Agenda Item Name:
Title
Presentation: Growth Management - Update on Comprehensive Planning Equity Review, Community Engagement, and Best Practices
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Presenter:
Dr. Diedre Houchen, Equity and Community Outreach Manager; Jeff Hays, Growth Management Department Acting Director; and Ben Chumley, Growth Management Department Principal Planner
Description:
Staff will provide a presentation to review the ongoing equity and community engagement work for the Growth Management Department, best practices for equity in local comprehensive plans, and future work plans to address equity as part of the County’s Comprehensive Plan. Staff is not requesting specific Board action with this agenda item.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Receive presentation.
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Prior Board Motions:
August 24, 2021:
1. Adopt the Alachua County Equity Workplan Phase I
2. Adopt the Revised Enabling Resolution for the County’s Equity Advisory Committee
3. Direct Staff to develop a Community Outreach Management Plan for the County; and
4. Provide pay to staff for work as well as a stipend for advisory board members as part of the above actions.
In addition to the above motion, the Board has also directed Growth Management staff to evaluate and make improvements to its public notification and community engagement procedures for land use, zoning, and development related matters.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
There is no fiscal impact associated with this presentation.
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Strategic Guide:
Strategic Guide
N/A
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Background:
In August 2021, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the Alachua County Equity Workplan Phase I, launching the County’s overall equity and community engagement work. As part of the implementation of that Workplan, the Equity Core Strategic Leadership Team identified the Growth Management Department for departmental goal setting relating to equity.
In June 2022, the County’s Equity Core Strategic Leadership Team (Cohort 1) identified two specific short-term goals for the Growth Management Department. The first short term goal is to prepare draft amendments to the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan that would:
1. Clarify up-front “social equity”, "environmental justice", and other definitions, and
2. Clarify Future Land Use Element Objective 5.2, "Location and Compatibility", Policy 5.2.1, to articulate a universal goal around “neighborhood character” for institutional land uses instead of simply protecting neighborhood character only “by design” (i.e., applying design strategies such as buffers, setbacks, building orientation, etc.).
Work on these initial amendments to the Comprehensive Plan is underway and is expected to be completed in approximately 9 months.
The second short term departmental goal identified by the Equity Core Strategic Leadership Team is to create and implement a pilot community engagement structure that could be applied to all Growth Management projects. Staff has selected the farmworker housing code update for this pilot project. Work on the pilot project has recently begun and is expected to be completed this year.
In addition to the County’s Equity Workplan, there have been several recent major land use and development applications that have highlighted a need to better align community engagement practices and equity. Related to that, the County Commission has directed staff to implement improvements to public notice and community engagement practices on land use, zoning, and development matters. In response, staff has implemented several short-term measures to-date that are intended to increase the visibility and accessibility for planning, zoning, and development matters; increase discussion and dialogue between citizens, the County and development representatives; and provide more targeted engagement to promote conversations with advocacy groups and stakeholders.
The staff presentation will provide an overview and status update on the ongoing equity and community engagement efforts by the Growth Management department, review best practices and examples for addressing equity in local comprehensive plans, and review goals and plans for the next steps in the areas of equity and community engagement.