Trip 2 Recap

The second trip for the Hillsboro Comprehensive Plan took place on August 13th and 14th, 2025. The trip primarily consisted of meetings, workshops, and engagement events to gather information, feedback, and ideas to inform the continued development of the Comprehensive Plan. Both days began with the consultant team meeting with staff from various City departments to receive updates on ongoing projects, discuss any new developments, and follow up on discussions from the previous trip or prior meetings.

In the late morning of August 13th, Verdunity prepared for the first of the day’s community engagement events at the Historic City Hall in Downtown Hillsboro. The event was an open house where residents could review the project timeline, a summary of engagement done up until the trip, and promotion of the virtual map activity before providing feedback via four activity stations. There was a total of four activities.

• The first activity asked for strategies for both short- and long-term improvement and activation of downtown.
• The second station asked participants to vote on the top four decision-making principles to be considered by elected officials and city leadership when making decisions in the future.
• The third station asked attendees to vote on which place types Hillsboro needs more of.
• The fourth activity consisted of a packet to receive feedback on preferred growth characteristics and possible residential densities in upcoming growth scenarios. Participants were provided with a packet that included a draft growth sectors map for the city and the option of different residential densities from low density to urban village, with three examples of each density to illustrate the potential character. Attendees were asked to select which growth sector was appropriate for each residential density, if any.

The same open house event was repeated in the evening.

The second day began with staff meetings to continue receiving updates or important information. After meetings with staff, Verdunity and Monte Anderson of Neighborhood Evolution returned to Historic City Hall for a presentation on the 12 Steps of Town Building or how to empower local developers and business owners to invest in Hillsboro. The second joint meeting between City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission followed to receive project updates before a discussion and completion of the growth characteristics and residential density activity. A similar meeting was held with the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) to end the day.