Yeah, make sure they're infrequent and on no regular schedule so that you won't even know they're happening unless you pay super close attention! Super helpful!

Let them eat cake.

Oh, I should point out that all of the morning sessions on those same days have been packed--and this time I don't mean that ironically.

Gotta love that Portland City Council. Don't quit your day jobs, fellas.

Scott,

I'd be interested to see what kind of agenda items compelled them actually to hold the evening meetings.

Way to ask these questions!

Wow, Skinny City Girl--I thought about listing those agendas after the jump, but figured no one besides me (and Amanda Fritz, maybe) would be geeky enough to care. But since you asked...

You'll see that it's a mixture of land-use cases (in which council has to convene as the land-use body) and more outreach-y type things:

WEDNESDAY, 6:00 PM, FEBRUARY 21, 2007

THOSE PRESENT WERE: Mayor Potter, Presiding; Commissioners Adams, Leonard, Saltzman and Sten, 5.

165 TIME CERTAIN: 6:00 PM - Appeal of Northwest District Neighborhood Association against the Landmark Commission decision to approve the application of William De Bellis, Donald Singer, Singer Thurman LLC, GFV Enterprises LLC and 2311-2317 NW Irving Street LLC for the Irving Street Parking Garage at 2311-2317 NW Irving Street (Hearing; LU 06-132367 HDZM)

Motion to uphold appeal and reverse Portland Historic Landmarks Commission decision: Moved by Commissioner Adams and seconded by Commissioner Sten.

(Y-3; N-2, Leonard and Saltzman)

WEDNESDAY, 6:00 PM, NOVEMBER 15, 2006

THOSE PRESENT WERE: Mayor Potter, Presiding; Commissioners Adams, Leonard, and Sten, 4.

1537 TIME CERTAIN: 6:00 PM – Improve land use regulations through the Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package 2 (Ordinance introduced by Mayor Potter; amend Title 33)

WEDNESDAY, 6:00 PM, OCTOBER 18, 2006

THOSE PRESENT WERE: Mayor Potter, Presiding; Commissioners Adams, Leonard, Saltzman and Sten, 5.

1408 TIME CERTAIN: 6:00 PM - Declare support for a project to create a City of Portland human relations commission (Resolution introduced by Mayor Potter and Commissioners Leonard and Saltzman)
(Y-5)

1409 TIME CERTAIN: 6:30 PM – Commit to the inclusion of immigrants and refugees in civic and public life (Resolution introduced by Mayor Potter and Commissioners Adams, Leonard, Saltzman and Sten)
(Y-5)

WEDNESDAY, 6:00 PM, AUGUST 16, 2006

1104 TIME CERTAIN: 6:00 PM – Adopt Our Bill of Rights, Children and Youth (Resolution introduced by Mayor Potter)

Oh, and there WAS an evening session last July--I hadn't gone back that far. So, technically, there have been five since last July, but only on in 2007.

WEDNESDAY, 6:00 PM, JULY 19, 2006

NOTE CHANGE IN LOCATION: to be held in the Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Ave, 2nd Floor Auditorium

993 Accept Planning Commission recommendations and provide the Planning Bureau policy direction regarding the future land uses of the Linnton waterfront area and other implementation actions to be considered through a follow-up legislative process (Report introduced by Mayor Potter)

That one went well.

I take back the thing I said about council having to reconvene as the land-use board--those are all land-use policy items, not land-use hearings.

Wow, that's really nerdy.

Even if they are land use hearings, I don't think the Council has to convene as something different. The Council has the authority to hear those cases, so they just do it - they just have to follow slightly different rules, which are announced at the beginning of the hearing. They often do the land use cases on Thursday afternoons. I don't think they officially convene as the land-use hearing body the way they stop and convene as the Budget Committee. Or do they? I've attended numerous land use hearings at Council over the last 16 years, but I guess I don't pay much attention to the preliminary blah blah blah.

Yeah, I should know the answer to that question, but I normally show up late to and leave early from land use hearings, so I don't catch the gavel-banging.