BIL 333 Draft 01 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Will Allen, The Conservation Fund The organization emphasizes strategic conservation programs specializing in rapid open space assessments, green infrastructure planning, gateway communities and other services. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION Over the course of eight months, a range of opportunities were provided to inform the community about the Kona CDP and to gather input from community members. Residents have long recognized the need for a regional plan for North and South Kona. Therefore, it was of little surprise that many people chose to participate in order to provide input during different stages of the Kona CDP community participation process. KICK-OFF MEETINGS Two public meetings, one in North Kona and the other in South Kona, were held in September 2005 to introduce the consultant team to the community and explain the planning process that would be used to gather public input and to draft the Plan. SMALL GROUP MEETINGS In order to gather input from a large diversity of residents, meetings were held at people's homes, churches and community centers. More intimate settings and smaller groups allowed freer interaction for people not inclined to speak before large groups. During these meetings, people were invited to share their ideas for the future of Kona. One hundred and nine small group meetings were held between November 2005 and January 2006 from a balanced demographic and geographic representation of the North and South Kona Districts. Over 800 residents participated in these meetings generating 3,496 ideas. These ideas were sorted into 18 categories to be used in evaluating policy priorities to be included in the Kona CDP. WORKSHOPS Mapping the Future Workshop. On February 18, 2006, 350 people attended this workshop to brainstorm where future growth should occur. Breakout groups also addressed critical questions such as housing choice and affordability, agriculture, -3-