Chapel Hill 2020 to hold open house

Due to a source error, the original version of this story states that John Stephens and Lydian Altman would be facilitators at the meeting. He and Margaret Henderson attended the meeting, but were unlikely to facilitate at the event. Also, at the meeting 18,not 60, trained leaders planned to lead groups, with one, not three, per group. The meeting was intended to brainstorm, not settle on, themes for the process. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.

As Chapel Hill residents gear up for tonight’s kickoff of Chapel Hill 2020, many remain unsure about their place in the process.

But after tonight’s project open house and meeting, stakeholders will know their role going forward, said project co-chairman George Cianciolo.

Officials aim to involve 10,000 residents in Chapel Hill 2020, the town’s initiative to update its Comprehensive Plan for growth and development into a road map for the next 20 years. The process will continue from now until June.

To guide the process, Cianciolo and co-chairwoman Rosemary Waldorf first selected a leadership committee of 60 people who went through training early this month.

About 18 of those trained facilitators will ultimately lead five to eight committees that will each focus on a specific part of the plan throughout the process.

The focus of each group will be decided at tonight’s meeting.
“Here is a chance for a community to come together and say what we can do,” Cianciolo said.

A plan for planning

During tonight’s meeting, attendees will be asked to separate into groups of eight to 10, Cianciolo said.

He said town officials expect about 200 people to attend and anticipate about 20 groups.

From there, three members from the leadership team will facilitate each group’s discussion of what issues the community should address with the new Comprehensive Plan.

Based on major concerns community members identify, five to eight issues will be chosen for discussion at an Oct. 6 stakeholder meeting.

At that meeting, committees of eight to 10 residents and three leadership team members will be created to address each of the chosen topics during the planning process.

Choosing a leadership team

Cianciolo said he and Waldorf chose tonight’s 60 facilitators based on their history of community leadership and their willingness to participate.

The facilitators went through two-hour training sessions in early September, said Matt Leighninger. who helped with the training.
Leighninger said the facilitators are fairly diverse but he isn’t sure they represent the town’s population.

“We will be looking for high school and college students to get involved,” Leighninger said. “The key is to ask who isn’t at the table.”

UNC senior Jeff Miles, who is blogging about the process for liberal website OrangePolitics, said a resident questioned the ethnic diversity of the group of town officials and Chapel Hill 2020 leaders at a Thursday strategy meeting.

Miles said the committee is mostly made up of white, middle-aged men.

But higher education is represented. Lydian Altman and John Stephens, both of whom work at the UNC School of Government, will serve as facilitators.

“There’s been conversation between the town and the University going back months,” Stephens said. “It was figuring out what University resources would be helpful.”

Miles said he was impressed by efforts to reach out to residents.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.