November 2008
The Orange County Commissioners are expected to vote on the Planning Board’s Comprehensive Plan proposal at their November 18, 2008 meeting (see item 6.b. of the November 6, 2008 Commissioners Meeting Agenda for complete Planning Board report). For more than one year, the Comprehensive Plan Coalition has tracked the planning process. We’ve concluded a serious effort to solicit public opinion and advice is needed in order to improve the proposed plan. Without meaningful public participation at this critical juncture, adopting the plan will enshrine a document that was subject to decreasing public input as the planning proceeded. As a consequence the Coalition does not endorse the proposed Comprehensive Plan Update.
To read full Coalition Position Statement, click here.
Input provided but not heard
The Coalition sent a memo to the County Commissioners about our concerns regarding the public participation process in mid-August when we learned at a Planning Board meeting that the Board would only consider public comments that were “not too controversial or are not significant changes” to the draft plan. At the August 25 Public Hearing, we submitted a second memo on this subject. Unfortunately, our concerns had little impact. To the contrary, the Planning Board approved a “Statement for the Public Record” stating that “all comments have received thorough and equal consideration”. (See page 2 of the Agenda Item Abstract from the Commissioners Oct. 7 Regular Meeting ).
The Coalition has a difference of opinion with the Planning Board and likely the Commissioners on this point. Our main concern is that, while the proposed plan is comprehensive in its reference to existing county initiatives, the sum of its parts does not present a citizen-driven vision for the County’s future. Absent submitting the proposal to community outreach meetings and other venues for meaningful public participation, the County’s new Comprehensive Plan is unlikely to receive widespread community support – support which is critical to make this the effective planning tool necessary for Orange County to chart a path to a prosperous, equitable, and sustainable future.
Token Public Participation
For students of public participation in planning and other government functions, the Coalition recommends Sherry Arnstein’s classic 1969 article “A Ladder of Civic Participation” . It is our opinion that public participation in the Comprehensive Update process reached the middle rungs of Arnstein’s ladder, “Informing”, “Consultation”, and “Placation”. Arnstein labels the middle rungs as “levels of “tokenism” “.
The Coalition would prefer that citizen participation in the Comprehensive Plan Update process reached the highest rungs, collectively identified as “Citizen Power”.
