. I
moved from Taiwan not too long
ago, and to be honest, I really
thought my English was going to
be fine until I realized very
quickly that it was absolutely
not. When I first got here, I
struggled a lot with adjusting
to school and life here, and I
often feel confused and
overwhelmed by simple things.
But at the same time, I was
really supported by teachers,
classmates, and people around
here who were patients and
willing to help me step by step.
Over time, I realized that
while adjusting to a new
language environment is
challenging, it has helped me
see myself from a different
perspective, and sometimes it
allows me to understand my own
culture and my identity better.
Maintenace, a Taiwanese
American to me is more like
caring parts of both identities
and seeing how they appear in
everyday life. I still think
culture was just something that
is part of my background, but
now I notice that culture and
identity show up in many
different ways. How people talk,
how I react to things, and even
things I never thought about
before. I also one receiving a
lot of support when I first
moved here, and now I've slowly
started to become someone who
can support others as well. It
made me realize that Taiwanese
American communities are built
through people supporting and
helping each other across
generations. When thinking
about Taiwanese American
contributions, people often
think of figures like Jason
Huang, the co-founder of Nvidia,
or Lisa Hsu, who is the CEO of
company AMD, who have both made
major impacts in technology and
leadership around the world.
Beyond that, what's also
meaningful to me are the
smaller, everyday things, such
as Taiwanese American students
teaching Mandarin to younger
kids, or sharing Taiwanese
culture to others who didn't
grow up with it, passing it on
to the next generation. It's
not always about something big
or visible, but together, those
moments are what keep culture
alive to me. Taiwanese American
Heritage Week is an opportunity
to remind reminder that it
isn't something only exist when
we look back on. It shows up in
our everyday lives in the way
we think, the way we connect
with others. It's not. It's not
about choosing one identity
over the other, but about
finding a way to live with both.
And I think that that's what
makes events like this
meaningful, not just
celebrating culture, but
continuing it, sharing it, and
allowing more people to
understand it through everyday
experiences and connections.
I'm really grateful to be part
of this community and even more
grateful to have this
opportunity to share a small
part of my story and what being
a Taiwanese American means to
me. Thank you for listening.
>> Thank you Angela. Nice job.
>> A major McNeale,
distinguished Council members
and a friend of Vancouver.
Thank you for this profound
honor. Taiwan and the United
States were not born from the
same soil, but we were forged
from the same spirit, a spirit
that believes freedom is worth
defending, that democracy is
worth nurturing, and that every
human being deserves dignity.
Taiwan is an island of Quiring
giants. We produce over 90% of
the world's most advanced
semiconductor, the most precise
machinery that actually making
all the fabric we wear every
day. Our Heflen behind these
are the craftsmanship in
Taiwanese people's mind that I
just want to share the best to
the world. And when the world
needed masks during the
pandemic, Taiwan sent a 1551
million of them to allies
without hesitation. It's not
just a transaction. It's not a
transaction. It's a great
gesture of solidarity and also
compassion and altruism. But
Taiwan's greatest export has
never been a product. It has
been its people, Taiwanese
American bring with them a
culture of deep craftsmanship,
where a bowl of noodles is made
with the same devotion devotion
as a microchip, a culture of
inclusion where diverse faiths,
languages, tradition share the
same table. A culture of
kindness where a stranger is
never truly a stranger. For
long. We share you. We share
your love of innovation. We
share your belief in the rule
of law, and we share your
conviction that the government
must answer to its people, not
the other way around. Vancouver
has always been a city that
opens its arms wide. Today we
are proud to call this
community home on behalf of all
Taiwanese Americans, thank you
for valuing our community. May
the friendship among we peoples
here together, we grow as
strong, as enduring as
mountains that watch over this
beautiful city. Thank you.
>> Thank you so very much. All
right. Let's move on to the two
keys, Heritage and Unity Day.
Tanya. I think I see oh yes, I.
Whereas the City of Vancouver
recognizes the rich cultural
heritage and invaluable
contributions of the two keys
community to the social,
economic and cultural fabric of
our diverse city. And whereas
it is essential to honor,
preserve and educate others
about the rich history and
cultural contributions of the
Chuukese people, the City of
Vancouver is committed to
fostering an inclusive,
equitable environment where all
individuals feel valued and
understood, and recognizing the
importance of solidarity and
support for all communities,
especially those that have
faced historical and systemic
barriers, align with our city's
broader goals of equity,
inclusion and social justice.
And whereas, today marks an
occasion to celebrate the
strength, resilience and
cultural heritage of the
Truckey community, now
therefore, I and McEnerny Ogle,
Mayor of Vancouver, Washington,
do hereby proclaim the 13th of
May as Chuukese Heritage and
Unity Day in the City of
Vancouver. Call upon the people
of Vancouver to join in this
celebration. Let us recognize,
honor and uplift the community
and their contributions,
fostering a community of mutual
respect, understanding and
unity.
>> Yay! Seven just come on!
Turn it over. Just.
>> Just wave. Do little bunny
ears about.
>> There you go. Oh! Skylee.
Trevaskis.
>> Phone photo first. Okay,
this is a video. So just like
act happy.
>> Ashpole.
>> Awesome. Thank you.
>> Brother.
>> Good evening mayor.
>> Good evening.
>> And City Council members on
behalf of Sakura, 39 years, our
church and community leaders
here with me today and our
Truckey community in Vancouver.
I want to extend our deepest
gratitude for presenting us
with the true heritage and
proclamation and unity
proclamation. This recognition
means more than words can
express. It is a powerful
acknowledgment of our ability
of the community, our culture,
our history, and the
contributions our people
continue to make here in
Vancouver and throughout the
Pacific Northwest. We are
honored that the city has taken
the time to celebrate unity,
diversity and cultural heritage.
Proclamations like this remind
our community that when
communities come together with
respect and understanding, we
become stronger together. To
you, city leaders, you council
members, all the people who
organized this proclamation and
everyone involved. Thank you
for seeing the value in our
people. Your support encourages
future generations to remain
proud of who they are, while
continuing to build bridges
across cultures. The Sakura 30
Niners team here are committed
committed to continuing the
spirit of unity through our
service leadership, fostering
our youth, our cultural pride,
and our community involvement.
We proudly accept this
proclamation not only for
ourselves but all of our
families, our elders, our youth
and supporters who have helped
us and keep our heritage alive.
Every day. We will be
celebrating this proclamation
in July with a track and field
day that brings together over
1200 Chuukese community members
in the Pacific Northwest.
Kaydee chapter. Thank you very
much for this incredible honor.
May we continue working
together in unity, respect, and
friendship for many years to
come. Thank you and Kinnee so.
Torppa.
>> Kutsar.
>> That track and field day is
absolutely wonderful. Danielle,
do you know if it'll be held at
Skyview or Columbia River?
>> It'll be in the Evergreen
School District.
>> Oh, okay. All right. We can
travel over that far. Thank you
so much. We have one more
proclamation this evening and
that is to Public Works. Is Rob
here with us? Hi, Rob.
>> Hello.
>> Whereas public works
professionals focus on
infrastructure, facilities and
services that are of vital
importance to sustainable and
resilient communities and to
the public health, high quality
of life and well-being of the
people of Vancouver. And
whereas, these services could
not be provided without the
dedicated efforts of public
works professionals who are
responsible for rebuilding,
improving and protecting our
nation's transportation, water
supply, water treatment and
solid waste systems, public
buildings, and other structures
and facilities essential for
our community. And whereas it
is in the public interest for
community members, civic
leaders and children in
Vancouver to understand the
importance of public works and
public works programs in their
respective communities. And
whereas, 2026 marks the 66th
annual National Public Works
Week, sponsored by the American
Public Works Association. Now,
therefore, I. Anne McEnerny
Ogle, Mayor of Vancouver,
Washington, do hereby proclaim
the week of May 17th through 23,
2026 as National Public Works
Week in the City of Vancouver
and call upon the people of
Vancouver to join in activities,
events and ceremonies designed
to pay tribute to our public
works professionals, engineers,
managers and employees, and to
recognize the substantial
contributions they make to
protecting our national health,
safety and advancing quality of
life for all. Okay, Rob, this
is yours.
>> So yeah, come on, everybody
else, please stand. Council
join in the public works, I
know. Are you sure you don't
want to? I'll be taking the
picture. Thank you. Mayor
Shannon told me to take a photo.
Oh, you're so kind to be able
to do that. I think we're good.
How nice. Look at all of you.
So nice up there. Okay. Thank
you. Yes. Thank you. Part of
the training? Yes.
>> Joining me. My name is Rob
Summerall. I'm a survey
specialist in the public works
department here at the City of
Vancouver. Thank you, mayor
Council people, for the
opportunity to accept the
proclamation for National
Public Works Week. It is an
honor to represent our
department and the work Public
Works staff do every day to
serve our community. Over the
past few years, you've heard
about several different public
work divisions during these
proclamations. Today, I would
like to highlight surveying.
I've worked in the survey as a
survey specialist for the city
for about four years, but I've
worked as a surveyor in the
Clark County Vancouver area for
over 30 years. I also teach at
Clark College, a surveying
engineering department, and I
have many students that now
hold jobs with the city, with
the county, with the state, and
many private survey companies
in the Pacific Northwest.
Surveying is one of those
professions that most people
don't think about. Honestly,
when I tell people what I do
for a living, they think I
still. And in the mall with a
clipboard and ask questions
that you don't want to answer.
But we do supply a critical
role in nearly every public
project before road is built.
Sidewalk improvements.
Utilities are installed. Survey
crews are often the first
people on site. They provide an
accurate information for
engineers and construction
teams to. To design and build
safely public works projects.
Surveying also makes sure
projects stay within the public
boundaries, comply with
regulations, and avoid costly
surprise overruns during
construction. Good survey data
can identify issues early,
whether it's drainage concerns,
underground utilities or
terrain changes which help both
or which save both time and
taxpayers dollars. It also
supports transparency in the
public trust. Survey
information and visualization
help communicate projects to
the community and demonstrate
how improvements will function
safely and responsible. And
once the construction is
complete, we return again to
make sure that the money was
well spent to make sure it was
a. It was built according to
plan and to support future
maintenance. National Public
Work Week is a great
opportunity to recognize the
many people working behind the
scenes to keep our cities
operating every day. I
appreciate the chance to
highlight the surveying
profession and the dedicated
public work employees to help.
Excuse me to help make these
projects possible. Thank you.
>> Thank you Rob.
>> Great job Rob. Very well
done. Thank you, mayor Council.
Good evening. I'm Steve Wall,
the public works director for
the city. I would want to just
first say it's an honor to be
up here and be recognized on
the same evening as the prior
two proclamations. It's a tough
act to follow. So thank you for
that recognition. But I wanted
to take a minute and say thank
you for the proclamation, but
also recognize and thank all of
the staff in public works,
their dedication and service in
supporting the community goes a
long way to continue to make
things run the way they do in
the city. And I know sometimes
there's good with that, and
sometimes there might be bad,
but we do what we can and we
support throughout. And though
not widely recognized, public
works members are first
responders, and staff is
available 24 over seven to make
sure that our infrastructure is
able to serve our residents and
our businesses. And I can say
that everybody takes pride in
that, whether they will tell
you that or not. I also thought
it was a great time to inform
Council of a recent recognition
that we received are some
members of our department, at
least the Pacific Northwest
section of the American Water
Works Association presented an
award to the City of Vancouver
at their recent conference. So
I'll just briefly state that
the award is for outstanding
leadership and support by an
organization. It's in
recognition of outstanding
support and leadership by
generously sharing our staff
expertise and consistently
providing professionalism,
cooperation and the advancement
of the goals of the American
Water Works Association. So
that was just recently
presented to staff. I just
would say that we have a caring,
devoted staff, and the
employees in Vancouver care
about our systems, and
personally, I'm proud to be
part of the Public Works
Department. And again, thank
you for the proclamation.
>> Thank you. Steve, before you
go, that particular award
sharing information, does that
mean that your staff would do a
workshop, for example, at a
state conference, and share the
knowledge that they had learned?
>> Yes, that would be a part of
it. And attending conferences
and providing, you know, the
expertise and knowledge of our
staff to share with others,
right? Other agencies and
services that maybe don't have
the same level of expertise or
resources that we have.
>> And what a great opportunity,
especially sharing that
information with, as you said,
our sister cities throughout
the state, whether we're
looking at PFAs in our water or
all of that. Thank you so much.
And please give the staff our
best. Thank you. Thank you.
That concludes our
proclamations. We're just going
to get down to the very awful,
boring stuff now. So if you
would like to stay, you're more
than welcome. But if you want
to go walk the waterfront and
enjoy the beautiful evening,
this would be a great time for
you to excuse yourselves. So
thank you so very much for
joining us this evening.
Council. This is be our
community communication. I do
not have any pre-registered
signups. I do not have any
yellow cards. Miss Dollar. Is
that accurate? So we'll go
ahead and close the
communications, bring it to the
consent agenda. Councilors,
would you like to pull any of
the items? You have five items
here. Item number two. Okay.
Any others? All right. I'll
entertain a motion to approve
items one, three, four and five.
Paulson. Seconded by Hansen.
All those in favor say aye. Aye.
Opposed? Motion passes. Thank
you very much. To be read in to
the record. An ordinance
amending Vancouver Municipal
Code, section 7.04.020.
Pedestrian interference. An
ordinance of the City of
Vancouver amending Vancouver
Municipal Code section 4.04.020.
Pedestrian interference
providing for severability and
setting an effective date. And
we have Aaron Lande online. Is
that correct? And we have
assistant city attorney with us,
and we have Tyler Chavers with
us. Anyone else? Tyler, are you
handling this all by your
lonesome?
>> I think that's the case.
>> All right. You can do it.
Okay, counselor Fox. Go ahead.
>> Sure. I pulled this item
because I received a few folks
that had fielded some questions
to me about this particular
amendment, and so I figured
others might have the same
question and the question. So
the change to the code for
those that might not be aware,
is that it adds a section to an
already existing section of
code, but it prohibits standing.
Sitting remains upon or
otherwise occupies a traffic
median, traffic island or
roadway divider. And it goes on.
But this this area is supposed
to not really be where
pedestrians are. And the
question that I have been
fielding are from folks that
are currently running for
office. I'm not running for
office, so I'll just really say
that. But they're confused
because they're thinking they
didn't know that they aren't
allowed to be in the medians,
installing campaign signs and
wondering if this would apply
to them, this, this change to
the law. And so I sent this off
to staff to weigh in. And just
to share a couple of back and
forths, we're basically showing
me our VMC, our, our municipal
code that clearly says that we
shouldn't be installing any
kind of signs in the medians.
And that's been a law for a
while. But then I also shared
materials that the Clark County
Elections Office gives to every
candidate, which is really
interesting because they put
together a whole packet for
candidates to try to make it
easy for them to understand all
the rules in every single city
where they might want to be
installing signs. And those
regulations appear to be in
conflict with our code, because
those regulations actually say
they can put up a sign in a
median, as long as it's not
obstructing vision clearance
areas, and that it's removed
timely after an election. So
with all of that premise, I'm
wondering how staff could
address perhaps two things. One
is how do how are we enforcing
our own rule about signage,
even temporary signage being
put up in a median? And
secondly, maybe we should also
be addressing what the Clark
County Elections Office
distributes, because they are
actually getting it straight
from the city of Vancouver. So
two questions.
>> Wow. I'm not sure that was
the intent of this, nor if
Tyler Chavers has that answer.
Nina.
>> I told you I was going to
put you on the spot. Nina.
>> I could generally speak to
enforcement of city code. So
our city code enjoys the
ability to either not in every
single case, but throughout the
code either enforce via civil
penalty. So citations to
property owners or the persons
who are actually engaged in the
prohibited behaviors. And those
fines can add up or much of the
code is also covered where it
can be enforced criminally. I
think it's titled 22. It's been
a while. In any case. So if
code enforcement would need to
ask for a police officer to
help them out or whatever, then
that can happen for enforcement.
It's been a long time. I think
it was 2008, nine, ten ish.
Drew Russell was a neighbor
police officer in district one,
and myself and some others
helped him at times with
removing signs as part of his
duties, as he kind of explored
some of the complaints about
the. They were really sandwich
boards, like blocking sidewalks.
It wasn't so much median signs,
although he would remove them
from the medians as well,
because that's how the code
read and contact either the
printers or often the the the
person whose name was on it
like, hey, we have your signs
and you're welcome to come and
collect them, but please don't
place them where they're not
supposed to be. There's plenty
of places to place them where
they can be. So that's
generally how the code has been
at least historically enforced.
This ordinance was more for
person safety because of the
location than it was about
behavior, had nothing to do
with whether or not somebody
was engaged in any special
behavior, like planting a sign
in a median versus just
occupying that space and being
in a place that was unsafe
because of motorist traffic.
>> And is this occupying of the
median more of something like
that occurs over a certain
period of time? Is that more of
the concern or is it just any
occupation? If you're concerned,
a concerned resident of the
area and you see someone just
kind of standing in the middle
of the median or doing some
maybe behavior that's
distracting to drivers or
something, is that is there a
time limit in that we're
concerned about?
>> I would say it's implied.
It's not specific. It's not
written into the statute. But
to sit, stand or lie would take
some time. It wouldn't happen
in an instant. The rest of
title seven, where it comes to
like blocking of a sidewalk,
actually requires an officer to
give warning so that somebody
can then come into compliance
with the code without
enforcement. So much like
trespassing, where someone's
been given notice and then
refuses to leave the area where
they're trespassing, the word
remains is the legal word that,
you know, they've they have had
a warning. They've now remained
in that space. They've refused
to comply at that point.
They're subject to arrest,
whether by citation or physical
arrest. I would imagine on a
low level misdemeanor, you know,
such as this in the city code,
officers would likely use their
discretion, and ultimately it
would be the people who are
frequent violators who are
known to have already been
warned that that's the city
code. They're not supposed to
be in that space. That would
more than likely, those would
be the folks that would end up
having some sort of appropriate
enforcement, if, if any. But.
As of right now, with the gap
in the state law and city code
doesn't prohibit occupation for
any reason of these spaces that
are unsafe, officers don't
actually have any kind of legal
standing to even suggest
anything other than just a
social contact, you know, with
folks that they should move.
And if they don't, there's no
recourse other than to leave
them there. It's been proven to
be dangerous for both motorists
and pedestrians. So that was
the intent for this one.
>> Nina, you want to add to
this?
>> Thank you mayor. As it
relates to the current VMC. So
not the ordinance that's before
council. Mr. Chavers is correct.
There's two laws currently on
the books that prohibit signs.
That's VMC 20.960 .030 sub J,
which does not allow signs in
the public right of way and 090
E six, which specifically
states that no portable sign
should be placed on traffic
islands, medians or circles. So
currently on the books, we have
two laws that would prohibit
campaign signs in the median.
But getting to pro tem mayor
pro Tem Fox's comment. It is
true that Clark County
Elections office. Hands out or
prepares a guidebook for those
who are running for office that,
as she says, allows campaign
signs in these very areas as
long as they're taken down
within a certain number of days
and they don't block vision. So
that provision and the Clark
County Elections Guide book
directly contradicts the
current laws we have on the
books. And what I would say is
the guidebook is just that it's
a guidebook. And in the preface
to the guidebook, it has a
disclaimer that says this guide
should be used in conjunction
with state and local laws, not
in place of them. So while
super confusing and I'm sure
candidates rely on the
guidebook, it's good and I
appreciate the mayor pro tem
comment that we have a few of
our council members who are
running for office. We
currently have laws on our
books that would prohibit signs
in these areas. So that's
what's already there. What's
before you tonight or actually
what's first reading. And next
time would be the public
hearing is, as Mr. Chavers said,
closing this loop in state law.
And there is a question, I
guess if somebody just runs up
there and places a sign and
runs down, the whole point of
this provision in this
ordinance is because that's
dangerous activity. But I would
say that the language of the
ordinance includes standing or
remaining upon. So even if
somebody raises a cross, puts
their campaign sign and then
leaves, they're still standing.
So I think Mr. Chavis is a
former officer is correct.
There would be a warning, a
request not to do that again.
And the officer would use his
or her discretion as it relates
to this new law. Thank you.
>> Additional questions or
comments? Yes, councilor.
>> Thank you. Mayor and I
brought this up.
>> I'm sorry, councilor.
>> Council Member Stover, I had
raised this as an issue when we
had our workshop on this and
just wanted to make sure there
was clarity through this
process. So it sounds like
there is and there still isn't
good clarity here. And so I
guess I would ask. And
generally, I think what I'm
hearing is no. But if if
somehow that could be made more
clear, more definitive in its
statement, I think that would
be helpful.
>> It's just. Thank you mayor.
Thank you. Council member
Stover, this is Nina Cooke,
city attorney. The answer is no.
Currently on the books. The
answer is clearly no in at
least two places. No. The only
thing that is unclear is the
Clark County Elections
guidebook, which I would be
happy to contact the elections
office and have a discussion
with the folks in charge. Thank
you.
>> Please do. Thank you. Nina,
any other questions or comments?
Oh yes. Councilor. Go. Yes,
Diana. Councilor Perez, go
ahead.
>> Yes. Thank you. Just to, you
know, to go back to the intent
of this, and it would be good
to see some actual data
included in here. There's no
there's no data to show the,
the safety aspect of this. And
then the, the question for Nina,
our city attorney, is whether
she has reviewed the language
to see whether it's
appropriately scoped to its
intent or does it sleep in
people who have no other
reasonable alternative? For
example, a motorist with a car
that's broken down and they
need to go to the median, or a
cyclist for safety reasons, or
a utility worker or such.
>> And I think Mr. Chavers did
provide. Sorry. This is Nina
Cooke, city attorney. I think,
Tyler, you'll correct me. You
provided some data last time
you were here at a workshop
with statistics for people who
had been injured or killed in
the state of Washington.
>> I didn't see it in the
ordinance or in the documents.
And I and I I'm sorry I was
absent at the last.
>> Apologize. No, I did not
include in the staff report the
specific numbers, and I would
be going off the top of my head.
But I do know that the state
said that Clark County. So I
know that that's more than just
the city of Vancouver, but the
bulk of the pedestrian or
bicycle collisions happen
within the city limits. In 2024.
If I remember, there was a an
all time high of 17, either
serious injury, and that's
defined by law. So it was
either serious injury or
fatality. This particular
ordinance was actually born out
of the Vancouver Police
Department investigating a
fatality in one of these spaces
in 2021. And in realizing as
part of that investigation that
there was no clear state
prohibition or city ordinance
prohibiting for people being in
spaces that they would have to
commit a violation to get to by
common term would be jaywalking,
running cross traffic, because
these are areas where they're
not supposed to be pedestrian
or bicycling. Clearly, there
would be exceptions for
emergent circumstances like any
other law. That's that's law
enforcement discretion is
understanding that if it's a
broken down car motorist, I
believe the code rest of the
code actually talks about
otherwise directed by a police
officer or in an effort to
leave an area or something like
that. So again, this is more
intended for those who go to
those spaces, who shouldn't be
in those spaces and remain and
stay in those spaces, even
after being asked not to be in
them because they're posing a
danger. And last, I would say
that besides the Vancouver
Police Department in 2021, it
was in 2022. So not long later
that separately or
independently was our public
works department who actually
brought this issue to the
police department and said that
there were workers were having
issues because people were
standing in the medians. And
when they were closing down
lanes of travel on multiple
lane roads, that if somebody
was standing in that median
traffic approaching, that
person would naturally want to
move away from them into or
towards the workers who are out
there flagging or otherwise
working. And so they brought it
to the police department and
said, look, we can we do about
having people vacate these
areas. They're not creating
this, you know, issue for the
road crews. So it was an
interesting take that. Once
again, the department looked
into what pedestrian rules
apply in. Almost all of them
have to do with being alongside
of a road, essentially where a
sidewalk or curb would be, or
crossing a road, but not
stopping in that median space.
So once you got there, it was
sort of like home free. And
then law enforcement didn't
have anything on the books that
they could actually utilize to
ask those folks to vacate that
area. All right.
>> And my follow up to that,
you know, the data is important
because. You know, the
justification of the safety
record, does it is it really a
reflection of a dangerous road
design rather than, you know,
the the pedestrian behavior? So
that was just one quick follow
up question. If that assessment
has been made for those sites.
>> Yeah, that would be outside
of my purview.
>> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Any
other comments? I have a motion
from Hanson, seconded by
Paulson. Motion to approve.
Seconded. Any other comments?
All those in favor say I
opposed motion passes. We'll
see you in June. On June 1st to
do this all over again. Thank
you Tyler. All right. That
concludes our business. Now
move into communications from
the council councilor Harless.
>> Yeah, I was just I was
looking through those codes for
the signs. And Nina, if you
could bring up 20.960 .020 B,
it says it is not intended for
this chapter to regulate public
sector. Citing political
campaign signs. Dot dot dot dot
dot.
>> I'm sorry.
>> 20.960 .020. It says it's
the scope section. That's the
same chapter we were talking
about. Right. Okay.
>> Can I review that and get
back to council? Yeah. Thank
you.
>> Thanks.
>> Okay. Any other comments,
counselor sober counselor.
Hansen. Councilor Paulson,
councilor Paulson, welcome back
from your trip, Counselor Fox.
Quick note, thank you to the
big rotary group that did a
cleanup in West Vancouver this
last weekend. And next Monday.
We will not be here because we
will be on Memorial Day holiday
serving a thousand hot dogs at
the parade grounds. So bring
your apron and join us at 11:00
to do all of that. And then
when we do come back together,
it'll be upstairs. June 1st
will be up in the council
chambers. So thank you to the
staff for setting this up every
Monday for quite some time. And
all the cameras and the whole
kit and caboodle. Sarah, thank
you for leading all the charge
on all of that. City manager
communications.
>> Nothing tonight, mayor.
>> Okay. Diana, did you have
anything? No. Okay. Nina.
Anything?
>> Nothing, mayor. Thank you.
>> Okay, so we'll close the
communications. What we'll do
is go into community forum
testimony, and then we'll come
back in because we have a
transportation benefit district
meeting after community forum.
So for community forum, we
don't we turn off the cameras
for CVTV. We tape it for public
records and such. But let's go
ahead and turn off the cameras