Central Coast – SLOCitizen Planning Academy

Community Engagement

Tammy L. SealeNovember 1, 2012

• Ethics and the Professional Planner

• Principles and Tools of Public Participation

• The process• Long-Range Planning• Current Planning

AGENDA

Ethics & the Professional Planner

• APA Ethical Principles in Planning • Applies to all

planning professionals

• AICP Code of Ethics• Applies to AICP

members• Applicable to all

planners

Ethics & the Professional Planner

Citizens have a right to expect that their planners will help elevate governance, not fall to its more base level.

Planners have ethical responsibilities to their colleagues, their clients and their communities.

AICP planners belong to the American Institute of Certified Planners, and must practice in accordance with standards of practice, including the AICP’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Planners are guided by both existing local, and sometimes state, ethics provisions.

Ethics scenarios are rarely “cut and dried” and often contain a high level of nuance. Participations in regular ethics training sessions should help develop reasoning and reflection skills that can be applied in everyday situations.

Source: Adapted from APA, Ethics in Planning: A Toolkit

Ethics Scenarios

Ethics & the Professional Planner

A planner for a jurisdiction home to a popular college football team has learned that the university has offered several members of the planning staff hard to get tickets to a sold out game. Recognizing the conflict, the planner’s boss and colleagues decide to pay for their tickets outright, thus absolving the question of whether or not the tickets were a gift. Is there still an ethical conflict?

Through the course of her duties a public planner forms a friendship with a local landowner who periodically calls with questions about planning and zoning. He invites her to eat lunch and he buys—is this okay?

Source: Adapted from APA, Ethics in Planning: A Toolkit

Ethics & the Professional Planner

There was a rush of invitations for me join organizations outside of work such as the Kiwanis Club, Toastmasters, Chamber of Commerce, etc. upon being promoted to planning manager. Is there a balance of work and leisure clubs that does not violate the code of ethics? Isn’t the power of these social networks also important to our work as planners?

In our small city, the holiday season always results in baked goods, food, etc. being given to the planning and building staff. These are accepted and shared with all staff. They are never accepted by individuals. To reject them would be awkward as we are trying to heal past wounds with the community from bad planning and decision practices. From an ethical perspective, is this OK?

Source: Adapted from APA, Ethics in Planning: A Toolkit

Public Participation Community Engagement

‘Public participation’ means to involve those who are affected by a decision in the decision-making process. It promotes sustainable decisions by providing participants with the information they need to be involved in a meaningful way, and it communicates to participants how their input affects the decision.

The practice of public participation might involve public meetings, surveys, open houses, workshops, polling, citizen’s advisory committees and other forms of direct involvement with the public.

Source: IAP2 Core Values of Public Participation

Public Participation

Community Engagement

Community engagement brings together community building, community organizing, and community leadership to improve lives and strengthen communities. Successful community engagement is the positive, constructive convergence of strong community building efforts and active community organizing with a relentless commitment to community leadership.

-Reemberto Rodriguez, NeighborWorks America

Source: PMC, 2012

Who is the public or community?

Any individual or group of individuals, organization or political entity with an interest in the outcome of a decision.

• Residents • Business owners • Employees• Elected Officials• Advocacy groups • Government agencies • Youth and seniors • Minority, limited-English proficiency, and low-income

populations • Other community-based organizations • Visitors, seasonal residents

Source: PMC, 2012

Core Values of Participation1. Public participation is based on the belief that those who are

affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.

2. Public participation includes the promise that the public's contribution will influence the decision.

3. Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.

4. Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision.

5. Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.

6. Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.

7. Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.

Source: IAP2

Spectrum of Public Participation

Source: IAP2

Increasing Levels of Public Participation

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower

“We will keep you informed”

“We will keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns”

“We will work with you to ensure that your concerns and aspirations influence decisions”

“We will look to you for advice and innovation”

“We will implement what you decide”

Increasing Levels of Time and Cost

Principles of Good Practice1. Promote active and representative participation toward

enabling all community members to meaningfully influence the decisions that affect their lives.

2. Engage community members in learning about and understanding community issues, and the economic, social, environmental, political, psychological, and other impacts associated with alternative courses of action.

3. Incorporate the diverse interests and cultures of the community in the community development process; and disengage from support of any effort that is likely to adversely affect the disadvantaged members of a community.

4. Work actively to enhance the leadership capacity of community members, leaders, and groups within the community.

5. Be open to using the full range of action strategies to work toward the long term sustainability and well being of the community.

Source: Community Development Society

Principles of Participation• Inclusion• Diversity

• Trust • Respect• Accountability• Transparency

• Innovation• Opportunity

• Education• Empowerment• Engagement

Community Engagement Process

Considerations when designing a participation program

Source: Boswell, Greve, and Seale, 2012.

• Administration – whether or not to do it and how to provide resources.

• Objectives and purpose – outcome: what are we asking of participants? Education, Preferences, Direction, guidance, etc.

• Stage – when in the planning process• Targeting – stakeholder types• Techniques – what tools, strategies,

approaches will complement objectives

Effective Process

Source: PMC, 2012

Effective Process

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

• Have a clearly defined expectation for what they hope to accomplish with the public

• Are well integrated into the decision-making process• Are targeted at those segments of the public most

likely to see themselves as impacted by the decision (stakeholders)

• Involve interested stakeholders in every step of decision-making, not just the final stage

• Provide alternative levels of participation based upon the public’s level of interest and reflecting the diversity of those participating

• Provide genuine opportunities to influence the decision

• Take into account the participation of internal stakeholders as well as external stakeholders

Effective Process

Source: PMC, 2012

• Clear ground rules

• Clear communication about how input will be used

• Expert facilitation

• Early involvement

• Follow up and follow through

Community Engagement Tools

How do we reach people?

Challenges to engage

Source: PMC, 2012

• Traditional forums for people to provide input (hearings, projects) are not the ways people like to spend their time

• Limited time and busy schedules

• Lack of trust in government

• Will I really make a difference?

How do we reach people?

Source: PMC, 2012

• Stakeholder meetings and interviews• Advisory groups, steering committees• Community workshops• Open house• Charrettes, studios• Onsite activities – walking tours, planning van• Real-time voting (Turning Point)• Existing community events, meetings, and

organizations• Website and online tools• Surveys (phone, paper, online)• Social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Google• Community newsletters, email• Phone calls

How do we encourage participation?

Preference and Issue identification activities

Visioning, Brainstorming

How do we encourage participation?

Source: PMC, 2012

• Comment cards • Maps • “Dot-mocracy” exercises • Brainstorming exercises • Facilitated discussions • Card games • Online games • Electronic polling • Surveys • Prioritization exercises • Green, yellow, and red light exercises • Art • Conversation

Examples

Source: PMC, 2012

Participating in Current Planning

• Know the organization of your government agency – city, county, CSD, special district

• Bookmark the website, visit it frequently• Monitor meetings of advisory and decision-making

boards, commissions, and councils• Review agenda packets – look for updates from

planning staff, activity reports, agenda forecasts

• Watch/attend meetings to learn how your elected and appointed officials make decisions

• Participate in professional & civic organizations – newsletters, e-blasts, mixers

• http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/planning/newsltr_activities.htm

Participating in Current Planning

• Examples of permit reports available online

• SLO County Department of Planning & Building Activity Reports

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/planning/newsltr_activities.htm

• City of San Luis Obispo Community Development Department - Planning Applications Received & Building Permits issued

http://www.slocity.org/communitydevelopment/log.asp

Participating in Long-Range Planning

• See participation in Current Planning• Find and review existing long-range planning

documents – General Plan, Specific Plans• Some include timeframes for updates

• Participate in budget/goal setting meetings• Review annual budgets and budget forecasts,

planning department progress reports• http://

www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PL/pdfs/gpprogress1112.pdf

• Local long-range planning projects• http://www.slo2035.com/• http://www.centralcoastghgplanning.com/