Washington County staff recommend pause to CPO/CCI modernization after public engagement found concerns over leadership, boundaries

Washington County staff told the Board of Commissioners on March 11 that extensive public outreach on a proposed modernization of the county's Community Planning Organizations (CPOs) and the Committee on Citizen Involvement (CCI) produced both areas of broad agreement and strong concerns, and staff recommended pausing the modernization work until late summer or early fall to allow more engagement and to refill key community-engagement positions.

The pause is intended to give the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement time to rehire key staff and to provide more public education on proposed changes before drafting new rules and a revised resolution or order. "We would like to pause the modernization part of this project," said Alicia Sojourner, a county staff member leading the engagement effort.

The recommendation matters because the proposed changes touch how CPOs and the CCI operate as advisory bodies for land-use and transportation planning in unincorporated parts of Washington County. Staff framed the modernization around five elements: update outdated language in the county's 1986 resolution/order that created the program; refocus the program on land-use and transportation planning in unincorporated areas; change…