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 Staff framed the modernization around five elements: update outdated language in the county's 1986 resolution/order that created the program; refocus the program on land-use and transportation planning in unincorporated areas;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 how CCI leadership is selected to align with other county boards and commissions; clarify program requirements so CPOs and the CCI comply with the public meetings law, public records law and ethics rules; and revise CPO boundaries to align with commissioner districts.

Staff said outreach included an online survey (203 responses), five presentations to CPOs and the CCI between September and December, an in-person listening session and a virtual listening session. The survey and meetings showed support for modernizing language and clarifying rules, but mixed responses on leadership selection and boundary changes. On leadership, staff recommended moving to an approach where the board appoints members to the CCI, which in turn would serve as the hub for individual CPO leadership. That element drew objections from multiple community participants who said they valued the independence of local CPOs and did not want the board to pick local leaders.

Staff also proposed limiting CPOs to no fewer than one and no more than three per commissioner district, and adjusting CPO boundaries automatically with commissioner-district redistricting under the county charter. The goal of the boundary recommendation is to reduce confusion about which CPOs align with which commissioner districts and to match staff support capacity.

Commissioners pressed staff for more outreach and clarity. Chair Catherine Harrington said she was comfortable delaying the modernization to allow staffing and engagement work, but also urged that legislative changes be completed within the calendar year: "I don't have a problem with adjusting to the realities of where we're at, but I think we need to get this done, get all the legislative changes before the end of this calendar year," Harrington said.

Several commissioners emphasized the urban-versus-rural interface as a key political and technical issue. Commissioner Nafee Safai and Commissioner Jason Snyder both warned that dividing urban and rural areas into separate CPOs could complicate work in interface zones such as Bull Mountain and Tile Flat Road, where land-use pressures and service boundaries overlap. Commissioners asked staff to analyze unintended consequences, including access and transportation barriers if CPOs are combined or redrawn.

Commissioner Jerry Willie asked staff to provide specific budget figures on what the county spends on CPO meetings and related costs ahead of upcoming budget decisions. Staff reminded the board that proposed budget materials will be available starting April 28.

Staff described the next step as deliberate: pause the drafting of a revised resolution/order until late summer or early fall, continue CPO and CCI activity in the meantime, and return with more education and a first draft after additional outreach and after key hires are made. There was no formal vote or ordinance introduced during the session; commissioners provided direction and questions for staff to address before returning with draft legislation.

Washington County staff said the modernization seeks to strengthen the program's focus on the county's role in Goal 1 citizen involvement under Oregon land-use planning rules and to bring procedural alignment with how the board handles other advisory bodies. Staff stressed the changes would not eliminate local CPO identity but would require more public education to explain proposed governance changes and to address concerns raised during outreach.

The County will return to the board with next steps after the pause period and the rehiring of community engagement staff, and staff expects to resume drafting the revised resolution/order in late summer or early fall, with the goal of finishing legislative changes by the end of the calendar year.