ARTICLE
The art of making good public policy is not easy work. There is a fine line between politics and the public process. Internally, those who work at city hall, county government or with a state and federal legislative or other government agencies know firsthand that making public policy is a ‘contact sport’. Seldom is it messier than through the local government planning process. After all, the decisions made at the city and county level are ‘issues’ which have an immediate impact in our backyard - good or bad depending on where you stand on the issue. The results to the community, a neighborhood or a corner block of town cannot be understated. Let’s take a clear and honest look at the City’s Corridor Plan. It has been a process that started 20 months ago with the retention of an outside urban planning group to act as a convener and ‘professional facilitator’ guiding us through 22 public events, workshops, community meetings, reports to finally reach the open public hearing timeline. If you have attended any of those meetings - you can see a common theme expressed. No one disagrees that the City staff is working to find a new land use policy to meet the changing times. The old 1950s, 60s and 70s land use planning is not in step with a 21st Century sustainable community. The new style of our urban core planning line is in more attractive and transit oriented land use. The corridors, if left to the current outdated land use designations, won’t allow for proper and anticipated growth for Santa Cruz in the next twenty years. This corridor plan, which is melding of the past policies through a thorough design process, can make for better and long term use of our major transit corridors. Yet, the public process is being sabotaged by those residents who don’t want change. Today, with the disenchanted and partisan approach to governing, especially in these trying times of a divided federal government, our public demands have lost sight of the role that our public officeholder must adhere to. Your right of free speech and ability to express your views on any subject is an American privilege. Thank goodness we have such liberty. Yet, it is common place to see a crowd of citizens (usually angry) storm their city council chambers or the county building to display their strong action and displeasure against the policy issue in debate. There is nothing wrong with expressing your opinion. That is America. However, today’s debate on public policy issues is stuck in a dysfunctional process where each party, organization and group argue with misinformation resulting in an interaction that is not based on common facts and substance. The best way to your end goal is to discredit the opponent, the public vetting process and mislead the community through the never ending use of social media and public demonstration. Lost to the public eye is the fine art of the public process that starts with an idea or a need to make changes to a long standing policy that will improve our communities. The initial effort starts with laborious hours of work by government staff, department heads and then the draft product is released to the public for an open exchange. Finding consensus should drive the decision making process. Next month, the City will again convene another Community meeting to provide an updated view of the Corridor Plan which will lead to a recommendation to the Planning Commission and eventually to the City Council. You can review the planning document here: City Corridor Plan or you can go the City Planning Website: http://www.santacruzcorridors.com/ As this public hearing process moves forward this summer and into the fall, take the time to read, listen and learn what the recommendations are for the future of our City. It is ok to politely agree to disagree but in the process, remember common sense and that developing a Sense of Community takes Pride, Passion and Respect.
The art of making good public policy is not easy work. There is a fine line between politics and the public process. Internally, those who work at city hall, county government or with a state and federal legislative or other government agencies know firsthand that making public policy is a ‘contact sport’. Seldom is it messier than through the local government planning process. After all, the decisions made at the city and county level are ‘issues’ which have an immediate impact in our backyard - good or bad depending on where you stand on the issue. The results to the community, a neighborhood or a corner block of town cannot be understated.
Let’s take a clear and honest look at the City’s Corridor Plan. It has been a process that started 20 months ago with the retention of an outside urban planning group to act as a convener and ‘professional facilitator’ guiding us through 22 public events, workshops, community meetings, reports to finally reach the open public hearing timeline. If you have attended any of those meetings - you can see a common theme expressed. No one disagrees that the City staff is working to find a new land use policy to meet the changing times. The old 1950s, 60s and 70s land use planning is not in step with a 21st Century sustainable community. The new style of our urban core planning line is in more attractive and transit oriented land use. The corridors, if left to the current outdated land use designations, won’t allow for proper and anticipated growth for Santa Cruz in the next twenty years. This corridor plan, which is melding of the past policies through a thorough design process, can make for better and long term use of our major transit corridors. Yet, the public process is being sabotaged by those residents who don’t want change.
Today, with the disenchanted and partisan approach to governing, especially in these trying times of a divided federal government, our public demands have lost sight of the role that our public officeholder must adhere to.
Your right of free speech and ability to express your views on any subject is an American privilege. Thank goodness we have such liberty. Yet, it is common place to see a crowd of citizens (usually angry) storm their city council chambers or the county building to display their strong action and displeasure against the policy issue in debate. There is nothing wrong with expressing your opinion. That is America.
However, today’s debate on public policy issues is stuck in a dysfunctional process where each party, organization and group argue with misinformation resulting in an interaction that is not based on common facts and substance. The best way to your end goal is to discredit the opponent, the public vetting process and mislead the community through the never ending use of social media and public demonstration.
Lost to the public eye is the fine art of the public process that starts with an idea or a need to make changes to a long standing policy that will improve our communities. The initial effort starts with laborious hours of work by government staff, department heads and then the draft product is released to the public for an open exchange. Finding consensus should drive the decision making process.
Next month, the City will again convene another Community meeting to provide an updated view of the Corridor Plan which will lead to a recommendation to the Planning Commission and eventually to the City Council. You can review the planning document here:
City Corridor Plan
or you can go the City Planning Website:
http://www.santacruzcorridors.com/
As this public hearing process moves forward this summer and into the fall, take the time to read, listen and learn what the recommendations are for the future of our City. It is ok to politely agree to disagree but in the process, remember common sense and that developing a Sense of Community takes Pride, Passion and Respect.