Title
Briefing and Discussion about Comprehensive Plan / Action Plan Process
Recommended Action
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive briefing from staff; provide guidance on next steps.
Report
Issue:
Staff has begun work on a Draft Action Plan to carry out the goals and policies in the Comprehensive Plan. The purpose of this agenda item is to provide LUEC members with an update and receive guidance on draft plan concepts, including criteria by which to identify draft performance measures.
Staff Contact:
Stacey Ray, Associate Planner, 360.753.8046
Presenter(s):
Stacey Ray, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
This year Olympia is adopting a new Comprehensive Plan with updated goals and policies that reflect our community's vision. Early in the Imagine Olympia process, the City Council identified a vital next step: ensure the goals and policies become reality and have real "on the ground" impact by creating an "Action Plan."
In November 2013, LUEC suggested that staff begin work on an Action Plan. Some initial draft concepts were reviewed and approved by the full City Council at their 2013 retreat in January. Staff returned to LUEC in February to introduce the interdepartmental staff team that was formed to develop the Action Plan and receive additional guidance and feedback on a new brand: "Imagine Olympia | Take Action".
In April, LUEC provided staff with guidance on a Public Participation Plan and a refined structure for the Action Plan designed around five key actions areas: Downtown, Neighborhoods, Economy, Environment, and Community. LUEC's direction to staff was to move forward with a comprehensive and collaborative approach to participation including focus groups, community meetings, and the online platform Olyspeaks! Additionally, LUEC approved summaries that characterize each of the five Action Areas and capture the goals and policies from the Comprehensive Plan.
Performance Measures
Since April, staff has transitioned to developing a process for identifying performance measures for the Action Plan's five Action Areas. By selecting a set of performance measures, the intent is to measure progress made on implementing the Comprehensive Plan, while providing opportunities to 'reflect and correct.' When reviewed on a regular basis, performance measures can provide valuable information on whether or not our actions are moving us closer to our goals. If the answer is yes, success can be shared to attract community momentum, involvement, and energy. If the answer is no, there is an opportunity to consider what new or difference actions can be taken to more effectively 'move the needle' on our measures.
Identifying Performance Measures that Work
There is an incredible amount of data available community-wide from which to select performance measures for the Action Plan. Staff recognized the need for a rigorous and thorough process by which to identify performance measures that are meaningful and meet the intent of the Action Plan. Additionally, as part of a thorough process, staff already knew of some considerations critical to identifying effective measures:
· Does the measure represent something the City or a partner can do to impact the data and that leads to one or more of our desired outcomes?
· Can the measure be displayed so that it is easy to understand?
· Is the data available long-term, and can be replicated if the original owner of the data is no longer available?
Secondly, staff reviewed current best practices in improving organizational performance and sought guidance from the Washington State Department of Commerce Center for Local Government Performance to identify other considerations critical to developing effective performance measures, such as will the data help in making decisions and can the data be collected in a responsible and cost-effective way?
What resulted is a Performance Measure Criteria Checklist (see Attachment A). The checklist provides a simple and effective framework by which to determine if a potential performance measure will help demonstrate whether or not the actions we implement are helping move us closer to achieving the goals and policies in the Comprehensive Plan.
Staff is requesting that LUEC provide guidance on the Performance Measure Criteria Checklist. In particular, should staff use the recommended checklist to identify and narrow a list of draft performance measures for the Action Plan's five Action Areas? Staff anticipates presenting a draft of the proposed Performance Measures to the Land Use Committee in August.