Outreach as a Bridge: Unlocking Partnerships for Growth

At yesterday’s ColPac 2025 Northwest Oregon Housing Summit—an event focused on tackling housing affordability challenges and building stronger partnerships—our biggest takeaway came from the panel led by Parker Sammons, Tillamook County Housing Coordinator, with Sarah Absher, Steven Wade, Clayton Taylor, and Jeff Wong. The panel emphasized that outreach is one of the most powerful tools cities, regions, and developers have for economic development. Outreach in this sense goes beyond communication—it’s about leveraging partnerships and cross-sector relationships so that housing and development projects can move forward more seamlessly.

Why Outreach Matters

Economic development doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when multiple players work in alignment, sharing information, anticipating challenges, and building trust. Outreach is how governments demonstrate they are open for collaboration, willing to listen, and committed to acting. Done well, it unlocks projects that might otherwise stall and builds confidence that communities can deliver on their vision. And when projects advance more quickly, they make a tangible difference in urgent priorities like housing affordability.

Good outreach and good customer service go hand in hand. Effective outreach relies on governments being accessible, responsive, transparent, and supportive—qualities at the core of strong customer service. When developers, nonprofits, and residents feel heard and respected, trust grows, partnerships strengthen, and investment feels both welcomed and possible.

UrbanForm as a Bridge for Outreach

This is where UrbanForm comes in. We provide a tool that bridges outreach by giving all stakeholders access to the same clear, accessible, and parcel-specific zoning information. Instead of spending weeks piecing together code from thousands of pages, governments and developers can start conversations already aligned on what’s possible. That clarity strengthens outreach by making it faster, more transparent, and more effective.

UrbanForm doesn’t replace local expertise—it amplifies and bolsters it. By removing regulatory friction and mundane tasks, planners and staff can focus more energy on proactive engagement, creative problem-solving, and building trust with their communities. In this way, UrbanForm directly supports the outreach Parker Sammons and many others at the Northwest Housing Summit described—helping cities and regions turn conversations into tangible progress.

A Shoutout to ColPac and Oregon’s EDDs

The leadership of ColPac (special hat tip to Sarah Lu Heath and Lydia Ivanovic) and Oregon’s other Economic Development Districts demonstrates the real power of outreach in action. By convening stakeholders, fostering partnerships, and aligning priorities across sectors, they ensure communities can move forward more seamlessly.

At UrbanForm, we’re proud to play a supporting role. Because when outreach builds trust and tools create clarity, co

mmunities unlock the projects that matter most: affordable housing, job-creating businesses, and resilient, thriving places.

👉 If you’re an EDD, municipality, or developer working to strengthen outreach, let’s connect. Learn how zoning clarity can bridge partnerships and accelerate the projects your community needs.