STAFF REPORT

Planning and Development Committee, June 19, 2008

 

Community Visioning (AD08-018)

Consideration of authorization to proceed with a “Community Visioning” process

Speaker: Mr. Bill Coleman

 

From:  William B. Coleman, Jr., Town Manager

Prepared by: Jeffery G. Ulma, AICP, Planning Director

Approved by: William B. Coleman, Jr., Town Manager

Approved by: Benjamin T. Shivar, Assistant Town Manager

 

Background

 

Following up on discussion at the 2008 Council/Staff Retreat, the town manager requested additional guidance on whether or not the Town should sponsor a “community visioning” project. On April 7, 2008, Town Council directed “… staff to come back to council with an outline for a long-term strategic planning/visioning process for the Town that keeps citizens engaged and maintains meaningful communication with the community” (see AD08-015).

 

Since that time, a technical team composed of staff members from several departments (Town Manager’s Office; Public Information Office; Police Department; Budget Office; Finance Department; Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department; and Planning) has investigated what it would take to pursue such an initiative. We are pleased to offer this summary information to council for review and further consideration, and recommend that we proceed with this extremely important effort.

 

Does Cary Need a New Vision?  

 

In staff’s opinion, yes, for a variety of reasons.

 

First, the community has been served well by the vision for Cary’s future set by civic and business leaders several decades ago. Many decisions have since been made to implement that vision. These include development of a separate utility system, extensive use of planned developments, attraction of office and retail land uses to achieve a better balance between residential and nonresidential development, creation of an extensive parks and greenway system, sustainability, and public safety. But, the world around us continues to change. Rapidly. Our region, like most growing regions in the country, is becoming more urban. Our citizens arrive from other urban locations, all walks of life, and from all parts of the world. They speak different languages and have different values. The shared vision Cary may have had 10, 20 or 30 years ago has not been updated in light of such changes. Hence, we must make sure we position ourselves to be able to respond to external pressures to maintain our status as the premiere community in North Carolina.

 

Second, the physical appearance of Cary is changing. Land resources are dwindling, with the cost of land increasing dramatically as the supply of vacant, developable land shrinks, while strong demand to be in our “top-notch” location continues. No longer is new development primarily in “greenfield” areas on the fringes of Town. Indeed, we are now using terms like “infill” and “redevelopment” on a regular basis.

 

Third, we have not undertaken a broad, community-wide public involvement campaign in years. The last time that an extensive citizen participation process was conducted was in 1994-1995 when the town-wide land use plan was developed.  Since that time, although we have conducted dozens of separate community meetings, hearings, and open houses that focused on different topics, projects or geographic areas, we have not worked together as a community to discuss a common future.

 

Finally, we hear citizens express concern about the direction of the community as they participate in various meetings, surveys, and conversations. They question the long-term future of the Town. It is time to involve them in defining a new, shared, common future for Cary. Additionally, it is time to enlist the business community, major corporations, civic groups, special interest groups and other organizations in not only determining, but implementing, the future of Cary.

 

What is Visioning and What is its Purpose?

 

Visioning is a structured public process used to guide a community as it looks at itself and decides what it wants to be at some point in the future. From Appleton, Wisconsin to Chattanooga, Tennessee to the Wasatch region of Utah, hundreds of cities, towns and regions have engaged their business leaders, nonprofit agencies and citizens in a community dialogue to set an overall direction for the future. Examples of such visioning efforts include Champaign County, Illinois’ “big.small.all”; Portland, Oregon’s visionPDX; Blueprint Houston; and Envision Utah. Out of these processes, communities then determine "what needs to be done" and "how to do it" to secure a successful future.

 

It is important to note that this is not just a land use plan update. Visioning efforts do not simply address land use or growth and development (although these are components), but instead cover a much wider spectrum of community issues and concerns. These often include topics like the natural environment, transportation, downtown, community services, recreation, economic development, education, workforce development, housing and human and fiscal health.

 

Who Manages the Visioning Effort?

 

In some places, the impetus for developing a new community vision is a “grassroots” project sparked by a private, nonprofit group or the business community. For example, Chattanooga Venture conducted Vision 2000 in the city of Chattanooga. Chattanooga Venture was a not-for-profit organization that facilitated citizen participation in establishing the agenda for the City's future. This organization also helped address strategic issues for the community's vitality, and served as a change catalyst. Formed in 1984, Chattanooga Venture was founded on the premise that community success benefits from a process that incorporates ideas from the community, and it is supported by citizens who form coalitions to implement decisive changes. In other cases, local government units spearhead the program.

 

Additionally, different places also structure their project “leadership team” in a variety of fashions, with some efforts relying upon an appointed steering committee and others using a consortium of partners to work together. The latter is being done in Bend, Oregon as that community proceeds with its “Bend 2030” program.

 

What is the Typical Visioning Process?

Fairly standard models for conducting a visioning process exist. Essentially, they all boil down to leading community discussions about these four components: (1) Analyze the Existing Situation and Forces of Change; (2) Determine Where the Community Is, (3) Decide Where the Community Wants to Go, and (4) Lay Out an Action Plan for Implementation.

 

Penn State University’s Cooperative Extension Service assists its Pennsylvania jurisdictions with a program designed exactly along these lines:

•    Setting Our Course

•    Where We Are

•    Where We Want to Be

•    Making the Trip

Similar approaches can be found in other states like Oregon, whose process is represented by the following flowchart:

 

 

Desired Outcomes/Results

 

Some of the outcomes of a visioning project include the following results:

 

1.         First and foremost, visioning facilitates a community dialogue.

2.         Visioning enables the establishment of a shared, common future to achieve.

3.         A community-developed, comprehensive vision provides a basis and rationale for making future decisions.

4.         A vision plan provides policy and operation direction to staff.

5.         A visioning effort should involve and/or develop new community leaders and groups who become more “owners” of the process and take on subsequent actions to make the vision happen.

 

What Will Visioning Cost and How Long Will it Take?

 

Costs and timeframes for visioning exercises vary from place to place.  Some of these initiatives take several months while others take years to conduct.  Such efforts depend upon the size of the place, the community’s commitment to the project, the level of citizen involvement, the methods used to gather public input, the amount of publicity and information provided to the community, and the topics (and level of detail) to be addressed.

 

Additionally, the use of consultants (or multi-firm consulting teams) to assist and facilitate the process will affect time and cost considerations. For quick comparison purposes, Columbia, Missouri’s Imagine Columbia’s Future took 14 months with a cost of $158,000 for a consultant to facilitate the process. The Champaign County, Illinois effort is slated to take two years at a cost of $320,000.

                             

What Features Should Cary’s Visioning Effort Incorporate?

 

In keeping with our reputation, the staff team firmly believes that any effort should be “done right.” Setting a community vision for Cary cannot be taken lightly and should include a wide and varied public information, education and involvement campaign. For the ultimate vision to belong to, and be part of, the community, it must be developed by the community.

 

We think that a well-qualified consultant with considerable experience in managing, coordinating and facilitating visioning exercises for communities our size or larger should be hired to assist with this process.

 

We should also do all we can to involve as many stakeholders as possible in this effort. And while many citizens may participate “electronically,” we also want our residents to get out and meet their neighbors face-to-face by attending public workshops, forums, community meetings and other similar venues to talk about the future of Cary.

 

Fiscal Impact: Due to the many variables mentioned above, it is difficult to predict the costs associated with development of a community vision. However, staff estimates that a funding commitment of $350,000 to $500,000 would be required. If authorized to proceed, the staff team will develop a specific budget request for Council’s consideration before any work begins.

 

Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that council approve work on an extensive community visioning project, including development and issuance of an RFP for specialized consulting services to assist with the effort.