PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN - Lowell, Oregon



PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLANProject: 2020-21 TGM Code Assistance to City of LowellProject Location: Lowell, OregonDate: September 28, 2020Key Contact: Marsha Miller, Interim City Administrator, 541-937-2157 mmiller@ci.lowell.or.us Purpose: Involve the community in reviewing and refining draft code amendments that implement the Lowell Downtown Master Plan and General Code Amendments. Key Stakeholders: Residents, business owners, and property owners of Lowell; Lane County Parks; Lane County Safe Routes to School; Army Corps of Engineers, Willamette Valley Project - Cottage Grove Office; Lowell School District; and the Blackberry Jam Festival Committee. Lane County Transportation: Ms. Sasha Vartanian, sasha.vartanian@; Lane County Safe Routes to School: Becky Taylor, Becky.TAYLOR@co.lane.or.us; Lowell Economic Development Committee: Mr. Michael Galvin, mgalvin@; Lowell Rural Fire District: Fire Chief Lon Dragt, dragt2300@, 541-937-3393; Blackberry Jam Festival: Mr. Lon Dragt, dragt2300@, 541-937-3393; Lowell School District: Superintendent Johnie Mathews, jmatthews@lowell.k12.or.us, 541-937-5095; Lane County Parks: Charlie Conrad, charlies.conrad@; and Army Corps of Engineers: Tami Schroeder, Willamette Valley Project, Parks Manager, tamara.r.schroeder@usace.army.mil, 541-954-4032. Meeting Venues: Likely all Commission, Council, Code Committee, and Community Meetings will be held remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In the event a physical space for a meeting is warranted, the City will communicate those changes to the PMT, and the City will schedule a physical meeting space that is appropriate. Outreach and Engagement StrategiesThe COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for planning processes that depend on public involvement. Following current public health guidelines for social distancing, this public involvement process will depend heavily on online engagement. Given these unique circumstances, lack of access to the internet could become a barrier for participation for some populations. According to the 2018 ACS, 96.6% of Lowell households have a computer, but only 84.0% have a broadband internet subscription. Extra efforts will be required to involve citizens without access to internet at home. In an effort to address those persons without access to a computer or an internet connection, the City will look into mobile device compatibility for attending virtual meetings and viewing content. Based on the information outlined below, LCOG and the City of Lowell will apply the following additional strategies to give all of Lowell’s residents and stakeholders an opportunity to be involved: Post public notices in locations or publications that are frequented by a diversity of community members such as City Hall, The Grange* (presently closed due to the pandemic, if later opened, can be used as a venue for public notice), post office, Bridgetown Market, Stomping Grounds coffee shop, and at the Lowell High School; Note on outreach materials that a Public Involvement Plan exists and describe how it can be obtained; Make the Public Involvement Plan available on the project webpage, and as hard copy in City Hall; Maintain records of any comments, as well as responses, received throughout the project; Solicit and consider input from all groups and citizens concerned with, interested in, and/or affected by Lowell Development Code updates; If in-person meetings are possible in the future, assure that all meeting venues are ADA accessible; City will look into mobile device compatibility to attend virtual meetings and view project materials; andCity will provide a paper copy of project materials for review at City Hall for persons that do not have a computer or internet access. The availability of project documents at City Hall, including hours of operation, will be announced on all printed materials.Key DemographicsEnvironmental justice and Title VI concepts focus on understanding and properly addressing the unique needs of diverse socioeconomic groups. For this reason, a community must characterize its demographics (including its minority and low-income populations). With that information the community can better assure that protected populations are appropriately involved with the planning process.The City of Lowell and LCOG have used City level Census data (where available) and evaluated the following social and environmental characteristics: minority populations, low income populations, persons with disabilities, and seniors. This information is used to define potential communities of concern. Lowell’s demographic profile was obtained primarily through US Census data (2010 Census) and 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) data.ACS data, unlike the Decennial Census, produces estimates based on a sample of the population. Because ACS estimates are based on a sample rather than a count, there is a level of error inherent in ACS data; accordingly, each ACS estimate has its own margin of error (MOE). ACS margins of error are based on a 90‐percent confidence level, and confidence bounds can be created by adding or subtracting the MOE from each estimate. For some detailed tabulations, and especially for smaller geographies like Lowell, MOEs can be quite large relative to the estimate. AgeLowell’s 2010 Census population was 1,045. In 2018 the ACS estimated Lowell’s total population at 1,173 persons. The median age in Lowell in 2018 was 41.6, which is slightly older compared to the median age in the United States (37.9) and Oregon (39.2). The smallest age group is 20-to 29-year-olds (3.3%), and the largest age group is 30-to 39-year-olds (19%). Residents 65 and older make up approximately 17.3% of the population, which is lower than Lane County’s 18.3%, but higher than Oregon’s 16.7% and the nation’s 15.2%.Race and LanguageAccording to the 2018 ACS, 5.5% of Lowell’s population speaks a language other than English at home. However, only 1.1% of the population noted that they speak English less than “very well.” All within that 1.1% identified their primary language as Spanish. The 2018 US Census noted that the overwhelming majority of Lowell residents are White (92.0%, up from 90.8% in 2010). According to the 2010 Decennial Census, the non-White population in Lowell includes 0.2% Black or African American, 6.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 1.0% Some Other Race. PovertyThe Census Bureau uses a set of income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. According to the 2018 ACS, 5.5% of Lowell residents are living under the poverty level, lower than the poverty rates of both Lane County (18.5%) and Oregon (14.1%). Lowell’s median annual household income ($57,083) is significantly higher than Lane County’s ($48,958) and just lower than the state’s median of $59,393.According to the 2018 ACS, 3.8% of people under 18 live in poverty, which is significantly lower than the county (20.8%) and the state (18.0%). Women are more likely to live below the poverty level in Lowell. Whereas 3.0% of men are under the poverty level, 7.9% of females are under the poverty level. No Lowell residents over 65 live in poverty, compared with 9.2% in the county and 8% across the state.DisabilityThe 2018 ACS estimated that 15.8% of residents in the City of Lowell are identified as disabled. For this analysis, the “disabled” population was defined to be all civilian non-institutionalized persons 5 years and older that identified themselves as disabled. The most prevalent disability is “ambulatory difficulty” (difficulty walking or climbing stairs) (9.0%). This is followed by those with cognitive difficulty (7.9%). Other disabilities with particular relevance to the community outreach and engagement include hearing and vision difficulty. 4.6% of the population suffers from hearing difficulty and 3.1% suffers from vision difficulty.Of note is the difference in prevalence of documented disability among the Hispanic or Latino (of any race) population (24.1%) and the White alone, not Hispanic or Latino population (15.3%).ConclusionThe data above do not show that Lowell has a significant population with limited English proficiency, as such, the City doesn’t find it necessary to translate materials or provide an interpreter at community meetings. In Lowell, the second largest population age group are residents aged 65 years and older. Because of this, if public meetings are held in person, the City will take the steps necessary to ensure the meetings are handicap accessible. Due to the pandemic, all meetings, whether public or not, are currently planned to be held remotely. As such, access to a computer and reliable internet will be vital. To this end, the City will look into the possibility of ensuring that online meeting platforms and project materials will be compatible with mobile devices to the extent possible. This will ensure access for those who have a smart phone, but not a computer..computer. Persons that do not have a computer or internet will be able to review hard copies of project materials, upon request, at City Hall. To make sure comments can be collected from people reviewing the materials in person, the City will place the business card of the consultant in the same area where the materials will be located. Community members will be encouraged and welcome to submit comments or feedback to the consultant point of contact. PIP Schedule Task 2: Preliminary Work2.5Community Meeting #1City shall advertise on City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior.City to print Community Meeting #1 materials and place at City Hall for public review and inspection, on day of Community Meeting #1. City to post flyers at Bridgetown Market, Post Office, and City Hall, The Grange, Stomping Grounds coffee shop, and Lowell High School, at least two weeks prior.City to advertise Community Meeting #1 on project webpage and send out notification to all contacts registered to receive updates, at least two weeks prior. City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of Community Meeting #1, at least two weeks prior.City to advertise Community Meeting #1 in newsletter “The Bridge,” deadline for publication is the 20th of each month. City to send out one-page informational sheet about project (including advertising Community Meeting #1) with monthly utility bills and mailed two days before the last mailing workday. Utility bill content will be ready at the beginning of the last week of the month. Link to Virtual Public Workshop (VPW) #1 to be included in advertisement materials for Community Meeting #1. Mid-to-late Jan 20212.6Virtual Public Workshop #1 (VPW)No later than two days following Community Meeting #1, LCOG shall develop and City shall host a VPW that includes all materials presented at Community Meeting #1. A tool for providing input and feedback (LCOG to develop a comment function within project website) must be available. The VPW shall run for two weeks.On day VPW is live, City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of live VPW and link to access VPW.Mid to-late Jan 20212.7Planning Commission Work Session #1City shall advertise on City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior. City to print materials for Planning Commission Work Session #1 and place at City Hall for review and inspection, at least one week prior to the meeting. LCOG shall distribute work session materials one week prior to work session. At same time, materials shall also be posted on the project website under Planning Commission Work Session #1. City to advertise Planning Commission Work Session #1 on project website and send out notification to all contacts registered to receive updates, at least two weeks prior. City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of Planning Commission Work Session #1, at least two weeks prior.Early Feb 2021Task 3: Code Drafting 3.6Community Meeting #2City shall advertise on City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior. City to print Community Meeting #1 materials and place at City Hall for public review and inspection, on day of Community Meeting #2. City to post flyers at Bridgetown Market, Post Office, and City Hall, The Grange, Stomping Grounds coffee shop, and Lowell High School at least two weeks prior.City to advertise Community Meeting #2 on project webpage and send out notification to all contacts registered to receive updates, at least two weeks prior. City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of Community Meeting #2, at least two weeks prior.City to send out one-page informational sheet of presence of Community Meetings #2 with monthly utility bills and mailed two days before the last mailing workday. Utility bill content will be ready at the beginning of the last week of the month.City to publish presence of Community Meeting #2 in newsletter “The Bridge”, deadline for publication shall be the 20th of each month. Link to VPW #2 to be included in advertisement materials for Community Meeting #2. Early Mar 20213.7VPW #2 No later than two days following Community Meeting #2, LCOG shall develop and City shall host a VPW that includes all materials presented at Community Meeting #2. A tool for providing input and feedback (utilizing LCOG’s comment function within the project website) must be available. The VPW shall run for two weeks. On day VPW #2 is live, City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of live VPW and link to access VPW.Early Mar 20213.8Joint Planning Commission and City Council Work Session City shall advertise on City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior. City to print and place at City Hall, at least one week prior to meeting, meeting materials for review and inspection. LCOG shall distribute work session materials one week prior to work session (Revised Development Code Amendments Draft #2). At same time, materials shall also be posted on the project website under Joint Planning Commission and City Council Work Session. City to advertise Joint Planning Commission and City Council Work Session on project website and send out notification to all contacts registered to receive updates, at least two weeks prior. City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of Planning Commission Work Session #1, at least two weeks prior.Early April 2021Task 4: Adoption Draft and Public Hearings 4.2Planning Commission Public HearingLCOG to submit DLCD Notice of Amendment at least 45-days prior to first hearing. City to print and place adoption and public hearing materials at City Hall for review and inspection, at least one week prior to the first evidentiary hearing. City to post flyers at Bridgetown Market, Post Office, and City Hall, The Grange, Stomping Grounds coffee shop, and school, at least two weeks prior.City shall advertise on City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior. City to distribute staff report and findings to Planning Commission one week prior to hearing.City to advertise Planning Commission Public Hearing on project website and send out notification to all contacts registered to receive updates, at least two weeks prior. City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of Planning Commission Public Hearing, at least two weeks prior.City to publish presence of Planning Commission and City Council Public Hearings in newsletter “The Bridge”, deadline for publication shall be the 20th of each month. Mid-April 20214.3City Council Public Hearing (to take place the following month after PC). City shall advertise on City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior. City to distribute staff report and findings to City Council one week prior to hearing.City to advertise City Council Public Hearing on project website and send out notification to all contacts registered to receive updates, at least two weeks prior. City to post on Homepage of City’s website under “news” presence of City Council Public Hearing, at least two weeks prior.Early May 20214.4Final Adopted Development Code AmendmentsSecond reading of the ordinance for adoption will occur at the next regularly scheduled City Council Hearing. No special notice required for this action. Notice is given at first reading. City to send DLCD Notice of Adoption following second reading after receiving signed ordinances from City. City Council meeting will be advertised on the City’s homepage under “City Calendar,” at least two weeks prior. Late May 2021Key Dates to Remember:“The Bridge” publishing deadline is the 20th of each month. Utility bill flyer content is ready the last week of the month and will be mailed two days before the last mailing workday. Creators of certain contentCity will be the creator of flyers to be posted in public areas and one-pager for utility bill mailings (as listed in the PIP). The City will be the author for the newsletter publication (“The Bridge”). ................
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