City wide issues

Get Involved: PBOT TSP Advisory Committee Applications Open

TL;DR Summary
PBOT is recruiting up to 30 community members for a new advisory committee to help guide Portland’s 2045 Transportation System Plan (TSP). Meetings begin in May 2025.
Applications are open through Monday, April 14.

Your Voice Matters in Portland’s Transportation Plans

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is updating the city’s long-range Transportation System Plan (TSP), and they want your help. A new Community Advisory Committee will guide this process, offering insight on transportation needs, community values, and how future investments should be prioritized.

Whether you’re a longtime transportation advocate or just care about how people get around in your neighborhood, this is a great opportunity to get involved.

What’s Happening

PBOT is forming a Transportation System Plan (TSP) Community Advisory Committee to support the planning process through 2027. The committee will:

  • Advise PBOT’s Director and project staff
  • Review draft policies and plans
  • Provide feedback on technical analyses and investment strategies
  • Center community values in future transportation decisions

The committee will meet about 7 times between May 2025 and the end of 2027, for two hours each. Most meetings will be hybrid (in-person and virtual options).

Why It Matters

The 2045 TSP is Portland’s roadmap for how we maintain, manage, and invest in transportation over the next 20 years. It’s a key part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and now must also reflect Oregon’s updated planning rules—aligning with climate goals, equity priorities, and community needs.

The committee’s work will help shape plans that:

  • Reduce traffic deaths and injuries (Vision Zero)
  • Improve transit and freight movement
  • Cut carbon emissions and promote health
  • Support economic opportunity
  • Create thriving neighborhoods and civic spaces
  • Ensure the system works for everyone, across all modes

As PBOT’s community engagement lead says: “Not an expert? No problem! Your lived experience is your expertise.”

Who Should Apply

Anyone who lives, works, goes to school, worships, or does business in Portland is eligible. PBOT is especially seeking a diverse mix of voices from:

  • All geographic areas of the city
  • Property and business owners
  • Advocacy and community organizations
  • Transportation and civic interest groups
  • People from under-served communities and historically excluded populations

How to Get Involved

Help build a transportation system that works for all Portlanders. Apply to the TSP Community Advisory Committee and bring your experience and values to the table.

Contact: PBOT@info.portland.gov
Application Deadline: April 14, 2025

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Portland's First Community Board for Police Accountability
City wide issues

Now Recruiting: Serve on Portland’s First Community Board for Police Accountability

TL;DR Summary:
The City of Portland is seeking volunteers to serve on a new Community Board for Police Accountability (CBPA). This board will play a key role in reviewing police conduct and recommending policy changes.
Applications are open now and due by Monday, April 14, 2025.

A New Chapter in Police Oversight

In 2020, Portland voters approved a measure to overhaul the city’s police oversight system. After years of community input, a new Office of Community-based Police Accountability (OCPA) has been established to lead this change. Now, Portlanders have a chance to directly participate by serving on the very first Community Board for Police Accountability.

This is a unique opportunity for residents from all walks of life to help shape the future of public safety in our city. The goal: a fairer, more transparent system that centers community voices.

What’s Happening

The City of Portland is now accepting applications for 21 volunteers to serve on the CBPA. These board members will:

  • Work with OCPA to investigate reported misconduct by Portland Police officers and supervisors
  • Review cases promptly, fairly, and impartially
  • Impose appropriate discipline when necessary
  • Recommend changes to police practices, policies, and directives

Board members will meet monthly on weekday evenings and receive a $500 annual stipend.

Why It Matters

This board is a cornerstone of Portland’s reimagined police oversight system. It’s designed to be community-led and independent, giving everyday Portlanders real influence over how public safety is handled in our city.

Importantly, the city is actively seeking people who may not have been involved in this kind of work before. Your lived experience, your neighborhood perspective, and your voice are all valuable.

How to Get Involved

Let’s Make Sure East Columbia Is Represented

If you’re passionate about fairness, public service, and accountability—or if you know someone who is—please consider applying or sharing this opportunity. This is a chance to help build a more responsive and inclusive public safety system for all of Portland.

Questions? Want a speaker at an upcoming meeting?
Reach out to Kristen Thorp from the Office of Community-based Police Accountability at kristen.thorp@portlandoregon.gov.

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City wide issues, Local Issues

Help Shape the Future of Central Portland: Apply to a TIF District Working Group

TL;DR Summary
The City is forming short-term Working Groups to guide the first 5-Year Action Plans for Portland’s new Central City TIF Districts. Applications are open through Friday, March 21.

Be Part of Portland’s Next Chapter

If you live, work, or have ties to Central Portland, here’s your chance to help shape how new public investments are made. The City is forming Working Groups for each of the three newly approved Central City Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts, and community voices are needed to set priorities for the first five years.

What’s Happening

The Portland Housing Bureau and Prosper Portland are putting together 13-15 person Working Groups for each of the following new TIF Districts:
– Central Eastside Corridor
– Lloyd-Holladay
– Westside

These Working Groups will help create 5-Year Action Plansthat determine how early TIF dollars are spent to grow economic opportunities and expand affordable housing.

The districts were approved by City Council in October 2024 and will begin collecting tax revenue starting July 1, 2025.

Why It Matters

TIF (Tax Increment Financing) is a tool that uses future tax revenue to fund current community improvements—everything from new housing to business support. With a 30-year lifespan ahead, the early priorities set in these action plans will shape long-term outcomes for jobs, housing, and equity in the Central City.

This is a unique chance for residents, business owners, artists, workers, and advocates to help steer investments where they’re needed most.

How to Get Involved

If you have a connection to one of the districts and experience or insight related to housing, economic development, arts, culture, or community well-being—your voice is welcome.

– Meetings: 8 meetings total, between April and November 2025
– Deadline to Apply: Friday, March 21, 2025
– More info: https://prosperportland.us/portfolio-items/central-city-tif-exploration/
– Questions? Email: cctif@ProsperPortland.us—

Help spread the word—or apply yourself! These Working Groups are a chance to make sure public investments in Portland’s core reflect community values and real needs.

Contact: cctif@ProsperPortland.us
Application Deadline: Friday, March 21, 2025

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Local Issues

New Housing Development Proposed for NE 13th

TL;DR Summary
A new 49-unit housing development is being proposed at 9801 NE 13th Avenue, just west of the South Shore Acres subdivision. The project will be built in two phases and includes a mix of townhomes, duplexes, and single-family homes, along with wetland restoration, boardwalk paths, and community amenities.

Proposed Residential Development

The East Columbia Neighborhood Association has received notice of a new development proposed by Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) for the 6.48-acre site at 9801 NE 13th Avenue. This large parcel, currently bordered by BES-owned land and residential subdivisions, would be developed in two phases to bring a total of 49 new homes to the area.

This notice was shared as part of the City of Portland’s Neighborhood Contact requirements, which aim to keep communities informed early in the development process.

What’s Being Proposed

The site is zoned R10 with several overlay zones, including height restrictions (for aircraft safety), airport noise limits, environmental conservation, and land constraint protections. To build within these conditions, SEI will pursue a Planned Development with Environmental Review, allowing them to creatively cluster housing and preserve sensitive areas.

Highlights from the Proposal:

Phase 1 (31 units)

  • 24 townhouse units (in six 4-unit buildings)
  • 4 duplex units (2 buildings)
  • 3 single detached homes
  • 52 off-street parking stalls
  • Landscaped areas and pathways
  • Boardwalks and wetland restoration
  • NE 13th Ave frontage improvements

Phase 2 (18 units)

  • 4 townhouse units (1 building)
  • 6 duplex units (3 buildings)
  • 8 single detached homes
  • A small **Community Building**
  • 43 off-street parking stalls
  • Additional landscaping, pathways, and wetland restoration

Why It Matters

This project could bring much-needed new housing to the area while also integrating environmental protections and community infrastructure. The plan includes boardwalks and wetland restoration, suggesting a focus on blending development with nature.

However, with additional homes comes the potential for more traffic, infrastructure demands, and neighborhood change—factors community members may wish to learn more about or provide input on.

Summary_of_Proposed Development_2025-03-14Download
Proposed_Site_Plan_2025-03-14Download

How to Stay Informed or Get Involved

The proposal is still early in the process. It will go through a Type III land use review, which includes an official public hearing and input from the City’s Hearings Officer.

For questions or to learn more:
Contact: Pooja Dalal, SEI Housing Development Senior Manager
Email: poojad@selfenhancement.org
Phone: (503) 249-1721

Neighbors interested in the project are encouraged to reach out to SEI directly or follow updates through the City of Portland’s land use notices. This is your chance to stay informed and ensure community voices are heard as plans take shape.

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Submitted to ECNA per Portland’s Neighborhood Contact rules. Development by Self Enhancement, Inc. at 9801 NE 13th Ave.

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City wide issues, Local Issues

Community Voices on Interstate Bridge Replacement

As the Interstate Bridge Replacement project continues to take shape, community members have raised important concerns about its design, accessibility, and long-term impact.

Barbara Kerr, a Portland resident and active member of our neighborhood, has shared her thoughtful insights on how the project can better reflect the needs and values of our community. [see below]

Barbara emphasizes the importance of prioritizing safety, accessibility for alternative transportation, and responsible coordination with other local infrastructure projects. Her letter highlights how decisions made today will shape our neighborhood for decades to come.

We encourage you to read Barbara’s full letter below and consider how this project affects our community. Together, our voices can help guide this project in a way that benefits everyone.

DRAFT SEIS PUBLIC COMMENT
Barbara Kerr
NE Faloma Rd., Portland, OR

Both as a resident of Portland and as a resident of the affected neighborhood, I have the following concerns about the Interstate Bridge Replacement project:

One – The design of the Interstate Bridge Replacement needs to reflect the input of the public. Its beauty needs to be a testament to the people and their values. Safety first. If we must build a new bridge, it needs to be as safe and durable as possible. A bridge built for safety and durability can be elegant and beautiful in its simplicity. It can say to those who enter our states that we value the wellbeing of people more than a monument to the designers and the political powers. Adopting a more expensive design just for aesthetics will say we are people who care more about “showing off” than taking care of people’s lives. It will reflect negatively on us for decades to come. We have so many better and urgent ways to spend money. 

Two – As has been pointed out by others, the Interstate Bridge Replacement proposed design has a glaring mistake in that the paths for walking and biking are not easily accessible to the location of the light rail. Alternate forms of transportation should be the first consideration in the design. If the bridge is to meet the needs of the future, it must take into account that there will be fewer car trips and that freight will move toward train travel. To value car/truck travel higher than coordinating walking/biking and light rail is to build in planned obsolescence. 

Three – As a publicly funded project, the IBR has a responsibility to the taxpayers to coordinate with other transportation projects in the same area or adjacent to it to maximize the public benefits and minimize the expense. Specifically, the 40-mile Loop should be incorporated into the IBR without barriers, crossings, or interruptions, and the IBR project should extend to connect to the 40-mile Loop. In doing so, IBR must coordinate also with the work on the levy being done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Four – The local neighborhood stands to be greatly affected by the IBR and the changes to the streets that feed it. IBR would be grossly negligent if coordination with Portland Bureau of Transportation and the citizens are not highly integral in the design and planning. Decisions made now will affect the community for decades to come and corrections will not be easily made or funded. It is fiscally irresponsible for the IBR to not address these concerns. Of immediate issue is the truck traffic on Marine Drive East, which is a neighborhood street and runs on the levy. The design must direct truck traffic to Columbia Boulevard instead.

Click here to learn more about the IBR Project and how you can share your thoughts with decision-makers.

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