◊ TIER ONE NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION ◊
March 12, 2019
Dear Mr. Jeff Coyle,
At our Tier One Neighborhood Coalition meeting on February 16th, 2019 at the Claude Black Center and then again to the Westside Neighborhood Association Coalition on February 21st, we presented a workshop on the Public Participation Principles. We’d like to commend Laura Mayes, Communications Strategist in the way that she answered questions and discussed concerns at the February 16thmeeting.
The following are specific recommendations we are requesting at this time. These requests are the results of discussions among neighborhoods on February 16thand on February 21st.
Recommended implementation strategies:
- Flow charts of CoSA processes, posted standardized minutes for all boards and commissions, livestream and archived video of not only City Council meetings, but Zoning Commission, Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment meetings as well (which is part of the Mayor’s directive) should be made available to citizens in a timely manner.
- City websites should be more informational and easier to search for specific information.
- Plans for development projects that require zoning changes or tax incentives should be madeopen to the public as soon as they are submitted.
- Public meetings should be put on one City calendar so that any overlap is clear.
- To implement the Principles of Public Participation Guidelines Ordinance residents should have the following options available to them when attending City meetings:
- Parking validation
- VIA bus ticket (similar to what you get for jury duty); could be downloaded as part of on-line sign in process
- Quantifiable metric(s) on public attendance at workshops (% of census tract; minimum #) for both CoSA and consultants should be required and available to the public
- A public expression of support by the City Attorney’s office for the rights of citizens, whether individually or as part of their representative Neighborhood Association or Community Organization, to use processes in place in order to challenge decisions made by city staff, i.e. appealing a DSD decision with the Board of Appeals.
- The establishment of a Neighborhood Commission. Again, this was a request that was made several times by T1NC of Mayor Taylor and City Manager Sculley’s response was to create the NHSD, which has not addressed the needs of neighborhoods and not provided that level of ombudsman ship that we are looking for.
- An acknowledgement of stakeholder public priorities. As one resident put it, someone taking a survey at a Siclovia event is not the same as an informed citizen that will be directly affected by a policy.
- There have been several incidences where a public official will imply that public meetings equate to public approval when that has not been the case. Public officials should not imply something that is not true and must be held accountable when they misrepresent the facts.
- We understand that the implementation of the Principles are focused on input, not the decision-making process. Tier One would recommend a more transparent decision-making process in which key stakeholders are a part.
We would appreciate feedback and information about how these recommendations are considered.
Thank-you,
Tier One Neighborhood Coalition Steering Committee
Cosima Colvin
Christine Drennon
Tony Garcia
Homer “Butch” Hayes
Cullen Jones
Ricki Kushner
Velma Pena
Cynthia Spielman
Amelia Valdez
Theresa Ybanez
cc:
Mayor Ron Nirenberg
District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval
City Manager Erik Walsh