Goals and Vision
§ A stronger sense of community and civic-mindedness, with community members becoming engaged in the process of determining Shenandoah’s future;
§ A community spirit that positive change is possible and that we can determine our own future;
§ A stronger link among the towns and the county;
§ Building on the comprehensive plan’s vision—development of the tools and understanding of how to use those tools to make that vision real;
§ Development of informed, engaged citizens to carry the dialogue’s outcomes forward.
Desired End Product
Working with the six towns, the development of guidelines for land use decisions in the form of a set of statements or bullet points implementing the vision of the county’s comprehensive plan. These would be actionable by planning staff. Staff or appropriate professionals could use these to create ordinances. (The statements would be specific enough to be actionable yet flexible enough to be translated into legal ordinances.)
Consensus Process
The advisory committee for the Community Dialogue will operate by consensus. The goal of using a consensus process is to reach a decision with which everyone can agree. Agreement is reached through a process of establishing ground rules for how the group will work together and gathering information and viewpoints, discussion, persuasion, a combination or synthesis of proposals and/or the development of totally new ideas. Consensus at its best relies upon persuasion rather than pressure for reaching group unity.
Sponsoring Organizations
· Shenandoah Forum (lead sponsor)
· Others to be added as the process continues
Management and Funding
· Administrative management to be provided by the Shenandoah Forum.
· Policy direction and management to be provided by a consensus (advisory) committee comprised of county landowners, developers, homebuilders, farmers, and other leaders from all parts of the county, including its six towns.
· Funding to be provided in part by Shenandoah Forum; further funding to be sought from other private and public entities and organizations.
· Project to be facilitated by the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation.
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