Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Application Process topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee members press for clearer risk definitions and streamlined applications
Summary
Members urged OWEB to define risk more precisely and to simplify the land acquisition application to the minimum materials needed to evaluate and rank projects; one member recommended a three‑item risk grid: likelihood, severity and impact.
Several board members told staff that the program's application and review process feels overly burdensome for applicants and recommended clearer evaluation criteria to streamline decisionmaking. Mark Webb said he is "frustrated that we continue to talk about risk, and we haven't defined it," and asked whether the panel could distill risk into specific dimensions.
Bruce Buckmaster proposed a simple assessment tool based on three items — "likelihood, severity, and impact" — that could guide the board's decisions and be matched to evaluation criteria in administrative rule. Multiple members suggested fast‑tracking accredited land trusts so organizations with demonstrated capacity could move more quickly through the process while less experienced applicants receive more support.
