CivicMakers organized and convened a Stakeholder Group and a Community Panel with 15-20 members on each. These were instrumental in providing local knowledge and lived experience to inform the update, while also helping to meet the State’s robust engagement requirements for the 6th Cycle Housing Element. CivicMakers also led the design and facilitation of two community workshops (one in person and one virtual), and one in-person community open house. All engagements provided the opportunity for the public to weigh in on housing needs & barriers, sustainability, fair housing, housing programs and policies, and what kind of housing to build where.
The stakeholder meetings and public workshops alike were designed to be accessible, trauma informed, multi-lingual, and inclusive. CivicMakers’ facilitators provided a safe, confidential, and respectful container for personal conversations about lived experiences, opinions, and suggestions to flourish. Participants were therefore able to make authentic and actionable recommendations that helped guide the County’s planning work.
“Thanks to your work we extended our abilities to be inclusive and meet equity goals.” – Santa Cruz County Planning Director
Participants of the Community Panel were compensated with stipends in acknowledgement of their time and effort. We explicitly asked participants to share accessibility requests and took care to ensure that all of their needs were met. The meetings were facilitated bi-lingually in Spanish and English. We shared resources for people in crisis related to housing needs at the Community Panel meetings, as well as offering mindfulness practice short breaks after potentially traumatic conversations. With accessibility and inclusivity in mind, all information provided was concise, without jargon, and at a fifth grade reading level.
“I was Impressed with the Spanish translation and interpretation that we were able to offer, thanks to your skills.” – Santa Cruz County Planning Director