SNOHOMISH — If you miss a chance to shape the future of this city, don’t blame Brooke Eidem.
The Snohomish planning director is going all out to elicit input from residents — of all ages — on the periodic update to the city’s comprehensive plan.
Part of the push is an upcoming carnival and open house from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 22, at the Carnegie Building, 105 Cedar Ave.
There will be food booths, vendors, games, and other activities outside the building. Inside will be a more traditional open house.
The idea is to have a fun activity for each element of the comp plan, so kids and parents alike can learn and ask questions, Eidem said.
Required comp plan elements for every city are land use, housing, capital facilities, utilities, transportation, economic development and parks and recreation.
Snohomish added two more elements: environmental protection and shoreline. The new update will consider whether social equity, climate change and “increased requirements for housing needs” should be added.
While the city can modify the comprehensive plan each year, it is required to review and update the plan every eight to 10 years. Its last update was in 2015.
This time Eidem and company have redoubled efforts to have citizens complete an online questionnaire (www.snohomishwa.gov/184/) that will guide decisions.
Snohomish has used volunteer civic ambassadors, modeled after a Bellevue program, to engage residents within their realms. These ambassadors distribute flyers, provide background, answer questions, and urge people to fill out the questionnaire.
“The hope is that no matter what a person’s schedule, access, or transportation options are, there should be a way to participate in this process,” Eidem said.
This includes children.
A program called Kids Design Snohomish began with building blocks at community events and has expanded to school lessons in planning and cartography. Some elementary students presented their vision to the City Council last month.
“We knew we wanted to keep working with the kids in Snohomish, because they have such great ideas,” Eidem said. “I also think they don’t get included often enough in long-range planning projects, which seems like a missed opportunity since they’re the ones who will live here and see the results.”
One of the civic ambassadors, Jan Lengenfelder, called the intensive outreach a brilliant strategy.
City leaders are often criticized for acting without civic consultation, she said.
“Yet here the city has dedicated more than a year to provide the planning objective to residents and has asked for resident feedback so it can be incorporated.”
Lengenfelder has talked with people at yoga class, social groups, and St. John’s
Church. She has participated in events at the food bank and farmer’s market.
“What I have found is that, in talking to people, they all appreciate the importance of the city getting resident input for planning purposes,” she said. “I’m not sure how many people will follow up and complete the survey.”
More engagement is planned this fall and into next year.
