Summer 1998

Since You Asked . . .

There was one set of unanswered questions remaining from the June 3 audio conference, Public Anger and Community Decision Making.

How do you conduct the pre-meeting for the planning commission meeting? Is it formal or informal? How do you avoid ex parte communication at a pre-meeting? (Bennett Boeschenstein, City of Fruita, California)

We suggested that pre-meetings before the public hearing are one approach to reducing citizen hostility. Their form depends largely on the magnitude of the project and public concern.

One. Simply bring the respective interest groups together for an informal discussion and clarification of the issues. Go to the neighborhood in which the project is proposed, but hold the meeting on neutrl turf, such as a school. The planning staff (with the director lending weight) acts as the facilitator. Planning commission members and lawyers (except as citizens) should not be in attendance. The exception is when the commission serves as staff. The purpose is to share information outside the formal public hearing place. Civility is the keystone. Notes of key points should be kept on a newsprint pad so everyone can see them, making sure the wording approved by the person making the points. Do not debate; rather emphasize an understanding of the details of the proposal and the specific concerns. If possible, alternatives on details should be discussed. Assess whether any number of adjustments will make it acceptable or whether the project is simply unacceptable. Invite representatives of each organized neighborhood group. Keep the meeting functional.

Make sure the constraints the staff operate under in the project review are understood. For example, the density of a given residential project or shopping center may be a matter of right under existing zoning. The only areas of discussion theoretically are the design, parking areas, egress and access points, etc. Make clear what is possible for the planning commission to affect legally and what is negotiable only if the applicant agress.

Subsequent meetings may be desirable in lieu of going immediately to the formal decision-making meeing. There are no concrete rules; this is a judgment call.

Two. Pre-meetings may serve to create a beighborhood plan or subarea plan for the area in which the project is located. In denver, one project evolved into a plan that took one and a half years, and resulted in the adoption of a neighborhood plan that addressed the shopping center, and the redevelopment of the adjacent business area, densities for surronding residential areas, design guidelines for new development, a new park, and various public-private financial schemes.

Three. Small projects can even be discussed in a pre-meeting in neighbors' homes. Staff provides cookies and refreshments and the developer attends. It's very difficult for people to become hostile in someone's home.

Four. Pre-meetings in the planning office with the developer's consultants are legitimate work sessions. These should be attended only by staff and the applicant's consultants. Concerns of planning commission members and citizens should be relayed through the staff. Citizens do not necessarily have to be invited but, if they request, they should be allowed to attend. (Answer by Bill Lamont, former Planning Director of Denver, and planning consultant)