Chapter News

The Student Achievement in Planning Award was conferred to the team from University of Oregon for their project "What's Up Downtown? A Playbook for Activating Oregon's Upper Stories." The project looked at how existing buildings can provide a cost-effective and environmentally sound solution for needed housing, co-office space, and other facilities in Oregon's historic downtowns. 

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Former Metro Councilor Bob Stacey passed away on September 8th. Bob was a tireless advocate for planning efforts around the State of Oregon. OAPA sends condolences to Bob's family, friends, and colleagues. 

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In order to better respond and engage with the Oregon Planning Community during the election process, the OAPA Board recently opted to not participate in the national APA election system. In opting to not participate in the national election process, the OAPA Board adopted an interim process for one OAPA election cycle. Read More

OAPA members Deb Meihoff and Tim Smith were inducted into the College of Fellows at NPC22 in San Diego. Fellows are nominated and selected by peers, recognizing their contributions to the planning profession. OAPA congratulates Deb and Tim for the well-deserved recognition. Read More

OAPA has joined with other APA Chapters across the country to advocate in support of retaining the Unlocking Possibilities Program in the Build Back Better Act. Unlocking Possibilities would be the biggest single investment in housing planning in decades, providing communities with funding, support, and technical assistance to advance local zoning reforms that make sense in the context of their community. Read More

Greetings, colleagues! There’s a lot to share with you as we head into fall.

First, I’d like to introduce Deb Meihoff, AICP, as the new Chair of our Education and Outreach Committee. Deb has worked with the Committee for many years, most recently as the coordinator of our Community Assistance Planning Program... I also want to share some updates on how OAPA continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had hoped to begin a slow return to in-person events this fall, but the Delta variant is causing us to change course in the short term. Here are some details on how we are adjusting our programming in response... Read More.

Western Planner (WP) provides a network of professional and citizen planners to share vital and relevant knowledge and educate our communities about the unique aspects of planning across the West. The liaison between WP and Oregon APA (OAPA), Allison Platt, is a member of OAPA’s Education and Outreach Committee and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group and serves on the WP Board. At the link, she shares some ways that WP provides value to OAPA members. Read More.

Check out the 2019-2020 Annual Report to learn what the Chapter accomplished last year and what’s in store going forward. The Annual Report includes a letter from the Chapter President; provides an overview of activities, offerings, and celebrations; and highlights work coming up in 2021 as we look to refresh our Strategic Plan. Event participation this past fiscal year (July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020) was robust – we engaged more than 1,500 participants in 29 events, 12 of which were online and available to members around Oregon and the U.S, despite the lack of in-person events since the pandemic arrived. Take a look at the Annual Report to learn more!

Find Annual Reports, the Strategic Plan, and other organizational documents and information on the OAPA website.

OAPA conducted a short COVID-19 focused survey in September. This was a follow-up survey to one conducted in April 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic. While fewer members completed the survey in September versus April, the response rate was still good, as was geographic, gender, and diversity representation. The survey results were presented to the OAPA Board on October 2 and are helpful to committee chairs when developing work plans for OAPA activities. Read More.

The impacts of COVID-19 continue to affect our communities, professional activities, and personal lives in many ways. As the pandemic continues, OAPA is interested in hearing from our membership about how the organization can best continue to serve you.  The Spring  2020 survey, which had nearly 240 responses, provided information that helped to shape OAPA offerings over the past several months. Read More.

This is a critical moment in our history. In cities across Oregon — and indeed the country and world — we are confronting the outcomes of institutional racism in our society, the byproducts of sustained disinvestment in Black communities (and indeed, in communities of all colors), and the anger and outrage prompted by years of disenfranchisement, discrimination, and injustice. The senseless and brutal murder of George Floyd may have sparked these protests, but his death is just the latest in the long list of Black lives ended too soon across America. His killing has retraumatized many Oregonians — including fellow OAPA members — that feel unsafe and targeted simply because of the color of their skin. This is unacceptable. Change is needed, and it is needed right now. Read More.

Our conference committee has been working hard to determine safe options for the upcoming joint conference, specifically deciding whether to hold an event in person or virtually. I’m pleased to announce that we’re doing both (sort of). We’re going online for 2020! The 2020 OAPA/APA WA Joint Chapter Conference will be held virtually, on October 14-16, 2020. Stay tuned for more details on schedules, speakers, and registration. Read More.

Adrian Freund, FAICP, known to many Oregon APA (OAPA) members, passed away on May 3, 2020. Adrian was an engaged and thoughtful volunteer on several OAPA committees and will be greatly missed. Serving on OAPA’s Education and Outreach and Legislative and Policy Affairs Committees and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group, Adrian spearheaded Community Planning Month recognition of cities and counties doing great planning, engaged youth at the NW Youth Career Expo, attended APA’s first annual Policy and Advocacy Conference on behalf of the Chapter, and tracked federal policy making, among other activities. Read More.

Based on the Governor’s updated order keeping schools closed through the end of the academic year, OAPA will be cancelling all in-person events through June 12th. A decision regarding the Planners Network meeting scheduled for.June 16th will be made by May 15th. We will keep members informed of any changes/updates as we move forward. Thank you!

OAPA continues to monitor the ongoing pandemic situation. In-person programming is suspended through early May, and likely beyond. We will communicate an updated schedule for May programming by April 17. We’re also beginning to plan for our new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020. Although there’s no question that OAPA’s programs and budget in the 2020-21 fiscal year will be significantly impacted, we don’t yet know the severity or duration of that impact. Read More. 

OAPA president Aaron Ray provides an update on this year’s Joint Conference with APA Washington, and how OAPA is approaching planning the annual event in the age of coronavirus and social distancing. Our challenge is how to plan an event six months from now in the midst of a situation that’s developing by the day. Read More.

OAPA continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation, including calls to minimize group gatherings and consider social distancing practices. Given this guidance, OAPA will suspend in-person meetings and events beginning immediately through Friday, April 3.  The health and safety of our members, volunteers, and staff is our highest priority. Read More.

OAPA is monitoring updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oregon Health Authority and local health departments. At this time, local authorities are not recommending cancelling events, but we will follow OHA and local guidance should it change. If it becomes necessary to cancel, adjust, or postpone events, OAPA will communicate with attendees and members immediately. Read More.

When I have asked anyone if they are interested in running for the Oregon Chapter of American Planning Association Board, the first response I almost always get is some form of: “What is the time commitment?”... Since being on the Board, I have learned my questions were quite universal. No one thinks they have the time, passion, or determination…. That is, until they realize how important it is.  Read More.

Awards were presented at the 2019 OAPA Annual State Conference in Eugene, recognizing planners and the work they do across the state. Congratulations to all award winners and nominees. Read More.

Minneapolis Ward 5 City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison was born and raised in North Minneapolis – the ward he represents. He’s an artist, and painted his first mural at age 8 on the corner of Plymouth and Dupont. As an artist and organizer, Jeremiah has dedicated himself to propping up the genius of his Northside community. Read More.

OAPA president Kirsten Tilleman discusses the upcoming state conference, Chapter election results, and National Community Planning Month. In addition updates to the Chapter Bylaws have been approved. Read More.

Members are asked to vote on proposed changes to the OAPA Bylaws. These updated Bylaws reflect the organization as it functions today, offering clearer direction to guide our work while leaving flexibility to grow with the dynamic nature of the planning field. In 2018, the OAPA Board of Directors initiated a long-overdue overhaul to the Chapter Bylaws. While the purpose and core elements remain unchanged, we modernized the language and replaced outdated descriptions of our operations. Read More.

The Oregon APA Legislative and Policy Affairs Committee (LPAC) has been active this session in weighing in on a number of land use and planning bills. Several of the key bills under consideration in the 2019 Oregon Legislative session are summarized in the linked article. Read More.