Projected Outcome

A Vision -
'An image of the future we seek to create '
The livability and health of our community depends on clearly defining a vision of what we want our community to become in the future. The Livability Initiative will define a vision, reach agreement on a set of strategic actions/priorities and seek the necessary tools and resources to achieve these actions. A vision statement can galvanize a community to achieve defined objectives, provided the vision is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).

An Engaged Community
This Initiative is a collaborative effort which will engage the community in a significant way, encourage planning and action across disciplines and interest areas, and build stronger partnerships between the County, other jurisdictions, and the community to realize the Initiative’s vision and strategies. We will achieve an engaged community through Community organizing which “is the art and science of creating vehicles or organizations for ordinary people to use for participating in the social, political, environmental, and economic decisions that impact on their lives."

Community Priorities
This process will produce a list of priorities that will be developed and ranked by members of the community involved throughout this process. A large community meeting, called a “Charrette,” will be held in 2008 to help prioritize the list of identified community priorities and catalyst projects into highest importance. It is our hope that these priorities will be given special attention and that funding will be prioritized to achieve project implementation and action.

Catalyst Projects
The Livability Initiative, unlike many other planning efforts, will lead to and is grounded in achieving action and change. In order to achieve change, we will need to first develop potential catalyst projects aimed at achieving our goals and objectives. A catalyst precipitates an event and can be a dynamic force for change. This Livability Initiative will act as a catalyst to unite the community, and will also lead to a list of other catalysts to provide energy and action for the future. Quite often you will hear someone say that a community needs a catalyst project. This means that the community needs an action, event or project to get people interested in and excited about the community in which they live.