CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE Department of Neighborhood Development Services City Hall Post Office Box 911 Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 Telephone 434-970-3182 Fax 434-970-3359 www.charlottesville.org November 14, 2018 TO: Charlottesville Planning Commission, Neighborhood Associations & News Media Please Take Notice A Work Session of the Charlottesville Planning Commission will be held on Tuesday November 20, 2018 at 5pm in the NDS Conference Room (610 East Market Street) AGENDA 1. 2018 Comprehensive Plan a. Land Use Map and Narrative – Materials from Nov 6th session: http://www.charlottesville.org/home/showdocument ?id=63475 b. Community Engagement – Materials from September 25, 2018 work session http://www.charlottesville.org/home/showdocument?id =62936 c. Review of Chapters 2. Public Comment cc: City Council Mike Murphy Alexander Ikefuna Planners Jeff Werner, Camie Mess Stacy Pethia, Tierra Howard, Lisa Robertson Suggested Draft for the Comprehensive Plan 2018 Community Engagement/Empowerment Chapter Submitted by the PLACE Design Task Force, CE Subcommittee The full development of this chapter should follow the Core Values from the International Association for Public Participation, adapted below. This will be accomplished over the next 9-12 months. The purpose of this new Community Engagement Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan is to foster community empowerment, shared governance, and equitable collaboration. We want to foster increased participation, especially by those who have never experienced government as responsive to their needs and concerns. This means especially African Americans who for generations have been marginalized, immigrant members of the community, and others with low income and/or low wealth. In this way, City decision-making will begin to reflect the agreed upon values of our entire community. We expect this process to be not just accessible but actively welcoming to all, predictable, transparent and accountable. In this vision, community members and representatives of city government are engaged in a continual process of construction and co- construction of governance and decision making based on these values: ● Right to be involved – Community Empowerment is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process. ● Seek out involvement – Community Empowerment seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision. ● Participants design participation – Community Empowerment seeks input from participants in designing how they participate. ● Adequate information – Community Empowerment provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way. ● Contribution will be thoughtfully considered – Community Empowerment includes the promise that the public's contribution will be thoughtfully considered. ● Recognize the needs of all – Community Empowerment promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision- makers. ● Known effect of participation – Community Empowerment communicates to participants how their input affected the decision. Timeline and Process Suggestions: Significant time should be spent with outreach, perhaps employing a firm such as Justice and Sustainability Associates, before beginning the process of letting the participants design their participation. We understand that this requires a fundamental shift, a different way of doing things, and will require public participation and check ins at every step along the way. A group of residents will be identified to assist in this process. Participation should not be through Council appointment, which can create a barrier to participation for some people, but instead by recognizing and honoring the people who attend and offer to help do the work. It must be open to all. We recommend starting by defining shared terms such as community, engagement, participation and equitable collaboration. We must ask people what they want from their City government. In addition, care must be taken along the way so that our efforts reflect the demographics of our community before moving forward.