Sherwood City Council Recap | October 21
City approves tree removal for crosswalk safety project
City approves tree removal for crosswalk safety project
SHERWOOD, Ore. — The Sherwood City Council met Tuesday, Oct. 21 for its regularly scheduled meeting. There was no public comment.
Mayor Tim Rosener, Council President Kim Young, and Councilors Keith Mays, Dan Standke, Taylor Giles and Renee Brouse were present. Councilor Doug Scott was absent.
In a preliminary work session, the council discussed the elementary school crossing assessment study, raising the transient lodging tax from 3% to 6%, an update on the charter amendment, and a memorial dedication for former councilor Linda Henderson, who passed away in May.
Work Session
For the memorial, the city council considered dedicating the Stella Olsen Memorial Park amphitheater or the Sherwood Center for the Arts building, among other park shelters or art installations, and planned to talk further with community stakeholders before finalizing a decision.
The transient lodging tax is a tax on short-term stays such as hotels and campsites. It currently generates an estimated $160,000 per year for Sherwood, but a 3% increase would generate $320,000 from people staying at hotels, according to city staff. Staff presented five options ranging from the current 3% rate up to what a 7% rate would look like. The county retains 2.5% of the income from the taxes.
Sherwood’s rate of 3% is among the lowest in Oregon, and the statewide average is 7.7%, staff said. Washington County rates range from 2.5% in Tigard, Tualatin, and Forest Grove to 4% in Beaverton, while coastal cities range between 9-12%. Nearby Newberg and Dundee have rates of 9%, and Portland and Lake Oswego have 6% rates.
Council plans to further explore what that tourism tax money can be spent on, which staff said could be signage and facades for Old Town, or attracting different types of business mixes in downtown.
About 30% of the funds generated is required by the state to go to the city’s general fund for things like transportation infrastructure, libraries, and parks, and the other 70% goes toward tourism promotions and related facilities. According to city staff, in Sherwood about 30% goes to the general fund, 33% goes to the Arts Fund, and 66% goes to the economic development and promotion fund.
As for the charter amendment, land use attorney Carrie Richter said Oregon is historically a strong home rule state (giving self-governance to local municipalities) due to constitutional protections, but there can be confusion in the courts about where the home rule boundaries lie related to state implementation of law. She worked with Ryan Adams, city attorney, and Eric Rutledge, community development director, to put together a packet of charter amendments intended to protect the land use citizen involvement procedures in Sherwood that currently already exist in the city code.
“We were very deliberate in the language about making clear that we’re not proclaiming new procedures, we are just enshrining the procedures that the city already has as a means to protect them from state preemption taking them away,” Richter said.
This is intended to preserve the ability of city council and citizens to have the most say possible. This comes after decisions from Salem that would reduce land use decisions to staff-only decisions, but as a small town Sherwood wants their citizens to be able to weigh in.
Other cities let their staff make decisions, with only a sign 100 feet away to let the public know about projects and where to comment. Sherwood staff adjusted charter language to draft language to support public participation and enshrine meaningful citizen participation in land use decisions in Sherwood’s law.
Sherwood already does this, but council and staff want charter language to keep that clear in case state law ever tries to preempt that authority. Staff and council talked about bringing this to voters in January.
Watch the full work session here.
Action Items
In other news Tuesday, the council appointed Joshua Gaylord to the Sherwood Parks & Recreation Advisory Board position 3. The vacancy is due to a former member moving out of town, and the position is slated to expire June 2026.
The council also approved a construction contract amendment with Sherwood-based construction company Brown Contracting to create a safety crosswalk at Southwest Sunset Boulevard and Timbrel Lane.
The amendment adds change orders due to conditions and delays that include removing at least two trees to increase visibility. An ecologist is scheduled to check for nests and habitats before tree removal.
The original contract amount of $400,000 comes from the general fund and includes a 15% contingency, which was approved in June. City staff has already agreed to negotiate a further $165,330 in charge orders. Now, the city council authorized an additional $25,000 in contingency funds for the contract change orders for the new tree removals in case it is needed.
The project that began in August includes a pedestrian signal, ADA curb ramps, crosswalk realignment, school and speed feedback signs, a pedestrian hybrid beacon, and enhanced street lighting. It is now slated for completion in February 2026, pushed back from a December completion date.
Watch the full City Council meeting here.
Bibliography
Agenda Packet: https://www.sherwoodoregon.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/00-10.21.2025-City-Council-Packet-AMENDED.pdf
Sunset-Timbrel Work Change Directive: https://www.sherwoodoregon.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/sunset-timbrel_-_work_change_directive_1_-_trees.pdf
