Update: August 25, 2023
ATN Committee Members: Jeff Blair, Rahni Spencer, and Rosa Morgan
Jeff reported the committee had another productive meeting with city representatives, Ashley Edwards (Neighborhood Affairs), Artie White (Planning), and John Reddick (Growth Management). This meeting focused on questions the city staff raised in the previous meeting regarding whether the process was policy or guidelines, whether it applied to just public projects or included private developments, and what triggers could be identified to initiate the process. The committee presented a revised version of the community engagement process at the meeting.
Jeff and Rahni indicated the following were additional points and next steps:
- Staff (John, Artie, Ashley) will get with other department heads including Underground Utilities and Infrastructure (UUPI), and the Communications Department to discuss our proposal.
- They will provide the committee with single-text feedback by mid to end-of-September.
- They agreed to meet with the committee again after we review their feedback.
- They indicated that in addition to Planning and Growth Management, Undergrund Utilities and Public Infrastructure (UUPI) will be an important group to vet our proposal.
- For public projects, we are talking about community engagement from beginning to end. For private projects, there may not be as much upfront information so that will affect the starting point.
June 23, 2023
Community Engagement and Notification Plan Process Recommendations
Public participation is central to good government and a strong democracy. While our city and county governments value such participation, it is difficult for the public to understand when and how to participate and when they do, they often feel their ideas are not included and their concerns are not addressed.
The Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods (ATN) has developed recommendations for a comprehensive, consistent, transparent, accessible, and equitable Community Engagement Policy and Process to encourage public participation in planning for the future of the City of Tallahassee and Leon County. Our Community Engagement and Notification Plan Process recommendations encourage and incorporate public participation in our local government processes.
ATN encourages both the City and the County to adopt these recommendations and provide sufficient resources to put them into action. We are currently vetting the recommendations with the directors of the Growth Management Department, Planning Department, and Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Affairs.