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Planning Process
Overview and Guidance
West North Avenue
Manchester
West North Avenue
Manchester
Who's Who and What They Do
The People Behind the Plan
Steering Committee
Advisory body with up to 30 member organizations that represent most stakeholder groups.
They engage the stakeholder group representatives, produce elements of the plan, and integrate the work of the Action Teams.
Organize, Visualize, Strategize, Formalize phases (all phases)
- Draft Public Engagement Plan
- Vision
- Goals
- Review Work From Action Teams
- Review Plan Drafts
Two hours per month for two years plus meeting preparation and document review.
Community
A person with an interest or concern in the neighborhood.
They provide input and feedback throughout the planning process.
Visualize, Strategize, Formalize phases
- Input on All Vision and Goals
- Review Work From Action Teams
- Review Plan Drafts
Two hours per month for two years plus meeting preparation and document review.
Action Teams
Team comprised of Steering Committee members, residents, other stakeholders, and public agency staff.
They identify issues and conduct research to fully understand topics, and develop actions and identify resources to address them.
Strategize phase
- Draft Policies, Projects, Programs, Partnerships, and Targets
Two hours per month for one year
Technical Advisory Group
They identify issues and conduct research to fully understand topics, and develop actions and identify resources to address them.
They support work of Action Teams by providing clarity and detail for complex topics.
Strategize phase
- Draft Strategies for Complex Topics
As many meetings as needed to work through the topic(s) at hand
Staff
Professional staff from public, non-profit, and private sector organizations that manage the planning process.
They work to achieve full community and stakeholder participation in the planning process.
Organize, Visualize, Strategize, and Formalize phases (all phases)
- Coordinate and Facilitate Process
- Conduct Research and Engagement
- Create Drafts of Deliverables
- Take Plan Through Adoption Process
Staff are involved and often presenting at all meetings
Who's Who and What They Do
The People Behind the Plan
Who
Steering Committee
Advisory body with up to 30 member organizations that represent most stakeholder groups.
Community
A person with an interest or concern in the neighborhood.
Action Teams
Team comprised of Steering Committee members, residents, other stakeholders, and public agency staff.
Technical Advisory Group
Group composed of experts that focus on complex topic(s).
Staff
Professional staff from public, non-profit, and private sector organizations that manage the planning process.
What
They engage the stakeholder group representatives, produce elements of the plan, and integrate the work of the Action Teams.
They provide input and feedback throughout the planning process.
They identify issues and conduct research to fully understand topics, and develop actions and identify resources to address them.
They support work of Action Teams by providing clarity and detail for complex topics.
They work to achieve full community and stakeholder participation in the planning process.
When
Organize
Visualize
Strategize
Formalize
Organize
Visualize
Strategize
Formalize
Organize
Visualize
Strategize
Formalize
Organize
Visualize
Strategize
Formalize
Organize
Visualize
Strategize
Formalize
Deliverables
Draft Public Engagement Plan
Vision
Goals
Review Work From Action Teams
Review Plan Drafts
Input on All Vision and Goals
Review Work From Action Teams
Review Plan Drafts
Draft Policies, Projects, Programs, Partnerships, and Targets
Draft Strategies for Complex Topics
Coordinate and Facilitate Process
Conduct Research and Engagement
Create Drafts of Deliverables
Take Plan Through Adoption Process
Commitment
2 hours per month for two years plus meeting preparation and document review
Attending multiple discrete events, provide input, review draft materials
Two hours per month for one year
As many meetings as needed to work through the topic(s) at hand
Staff are involved and often presenting at all meetings
Planning Process Overview and Guidance
The Organize Phase involves preparing for the planning process. This includes bringing planning partners on board, reviewing prior plans and studies, collecting and assembling data, assembling the Steering Committee, agreeing to a public engagement plan including roles and responsibilities, and developing a basic project timeline including identifying the first public event. The Organize phase aligns with the EcoDistricts Formation phase.
Establish Roles and Responsibilities
The first step in developing a plan is to prepare for the planning process.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the Department of City Planning and the community organization(s) is necessary before undertaking most planning projects. The purpose of the MOU is to establish clear roles and responsibilities of the Department of City Planning and participating neighborhood organization(s), ensuring all parties understand how they will work together, what they can expect from the process, and what is expected of them. The MOU should address the project overview, scope of the project, organizations/participants, timeframe, phases, tasks, resources/budget, and expectations that are to be fulfilled.
Stakeholder Engagement
Key stakeholders in the planning process are invited to participate in the Steering Committee. Assembling a Steering Committee, Action Teams, and Technical Advisory Groups This helps to frame the extent of the planning process. The more stakeholders engaged in the process, the more extensive a process may need to be. Creating a holistic neighborhood plan requires that government agencies, community groups, and elected officials working together in service of a singular plan.
Meet with City...
Departments, agencies, and authorities regarding existing resources they can contribute towards implementation.
Summary of Adopted Plans
Provide the Steering Committee with a summary of formally adopted citywide plans as well as adopted goals. The summary will clarify how the planning process will address relevant elements of the Comprehensive Plan, Climate Action Plan, OnePGH, etc. Previous community plans will also be reviewed and summarized, and the Steering Committee will determine how to integrate those plans into the current process and plan. These summaries will be useful during the Strategize and Formalize phases.
Public Engagement Plan
Work with the Steering Committee to write and agree to a draft Public Engagement Plan. It needs to clarify what public engagement techniques will be used at each phase and establish clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders on the Steering Committee to ensure all parties understand how they will work together, what they can expect from the process, and what is expected of them.
Existing Conditions
During this phase, Existing Conditions data should be gathered. It may be necessary to collaborate with academic partners or hire a consultant to assemble the data needed to fully engage with a topic during the planning process. In this case, typically a request for proposal (RFP) is issued. Think carefully about the development of the RFP and how applications will be reviewed against criteria, interviewed, and selected to avoid confusion or disagreements.
Facilitator Training
Facilitator Training is recommended at this stage for all Steering Committee members to empower them to engage their constituencies during the planning process.
Deal With the Details
Getting organized for developing a plan is key to ensuring that the planning process is efficient and completed within time and resource constraints. Determine the tentative meeting dates, times, and locations for public meetings. Work with the Steering Committee to update and approve the Public Engagement Plan by including the documents associated with the following actions in this phase:
Project Schedule
Produce a project schedule utilizing this process guide and anticipated public engagement dates.
Project Directory
Create a project directory with names and contact information of staff, committees, and civic leadership, and a digital documenting system for easy sharing among city staff should multiple project managers be needed throughout the planning process.
Plan Identity
Create a name and associated branding to identify your plan. This identity should ensure association with neighborhood planning efforts and be integrated into all documents throughout the process.
Project Website
Develop a project website as a resource for updates and project information.
Recommended Engagement Techniques
Inform
Attend existing community events, summits, and office hours, and utilize websites and blogs, social media, and advertising products
Consult and Involve
Surveys and one-on-one meetings
Collaborate and Empower
Facilitator Training and Stakeholder Mapping
Tasks and Deliverables
- Meetings: Introduction to Planning Process (nonprofit community organizations, foundations, local agencies and authorities, and utilities)
- Executed Memorandum of Understanding
- Formation of Steering Committee and/or other working committees
- If necessary: Guidance on Consultants and Requests for Proposals
- Project Schedule
- Project Directory
- Website
- Approved Public Engagement Plan
The Visualize Phase involves studying the neighborhood’s Existing Conditions data, using that information to identify issues for the plan to address, establishing a shared vision for what the neighborhood wants to become, and writing goals for each chapter of the plan that Action Teams will use to create policies and actions. The Visualize phase aligns with the EcoDistricts Formation phase.
Understand the Area
An important task in the planning process is to gain an understanding of the neighborhood by learning about the community’s history, demographics, and built environment. This will result in an Existing Conditions Report. The following activities expand knowledge of the community and should be incorporated into the Existing Conditions Report:
- The planning team should systematically review the data, synthesize any data as necessary, and present the results to the Steering Committee.
- Work with the Steering Committee to engage people with an personal, firsthand knowledge of the neighborhood. Listen to their experiences and learn about existing assets and community challenges. This exercise can be completed by:
- Meeting with groups or organizations
- Organize a community “walkshop”
- Establishing a field office for a period of time within the community such as the RCOs office, the neighborhood library, or a community center
- Engage the Steering Committee and community at-large in activities that provide additional insight into the neighborhood. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as:
- Conducting a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) activity related to the neighborhood with the Steering Committee
- Developing a Community Asset Map, part of the EcoDistricts Protocol
Phipps Conservatory
Squirrel Hill South
Set the Vision and Goals
The vision statement describes the community’s aspirations for the future of the neighborhood. It describes desired change and identifies existing characteristics or conditions that the community wants to preserve.
Work to be Completed:
- Work with the Steering Committee to hold the first public meeting to kick-off the project
- Conduct visioning and goal formation exercises to serve as the foundation of the plan
When developing a vision statement, think about current and future residents and businesses, what assets you want to build upon or create, and larger goals and actions. There are at least two audiences for vision statements: the community that writes it and uses it to organize their work, and those outside the community who may choose to move to the community or start a business there based on the values presented in the vision. Examples from recent plans are included in the Plan Framework resource.
Focus the Plan Content
The items below set the stage for the process of refining goals identified during the visioning, and prior to exploring strategies to address those goals in the coming phase.
Actions to be Completed:
- Work with the Steering Committee to identify additional topics for the plan.
Optional topics can be added to the plan’s scope based on either merit (data analysis that clearly identifies the need to address a particular issue) or desire (public outreach that clearly identifies the desire to address a particular topic). There is no predetermined limit to the number of optional topics that can be added, but each topic added should be widely acknowledged as among the most critical issues to address in the community. The intent is to allow the plan to be flexible enough to address what is needed, but limit the scope of topics to a manageable number. The list should be set at this time and not modified or added to later.
- Work with the Steering Committee to hold a public meeting to gather community input on select topic areas.
Ensure the activities stations provide useful information that can provide guidance during the formation of strategies. This is a public meeting where residents and stakeholders are encouraged to join Action Teams.
- Create Action Teams that correspond to each of the chapters.
Action Teams are comprised of Steering Committee organizations with additional residents, stakeholders, property owners, agencies, and professionals in the topic areas, which creates a great opportunity for building partnerships and developing feasible action items. Action Team members directly influence the plan by joining together to review public input meetings, conduct studies or direct analyses, look at national best practices and case studies, and shape recommendations for the issue area. Action team members are an integral part of implementing strategies after the completion of the plan through continued action and advocacy. Carefully select Action Team members, as they will need to attend all meetings and actively participate. These meetings start with analyses and move through a process to action creation, so late additions to Action Teams should be discouraged. The project team should provide Action Team Leaders with facilitator training and should work with the Steering Committee to identify topics where Technical Advisory Groups may be needed (and then engage potential members).
Recommended Engagement Techniques
Inform
Attend existing community events, summits, and office hours, and utilize websites and blogs, social media, and advertising products
Consult and Involve
Memoir Workshop, Community “Walkshops,” Community Asset Mapping, Pop-Up Exercise, Surveys, Collage Scenarios/Dot Activity, One-on-One Meetings, Visioning Exercises
Collaborate and Empower
Meeting-in-a-Box, Technical Advisory Group, and Facilitator
Tasks and Deliverables
- Existing Conditions Report
- Public Meeting: Project Kickoff, Visioning, and Goals
- Draft Plan Section: Vision Statement and Goals
- Final List of Topics
- Public Meeting: Topic Areas
- Recommended: Facilitator Training for Action Team Leaders
- Formation of Action Teams and Setting First Meeting Date/ Time
The Strategize Phase is where a majority of the work is done in the planning process. In this phase, the Action Teams explore the topics and make recommendations based on meeting the needs identified in the Existing Conditions review and utilizing previously identified implementation resources. Transformative projects should emerge during this time and will likely require additional analyses.
Study, Learn, Explore
This phase is the iterative process of learning more about the issues the plan is tasked with addressing, and generating ideas about possible solutions and associated implementation strategies. This requires the work of Action Teams that systematically work through the list of topics over a period of months, exploring each using a combination of research, analysis, and public input. Important actions in this phase:
Prior to the first Action Team meetings, workbooks that provide, data, case studies, adopted city goals, and best practices related to the topic area are created. Note that each neighborhood plan must address adopted city goals (the neighborhood plan can set more aggressive goals, but not less) and these goals should be identified in the corresponding workbook. A good source for this content is the Existing Conditions report.
As knowledge expands, the Action Teams develop initial concepts and a preliminary implementation strategies such as partnerships, programs, policies, and projects for each area.
Action Teams should present a first draft of their strategies and implementation matrix back to the larger Steering Committee and get input and approval before moving into the next stage. All of this work leads to the next step of the planning process where options, alternatives, and recommendations are developed with the larger community and prioritized.
Develop Ideas and Recommendations
The following steps allow further development of ideas and solidify recommendations:
Following input and approval from the Steering Committee, each Action Team holds a public meeting to outline recommendations and alternatives. At these meetings, Action Teams will present recommended policies, projects, programs, and partnerships to meet the goals of their chapter. The public meeting needs to be structured to gain input from the broader public that:
- Confirms policy statements and scope
- Reviews alternatives and identifies preferences for projects and programs
- Prioritizes strategies
- Identifies missing strategies
Based on input from the public meetings, each Action Team finalizes their recommendations to the Steering Committee. Metrics to identify progress towards achieving recommended goals and associated costs and funding opportunities should be identified and incorporated into the Implementation chapter.
Draft plan language is created as decisions are made to gauge progress and to reduce the amount of drafting in the Formalize phase.
Recommended Engagement Techniques
Inform
Attend existing community events, office hours, and open houses, and review websites and blogs, newsletters, social media, and advertising products
Consult and Involve
Host Community “Walkshops,” Pop-Up Exercises, Visual Preference Surveys, Problem Tree Analysis, Focus Groups, Collage Scenarios/Dot Activity, and One-on-One Meetings
Collaborate and Empower
Meeting-in-a-Box, Demonstration Projects, Charrette, Technical Advisory Group, and Participatory Budget Making
NOTE: A charrette can be an effective way to engage the broader community in an intensive visioning process that allows them to work on multiple interrelated topics, often associated with improvements in a specific area (e.g., a transit station). The output should be a community vision and set of desires, but not a detailed master plan.
Tasks and Deliverables
- Workbooks for each actions team the capture data, case studies, and best practices used in the drafting of strategies
- Public Meetings: Action Teams Meetings
- Draft implementation matrix and accompanying implementation details
- Public Meetings: Input on Action Team Recommendations
- Refined draft implementation matrix and accompanying implementation details
Randyland
Central
North Side
North Side
The Formalize Phase is where ideas are finalized and documented in a draft plan. The draft is vetted with the public and other agencies, and eventually adopted by the Planning Commission. The Formalize phase aligns with the EcoDistricts Roadmap phase.
Draft Plans
This is the task of drafting and redrafting the plan document. Actions in this phase include:
The project team assembles all draft materials that have been produced and writes new materials, as needed, to create a complete plan draft. The summary of formally adopted citywide plans and adopted goals created during the Organize phase will be used to review the draft materials to ensure adopted policy documents are addressed at a local level.
An implementation roadmap is created using thoughtful prioritization and strategic partnerships to guide projects and programs. The first draft is reviewed by the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee should have a 30-day review and comment period.
The project team then integrates or addresses the Steering Committee comments, creating the second draft.
The second draft is reviewed by other identified stakeholder groups, such as non-profit community organizations, foundations, additional local agencies and authorities not on the Steering Committee, the Planning Commission, and the public. Work with the Steering Committee to host a public meeting to unveil the plan and start the public comment period. Stakeholders and the public should have a 30-day review and comment period.
The draft is then subsequently refined by the project team to create a near-final draft for use in the adoption process.
The Steering Committee should have discussions about how it will undertake implementation following plan adoption. The plan’s implementation matrix and roadmap is a good place to start, with its list of lead and support organizations and resources for each action. The results of these discussions could be informal roles and responsibilities that align with the planning framework of a Steering Committee and Action Teams, or a more formalized governance structure with a board and designated funding streams.
Adoption
Adoption is important for a multitude of reasons, such as:
- Development activities are evaluated for conformance with the adopted plan
- Direction on investment activities, particularly by public agencies
- Increased ability to apply for and receive grants
It is important to note that the vision statement, goals, and policies are what the Planning Commission will adopt as part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The projects, programs, and actions will be reviewed, but will not be formally adopted to ensure that the plan is a flexible document that can respond to changes over time. The draft may continue to change as the plan advances through this process and the Planning Commission conducts its review and provides additional input and guidance. There are additional requirements should the plan be accompanied by changes to the City’s Zoning Code and/or Map.
The following items take the draft plan through the City’s adoption process:
- The Steering Committee should consider sending a notice to all addresses within the planning area ~30 days prior to the Planning Commission’s first hearing. The notice should include how to provide comments and final community meeting details.
- The project team creates a Planning Commission briefing presentation that outlines the plan content, the elements of the plan that will be adopted by the Commission, and the community engagement process.
- The project team will present the briefing to the Planning Commission.
- The Steering Committee should advertise the public meeting as identified on the hearing notice that allows residents who are hearing about the project for the first time an opportunity to have questions answered.
- City Staff create a staff report that will be provided to the Planning Commission for Public Hearing and Action.
- Planning Commission Hearing and Action at Planning Commission. This is the formal adoption step. The planning team and the Steering Committee should attend, present, and be available for questions.
- Following adoption, the plan should be professional printed and dispersed online and to public facing institutions (City Planning website, public libraries, and community partners).
Recommended Engagement Techniques
Inform
Attend existing community events, open houses, and office hours, and review websites and blogs, newsletters, social media, and advertising products
Consult and Involve
One-on-One Meetings
Collaborate and Empower
N/A
Tasks and Deliverables
- Discussion Draft Plan for Review by Steering Committee
- Proposed Draft Plan for Review by Public and other Stakeholder Groups
- Final Public Meeting: Unveil the Plan and Start of Public Comment Period
- Recommended Draft Plan for Review by Planning Commission
- Draf Roadmap that organizes implementation into an action strategy
- Recommended: Public Notice and Mailing
- Presentation and Briefing at Planning Commission
- City Staff Report
- Public Hearing at Planning Commission
- Adopted Plan
- Document Publication
Draft Plan Reviews
Discussion Draft Plan
- Project team assembles all of the draft materials that have been produced and writes new materials as needed to create a complete plan draft.
- Reviewed by steering committee.
- ~30 Days
Proposed Draft Plan
- Project team integratess/addresses the Steering Committee comments, creating the second draft.
- Reviewed by other identified stakeholder groups such as nonprofit community organizations, foundations, additional local agencies and authorities not on the Steering Committee, the Planning Commission, and the public.
- ~45 Days
Recommended Draft Plan
Project team integrates/addresses comments from Draft #2 Review to create a near-final draft for use in the adoption process.
The City's Adoption Process:
- The Steering Committee should consider sending a notice to all addresses within the planning area ~30 days prior to the Planning Commission’s first hearing. The notice should include how to provide comments and final community meeting details.
- The project team creates a Planing Commission briefing presentation that outlines the plan content, the elements of the plan that will be adopted by the Commission, and the community engagement process.
- The project team will present the briefing to the City Planning Commission.
- The Steering Committee should advertise the public meetings identified on the hearing notice that allows residents who are hearing about the project for the first time an opportunity to have questions answered.
- City Staff create a staff report that will be provided to the Planning Commission for Public Hearing and Action.
- Planning Commission Hearing and Action at Planning Commission. This is the formal adoption step. The planning team and the Steering Committee should attend, present, and be available for questions.
- ~45Days
Keeping Tabs Sculpture—Community Day School
Squirrel Hill
The Realize Phase is where the implementation process takes place. The adopted plan is implemented through projects and investment, the creation and maintenance of programs, and the application of policies and/or changes in regulations. Monitoring of progress and needed updates also take place. The Realize phase aligns with the EcoDistricts Performance phase.
Implement
Plan implementation begins after the plan has been adopted, and continues indefinitely until the plan vision has been achieved, or until such time that a new plan for the neighborhood is undertaken and adopted. The task of implementing the plan is made easier by following the strategy that is outlined in the implementation chapter of the plan. This chapter identifies the priority and timeframe for all of the recommendations in the plan (typically near-term, short-term, medium-term, and long-term). It also identifies recommendations by type, typically using the following categories: partnerships, programs, policies, and projects.
Implementation requires the formation of a Task Force that is comprised of the Action Teams, Steering Committee, and other stakeholders. The Task Force will create a governance structure, which identifies the roles and responsibilities, creates work plans on an annual basis, and develops a meeting schedule. The Task Force will systematically work through the list of recommendations in the plan.
One-page summaries of major projects should be created and used for funding requests as they allow funders to link requests to adopted plans. One page project summaries include:
- A project description
- The goals of the plan that project implements
- Images/renderings/best practices
- the organizations that should be involved and community implementers
- Budget or basic costing
Monitor
The implementation chapter of the plan identifies metrics that track the progress toward achieving plan goals (to the extent possible). Following plan adoption, staff and the public can use these metrics to stay updated on plan implementations. The metrics and other indicators of completion will be used to audit and report on goal progress every two years.
If needed, the neighborhood plan may be updated through an addendum reviewed and adopted by the Planning Commission. Minor addendums that add detail or change up to five actions may occur biennially during the audit and must be posted online. Major amendments to the plan (changes to the vision, goal, or more than one policy) cannot be made within the first five years of the plan adoption and must be submitted for review, recommended for consideration (with criteria by the RCO and city staff), and decided upon in a public hearing before the Planning Commission.
Near the end of the 10-year adoption, the RCO(s), City Staff, and community organizations will collaborate to assess the current neighborhood plan. This assessment will determine the process moving forward and include the following three options:
- Continue with the current neighborhood plan, which follows the minor addendum process
- An update to the current neighborhood plan which follows the major addendum process, or
- Replace the current neighborhood plan by conducting a new neighborhood planning process following this guide.
Pittsburgh Zoo
Highland Park
Public Engagement
Public engagement can be a useful tool beyond the planning process and can help to facilitate ongoing implementation projects in a number of ways. Public engagement should be tailored to the scale and scope of the project. Large projects may have their own public engagement plan (e.g., new light rail lines, new parks, etc.) while smaller projects may have a few interactive sessions with stakeholders followed by a final open house to present the outcomes. The Toolkit remains the best source of ideas to organize this work and should be referenced during the planning of each implementation action.
Recommended Engagement Techniques
Inform
Host an open house and utilize websites and blogs, newsletters, social media, and public notices
Consult and Involve
Community “Walkshops,” Collage Scenarios / Dot Activity, Surveys, and One-on-One Meetings
Collaborate and Empower
Charrette
Tasks and Deliverables
- Biennial Audit
- Biennial Report
- Public Meeting: Progress Report
- One-page Project Summary (as needed)
- Plan Addendum (as needed)
- Public Hearing for Plan Addendum (as needed)
PROCESS TIMELINE
Organize
Deliverables
- Public Engagement Plan
- ~4 Months
Visualize
Deliverables
- Goals
- Vision
- ~6 Months
Strategize
Deliverables
- Policies, Projects, Programs, Partnerships, and Targets
- Reviewing Work FromTeams
- Draft Plan (continued in Formalize)
- ~10 Months
Formalize
Deliverables
- Draft Plan
- ~4 Months
