Lafayette’s General Plan Advisory Committee

Read the Lafayette Chamber’s Letter to the City Council and GPAC regarding the Housing Element >>

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General Plan Advisory Council (GPAC) Survey: What Should be the mission of the City of Lafayette?

The City of Lafayette is conducting a survey of people that live and work in Lafayette to find out what you believe should be the vision of our city in the future. The General Plan Advisory Council (GPAC) is conducting this survey and the results will help guide the GPAC in suggesting a new vision of the city to the Lafayette City Council. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and have a voice in our future.

https://cityoflafayette.us.engagementhq.com/mission-statement/survey_tools/mission-survey

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General Plan Update: Connect and Share at Housing Element Workshops

Post date April 9, 2021, City of Lafayette Weekly Roundup

You’ve studied up and now it’s time to speak up: The General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) is winding down its informational phase of the Housing Element update and is moving into the public input period. The GPAC is hosting four community workshops to gather input on how our community should plan for housing. Each session will be a deep dive into different aspects of what goes into the Housing Element and the workshops will be an opportunity to connect with other community members on the topic of housing.

Workshops will be held over Remo, a flexible online conference platform that will allow attendees to use a variety of tools to help the conversation.  A practice session to all participants to become familiar with the platform before the workshops will be held Thursday, April 15th at 6PM. Use this link to sign up for the training and access the meeting.  There are additional resources and information on www.PlanLafayette.org. Use these links to sign up for one or all of the workshops: Workshop 1 – Cultivating Connection, Workshop 2 – Identifying the Issues, Workshop 3 – Solution Generation, and Workshop 4 – Site Identification.

Workshop 1 – April 22 – Cultivating Connection

Workshop 2 – April 29 – Identifying the Issues

Workshop 3 – May 6 – Solution Generation

Workshop 4 – May 13 – Site Identification

Unable to attend the workshops but want other ways to give your input?

Whether or not you can make it to all or some of the workshops, there are many avenues to send your ideas, concerns, and feedback to the General Plan Advisory Committee and we need to hear from you!

1. Attend a General Plan Advisory Committee meeting – meetings are held bimonthly on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Sign up for e-notifications for the “General Plan” to be notified about GPAC meetings and other General Plan/Housing Element events. A list of future and past meetings can be found on the “Get Involved” page of PlanLafayette.org, the General Plan website.
2. Visit EngagementHQ – EngagementHQ is the hub for online engagement for the City’s General Plan Update and hosts a number of activities for you to get involved in the conversation. Input and ideas received from EngagementHQ will be used by the GPAC to inform its final recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council of what goals, programs, and policies should go into the Housing Element. There will be more activities added over the coming weeks to gather feedback, so be sure to check the page or subscribe to the City’s Weekly Round Up newsletter through the e-notification system.

Click the links below to visit different activities on EngagementHQ:

• Mapping Activity – “What do you love about Lafayette?”
• Forum – “What aspects of Lafayette do you value?”
• Q&A – ask your question, big or small!
• Stories – tell us your story on how housing has played into your experience in Lafayette
• Survey/Quiz – Test your housing knowledge
• Register for EngagementHQ to participate in all activities

3. Write the GPAC – public comments written in to generalplan@lovelafayette.org are shared with all committee members and serve as one of the key components of public input.

Missed Housing Element 101?

The GPAC held six introductory sessions for members of the public to get up to speed on the Housing Element update process and provide one of many chances to ask questions. Brochures announcing this learning opportunity were mailed to every household in Lafayette ahead of the meetings. Sessions were held for four geographic districts (Burton Valley, Acalanes Valley & Happy Valley, Reliez Valley, and Downtown) as well as special sessions for community organizations and youth.

• An overview video explaining the Housing Element update requirements and timeline was shown during each session and is available on the City’s Youtube page here: https://youtu.be/q22ra_RZ8cs.
• Recordings of each Housing Element 101 webinar are available at this link.
• Visit PlanLafayette.org for answers to frequently asked questions, find materials and recordings from past meetings, access resources with more in-depth information, review existing documents, and more!

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Have a Vision for Lafayette? The City is Updating its Housing Element and We Need to Hear from You

The Housing Element is an opportunity to define Lafayette’s values and establish a vision for the future and you are a critical part in creating that vision. The Housing Element is a key component of the General Plan that will shape how Lafayette looks and feels moving forward. Your participation is essential to create a plan that represents the community’s values and meets the city’s housing goals. The General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) will integrate community feedback into a General Plan document that also satisfies state law requirements.

The Housing Element is one piece of the General Plan, which is the long-term blueprint for the future of Lafayette. To learn more about the General Plan update, use this link to watch a video on what the General Plan is and how it might affect you: www.bit.ly/2O82KOF.

How can you get involved? There are many ways to get involved, including attending public meetings, talking to your neighbors, completing online surveys, and writing in your ideas. Because this is a big undertaking, it requires many steps to get to a final document that reflects the community’s interests. Here are a few ideas:

➡ Study up: You wouldn’t take a test without studying, right? This is where we lay the groundwork to inform decisions down the road.

➡ Circle up: You will have opportunities to talk with your neighbors and connect about your ideas. Check the General Plan website for updates on a community workshop the week of March 22nd.

➡ Speak up: You need to give your two cents to make sure the Housing Element includes everyone’s perspective for a strong plan that translates values into actions. Much of this will be through EngagementHQ, the hub for community input.

Housing Element 101 Meeting Information
All sessions will be held over Zoom Webinar. Visit PlanLafayette.org to register and receive log in information. Registration is Required. Write in questions ahead of time to generalplan@lovelafayette.org.

Burton Valley – Thursday, February 18th at 6PM
Downtown – Thursday, February 25th at 6PM
Special Session for Community Organizations – Wednesday, March 3rd at 6PM
Special Session for Youth – Thursday, March 4th at 6PM
Acalanes Valley & Happy Valley – Thursday, March 11th at 6PM
Reliez Valley – Thursday, March 18th at 6PM

The General Plan website is regularly updated with meeting information and project updates. Visit PlanLafayette.org to find activities, information on housing, materials from past meetings, and details on future meetings.

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EngagementHQ

Visit the City’s online activity hub EngagementHQ to see new activities. EngagementHQ will be regularly updated with new activities like quizzes, surveys, forums, and mapping prompts to explore each General Plan element! Check out the Housing Element and General Plan pages to get more information and start getting your ideas out there.

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