Bend, Morrow County, Washington County win 2024 land use planning awards
4 min read
from Sadie Carney, Department of Land Conservation and Development
SALEM – The state’s Community Involvement Advisory Committee (CIAC) recognized Bend, Morrow County, and Washington County for land use planning projects supporting and expanding best practices in community engagement.
Bend
Bend won the 2024 Achievement in Community Engagement (ACE) Most Outstanding Project award for Large Jurisdictions for the city’s Climate Friendly Area designation.
This city-led project went above and beyond the requirements of the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities rules in engaging the public about Climate Friendly Area designation. In response to the need to engage vulnerable communities, the project team focused on language-specific events, translated materials, and offered stipends, childcare and food at certain events.
The project team invested in personal outreach during the process. The City of Bend invested in significant time in coordinating with the local community college Latino Leadership program and with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, the latter resulting in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the tribe and promise of continued engagement.
Morrow County
Morrow County won this year’s Most Outstanding Project award for Small Jurisdictions for their Rural Transit Equity Initiative.
To better engage the significant Latino and Spanish-speaking population in Morrow County in transit use, the county partnered with two regional community-based organizations, Rural Engagement and Vitality and Euvalcree, who already had relationships with the community they were seeking to engage.
Morrow County nominated these CBOs for recognition with an ACE Award. Their successful outreach began with a survey designed and analyzed by a professor and students at Eastern Oregon University. One-on-one engagement is a feature of this deep community work. Morrow County is planning to update their Goal 1 plan to better implement the recommendations that came of this project.
Washington County
Washington County, Oregon received a Project of Special Significance award for their Council Creek Regional Trail project.
This shared community vision grew from the Council Creek Regional Trail Master Plan (2015). With a consultant team, Washington County undertook this multi-jurisdictional engagement project with almost 40 community-based organizations involved. Demographics analysis and targeted outreach led to successful engagement of many under-represented and difficult-to-reach populations. The project team found that meeting communities where they already are and focusing on cultural events had a positive impact on their process.
About the ACE Award
“This year’s ACE Award applications inspired the committee to appreciate community engagement at different scales,” said CIAC Chair Leah Rausch, senior planner for the city of Eugene. “We learned about projects led by large and small jurisdictions, and the different challenges and possibilities for each. Innovative community engagement efforts are being made in all corners of Oregon, regardless of community density or size, to educate, engage, and build trust in our communities. Every project we learned about is worth celebrating. By sharing and celebrating this work, we hope to elevate the importance of impactful and achievable community engagement that captures community voice and spirit in land use projects.”
The ACE Award recognizes organizations and individuals who have actively promoted and implemented the values of Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goal 1 through an outstanding community engagement strategy. All projects recognized with an ACE Award make innovative use of resources, build partnerships across and throughout the community, and intentionally engage historically marginalized and underserved communities.
The Land Conservation and Development Commission has committed to uplifting and celebrating the values of Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goal 1 for equitable community engagement through the ACE Awards and other activities. The tenets of the ACE Award support the commission’s commitment to the ongoing improvement of community engagement throughout Oregon.
Oregon’s statewide land use planning program — originated in 1973 under Senate Bill 100 — protects farm and forest lands, conserves natural resources, promotes livable communities, facilitates orderly and efficient development, helps coordination among local governments, and enables citizen involvement.
The program affords all Oregonians predictability and sustainability to the development process by allocating land for industrial, commercial and housing development, as well as transportation and agriculture.
The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) administers the program. A seven-member volunteer citizen board known as the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) guides DLCD.
Under the program, all cities and counties have adopted comprehensive plans that meet mandatory state standards. The standards are 19 Statewide Planning Goals that deal with land use, development, housing, transportation, and conservation of natural resources:
- Goal 1 Citizen Involvement
- Goal 2 Land Use Planning
- Goal 3 Agricultural Lands
- Goal 4 Forest Lands
- Goal 5 Natural Resources, Scenic and Historic Areas, and Open Spaces
- Goal 6 Air, Water and Land Resources Quality
- Goal 7 Areas Subject to Natural Hazards
- Goal 8 Recreational Needs
- Goal 9 Economic Development
- Goal 10 Housing
- Goal 11 Public Facilities and Services
- Goal 12 Transportation
- Goal 13 Energy Conservation
- Goal 14 Urbanization
- Goal 15 Willamette River Greenway
- Goal 16 Estuarine Resources
- Goal 17 Coastal Shorelands
- Goal 18 Beaches and Dunes
- Goal 19 Ocean Resources
Periodic review of plans and technical assistance in the form of grants to local jurisdictions are key elements of the program.
