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Metro launches update of 50‑year Future Vision; commission appointed, public engagement planned
Summary
Metro has begun a multi‑year effort to update its 50‑year Future Vision, appointing a Future Vision Commission and planning broad public outreach and an implementation planning phase. The commission will guide vision development; Metro expects public engagement in 2026 and a move toward implementation thereafter.
Metro staff on July 14 briefed the Washington County Coordinating Committee on a new process to update the agency’s 50‑year Future Vision, the long‑range conceptual outlook the Metro charter directs the agency to produce.
Jess Deeb, principal regional planner and Metro’s project manager for the effort, said the existing Future Vision dates to 1995 and that the new process will be a visioning exercise rather than a regulatory rewrite. The charter requires a future‑looking document on a 50‑year horizon; staff told the committee they plan a parallel short‑term implementation plan to set actions in five‑ to ten‑year timeframes that could later feed into updates to the 2040 Growth Concept.
Metro Council has appointed a Future Vision Commission that will convene to consider research and public input. The council asked the commission to address topics including creativity and innovation, economic prosperity, resiliency, thriving places and equity. Deeb said the agency anticipates a research phase in late 2025, a broad public values process in early 2026, commission deliberations and a public draft later in 2026, and possible adoption in late 2026 or early 2027, followed by implementation planning.
Committee members asked whether the 2040 Growth Concept “worked” and urged Metro to analyze lessons learned from earlier regional planning and to engage the business community, major employers and tribal partners. Deeb said Metro plans to engage the private sector, philanthropy and tribes; Metro also added a tribal consultation requirement and recently appointed an additional commission member with indigenous community ties.
Deeb said Metro is contracting for equity analysis and expects the commission to meet publicly and to solicit broad input across the region during 2026.
