Sector Planning And The Comprehensive Plan B 9

The Austin Comprehensive Plan Is Coming! Convene a Citizen Task Force for Community-Based Planning: We need to work together to find greater capacity through equitable principles towards better Governance of our Communities (and we all exist in Communities!) Version: February 7, 2009

“ THE SECTOR PROJECT” First Step: Creation of Council-Appointed Task Force that helps design the structure to Build Community within a process that geographically anchors the Comprehensive Planning Process

Mission of the Initial Task Force: to recommend a citizen-based structure for a Comprehensive Plan that engages and projects us through the coming economic hard times to get the maximum possible outcome for our community’s welfare – An Interactive Process, Convening a Sector System for Austin’s Comprehensive Plan

DRAFT RESOLUTION NO. ____________

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN:

Whereas, the success of updating the Comprehensive Plan will depend on a broad and effective community outreach process, and

Whereas, the Planning Commission will need all the help it can get, and

Whereas, the success of implementation of the Comp Plan will depend on geographically sensitive, ongoing community engagement,

Therefore the City Council authorizes the creation of an initial Task Force, interfacing with the Planning Commission and City Staff, to design and implement the citizen participation process and/or structure for the update for Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan (as such update is referenced in Resolution No. 20071213-056), and to design the initial community outreach components for the Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan.

Initially the Task Force will consist of seven members, one person appointed by each Councilmember and the Mayor, and three ex officio members of the Planning Commission, one being the Chair of the Planning Commission, the second being the Chair of the Planning Commission’s Subcommittee on Comprehensive Planning, and the third being a member who has prior experience with environmental planning issues. Each of the Planning Commission representatives may from time to time choose substitutes to represent them on the Task Force.

In addition, the Task Force will make recommendations on the goals, principles and elements for the next phase of the Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan. The Task Force will report to the Planning Commission and the City Council as soon as possible on its recommendations.

Map from the 1979 Austin Tomorrow Plan and its Zones (the current anchor for the present Comprehensive Plan)

Criteria for Zones in the 1979 Austin Tomorrow Plan

Zones should be fairly equal in population

Zone boundaries should recognize established neighborhoods and major natural features, while remaining as geographically compact as possible

Zone representation should be balanced according to ethnicity, age, sex and occupation

Council, Task Force, and Staff Organization City Council Initial Citizen Task Force: for the Initial Design of goals, principles and elements of the Citizen Participation Process City Manager Planning Staff and Consultant: Provide Interactive Database Structure to inform and be informed by the Citizen Participation Process Planning Commission New Citizen Task Force: for Implementation of the Steps in Citizen Participation Process

Unleashing a Community’s Ability to Design the Future !

This planning process will maximize the benefits of citizen-based interactive dialogue and deliberation within all communities and sectors

-- new information technologies make it possible for the coming comprehensive plan’s database to be available to governments and to sectors and to citizens at their local computer

-- an individual’s ideas will have the potential to become a community’s asset, not merely a complaint about how government can’t even fix pot holes…

Motivation for Comprehensive Plan Now Compared to 1979

an interactive neighborhood planning structure that works for all Austin

any planning cycle or process which becomes contentious at the end makes annual updates impossible and leads to continued dysfunctional systems and results

We need to understand that, in order to create a successful community infrastructure, it must be included in the Comprehensive Planning process from the beginning

2009: Challenges with Current Planning Process

Austin’s growth has exploded in the last thirty years

City staff is limited and is already occupied by current planning issues in multiple areas

The capacity in the community to move forward on issues such as housing and transportation has been challenged

Citizens can feel alienated by the City because most decisions take place at “City Hall” and not close to the Sector where they live

Advantages of Sector Planning

Integrates the whole City into the neighborhood planning effort, and the Coming Comprehensive Plan

Allows for collaboration with neighborhood associations – aids in removing some of the animus between the City and neighborhoods

Provides community leadership growth in city planning

Identifies “local” sector resources (i.e. university, neighborhood associations, transportation planners, etc.)

Allows creative solutions with grassroots citizens

The “Seven Steps” of Sector Planning: Three Steps in the First Year

First 6 Months

1. City Council approves and selects task force to design the citizen participation structure for the planning process (8-15 Sectors, depending on efficiency issues), and the Task Force makes a report to the Planning Commission and the City Council for Citizen Participation Structure.

2. After the City Council approves the process, Sectors leaders are chosen by City Council members, and the City staff begins database development with the consultant.

Second 6 months

3. City staff does initial review of sector databases; sector leaders finalize sector boundaries which are approved by planning commission and city council.

The “Seven Steps” of Sector Planning: Four Steps in the Second Year

Third 6 months

4. Sector outreach to sector community.

5. Reevaluation by sector council based on community input.

Last 6 months

6. Planning Commission and/or task force reviews sector databases for consistency for a city-wide plan; city staff review sector databases for consistency for a city-wide plan.

7. Plan adopted by city council.

How Is the Planning Process Vetted Through Sector Councils?

Each Sector Council and city staff work to develop a time line for citizen outreach in each sector, tied to completion within a designated time frame determined by the City Council, upon recommendations by the City Manager

Each Sector Council component of the Comprehensive Plan then goes to the Citizen Task Force and then to the Planning Commission for review and incorporation into the citywide Comprehensive Plan

The citywide Comprehensive Plan is reviewed by the City Council

The City Council sets up a timeline for annual review and updates for the Comprehensive Plan, and, if the City Council ultimately decides, an election schedule for each Sector Council by the citizens in the Sector

Council, Citizens and Staff: Building the Interactive Collaborative Model City Council Final Approval of the Comprehensive Plan; Continuous Buy-in from the Community In the Sectors and Collaborative Updates by City Staff City Manager Planning Staff and Consultant Provide Interactive Database Structure to inform and be informed by the Citizen Participation Process Planning Commission New Citizen Task Force for Implementation of the Citizen Participation Process

Overview of Sector Planning 2009 City Council City Manager Planning Commission And/Or Task Force Neighborhood Planning And Zoning Department Sector A Sector B Sector C Sector D Sector X

Sector outreach to community

Neighborhood Associations

Citizens: anyone who wants to add ideas

University Community: research entities with academic input

Businesses: retail and commercial entities

Non-Profit Entities: CAMPO, Envision Central Texas, Human Services, Capitol Metro, environmental groups, etc.

Professional Community: planning entities not politically affiliated

Professional Community Non Profit Entities Businesses University Community Neighborhood Associations Citizens Sector Council

Reevaluation by Sector Council Based on Community Input

Does the input address the sector in relation to the city as a whole?

How do the ideas effect the city fiscally?

Does the input address desirable growth for the Sector and the City?

Citywide Policies Budget Issues Social Issues

Collaborative Planning Techniques! City Staff Sector Council Planning Commission And/Or Task Force

Austinites are all connected to their own place in town… Sector Council leaders ensure the connection to all parts of town… And sector planning encourages development towards self governance and away from total dependence on central City administration. We can do more with less!

The Comprehensive Plan should be the ongoing fulfillment of all of our visions, anchored in realistic data . This has never been so important for our City, our relationships, and our futures.

Questions?

Tim Mahoney

Phone: (512) 326-9944; Email: T i [email_address]

Organizational Supporters of the concept of the Sector Project:

The Convening Committee: http://www.neighboraustin.com/

(which also contains a copy of the current PowerPoint version of “The Sector Project”)

Texas Environmental Democrats of Travis County

For other supporters of the Sector Project concept:

Stephanie Webb: [email_address]

http:// austinforeveryone.blogspot.com /

Roberto Martinez: [email_address]

Steve Swanson: [email_address]

Ted Siff: [email_address]

Lisa Harris: [email_address]

David Richardson: [email_address]

Charlotte Herzele: [email_address]

Chris Riley: [email_address]

David Kobierowski: [email_address]

Barbara Aybar: [email_address]

(see next slide for more supporters, and/or contact Ti [email_address] to add your name to the list and/or to arrange for a presentation for your community organization)

More Supporters for the “Sector Project” Concept!