Engagement Process
Engagement Process
The Westbrook Communities Local Area Plan was developed over a 3-year period with thousands of participants. From Fall 2019 to Fall 2022, we engaged youth, residents, business owners, community associations, building and development industry representatives, and a diverse working group that provided in-depth insights and feedback.
Throughout the project:
- Over 51,000 people were made aware of the project through our communications program.
- Over 3,600 people participated online or in-person.
- Over 9,000 ideas and contributions were collected across all phases.
- 74 events and meetings were held (with the general public and targeted interested parties such as: youth, business owners, landowners, community association members and business improvement area representatives, etc.)
- 152 days of multi-week, multi-input online engagement opportunities.
The Plan followed the following phased approach:
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Phase 1.1: Discover & Discuss
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In phase one of engagement, Discover & Discuss, we were looking to:
- Educate citizens about the importance of growth and redevelopment
- Ignite interest and create familiarity with the project.
- Increase awareness about what local area planning is and The City’s planning process.
- Encourage working group applications and select members to join the project working group.
- Gain a better understanding of the local area and citizens values, aspirations, concerns and viewpoints.
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Phase 1.2: Envision
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In phase two of engagement, Envision, we were looking to:
- Build community awareness of the project and opportunities to get involved;
- Build trust, increase understanding and readiness for change through transparent information about the planning process, the intent of the local policy planning and how it fits into the larger planning process and the community redevelopment lifecycle;
- Build participant understanding of the intent of engagement;
- Confirm the future vision for growth;
- Discuss and collect feedback connected to big ideas, focus areas and focus topics; and
- Identify areas and topics that require further exploration.
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Phase 2: Evaluate
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In phase three of engagement, Evaluate, we were looking to:
- Build community awareness of the project and opportunities to get involved;
- Build trust, increase understanding and readiness for change through transparent information about the planning process, the intent of the local policy planning and how it fits into the larger planning process and the community redevelopment lifecycle;
- Build participant understanding of the intent of engagement;
- Evaluate and refine the draft local area plan; and
- Discuss and collect feedback connected to implementation options for supporting future growth.
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Phase 3: Realize
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Committee and Council review and decision.
What We Heard Reports
In our Final Engagement Summary, we have outlined the details of our engagement program and the high-level themes that were common from all three phases of engagement and provided responses for how these were addressed and considered throughout the project.
To review the What We Heard Reports from each phase of the project, click the links below.