Have a passion for promoting safety in floating buildings? Consider joining the River Community Advisory Committee.

In this article

Are you a resident of a floating structure or someone who provides construction or remodeling services to floating homes or houseboats? Do you have a passion for making floating homes safer? If so, the City of Portland could benefit from your talents and passion.

About the River Community Advisory Committee

The River Community Advisory Committee (RCAC) is a citizen advisory body comprised of six members who represent the interests of those who live in or work on floating structures. Members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council for three-year terms. The Committee assists Portland Permitting & Development with the development of procedures and administrative guidelines for implementing Title 28 of Portland City Code, which governs floating structures.

In particular, the RCAC provides Portland Permitting & Development with the following guidance:

1. Leadership and expertise on issues affecting floating structures
2. Feedback on the impact of potential regulations and administrative rules on floating structures, taking into consideration the full range of City goals and objectives
3. Recommendations for regulatory, code, and administrative rule changes affecting floating structures
4. Monitoring of the application and enforcement of regulations for their effectiveness in achieving the City's goals
5. Recommendations on customer service, permitting, process, and compliance improvements
6. Advise the City of Portland on other matters covered under Title 28

Who can join

To be eligible for the RCAC, members must live, play, worship, go to school, work or do business in the City of Portland and be considered a member of one or more of the following categories:

• Floating home resident
• Marina operator
• Floating structures contractor
• Floating structures design professional
• Yacht club member
• On-the-water business owner

The City of Portland is currently recruiting for one open position on this committee.

What we look for

Portland Permitting & Development is at a point of significant transformation as it expands how it interacts with and provides services to the public, with a shift to more online and remote services becoming available. It is critically important to have people providing advice, perspectives and feedback on the new ways the bureau and its partner bureaus provide information to the public about existing regulations and provide development review, permitting and enforcement services to the community.

• You believe government is better when community is involved.
• You are an advocate for those who have been left out of City of Portland policymaking review. You can bring discussion about racial and ethnic communities who need it the most.
• You believe in the value of public participation in government processes.
• You can work collaboratively and effectively with people representing diverse interests.
• You are available to attend all meetings and participate in the discussions.

Time commitment

• The RCAC meets a minimum of two times per year with the ability for the Committee to agree on additional meetings when necessary. These meetings are usually held in the mid mornings or during the lunch hour. Most meetings are held online. All meetings of the RCAC are open to the public.
• Members serve a term of three years with the possibility of renewing for a second three-year term.
• We can provide interpreters who will translate the conversation in your language during the meeting. Please ask for an interpreter at least a week in advance of the meeting so we have enough time to make arrangements.
• You may need to read and write in your language. Verbal and written translations are performed by outside organizations. The dialects may be different than your home region and may be different on each document.
• We try to translate the written materials you ask for, but we may not be able to provide translation on all meeting documents.
• Members are expected to attend and participate in meetings consistently. Members are expected to prepare for meetings on their own time. Meeting materials may be sent with minimal time to review, possibly as little as 48 hours (or two days) in advance.

We remove barriers

Let us know if there are barriers to your participation. Public transportation or parking passes will be available if you need those to fully participate.

Public Official Conflict of Interest Notice

Those selected to serve on this body will be legally considered public officials for the duration of their service. As such, they will be required to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest. Having potential conflicts of interest does not preclude you from serving on this body and may not impact your ability to participate fully on this body. Stakeholders often have potential conflicts of interest by the nature of having an interest in construction and development matters. The Conflict of Interest Disclosure is included in the application. Please describe all potential or actual conflicts of interest on your application.

How to apply

Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, 2026.

Please apply for appointment to the River Community Advisory Committee here.

To talk with someone about this opportunity or to receive assistance completing the application, please contact the staff liaison, Dave Tebeau, at [email protected] or 503-823-6242.

Voluntary and confidential demographic information

The City of Portland is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity. It uses the demographic information provided to help ensure that advisory body appointments represent a broad cross-section of the community. Your information will not be used during the recruitment or the selection process. State and federal law prohibit the use of this information to discriminate against you. The City will treat this information as confidential to the fullest extent allowed by law. Questions about this may be sent to [email protected].

For more information

For more information about the River Community Advisory Committee, please visit its website