Public Outreach & Engagement UpdateNovember 29, 2016

Presenters: Cathy Capriola, Peggy Flynn, Bob Brown, Russ Thompson, & Sherin Pourabedin

Agenda

• Review the City’s current communications goals and objectives.

• Provide an update on City communications efforts over the past 9 months

1) communication infrastructure & content2) revamp public noticing3) implement new & enhanced outreach tools

• Establish next steps

Key Messages

• Novato has a long history of engaging the public and a community culture of activism and participation.

• We have built a professional communication program to deploy a robust, consistent and transparent public engagement effort.

• We have responded to recent frustrations and tensions regarding public noticing and engagement--similar to what other public agencies are experiencing as well.

• We have built communications infrastructure to support our public information and engagement efforts—by deploying best practices staff has developing procedures, processes and training.

• Recommending a framework for public noticing of private development and capital projects to ensure clarity and consistency of expectations for the Council, community and staff.

Simple—Not Easy

There is no one-size-fits-all in public engagement.

Engaging the community in a meaningful way first requires an understanding and commitment of the philosophy and vision of public engagement.

Requires time before the project/program/initiative starts to plan thoughtful outreach & engagement.

Each activity, policy, or program development process is unique and yet requires a consistent and reliable approach of communication and noticing.

To establish trust, efforts must be reliable, consistent, timely, accurate, and helpful—we should be the first place our community comes for City information.

Communications Goals

• To build trust through transparency and accessibility

• Engage early and often

• Ensure many opportunities for feedback & conversation

• Identify all of our audiences

• Improve responsiveness by meeting people where they are

• Show our community that we are listening

Communication Objectives

Empower

Provide public with timely, helpful, balanced and objective information to increase awareness and/or understanding of issues, alternatives and solutions.

Solicit & gather public feedback on options and alternatives before making a decision

eNotificationsPublic noticesWebsiteFact sheetsE-mails/LettersNewslettersMeetingsSocial mediaOnline forums

SurveysOpen NovatoSocial mediaOnline forumFocus groupsFeedback formsWorkshopsPublic hearing

Work closely with the public throughout the process to identify and address issues and concerns

SurveysMeetings CommissionsCommitteesWorkshops Charrettes

Partner with the public in every aspect of the decision—making process, including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution

SummitVisioningTask ForceConsensus-

building

Place final decision-making in the hands of the public

Citizen juryBallotsDelegated decisionsVoter referendums

Ex

am

ple

sT

oo

lsD

efi

nit

ion

ALL: procedures, programs, land use, projects, plans, new policies & laws

Downtown SMART Station, Hamilton Pedestrian Xing

The Square Shopping Center, Land use applications

City Manager Ad Hoc Housing Working Group

Black Point, Buck Center

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate

Where our Community Gets City Info

59% of surveyed residents prefer to get

City info via e-notification

68% of surveyed residents receive City

information online

Source: 2016 City survey data

Public Engagement & Community Outreach

What We’ve Heard:

● Notification needs to occur earlier in the process.

● Information is difficult to read and understand; not helpful.

● Cannot find additional information on the topic or doesn’t

know where to go to find it.

● Community perspective is not considered prior to a project

moving forward.

● Updates on projects are not provided regularly.

● Uncertain how decisions are being made and feel as though

their concerns aren’t being solicited or heard.

● Lack of defined notification for capital projects.

Public Engagement & Community Outreach

What We’re Doing:

● Bolster communications infrastructure to ensure

consistent, proactive and reliable information source for the

community on city projects (development and capital) and

on projects by other public entities that affect our

community.

● Set clear expectations for public noticing—internally and

externally—on all projects.

● Reach people where they are early and often and allow

them to participate conveniently and meaningfully—not just

coming to a public meeting.

Communications Infrastructure

Project Map & Webpages

20 new Public Works and Planning project webpages featured and organized by status

Project updates via e-mail and/or text message

Launched Sept. 2016

Public Works & Planning Projects

Project Map & Webpages

Ranked within the City’sTop 10 most-viewed webpages

Public Works & Planning Projects

Project name

Description & location

Status

Community Workshops &

Meetings

Project plans

Applicant contact info

City contact info

Other Agency Projects

Promotion: City news—homepage eNotification & text (SMS) Project webpages Nextdoor Facebook & Twitter

Notifications

novato.org/connectwithus

eNotifications 1,446 subscribers Avg 50 e-mails/month

Text Notifications 50 subscribers Avg 20 texts/month

E-mail and/or text notifications on topics of interest

Open Novato

novato.org/opennovato

Reaching People Where They Are

594 subscribers 1,200 participants

(equivalent to ~60 hours of public

testimony @ 3 mins each) 31 topics, primarily land use 95% approval rate

Online Surveys

3 major surveys since Jan 2016:500+ survey participants

novato.org/downtownstationnovato.org/hamiltonsolarnovato.org/hamiltonpedxing

Council Meeting Recaps

Sent out following the meeting

Summarizes Council actions &discussions in a timely manner

Gives media & community highlights of actions taken

Public Noticing

Public Noticing

● Private Development Review Process: depending on

application type, many state and local legal mandates

● Capital Improvement Projects: legal mandates only for

projects requiring CEQA

● Long-range Planning

● Infrastructure Planning Efforts

● Policy Initiatives – ordinance/programs – some legal

mandates

● Key financial decisions

Current triggers for public noticing

Public Noticing

Noticing Requirements/Costs:

● Public notification requirements codified in the

Municipal Code

● Requirements vary by scale/scope of the project

● Novato’s notification requirements all exceed state

minimum requirements—state = 300’; Novato = 600’

(600’ radius = 26 acres)

● Notification includes mailed notices to property

owners and non-owner residential tenants and, for public hearings, newspaper

advertisement(s)

● Average number of notices mailed per meeting per application: 200

● Average cost of typical 600’ mailing per notice: $225

● Average staff time to prepare mailed notice: 1.5 hours/notice

● Cost of mailed notice to all Hamilton residents (~2,000 notices): $1,200

Private Development Review Process

Public Noticing

Application Types that are NOT NOTICED:

● Building permits

● Changes of use not requiring a Use Permit or Design Review

● New or expanded single-story single-family homes, except Hillside areas

● Minor exterior modifications to commercial or multi-family structures

● Minor site or architectural changes (specific to a Planned Development)

● Accessory structures (sheds, trellises, fences, solar equipment) except in Hillside areas

● Daycare centers (14 or fewer children)

● Group homes (6 or fewer occupants)

● Home occupations

● Temporary uses (garage sales, car washes, construction storage)

● Minor sign permits

● Tree permits for non-heritage trees or emergency removal of dangerous trees

Private Development Review Process

Public Noticing

Development Review Process

Public Noticing

● Local notification practices vary, and are not highly regulated by State law.

● Input is critical early-on, before detailed plans and specifications are developed,

funded and permitted.

● Noticing is not “one-size-fits-all” – larger, more complex improvement projects

require additional noticing, and consideration of neighborhood concerns, and/or

impacts.

● The level of information about a project increases through the design process.

Initial notification is to explain technical project justification (needs), identify

options, and formulate funding strategies. Detailed information (design,

environmental impacts, etc.) becomes increasingly available as the design process

unfolds.

● Individual projects or studies typically involve multiple agencies inputs.

- TAM, Marin County Flood Control, Caltrans, Transit Agencies, NMWD, NSD, etc.

Capital Improvement Projects

On-site Signage

Project name

Brief description

Address

Applicant contact info

City contact info

Friendly URL for more info

Public Notices

Recently updated: Format; colored stock Easier-to-understand Expanded noticing Established SOPs Maps/graphics

Redesigned postcards

Public Notices

Recently updated: Format; colored stock Easier-to-understand Expanded noticing Established SOPs Maps/graphics

Redesigned postcards

Moderate capital improvements (construction costs typically between $100k and $1M)

- Hamilton Solar Carport- Bahia Mini Parks

Small capital facility improvements (construction costs typically under $100k) which may entail noise or temporary parking impacts.

- Enhanced crosswalks- Turf replacement

In-House Deferred Maintenance- Painting- Landscaping

Building permits, changes of use not requiring a Use Permit or Design Review, new or expanded 1-story single-family homes (except in Hillside areas)

Large capital improvements (construction costs over $1M)

- Downtown SMART Station- Hill Recreation Master Plan

Small new buildings or building modifications, Use Permits

Large subdivisions (5+ lots), new multi-family or commercial buildings, hillside homes

Tier 2Moderate Projects:

Neighborhood impacts• Notice 600’• Legal ad (if required)• Project webpage • Small on-site sign

Tier 3Small Projects:

Localized impacts• Notice 300’

Private Development Projects

(Planning)

Capital Projects

(Public Works)

ExemptProjects which do not require

noticing

Planned Developments, projects with General Plan or Zoning amendments

Tier 1Large Projects:

Community impacts• Notice 1,000’• Legal ad • Project webpage• Large on-site sign

Next Steps

Next Steps

Public Noticing

● Endorse the draft noticing “tiers” for public and private projects and move

forward to implement within the City’s protocols.

● Update the Municipal Code to implement revised development noticing

requirements and clarify procedures.

● Develop a Council policy regarding noticing requirements and procedures

for public works and other City capital projects.

● Develop easy-to-understand information on the City's development

review process to serve as a guide and overview for the public.

● Develop guidelines for story poles and/or other electronic 3D imaging

options including when required.

● Build neighborhood-specific outreach.

Next Steps

Public Engagement

● Update the City's Communications/Outreach Plan for review and adoption

by the City Council; 1-year work plan to be woven into the City's Strategic

Plan.

● Complete an internal administrative guide focused on communication and

outreach that includes policies, procedures, and resources for staff to

establish and improve stakeholder communication and outreach.

● Develop guidelines and provide support to staff on how to plan and

facilitate a public meeting.

● Continue to implement our current outreach tools, such as Open Novato,

and also monitor new tools/technologies to facilitate greater engagement

and outreach.

● Continue to solicit feedback and outreach regarding how residents and

other stakeholders want to engage and connect with the City.

● Evaluate and monitor our effectiveness.

Discussion