Newsreal 98105

City Neighborhood Council

Neighborhood Planning Forum  Saturday April 19^th  8:30 am – noon

Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall

Why have Neighborhood Plans?  
How and by Whom should a Neighborhood Plan be crafted?
What Can a Successful Neighborhood Plan help citizens accomplish?

Homeowners, renters, business owners all have a stake in the upcoming decisions on how the city will “update” the existing 38 neighborhood plans. Changes in neighborhood plans and policies are a precursor to land use and zoning changes as well as a way to identify and prioritize needed infrastructure improvements to accommodate growth. 

 The City Council is weighing a proposal from the Mayor to spread the updates over several years, group plans by geographic sector, and rely heavily on city staff for professional guidance.  

The City Neighborhood Council has raised questions about this approach particularly the way it differs from the grassroots model used when the plans were prepared in the late 1990’s.  

Come and join in the conversation on Neighborhood Planning II and help the Council decide what to authorize and how to allocate those resources. Hear from and talk to: 

·     Richard Conlin, City Council President

·     Sally Clark, City Council Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Chair

·     Stella Chao, Department of Neighborhoods Director

·     Jim Diers, author and consultant on neighborhood development

·     Tom Hauger, Senior Planner with DPD

·     Fellow citizen panelists with diverse experience in the successes and shortcomings of neighborhood planning and the current approach to dealing with the impacts of growth on neighborhoods citywide.

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Sign up as a Citizen Councilor to offer feedback to public officials on Transportation- Public Priorities, Choices and Funding.  Please pass this information along to your list serves, networks, friends and colleagues who live and work in King County to provide feedback on public policy issues.

If you live or work in King County sign up as a Citizen Councilor to participate in the Countywide Community Forums There is no minimum age requirement to be a Citizen Councilor.

Sign up at: http://www.CountywideCommunityForums.org

Topics King County requests feedback on include:

Transportation – Public Priorities, Choices, and Funding

The official role of the Citizen Councilor is to give your opinion on this important topic at a Community Forum hosted in your
neighborhood. Community forums will be conducted in March 2008 by citizens who volunteer to host one at their home, school, faith-based community, company, organization or civic group.

The King County Council recently passed Ordinance #15896 to implement a Citizen Councilor Network to generate feedback on public policy issues. The King County Council unanimously adopted Initiative 24 to create the office of Citizen Councilor Network within the County Auditor’s Office. The intent of this program is to enhance citizen participation, civic engagement, and citizenship education in government by involving community members who live or work in King County as Citizen Councilor volunteers.

Instead of gathering at a big meeting at one place and time, where only a few people can talk and most have to listen, the Countywide Community Forums provide a way for small groups of citizens to assemble in small groups (similar to talking with friends, family and co-workers around a table) to discuss important issues and share their opinions.

To ensure the opinions of all participants are properly understood, all of the small group gatherings are networked together in two ways. First, everyone watches, the same short video and reads the same summary of the key facts and different perspectives on the issue being discussed. Following the discussion everyone fills out a survey that asks specific questions about the current topic and also asks participants which topics they would like to discuss next. The surveys are then tabulated with the results posted on the web and shared with government officials and the media.

Involvement in this project is a great way to learn about issues, to use your voice, and to engage in democracy.

All who register as Citizen Councilors may participate in the
historic first round of Countywide Community Forums ever passed by elected officials.  The ordinance includes those who work in King County even if they don’t resident within the county line. 

Community Forums programs will officially launch when the first 1,000 Citizen Councilors are registered.

Please distribute this email to help disseminate this information to involve as many people as possible in this effort. There is no cost involved and your information will not be sold or used for solicitations.

Contact John Spady at (206) 296-1633 with questions.
Organizations may establish their own organizational code when registering; call first to do so.  You can also email communityforums@kingcounty.gov.
http://metrokc.gov/auditor/CCF