Stop Portland City Council from Ignoring Neighborhood Associations

Portland City Council should maintain the Neighborhood Association system and focus on a way to provide support and resources to Neighborhood Associations to help them reach out to more neighbors.

Neighborhood Associations have been and continue to be one of the things that make Portland unique. They promote liveability, something the city seems to be losing. Please keep the NAs.

Please keep neighborhood committees in place and our rights not the developers. The developers get too many advantages.

The foundation of American democracy is the ability of its citizens to vote. I vote for candidates and on issues in Portland because I live in Portland. I vote for candidates and on issues in Multnomah County because I live in Multnomah County. I vote for candidates and on issues in Oregon because I live in Oregon. How can the Office on Community and Civic Life possibly think that civic engagement is not geographically based? Under no circumstances should City Council make changes to the city code that recognizes neighborhood associations and gives them official powers.

Argay neighborhood is very tight-knit neighborhood that needs to keep their association. It is a way for our community to communicate their ideas and their opinions about what is to happen in our neighborhood.

It would be detrimental to not only my neighborhood, but neighborhoods throughout out Portland if this were to pass. East Portland is neglected by the city and when they do come around they care nothing for the community’s input- where as our neighborhood association regularly advocates for the best interests of its inhabitants. I have seen time and again elected officials make claims that neighborhood associations only represent the interests of the white elite- well that certainly isn’t the case in East Portland. Commissioner Eudaly- you should and can do better than this. Why not work WITH the neighborhood associations? Listen to feedback instead of being dismissive. A number of your constituents are in fact homeowners. To continue down this current path is both shortsighted and shameful.

This is another attempt to silence the voice of everyday citizens. The NA system must be improved, not eliminated

Current rules provide neighborhoods a voice in policy that affects each neighborhood. That is how it should be. Please do not lessen the influence of neighborhoods. Do not change Code 3.96 to eliminate, lessen, or mitigate the effect of neighborhoods on city policy.

Neighborhood Associations are fundamental to the democratic process.

We need a voice!

This is a ridiculous plan. We are humans, not veal. We deserve to preserve our historical buildings. It is environmentally a step backwards to raze and rebuild with terrible new construction.

I thought we had government by the People, & FOR the people. Neighborhood associations are PEOPLE taking an active role in their communities. City council members should respect this as the valuable partnership that it is.

It seems that in these difficult times , when concencus of any diverse group is hard to come by, an organization allowing for neighborhood representation and input would be a thing we all fight FOR, not against. This proposal reeks of some in the administration preferring to “do their own thing” whether there is public support or not. Support and formalize the governance of our neighborhood associations!

I believe we need our Neighborhood Assns because they give us access & opportunity for input to City officials. This is very important.

I’m a firm supporter of our Irvington association.

This is a terrible anti-democratic proposal.

Chloe Eudaly can screw herself.

The proposed code change will disenfranchise all Portland citizens by decreasing access to, and participation within local city government, and by dismantling geographic representation. OCCL should support neighborhood associations and their constituents by increasing outreach and decreasing barriers to participation, not by removing all accountability and transparency from its relationship to the public.

The neighborhood associations are the only thing that keeps the city accountable. It seems the real purpose of this change it to silence home owners. Everybody can join the neighborhood association, which is not true about these other groups that the city wants to include.

neighborhood associations (NA) have seriously contributed to a critical state goal, participatory government. Civic Life plans to arbitrarily select groups to participate by eliminating NA. If Civic Life really is interested in inclusivity, properly vet organizations to include, NA have worked for the good of the city for many years.