Ashland City Council - August 18, 2026

The Ashland City Council held a business meeting on August 18, 2026, focusing extensively on housing policy amendments, utility fee ordinances, and capital improvement projects. Key procurement-related discussions included approval of a contract amendment with Knife River Materials for the Ashland Municipal Airport Pavement Rehabilitation project, adding $394,000 due to unforeseen subsurface conditions, funded in part by wastewater utility fees. The council also approved resolutions for property line adjustments and an alternative procedure for sale of city-owned real property, aimed at streamlining disposals of small or constrained parcels. Significant deliberations occurred on land use code amendments to comply with recent state housing legislation, including streamlining residential development reviews and expanding housing types like single room occupancies. The council voted to approve first reading of Ordinance 3307, which implements these changes, including removing certain language related to shared facilities in SRO units. Discussions on utility fees focused on the parks fee, with debate over removing its sunset clause to maintain funding for parks services amid budget shortfalls. The council directed staff to return with a resolution removing the sunset date and to initiate a public engagement process on the fee. Additionally, councilors Dale and Shur volunteered to draft proposed land use ordinance amendments rapidly to address housing needs, with staff cautioning about workload impacts. The meeting also included public testimony on various topics and concluded with motions to suspend meeting rules to allow extended discussion on urgent housing code amendments.