Previous Reports from 2008

Visioning Process Highlighted

Last fall, the City of Beaverton held 16 Community Visioning meetings throughout our city. Over 500 citizens participated in the meetings, sharing their thoughts and answering four basic questions about Beaverton’s future. The meetings were well attended with lively, thoughtful exchanges between citizens. I am genuinely pleased with the participation levels and resulting information about our city and the basic directions you’ve given us.

We met and listened to multiple citizen groups. We held special sessions for senior citizens, business leaders, community leaders, youth, civic groups, neighborhood groups and our general citizenry. We also held sessions in multiple languages including Cantonese, Korean and Spanish. With the help of our consultant team, our City staff has compiled the answers to the four questions we asked and have assembled the information into a very readable form in this special issue of Your City.

We promised to return to you early in 2008 with the draft results of the comments received. This special issue is the early draft of those comments and provides the framework for further refinement of the Community Visioning results. We will host two important meetings in the City Council chambers on February 9 and 13 to present those results for your review. You can attend one or both meetings as you see fit. We hope you will participate and let us know whether we have caught the essence of what you have said to us. If we missed something or are far afield from what you said, then please tell us. We listened intently and believed that we took accurate notes, but only you can tell us whether we have hit the mark.

The Community Visioning process produced many outstanding, creative ideas and themes. Over the course of the 16 meetings with the multiple groups, we heard many similar messages. Upon careful review and analysis of the notes, we have categorized the comments into five very basic themes and areas of general agreement. This is a beginning point and we will craft the necessary revisions once we hear your comments during the two public open houses in February. I am anxious to meet with citizens in this informal format at City Hall and hear whether we got it right and listened accurately during the Community Visioning process.

The general results from the visioning meetings are included in this issue, so you’ll have a chance to review those ideas and themes in a more detailed manner in advance of the two public open houses. The five areas include maintaining and enhancing livability, improving mobility, building community, creating a vibrant central city core, and maintaining and enhancing public services (including public safety). These are broad themes, but they are readily understandable and can serve as a framework for future action items for the City Council and me. Once we hear from you in February, we will finalize the themes with the City Council this spring and begin work on an action plan to accomplish the goals you have given us.

I look forward to the further refining of the Community Visioning process and results with you and the next stages of forming our City’s bright future! Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm!

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Open Letter to Residents