Last week at the Oregon American Planning Association’s annual conference in Seaside, Managing Principal Jesse Winterowd took part in two panels — one on public trust in planning, the other on moving Urban Growth Boundaries.

Keava Campbell and Dagny Daniel were also on the ground for the full conference. Here’s a recap of Jesse’s two sessions.

Planning in Plain Sight: Capacity, Clarity, and Public Trust
Jesse joined a panel of Oregon planners — moderated by Sandra Wood (City of Portland), alongside Stephanie Case (City of Boardman), Amanda Perron (City of Lafayette), Haylee Ulrey (Autom Insights), and Quang Truong (UrbanForm) — on why public trust in planning is so hard to earn.

They discussed a broad range of topics concerning public involvement: from explaining zoning codes to residents, to who shows up to the table and who gets left out, to building trust that outlasts a single hearing.

Growing Pains: UGB Expansion under Oregon’s New Rules
The next day, Jesse joined Andrew Parish (MIG), William Jorgensen (City of Rainier), Ethan Stuckmayer (DLCD), and Scott Woodford (City of Sisters) to discuss Oregon’s shifting UGB rules, legislative changes, DLCD’s Goal 10 and 14 rulemaking, new OHNA allocations, and Sisters’ own UGB analysis.

Jesse zeroed in on UGB exchanges under OAR 660-024-0070. Cities used to swap buildable land for buildable land, acre for acre. Now they can trade unbuildable land inside the UGB for buildable land outside it, within 10% of what’s removed — and the new land can carry the same density as before, or higher.

He pointed to two real cases: Vernonia and Rainier.

More from Around the Conference

Keava Campbell and Dagny Daniel spent the rest of the conference networking with fellow planners and local officials, and made time for the annual Seaside SandFest. Two sessions stood out:

Empty Storefronts, Obsolete Buildings, and Weak Demand: What Actually Works?, on strategies to restore vacant storefronts, with Emily Picha (ECOnorthwest), Matthew Claudel (Field States), and Sydney Mead (Downtown Portland Clean and Safe)

Modernizing the Model: What’s New in the TGM Code, on Oregon’s updated TGM Model Development Code for Small Cities, with Nicole Cross (DLCD), Kate Rogers (MIG), and Cathy Stuhr of Chiloquin — a city Winterbrook is currently working with on its Housing Capacity Analysis.

Thanks to all the other panelists, speakers, sponsors, and attendees that made for another important OAPA Conference!