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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 Community Workshops Summary0 0 0 Lexington 20/20 Vision Summary of Community Workshops Held June 8-12, 1999 BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY To launch the public process for development of a vision and strategic plan for the Town, the 20/20 Vision Steering Committee held a series of four public workshops during the second week of June. Over 120 residents attended the four workshops; their valuable participation has provided the Steering Committee with a strong foundation for the next phases of the visioning process. Each of the workshop sessions focused on sampling the opinions and thoughts of Lexington residents on two key ingredients of strategic planning: (1) the key values shared by many residents of the Town; and (2) important issues and concerns of today that may help to shape the Lexington of tomorrow. The sessions opened with brief introductory remarks by Peter Enrich, Chair of the Board of Selectman and member of the 20/20 Vision Steering Committee, and Fernando Quezada, Chair of the 20/20 Vision Steering Committee. After a short introduction to the strategic planning and visioning process by Joe Brevard of Planners Collaborative (the Committee's planning consultant), participants broke up into small groups to discuss Values and Issues. DISCUSSION TOPICS At the beginning of the breakout sessions, group facilitators asked participants to briefly review a packet that listed the values and issues identified by 60 Lexington residents during phone interviews conducted by the consultant team. The facilitator then asked participants to think about the values and issues that were most important to them and to produce a rank -ordered list of these Key Values and Key Issues. To guide their thinking on the topic of Values, workshop attendees were asked to consider questions such as: "What do you value about your life in Lexington? and, What qualities, if missing, would diminish the essence of Lexington?" For Issues, workshop attendees were asked to respond to questions such as: "What current concerns, stresses, and opportunities come to mind when you think about the quality of life of Lexington in the future?" Facilitators then asked each person to state the values most important to him or her, and recorded each person's findings on an easel pad. After each person had voiced his or her Key Values, the facilitator initiated a discussion aimed at developing a consensus on the Key Values shared widely throughout the group. A similar listing and consensus process was held for Key Issues. At the conclusion of each session, breakout groups reported back to the larger group on their values and issues findings, degree of consensus, and areas of particular emphasis. WORKSHOP RESULTS A preliminary review of the values results suggests that the residents of Lexington overwhelmingly regard the town in highly favorable terms. Indicators of this enthusiasm are the wide range of values associated with the town by many participants, and the degree to which value responses were shared in a positive, optimistic and generally approving manner. 0 The generally positive attitude about life in Lexington is anchored by strongly -held beliefs that the schools are excellent, the town is well-managed, and that the population is community - oriented, resourceful, and highly educated. The workshop responses also revealed that diversity— social, economic and racial—is a widely shared value, along with a family -centered, neighborly atmosphere, and a sense of community. The visual attractiveness of the natural and built environment, including the vitality, accessibility and sense of place of the Town Center, were frequently mentioned. Many participants also expressed a strong regard for the Town's historic resources and expressed strong support and appreciation for the seriousness and commitment with which the Town discharges its custodial responsibility for those resources. In a practical vein, Lexington's location, and the accessibility it affords to Boston, rural areas, employment, and medical facilities, were commonly cited values, as was the comparatively good public transportation. AImost universal was a strong expressed appreciation for the Town's pleasing blend of developed land, open space, and recreation facilities. Responses and discussions on issues were many and wide-ranging. They covered the span from the more tangible (the affordability of living in Lexington, deferred facilities maintenance, possible expansion of Hanscom Field, traffic in the Center) to the more intangible (polarization among generational groups, diversity, "creeping exclusivity," and changes in the social character of the community). However, the major issues raised that seemed to have most significance for planning the Town's future quality of life seemed to fall into six heavily -interconnected categories: • Divisiveness, especially Intergenerational Divisions • Affordability 0 • Changing Social Character • Diversity • Changing Physical Environment • Balancing fiscal resources and spending priorities 0 NEXT STEPS Addressing the conflicts inherent in the above issue categories will present significant challenges as we proceed into the important goal formulation phase of the 20/20 Vision planning process. Arriving at coherent visions and shared goals for the Town will, to some degree, depend on how successful we are in our pursuit of resolution of these conflicts, such as, for example, addressing intergenerational divisions while also continuing to strive for excellence in the schools. In preparation for the next phase of the process—public meetings to launch vision development and goal formulation—we will continue to analyze the workshop results to produce the best possible foundation of values and issues on which to build that important next step. We will also seek to strengthen this foundation through additional outreach efforts that will seek to gather input from a broad spectrum of residents. In the next public meeting, to be held this fall, we will ask meeting attendees to begin fashioning practical images of the Town's future. To accomplish this, we will draw on what is hopefully a more systematic understanding of what is valued by Lexington residents, along with a basic understanding of current issues, all geared toward the Lexington of 2020. We imagine that issues and concerns falling into the above six categories will guide the formulation of goals and strategies. Ultimately, the interest, participation and consensus of all types of Lexington residents are crucial to the development of a sound strategic plan and an effective and sustainable planning process.