The Public Participation Policy updates were approved by the City Commission on Monday, August 1, 2022.

“Public Participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a
decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.”
— International Association of Public Participation, Core Values

OVERVIEW

The heart of Imagine Kalamazoo is engagement. The City recognizes the importance of prioritizing meaningful engagement with citizens in all decisions that affect their lives. The City has created a Public Participation Policy and Community Engagement Guide & Toolkit to support outreach and engagement by the City, developers or project leaders, and neighborhoods.

Kalamazoo’s Public Participation Policy (PPP) was written following the nearly two-year Imagine Kalamazoo (IK2025) engagement process. The policy took the outreach practices from IK2025 and best practices from other communities around the country to create public participation goals and a toolkit to help anyone engaging the Kalamazoo community. When Kalamazoo was awarded the status of Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) the PPP was an essential piece of the application.

Since its initial creation in 2017, Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) staff has used the document to guide their outreach efforts - from zoning code updates to neighborhood plans to transportation projects and everything in between. CPED staff also encourages anyone applying to the City for zoning or project review approvals to utilize the engagement tools in order to inform and/or collaborate with those impacted by a proposed project.

In order to expand the PPP use, both internally by City staff and throughout the community, the staff is proposing the following updates to the PPP and the Community Engagement Guide & Toolkit:

  • Update the Guiding Principles of Engagement to more strongly consider the importance of outreach before, during, and after the completion of a project or plan.

  • Establish an internal Community of Practice (CofP) group that includes representatives from departments and divisions across the City. As keepers of the PPP, this group will:

    • Commit the City to achieving its engagement goals.

    • Facilitate collaboration between City Departments.

    • Support efficient engagement to prevent community engagement fatigue.

    • Support each other’s outreach efforts, especially during times of crisis or unusual circumstances.

    • Evaluate engagement tools to understand which may work best and in what situations.

    • Use the City’s Diversity Equity, and Inclusion lens to ensure those who are impacted by decisions are a part of the process.

    • Collect, evaluate, and share data gathered through engagement.

    • Share the City’s story throughout all its communities.

Community of Practice graphic and information.

  • Detailing the outreach requirements of applicants requesting zoning approvals or project review

Table listing Engagement Activities by Review Board & Commission.

  • Expanding the engagement guide and toolkit, to include more resources on virtual outreach options, creating accessible and inclusive events, & understanding the impact of a proposed project or plan in order to pick the right level of engagement.

Community Engagement Spectrum from the draft Community Engagement Guide
Engagement levels descriptions, examples, and activities from the draft Community Engagement Guide.

 OBJECTIVES

  • Create a Public Participation Policy that is both an overarching visioning document and a “one-stop shop” for engagement standards, tools, and graphics.

  • Support more robust and effective engagement by City staff

  • Increase engagement and communication between developers/applicant and stakeholders/adjacent property owners.

  • Outline required or recommended outreach activities by developers and petitioners for different project types.

  • Develop a guide to help create outreach plans.

  • Increase resources for accessible and inclusive meetings – whether they are in person or virtual


SCHEDULE:

Fall 2019/Winter 2020. Pre COVID City staff reached out to neighborhoods and the development community for review and comment on the new requirements for applicants seeking zoning approval or project review. The draft has also been online for review since Fall 2019. Comments received were incorporated into the current draft document.

  • Outreach to Planning Commission & Neighborhood Leaders

  • Outreach to Development Community

 

May 2022.

  • Discussion of the draft PPP with Directors of City departments.

  • Updated PPP and Community Engagement Guide & Toolkit are available online for review and comment.

 

June 2022.

  • Presentation of the PPP at the June 2nd Planning Commission meeting. (View Presentation on YouTube)

  • Draft to be shared with Neighborhood leaders and Development Community.

 

July 2022.

The draft PPP was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission on Thursday, July 7. (View meeting on YouTube) The proposed updates will go to the City Commission next for final approval.

August 2022

The Public Participation Policy updates were approved by the City Commission at its regular business meeting on Monday, August 1, 2022. (View meeting on YouTube)

Fall 2022.

Updated PPP and Community Engagement Guide & Toolkit shared with MEDC as part of our annual RRC reporting.