Last Wednesday, Commissioner Carmen Rubio and Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) leaders addressed community members at the Collective Oregon Eateries (CORE) food hall on SE 82nd Avenue. Speakers at the event outlined a vision for a new Sustainability and Climate Commission (SCC) currently in development. Staff are actively collecting public input regarding the SCC that will shape the final draft of a City Ordinance. The City Council will vote on its adoption in December 2023, and if approved, the SCC could start work in April 2024.
In 2009, Portland Mayor Sam Adams merged the Bureau of Planning and the Office of Sustainable Development to create BPS. Around the same time, the Sustainable Development Commission and the Planning Commission merged to form the Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC). However, an April 2022 review of the combined commission indicated unclear responsibilities hampered the 11 PSC commissioners’ efforts. Commissioner Rubio has since directed BPS to split the PSC back into two distinct commissions. The reconstituted Planning Commission started work in March 2023, and staff began designing a new Sustainability and Climate Commission the following April.
Reinstating the Planning Commission was straightforward as it uses a clear structure. Projects come to the nine-member volunteer commission, and they make recommendations to the City Council. BPS Director Donnie Oliveira explained that SCC’s role could differ from the Planning Commission and impact many of Portland’s initiatives. “Climate touches all things now. Every decision the city makes can be climate-related,” said Oliveira. A potential model for the new SCC could include launching projects and recommending specific actions, not just looking to incorporate environmentally friendly components into an existing plan. Over the next four months, BPS staff will work to finalize the commission’s scope and structure based on internal and external input.
Some elements of the SCC are already known. BPS staff’s research from around the country indicates that 20 members will provide the best community representation on the commission. It allows for a variety of voices and skill sets. The commissions’ makeup is another area where community input will shape the SCC. The selection process could utilize the new City Council districts or reserved seats for people with specific expertise.
According to Oliveira, public participation is indispensable, and a relatively short window requires more active participants. BPS Chief Sustainability Officer Vivian Satterfield will lead working groups with stakeholders and subject matter experts through October, and they expect to offer future events like the September 6th gathering at CORE. The expedited timeline is essential to seating SCC members before the new City Council arrives in 2025. As our city moves away from informed Commissioners working at the head of bureaus, new Councilors will benefit from balanced input from knowledgeable people. “Large cities like Portland require community advisory bodies to inform Council,” explained Oliveira. He observed through his work in other cities that a large Council relies on informed input, and advisory bodies can help shape the Council’s policy agenda.
Oliveira sees the SCC development timeline as serving the city’s need to ready itself for its new structure but hopes people remain engaged. “We are at a real inflection point because we are changing the form of government. So now is the time for the community to actually give input,” said Oliveira. Over the next few weeks, look for survey opportunities and other public meetings on the SCC website.
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