Raleigh to Use Cutting-edge Community Engagement Tool as a Key Element of the New Comprehensive Planning Effort

If you are interested in shaping the future of the City’s built environment, Raleigh recently announced more details about the process it will use as it develops Raleigh’s next Comprehensive Plan (“CP”).  As we detailed in one of RaleighForward’s first blog posts, CP’s are the foundational documents that guide how a city’s built environment evolves over time.  RaleighForward also published related blog posts like how a future land use map fits into the CP process and how zoning and unified development ordinances  are used to implement policies contained in the CP.  All of this is intended to illustrate the importance of the CP in how a city develops over time.  All zoning, transportation and infrastructure enhancements are tied to the recommendations contained in a CP.  So, if you want to impact how Raleigh will evolve over the next 20-30 years, now’s your chance!

City staff recently gave a presentation with details about engagement and timing for developing the new CP.  Below is a general outline of the process and timeline:

RaleighForward was pleased to see that the process includes the use of a Citizen Assembly (also known as Lottery-selected Panel or Deliberative Democracy) for the first time in the City’s history.  RaleighForward started advocating for the use of this engagement tool since early in its founding. 

Why is the use of this engagement tool so exciting?  Because it shifts the emphasis from the traditional “self-selecting” model by using principles of scientific sampling to empanel a group of Raleigh residents that actually reflect the demographic profile of the City. Other key components of citizen assemblies include paying participants, providing meals and childcare.  The goal of this engagement technique is to eliminate as many barriers to consistent participation as possible so that participants are more likely to stay engaged throughout the process.  If/when a given participant fails to meet the participation expectation, a new participant with a similar demographic profile can be appointed to replace someone failing to meet the participation expectations.

It's also important to note that Raleigh is not abandoning the outreach and engagement strategies it typically uses, but the citizen assembly will provide insights about how the overall Raleigh population likely views the CP process. This can then be compared to the input from the self-selecting residents that consistently engage with the City, but are typically older, wealthier white homeowners. 

Here’s the takeaway.  The CP process only happens every 10-20 years. Whatever ends up in the new CP once it’s adopted will be the roadmap to Raleigh’s future over the next couple of decades.  Because this is so important, RaleighForward encourages residents to seek out opportunities to plug into the CP process as often as possible.  Most importantly, if you happen to be one of the people receiving an invitation to participate in the citizen assembly, don’t ignore it.  Participating in the City’s first citizen assembly will be exciting, educational, not to mention a truly meaningful opportunity to influence the City’s future.