In this Digital Design Series, representatives from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development will give our members a presentation on the changes coming as a result of the Governor's Executive Order 20-04, directing state agencies to reduce climate pollution.

Land use planners from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development will discuss the newly-adopted Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities administrative rules. The new rules will mostly apply in Oregon’s eight largest metropolitan areas (Portland Metro, Eugene-Springfield, Salem-Keizer, Bend, Medford-Ashland-Central Point, Corvallis, Albany, and Grants Pass). The rules will contain new requirements for transportation planning, regional scenario planning, parking reform, and planning for walkable mixed-use areas (aka “climate friendly areas”). ODLC Staff will provide an overview of the newly-adopted rules, with an emphasis on parking reform and climate friendly area requirements, which will likely be of particular interest to AIA members.

The Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities Rulemaking will significantly strengthen Oregon’s rules about transportation and housing planning, particularly in the eight areas with populations over 50,000 people. Some rule changes to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and increase transportation choice may apply to communities outside those areas.

In order to meet Oregon’s climate pollution reduction goals, state rules and local land use and transportation plans will have to change significantly. We know:

• Most new development will need to be in neighborhoods where shopping, employment, parks and housing are in closer proximity. These include city and town centers, neighborhoods close to centers and services, and along corridors with good transit service.
• Public investments in transportation need to be shifted toward increasing transportation options - making walking, cycling, and transit safer and more convenient.
• Plans for our transportation systems, at every stage, need to be focused less on ensuring motor vehicle mobility, and more on providing people with access to services and destinations.
• Our policies and how we enact them need to ensure the needs of all Oregonians, including historically marginalized populations, are met in an equitable and inclusive way.

Presenters will include:

Evan Manvel

Evan Manvel works as a climate mitigation planner at Oregon’s planning agency, the Department of Land Conservation and Development. He has a master’s degree in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University. 

Evan has worked as a lobbyist, executive director, and research and education director for some of the Northwest’s leading organizations advocating for safe transportation choices. He now works with communities to promote transportation and housing choices and parking reform, using communications, policymaking, and planning tools. Manvel serves as co-chair of DLCD’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee.

Kevin Young

Kevin Young is a Senior Urban Planner at the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, where his work focuses on housing, public facilities, and urban growth boundaries. He has a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Prior to coming to work for the department, Kevin worked for over 20 years as a land use planner and planning manager for a variety of local governments in Oregon, including Benton County, Eugene, Tigard, and Corvallis. Kevin is a co-project manager for the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities rulemaking effort (along with Bill Holmstrom), and previously assisted with the development of administrative rules implementing House Bills 2001 (“middle housing”) and 2003 (“housing planning”). 

Bill Holmstrom

As the Land Use and Transportation Planning Coordinator at the Department of Land Conservation and Development since 2012, Bill is the lead planner for the agency’s transportation planning section. The section is responsible for managing the Transportation and Growth Management program jointly with the Oregon Department of Transportation, which assists local governments in planning to create thriving, livable places with diverse transportation choices. The section also works closely with state agencies on the Every Mile Counts initiative to lead Oregon’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation system, which includes the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities rulemaking. The section also leads DLCD’s work in coordinated land use and transportation planning, including providing guidance for the Transportation Planning Rules and Statewide Planning Goal 12. Bill has been with DLCD since 2007, and previously worked as a planner for Tillamook County. Bill grew up in Beaverton and has a degree in Planning, Public Policy, and Management from the University of Oregon.