Title
Letter of Support for a Technical Assistance Grant to Update the Comprehensive Plan
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Approve the Chair of the HRB to sign the letter of support
BACKGROUND:
The Oregon City Comprehensive Plan identifies our community values and vision for the future. The plan identifies goals and policies to shape the growth and development of Oregon City through a collective process. The topics discussed in the Comprehensive Plan include:
• Citizen Involvement
• Land Use
• Agricultural Lands
• Forest Lands
• Open Spaces, Scenic & Historic Areas, & Natural Resources
• Quality of Air, Water, & Land Resources
• Natural Resources
• Parks and Recreation
• Economic Development
• Housing
• Public Facilities
• Transportation
• Energy Conservation
• Willamette River Greenway
The Comprehensive Plan goals and policies play an important role in city decisions. It is not an ordinance or a set of rules, it is instead a guide for the City to move in the direction the people want. Zone Changes, Conditional Use reviews, work programs, and larger policies must all show compliance with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
The City Commission adopted goals for the 2019-2021 biennium which includes identification of grant opportunities and initiation of an update to the Oregon City Comprehensive Plan. The existing Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2004. It is time to work together to implement a community vision for the next 20 years which is representative of all of our community members and implements state and regional requirements.
We anticipate using two separate grant sources: a Transportation and Growth Management Program (TGM) grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation as well as a Technical Assistance (TA) Grant from the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The TGM grant has been awarded to fund a portion of the public engagement as well as the Transportation and Land Use components. The remaining work is anticipated to be funded through this TA grant.
Though the funding and management of the project will require care to manage two separate funding sources, the project itself is anticipated to be presented as a single project to the public. The general project approach would begin with educational opportunities followed by a robust effort to listen to the community about their vision for the future. The public vision will then be compared to the existing Comprehensive Plan and amended as needed. Note that the approach may change as we move through the grant application process.