January 11, 2005
SUBJECT: Update on City-wide Community Building Initiative
REPORT IN BRIEF
In January 2004 staff reported to Council on progress toward improving the City’s communications and outreach efforts, RTC#02-024, Update on Improving Communications and Outreach Efforts, Including Outreach to Multicultural Populations. The report included a summary of activities resulting from the City’s community building initiative, which had been launched in 2001 as the Integrated Neighborhood Services Project. This report summarizes the full scope of City activities resulting from the initiative, presents a recommended path forward, and requests Council direction. It is intended to aid Council in providing any needed future direction for the City’s community building efforts.
The City of Sunnyvale’s community building initiative focused in two areas: 1) improving the City’s outreach, or communication, to community members; and 2) encouraging community engagement, or participation by residents in the activities and decisions of local government. The initiative’s early activities focused on researching and evaluating best community outreach and engagement practices and, at Council direction, implementing new practices City-wide.
A third step was to integrate multicultural outreach into the City’s outreach activities as resources allowed. To address this aspect of the initiative, in early 2004 Council convened a Multicultural Outreach Task Force whose goal was to identify ways to improve outreach to, and engagement by, Sunnyvale’s multicultural populations. Recommendations from that task force were approved by Council in September 2004, with implementation scheduled by July 2005.
The initiative has increased understanding about the value of community outreach and participation, and resulted in greater utilization City-wide of outreach and engagement practices as feasible and appropriate.
BACKGROUND
The community building initiative was launched in FY2001/02 as the Integrated Neighborhood Services Project, focused on facilitating community engagement in Sunnyvale. The project team was composed of the Assistant City Manager and the Department Directors of the City’s service delivery departments: Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Public Safety, Library, and Community Development. At the 2002 Council Workshop on the initiative, Council provided the following success criteria, which served to guide the initiative throughout its development:
· Better informed, and more engaged community members
· Higher attendance at Council meetings
· Higher voter turnout
· More resident input on issues
· Equitably treated neighborhoods; more involved neighborhoods
· Higher community engagement in community related events and activities
· Higher satisfaction levels with City government
Attachment A, Update on Community Building Initiative, summarizes the project’s history. As noted, the major activities included holding a City-wide workshop to educate managers about the importance of community engagement, convening the Community Outreach and Multicultural Outreach Task Forces and implementing their recommendations, developing the Neighborhood and Community Services Program, and forming a partnership with Leadership Sunnyvale to deliver joint leadership training for civic engagement.
The City’s budget crisis, which began in early 2003, limited the project’s scope and progress, but many City-wide and department-specific activities have been influenced by the emphasis on community engagement which this initiative helped foster. Some highlights include:
· Expanded outreach for major City projects
· Expanded outreach around the City’s 2002/03 budget crisis
· Prioritization of City services in 2004
· Development of City-wide community outreach policies
· Increased emphasis on utilization of volunteers City-wide
EXISTING POLICY
Goal 7.2B Achieve a community in which citizens and businesses are actively involved in shaping the quality of life and participate in local community and government activities.
Goal 7.2C Assure that City services, programs, and policy decisions are responsive to community input and feedback while recognizing the limits to the City’s ability to expand municipal services.
Goal 7.2E Create a strong, positive community identify.
DISCUSSION
City government has a unique role in encouraging the civic engagement of community members, and helping to ensure that government decisions and actions reflect the broader community. While community building is not a primary focus of local government, local government can and often does affect its development. Sunnyvale’s community building initiative reflects the notion that working collaboratively internally and externally, City government can help to build a stronger sense of community and a higher level of community engagement in Sunnyvale.
Attachment A, Update on Community Building Initiative, summarizes the broad activities undertaken City-wide. One of the major results of the initiative was the implementation of the Neighborhood and Community Services Program in September 2003 (RTC 03-339). This program, focused on increasing community outreach and engagement, is multifaceted. A summary of its major components follows:
1. Support Neighborhood and Community Associations
· Coordinate quarterly meetings for neighborhood association officers to: network and discuss strategies that build association effectiveness, become better informed about City activities, meet City representatives, discuss neighborhood issues, and train new leadership.
· Provide assistance to neighborhood/homeowner/mobile home park association leadership in navigating City services, connecting with staff or City officials, securing City speakers for association meetings, or publicizing association activities.
· Send twice-monthly updates on City activities to neighborhood officers for distribution to their association membership.
· Maintain Neighborhood Association Registry (approved by Council in December 2003, RTC 03-411), association agreements, and Connect Directory. The Connect Directory is a listing of association leaders, and active community members who have requested to be added to the City’s e-mail update list.
2. Develop Community Engagement
· Provide training to community members in how the City of Sunnyvale works. Currently, the City is partnering with Leadership Sunnyvale to develop basic training in how to effectively work with local government to address issues. Pilot class is scheduled for spring 2005.
· Coordinate the Mayor’s Outreach Service, which annually introduces community associations to Sunnyvale’s mayor. At the Mayor’s discretion, councilmembers and board/commission members may also participate. In 2004, the Mayor was introduced to seven Sunnyvale neighborhood associations, and participated in a question and answer session at each. As requested by the Mayor, a planning commissioner also participated in these sessions.
· Extend and enhance outreach for Boards and Commissions recruitment.
· Provide neighborhood association start-up kits and support for “starter” community building events such as block parties.
· Provide the Community Liaison Service and the Community Line; maintain the City Web site’s Community Calendar.
· Send monthly updates on City activities to the “Connect” community member mailing list.
· Develop the Neighborhood News section of Quarterly Report which reports on and publicizes activities and events held in Sunnyvale neighborhoods.
3. Implement multicultural outreach practices.
· Implement Council-approved recommendations from Multicultural Outreach Task Force (RTC 04-206).
4. Support City-wide community building practices.
· Staff the City’s Interdepartmental Task Force. This task force is convened on an “as needed” basis to address cross-departmental issues. For example, in November 2003 it was convened for several months to address issues at the Peterson and Patrick Henry School sites.
· Support department staff in developing and implementing community outreach.
5. Conduct outreach about services for youth and families.
· Implement the Health and Safety Fair.
· Provide networking opportunities to Sunnyvale’s community service providers.
· Provide venues for outreach about issues affecting youth and families to Sunnyvale’s community service providers.
· Maintain the youth and family resources Web page, and publish the bi-lingual (English and Spanish), pocket-sized, Resource Guide to Frequently Requested Services which was developed jointly with the Department of Public Safety.
While the Neighborhood and Community Services Program is focused on outreach and community engagement, the community building initiative has also influenced the outreach practices of each of the City’s service-delivery departments. Descriptions of some of the continuing and expanded outreach activities follow:
Community Development
Practically all of the actions of the Department of Community Development have a potential direct impact on some part of the resident or business community. Community outreach, therefore, is an important part of all activities. Since the community building initiative was initiated, the Department has extended even farther its outreach efforts.
With the direction and support of the City Council, the Department in 2002/03 undertook a massive public outreach effort on proposed amendments to the Downtown Specific Plan. The $120,000 outreach program included five community meetings, construction of a 3-D model which was displayed in the Library, utility stuffers, and a full-color insert with response card in the Quarterly Report. Because of the high level of interest in Downtown, the Planning Commission took the unusual step of scheduling two community meetings in 2004 on a private development application. Over 500 persons attended the two meetings to review and discuss the Forum Development Group application to redevelop the Town Center Mall.
Most applications for planning permits require some form of public notice. In 2004 a pilot program was undertaken to test the effectiveness of an expanded notice area for single-family additions. Nearly four times the required number of nearby households were notified. The experiment demonstrated that such expanded notice does not generate a significant increase in public participation.
In 2003 a pilot program was initiated in a portion of Lakewood Village to test a new form of concentrated code enforcement wherein staff and residents would work together over a 12-month period to improve several blocks of single-family homes. The pilot program was successful in not only correcting code violations, but also causing property owners to make other needed improvements. Therefore, the Neighborhood Enhancement Program has been expanded to other areas of Lakewood Village, with similar intensive outreach to the residents and property owners within the target areas.
Library Services
Library outreach services were completely redesigned in FY2003/04 so that emphasis is focused less on the number of people at a meeting or an event, and more on the participation in the event, and the tools the Library can develop to assist in better communicating information about its services to the public.
The Library supports Council’s outreach initiatives by participating in annual City-wide events, such as Public Safety’s Pancake Breakfast and the Columbia Neighborhood Center’s Health and Safety Fair. Library staff routinely work with community groups to coordinate art displays, plan programs, explore collaborative grant opportunities, recruit volunteers for special projects, and promote services to children and teens at schools, and seniors at senior facilities.
The primary communication tool from the Library is its newsletter. Published six times a year, Between the Lines describes library services and resources in a way that is timely, useful, and relevant. In addition to the newsletter, Library services are promoted through the Quarterly Report, the Harbinger, the Web site, utility bill stuffers, news releases, email lists, and flyers. Recently published materials have highlighted comments received from the public, described the process for providing feedback, and encouraged active resident participation.
Department of Public Works
Since launching the community building initiative, the Department of Public Works has completed two high profile construction projects, the Mozart Development and Plaza Del Sol. A third, the Mathilda Bridge Rehabilitation Project, is in the preparation stage. Keeping the community informed of potential impacts from these projects is vital to their success. Various outreach efforts were undertaken in order to better inform residents and the business community and to encourage input. Some of the different outreach efforts by City staff included:
· Pre-construction outreach meetings;
· Meetings with representatives from downtown associations and the Chamber of Commerce;
· Weekly progress meetings with the general contractor to identify/resolve and provide advance information on upcoming construction activities to the community;
· Providing ongoing updates to the downtown business community;
· Follow-up on citizen inquiries/concerns;
· Advanced warning changeable message boards;
· Coordinated with City’s Public Information Officer to provide project information and publicize meetings in the San Jose Mercury News, KSUN, City’s Website and press releases to print and radio media;
· Meetings noticed to appropriate Council Committees and Commissions, and announced at City Council meetings.
Parks and Recreation
The Department of Parks and Recreation continues to go the extra mile to encourage community involvement in park and recreation projects and programs. For example:
· Compared to the building code requirement to notify household within 300 feet from site of construction, the Parks Division notifies a much wider range of households before park renovation projects begin. In general, all households surrounding the park, including those located on streets within one to two blocks of the park, receive notices.
· Parks Division typically holds two or more community meetings to announce plans for park renovation projects and to seek community input into the design of those projects. In addition to households surrounding the park, notices are sent to community groups who regularly use the park, such as Little League and Soccer League presidents. Meeting announcement notices are posted within the park.
· Specific examples of community Involvement in Park projects include:
o “Volunteer Day at Ortega Park” where Sunnyvale Rotary Club volunteers teamed up with park staff with and planted a Sensory Garden as part of the park renovation project.
o “Make a Difference Day” in cooperation with the City’s Volunteer Resources Office, volunteers worked with Parks staff to do some post-storm clean-up, and restore owl habitats at Baylands Park.
· Parks and Recreation Administration staff maintains a “Friends of Parks and Recreation” mailing list used to notify community residents of opportunities to be involved in Parks and Recreation services. The list includes local school principals and superintendents, presidents of groups the department has relationship agreements with, representatives of neighborhood associations, current and former Arts and Parks and Recreation Commissioners, and others who have worked with the department and continue to have an interest in parks and recreation activities. Portions of this list were recently used to invite participation in a visioning session looking to the future of the City’s Parks and Recreation Services as staff works to update the General Plan’s Recreation and Open Space Sub-Elements.
· The Recreation Division uses a wide variety of methods to notify citizens of its many programs and activities. In addition to printing the Recreation Activity Guide four times per year, program flyers and advertisements directed toward specific audiences are distributed through the schools, to parents and youth, and flyers announcing performing arts performances and events are mailed to households of interested citizens. Other examples include:
o More Recreation staff time has been devoted to keeping its web pages updated, easier to navigate and to use.
o Cultural Arts program promotion has recently expanded to include public service announcement to approximately 30 more media outlets to reach audiences from San Francisco to Morgan Hill and the East Bay, acknowledging that many of the “Evening of Cultural Arts” events have interest to a wide variety of ethnic groups as well as Sunnyvale residents. (For example, six Bay area radio stations which feature Celtic or Irish music were sent the public service announcement of Patrick Ball’s upcoming performance at the Community Center Theater.)
· The Parks and Recreation Department’s “response to customer concern" standard operating procedure ensures that we close the loop with those individuals who have experienced problems. We ask them whether we correctly understood their problem, whether they were courteously served by staff, and whether they were satisfied with the Department’s response.
Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety has long recognized the benefits of, and supported, community outreach. In the early 1980s the department established the Emergency Preparation Unit (now the Office of Emergency Services) and created the nationally recognized Sunnyvale Neighbors Actively Prepared (SNAP) and Sunnyvale Amateur Radio SE (SARES) programs. Both of these programs are still very active.
Other ongoing outreach programs include the Investigations Unit’s 245-DRUG tip hotline, partnership with the Mid-Peninsula Battered Woman’s Network’s Rape Crisis Volunteers, and the Hi-Tech Investigators Group (a combination of public and private entities). The Crime Prevention Unit’s ongoing outreach programs include Neighborhood Watch, the Moffett Park Security Group, and frequent visits to schools, and to neighborhood and community group meetings.
New DPS outreach programs include Volunteers in Public Safety (VIPS), the Bicycle Helmet Voucher Program (free bike helmets to youth who can’t afford them) and the Specialized Traffic Enforcement Unit’s Community and Residents Ensuring Safety (CARES) program, which enables residents to “borrow” and set up radar display devices in their neighborhood. DPS has begun exploring a gang prevention/intervention strategy modeled on Mountain View’s Challenge Team, which involves community members from a variety of organizations that provide services to youth and families.
Path Forward
While there is always room for improvement, the community building initiative has re-emphasized and enhanced Sunnyvale’s tradition and commitment to informing the community, and encouraging input and participation. As a result of the initiative, a variety of increased communications, outreach, and engagement activities and strategies have been implemented City-wide. Several options are available as a path forward for the City:
1) Continue with current levels of community outreach and engagement. This option enables staff to continue to implement community outreach at existing levels and within current budgets. Staff will continue to look for cost-effective ways to improve outreach, but will not explore new, costly, outreach options.
2) Hold a community building workshop, and conduct an informal community survey. In December 2002 Council directed that a community building workshop, informal survey, and comment line be developed to gather community input on how the City might support a more engaged community. However, as noted in a memo to Council dated February 23, 2003, those activities were put on hold to accommodate reallocation of staff resources due to the budget crisis. The comment line, now named the Community Line, is currently undergoing internal beta testing and will be officially launched in early 2005. The survey and community building workshop have continued “on hold”, but with Council direction could be conducted in the second half of FY2004/05. These activities would provide the City with specific feedback from community members about the importance of community engagement, and the appropriate role, if any, for city government.
3) Defer additional action until completion of 2005 study issues related to community building. Several study issues related to community building were identified and ranked highly at the December 2004 Council Study Issues Workshop. These study issues will further contribute to the City’s understanding of appropriate support for community engagement in Sunnyvale. The study issues related to community building that Council ranked, and may be completed in 2005, include (not in priority order):
· Explore Community Support for Community Events
· Grant Program for Neighborhoods
· Establish a Former Mayors' Taskforce to Implement Fundraising Events
· RTC Posting and/or Agenda Noticing Timelines for City Council Agenda Items
· Shop Sunnyvale Discount Card for Neighborhood Organizations
· Places of Assembly Located Within Industrial and Commercial Zones
· Socio-Economic Element Update
· Expanded Noticing for Buildings Over 45 Feet in Height
· Explore the Costs and Benefits of Declaring the Second Saturday in August as “Family Day” and Open Recreation Facilities to the Entire Community
· Consider New Policies to Reduce or Waive Fees for Community Use of City Recreation Buildings for Specific Types of Events
4) Reduce the City’s community building and outreach efforts as directed by Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Recommendations listed in the report can be absorbed in the Office of the City Manager FY2004/05 operating budget.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda in public places, on the City’s web page, and the publication of the general business/public hearing items in the San Jose Mercury News.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Council directs staff to convene the community workshop and informal survey that had been planned for 2003 to engage the community in identifying and evaluating community engagement activities.
2. Council directs staff to report back to Council on the City’s community building progress in 2006, following the completion of 2005 community-building related study issues.
3. Council directs staff to continue community building activities at current levels.
4. Reduce community outreach efforts as directed by Council.
5. Other direction as provided by Council.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Alternative #1: Convene the community workshop and informal survey that had been planned for 2003 to engage the community in identifying and evaluating community engagement activities; Alternative #2: Report back to Council on the City’s community building progress in 2006, following the completion of 2005 community-building related study issues; and Alternative #3: Continue community building activities at current levels.
This recommendation continues to emphasize the importance of community outreach within current budget levels. It also completes Council’s original direction and intent to include the larger community in the discussion about appropriate levels and types of community outreach and engagement activities. Finally, it appropriately delays decisions regarding further action until currently scheduled studies about community outreach activities are completed.
Approved by:
Amy Chan
City Manager
Prepared by: Coryn Campbell, Manager, Neighborhood and Community Resources
Attachments
A. Update on Community Building Initiative