Item B: River Road/Santa Clara Transition Project - Final Report

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Workshop Structure Appendix A: Five members of the RR/SC Task Force agreed to meet regularly as a subcommittee to de- Project velop a method for providing outreach workshops to the neighborhood. The Subcommittee Methodology regularly shared information with the Task Force and asked for feedback on project design. The basic goals of the workshops were to: Create a positive and personal connection between government, neighborhood leaders, and residents. Focus on issues important to the community and welcome discussion on a wide variety of topics. Identify characteristics of neighborhoods that residents’ value. Answer questions about annexation, development, and transition issues. Disseminate information about neighborhood projects, services, and providers. The Subcommittee decided that a series of smaller workshops –“Neighborhood Conversa- tions” - would provide an environment conducive to listening and gathering meaningful feed- back from residents. How could the project connect with residents who are not already in- volved in local issues? The subcommittee asked active residents to serve as hosts, and to invite their neighbors or friends to the gatherings. Two pilots were initially conducted to test format and logistics – one hosted by a Task Force member and the other hosted by the River Road Community Organization. Resident hosts invited an average of 25 friends or neighbors to the workshops, resulting in average attendance of about 8 residents. However, the 1/21/06 workshop host invited 70 members of a neighborhood watch organization, and about 14 residents attended the event. Workshops were held in the early evening and lasted 1.5-2 hours. The series of 11 meetings ran from October 2005 to March of 2006. While the small, neighborly workshops provided high quality feedback, the subcommittee felt that it was critical to invite all residents in River Road and Santa Clara to a workshop. As a result, the River Road Community Organization and Santa Clara Community Organization each hosted a larger Neighborhood Conversation, inviting all residents through a mass mail- ing of their neighborhood newsletter. These meetings averaged 30 participants. Informational Materials A critical aspect of the outreach process was to provide residents with accurate information about how urban services are delivered to the neighborhoods. The Transition Project pre- pared a ten-page guidebook describing key urban services in River Road and Santa Clara, as well as a brochure explaining the goals of the project. In addition, the project worked with City staff to create a series of neighborhood maps with information about service districts, electoral districts, zoning and land use. Finally, the Subcommittee drafted an informal “dialogue between two residents” that Task Force members performed at the outset of the larger public outreach sessions. Workshop Content Active listening to resident ideas and concerns was the key goal of the workshops. The Sub- committee worked to develop three core questions that all workshop participants would ad- dress. Following is a sample agenda detailing the three core questions: Host: Shelley Hoffman Date: February 26, 2006, 7-9 p.m., located at her house Present: 9 River Road residents, 1 facilitator AGENDA I. Introduction: project background, questions 7:10 pm II. Creating Focus for the Neighborhood and a Vision for the Future 7:30 River Road/Santa Clara Transition Project—Public Outreach Report 11