HomeMy WebLinkAboutIV(b)_Memo Regarding ProceduresAttachment No. 2
Memo Regarding Procedures
Community Development Department
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
100 Civic Center Drive
Newport Beach, California 92660
949 644-3200
newportbeachca.gov/communitydevelopment
Memorandum
To: Co-Chairs Evans and Greer and GPAC Members
From: Benjamin M. Zdeba, AICP, Principal Planner
Date: January 4, 2024
Re: Agenda Item No. IV(b) – GPAC Subcommittee Procedures
________________________________________________________________
Enclosed is the memorandum that was provided to Chair Gardner and the
General Plan Update Steering Committee (GPUSC). Although no formal changes
were made to the original memorandum and are not formally part of the proposal,
public comments were received at the GPUSC meeting and discussion ensued
providing additional feedback that the GPAC may want to consider discussing.
GPAC Meetings. Ahead of each GPAC meeting, City staff intends to meet with
the Co-Chairs to go over the agenda. This will help to avoid confusion with
agendas and will allow staff to indicate which items have a presentation. For
example, Dudek had a presentation available at the December 6, 2023, GPAC
meeting that would have provided clarity on the confusion surrounding the
deliverable provided on the topic of resilience. It was also suggested that a target
time or duration be allotted to each agenda item to help keep the meeting on
track.
Outreach and Engagement. It was noted that it is important to have GPAC
members at events and that GPAC members should be tasked with helping
maintain a master calendar by proposing events that are priority. City staff stated
that there will be a survey shared with the GPAC Outreach Subcommittee
members to help identify which types of events are a priority for pop-up
engagement (e.g., farmers’ markets, recreational events, etc.). It was also
encouraged that the “workshop-in-a-box” PowerPoint have some kind of
engagement tool for presenting GPAC members to use, such as an online poll or
survey.
ENCLOSURE: December 13, 2023, Memorandum to Chair Gardner and
GPUSC Members
Community Development Department
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
100 Civic Center Drive
Newport Beach, California 92660
949 644-3200
newportbeachca.gov/communitydevelopment
Memorandum
To: Chair Gardner and GPUSC Members
From: Benjamin M. Zdeba, AICP, Principal Planner
Date: December 13, 2023
Re: Agenda Item No. IV(b) – GPAC Subcommittee Procedures
________________________________________________________________
As previously shared with the GPAC, City staff has started working with the team
at Dudek to prepare existing conditions and background analysis reports for each
of the topical areas or General Plan Elements. These reports are not intended to
limit discussions rather they serve as foundational documents for the GPAC and
the community to build from when eventually drafting updates to goals and/or
policies as needed. At the GPAC meeting on December 6th, it became clear that
these reports should be first shared with each of the subcommittees prior to coming
to the full GPAC for review and comment. In addition, it was also made apparent
that the Subcommittees could be better used to support the overall update effort.
Accordingly, City staff is providing the following four key recommendations on how
the GPAC, and its various subcommittees could operate to promote more effective,
meaningful, and engaging meetings:
1) GPAC Subcommittee Chair and Action Minutes. Each GPAC
Subcommittee should identify a chairperson to help serve as liaison
between the Subcommittee members and City staff. This person will help
to coordinate and run Subcommittee meetings to ensure desired action
items or objectives are achieved. This person should also work with City
staff to prepare brief action minutes that only cover the topics discussed as
well as any outcomes or actions. They will be attached to the next available
GPAC agenda as part of the item related to subcommittee updates. Lastly,
the chairperson will be responsible for reporting out to the larger GPAC.
2) Draft Document Review and Feedback. After initial review and revision
by City staff, any draft documents prepared by Dudek or its subconsultants
should be first shared with the respective responsible GPAC Subcommittee
for a first review. These documents can be transmitted by email for
feedback and, if the Subcommittee deems it necessary, a meeting will be
arranged to discuss. It is not expected that the Subcommittees will
Agenda Item No. IV(b) – GPAC Subcommittee Procedures
December 13, 2023, Page 2 of 2
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wordsmith the documents rather they will provide “big picture” feedback on
what resonates with them or what should be stricken. Should it become
challenging for the Subcommittees to get through the document, the
Subcommittee’s chairperson may opt to form a smaller two- to three-person
taskforce to review the document and then report back findings to the
Subcommittee. Once the documents are acceptable to the Subcommittee,
they should be shared with the GPAC and reported on by Dudek, City staff,
and/or the Subcommittee’s chairperson.
3) Timing and Manner of GPAC Subcommittee Meetings. As it is expected
that GPAC Subcommittee meetings will ramp up in frequency, City staff
would suggest more flexibility in scheduling GPAC Subcommittee meetings.
This includes scheduling both virtual meetings and meetings during normal
City business hours, generally between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., daily.
4) Outreach and Engagement Materials and Events. Prior to any
community events, the subject matter and any collateral planned to be
shared with the community should also be transmitted to the entire
Outreach Subcommittee for feedback and guidance. Feedback from the
Outreach Subcommittee should be coordinated, collected, and compiled by
the Outreach Subcommittee’s chairperson and provided back to City staff
within one week of receipt to ensure adequate lead time for production and
preparation. If community events that are deemed appropriate for pop-up
engagement fall outside of the GPAC meeting cycle, the entire GPAC
should be notified of the upcoming event and invited to participate. Given
the pop-up events may occur outside of normal City business hours, City
staff may not be able to attend each event. However, Dudek and/or its
subconsultants will always be in attendance and City staff will coordinate to
ensure that at least one or two GPAC members will attend.
This list of key recommendations is not a limiting list. We will look to the GPUSC
as the guiding body to identify any modifications or additions to these
recommendations. Once procedures are agreed upon by the GPUSC, staff will
include them as part of the GPAC’s next agenda in January.