Governing policies and training resources

Information
The work of the Community Involvement Committee is informed and guided by laws, best practices, and guidance from a variety of sources.

City requirements and guidance

  • Chapter 2 of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan lays out the goals and policies for community engagement in long-term planning activities.
  • The Community Involvement Program provides a structure and guidance for staff and community members to continuously learn, adapt and refine practices for meaningful, inclusive involvement, and implements the goals in Chapter 2 of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan along with their corresponding policies.
  • Portland’s Public Involvement Principles guide City officials and staff in establishing consistent, effective, and high-quality community involvement.
  • Portland’s Citywide Racial Equity Goals and Policies are binding City Policy, providing a guidepost for City employees and leadership to follow, to achieve the racial equity goals.
  • The Financial Impact and Public Involvement Statement is required to be submitted with all City Council resolutions, ordinances and reports.  The statement is a synopsis of the public input that was considered in the development of the legislation. 
  • The Public Involvement Advisory Council (PIAC) works to:
    • Develop guidelines and policy recommendations for citywide public involvement, to be presented to City Council for approval.
    • Provide support and advice to City Council and City bureaus with implementation of shared public involvement guidelines and best practices.
    • Encourage ongoing collaboration between the community, City bureaus and City Council in the development of shared public involvement guidelines
  • Portland’s Public Involvement Best Practices Program is dedicated to supporting the City’s community involvement activities.
  • The Portland Plan: A Framework for Equity beginning on p. 17 of The Portland Plan:

State requirements

Federal requirements and guidance

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all city activities be made accessible to persons with disabilities.
  • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 declares that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. As Portland receives Federal financial assistance, discrimination is prohibited for all City activities. In public involvement activities, the City must provide interpretation and language assistance, avoid or mitigate environmental injustice, and ensure that all people are able to participate in meaningful public involvement.  Title VI also requires robust collection, analysis, and use of data about demographics, needs assessments, burdens and benefits, and more.
  • The City’s Office of Equity and Human Rights provides support to City staff in working to meet and exceed the requirements of federal civil rights laws. There are City plans and programs in place to support the ADA and Title VI requirements.

Other guiding documents

Training resources

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