Location
October 25th, from 12:30-4:30 pm at Thurston Regional Planning Council, 2424 Heritage Court SW, Suite A, Olympia, WA 98502
RSVP at the following link: I will attend Road Map Workshop for Thurston County.
Sign up for updates at the following link: I’m unable to attend, but please send me project updates.
Background
In 2015, Washington State legislators asked the William D. Ruckelshaus Center (Center) to design a process for a comprehensive and collaborative look at the Growth Management Act (GMA). To gauge support for this effort and identify an appropriate scope, the Center conducted a Pre-Assessment from October 2016 through June 2017. The Pre-Assessment consisted of a series of conversations with individuals from dozens of groups, organizations, tribal, state, and local governments. Based on input from the parties, the Center recommended a process to: (1) articulate a vision of a desired future for Washington, and (2) examine the planning framework that provides the path to reach that desired future. The growth planning framework in Washington includes the Growth Management Act, the Shoreline Management Act, the State Environmental Policy Act and other laws, institutions and policies.
The Legislature responded to the pre-assessment by allocating funds to the Center to facilitate a two-year process to create a “Road Map to Washington’s Future.” The budget proviso outlined a scope, schedule and general process for the project.
Purpose and Description
The purpose of the Road Map to Washington’s Future project is to articulate a vision of Washington’s desired future and identify additions, revisions, or clarifications to the growth management framework of state laws, institutions and policies needed to reach that future.
In order to understand how the framework aligns with, creates barriers to, and/or supports the desired future of the communities it is meant to serve, we will be conducting workshops beginning in January 2018 through December 2018 across the state with individuals and representatives of entities with a role, interest, or
knowledge of the planning framework. We will also be conducting individual and group interviews, as well as workshops with government elected officials to better understand the issues, challenges, strengths, and potential solutions or improvements to the planning framework.
A copy of the workshop questions is provided in advance (see below). These questions have been reviewed by Washington State University’s Office of Research Assurances, which has determined that the project satisfies the criteria for Exempt Research (meaning it is exempt from needing further review by that office).
Participation in the workshop is voluntary. Participants can choose at any time during the workshop to decline to answer a question or leave the workshop. Participants will be contacted prior to the workshop via email and asked to confirm that they are willing to participate.
The information gathered from workshops will be used to inform the Center’s recommendations about what may need to change to improve the state’s planning framework to best serve the desired future. Because there is a relationship between the state’s planning framework and local impacts/needs, it is important that
recommendations be grounded in and reflect local realities, experiences, interests, and aspirations. Key findings and recommendations will be summarized in a final report to the Legislature. Specific statements will not be attributed to individual participants. Participants may request and consent to be quoted and their
names attributed to their responses in the final report. They will be given an opportunity to review their attributed responses before published in the final report.
A list of names of individuals who participated in the project will be provided as an appendix in the report. Participation in the workshop is not contingent on having one’s name published in the final report. A participant can request to not have their name listed.
The report will be available to all who participated in the project. The project is expected to be completed by the end of June 2019.
More information about the Center is available at: http://ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu/about/.
WORKSHOP QUESTIONS – AGENDA
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF PLACE
1. What are the key events in the past 10/25/50/100+ years that have defined your community/county/region?
2. How do these events affect the present? What are some important aspects of history that affect your community/county/region today?
VALUES, INFLUENCES, & NEEDS
3. What in your community/county/region influences the quality of life?
4. What does your community/county/region need to thrive?
DREAMING THE FUTURE
5. Based on your engagement in the community/county/region, describe the future that you believe people desire. What values have been expressed that are important to shape the future?
6. What concerns people the most about the future?
7. What do you see as the major issues that would need to be addressed to achieve your desired future?
8. What would need to happen to get to the future you want to see?
GROWTH PLANNING FRAMEWORK
9. How would you describe the purpose and value of the state growth planning framework for your community/county/region?
10. What parts of the growth planning framework do you believe work well in your community/county/region to achieve the desired future and why?
11. What parts of the current growth planning framework do you believe do not work well and why?
12. What, if anything, is missing or not addressed in the growth planning framework?
WRAP UP AND WHAT HAVEN’T WE ASKED?
13. What additional data or research is needed to inform possible changes to the state growth planning framework?
14. What haven’t we asked that you want to comment on?
ADJOURN