Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Appointments Design Commission topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee refers two Design Commission nominees to full council
Summary
The committee heard presentations for two Design Commission candidates — Tommy Solomon and Hanifa Abiato — and referred their appointments to full council after questioning about design review reforms and candidates' willingness to engage in the ongoing reform work.
Portland Permitting and Development returned to the committee April 15 to present two nominees to the Design Commission and request referral to full council.
Eric Kooch introduced the candidates and Tim Herron, the design commission liaison, explained the commission’s role in urban design, architecture and design-overlay decisions. Tommy Solomon and Hanifa Abiato each spoke briefly about their backgrounds in landscape architecture, public art, and community-centered design.
Councilors pressed candidates about their willingness to engage with current design-review reforms. Hanifa Abiato said she sees the commission’s work as a way to “build a city that allows for these voices to come through,” calling her approach collaborative and fix-oriented. Tommy Solomon described his practice-based experience with design review processes.
Councilor Zimmerman and others praised the candidates’ perspectives and affirmed the commission’s role in ongoing reform. With no public testimony signed up, council deliberated and then moved to refer report document 2026-138 to the full council with a recommendation to accept the appointments. The clerk called the roll; the committee recorded 12 yes votes and referred the nominations to city council for final confirmation.
Next steps: The referral sends the two nominees to the full council for confirmation.
