Climate Friendly Equitable Communities Engagement

About this Project

In July 2022, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission adopted Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) Rules to meet Oregon’s climate goals and give residents more housing and transportation choices. The rules required 15 cities to designate Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs) — walkable, mixed-use places where residents can meet daily needs without driving — and later to adopt development standards for those areas.

3J Consulting was contracted by DLCD to support cities in four regions with equitable community engagement services, centering the voices of underserved populations throughout the CFA study and designation process.

The four regions included:

• Cascades West (Albany, Corvallis, Philomath)
• Rogue Valley North (Grants Pass, Central Point, Eagle Point)
• Rogue Valley South (Ashland, Talent, Medford)
• Bend

The Bend engagement earned the 2024 OAPA Achievement in Community Engagement (ACE) Award, recognizing the project’s innovative, equity-centered approach. Outreach included one-on-one interviews with equity leaders, collaboration with the COCC Latinx Avanza program for youth leaders, eight summer pop-up events in parks throughout Bend, presentations to eight boards and commissions, and an equity focus group offered in both online and in-person formats. Both Phase 1 CFA designations and Phase 2 development standards adoption were completed across all four regions.