title
GPAC - Presentation on and Discussion of 1) Ongoing and New Community Engagement Activities; and 2) Equity and Community Safety (including Policing) in the Context of the General Plan.
body
Meeting Date: June 30, 2020
Contact Person/Dept: Ashley Hefner/CDD
Phone Number: (310) 253-5744
Fiscal Impact: No General Fund: N/A
Public Hearing: No Action Item: No Attachments: Yes
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - General Plan Advisory Committee, Notify Me - General Plan Update (06/26/20)
Department Approval: Sol Blumenfeld, Community Development Director (06/23/2020)
___________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the General Plan Advisory Committee receive presentations on and discuss 1) ongoing and new community engagement activities; and 2) equity and community safety (including policing) in the context of the General Plan.
BACKGROUND
To combat the spread of COVID-19, the City proclaimed a local emergency on March 14, 2020, and issued subsequent public orders beginning March 16, 2020. Under the orders, City Hall has been closed to the public, and in-person meetings have been discontinued until further notice. From March through April, only City Council and Planning Commission meetings were held virtually. Consequently, the March 12, 2020, regular meeting; April 23, 2020, special meeting; and May 14, 2020, regular meetings of the GPAC were canceled. The June 11, 2020, special meeting was canceled due to a special City Council meeting held on the same night, and a new special meeting of the GPAC was scheduled for June 30, 2020.
DISCUSSION
Ongoing and New General Plan Update (GPU) Community Engagement Activities
On May 19, 2020, City Council directed staff to provide an update on measures to address GPU public engagement strategies in response to safe distancing protocols related to the pandemic. The GPU team has prepared a short-term GPU engagement plan to address public engagement and outreach. That plan will be considered by the City Council on July 13, 2020 and the GPAC will be advised of any plan modifications for further discussion thereafter.
This is a critical time to review past engagement activities and new recommended approaches going forward Attachment 1, provides a summary of the engagement work done to date, a proposed approach to engagement for the remainder of 2020, details on proposed engagement activities, a discussion on engagement during uncertain times, and equitable engagement. Attachments 2-6 show associated deliverables completed to date.
Equity, Community Safety, and Policing in the General Plan
In the last few months, the world has been faced with unprecedented challenges and the widespread recognition of the racial and socioeconomic inequities that divide society. These are concerns that must be addressed in the GPU. People of color, people with low-incomes and those with pre-existing health conditions are disproportionately experiencing higher rates of incidence and mortality from COVID-19.
The murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others sparked local, national, and global demonstrations against systemic racism and the demand for social justice. This has led to calls to reallocate government funding more proportionately to education, housing, and healthcare to address long-standing inequities. It has also raised questions about what each of us can do to address racism, advance equity, and reimage public safety.
The GPU affords the opportunity to discuss these challenging issues and address policing, racism, and equity. These discussions can help inform the various elements of the General Plan, particularly the Housing, Governance, and Safety Elements. The GPU process already includes analyses on “environmental justice” (disproportionate impacts of pollution on low income and minority populations) and health, and the City Council has challenged the GPU team to explore the concept of “equitable development.” The General Plan is a city’s “constitution” and can address any topic that the community deems essential. Thus, addressing policing, police violence and other forms of mistreatment including racial profiling, public safety and equitable access to public resources, and institutional racism may be addressed during the GPU process. However, there is no template for the GPU on how best to do this. The GPU team is recommending that the conversation on approach start with the GPAC. Some suggested first steps are noted below.
• On June 30, 2020, the General Plan Advisory Committee will resume meeting, though now virtually. This meeting, originally intended for the discussion of housing and economic conditions, will now be the first step in having conversations on racial and economic equity sparked by COVID-19 and police brutality. The GPU team will provide some preliminary data on the socio-economics in Culver City, and this will lead to a discussion that revolves around one basic question: What can the General Plan do to address these issues? We hope the discussion will help us figure out the next steps that we can take together.
• The GPU team planned on starting a series of Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings during the summer. The TACs allow the GPAC and community to dive deeper into specific topics. We are proposing that we form a TAC on Policing and Equity. The TAC can be made up of community leaders, topic-specific experts, and other stakeholders. The TAC will advise the GPU team on the identification of policies. It will influence the development of a Racial and Economic Equity Framework that will guide the preparation of related goals, policies, and actions in and implementation of the General Plan.
• The GPU team will add opportunities for discussion of policing, equity and into the Health Equity and Quality of Life Workshop planned for later this year.
These changes in the process will be made with advisement from or in step with activities of the GPAC, TAC, City Council, City Council Equity Subcommittee, Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee, and City staff who are part of the Government Alliance on Racial Equity (GARE) cohort. GARE is a national network of local governments working to achieve racial equity and to advance opportunities for all to engage with and listen to community members’ concerns about policing in Culver City.
The GPU team has planned to give a background presentation on the impacts of COVID-19 and the national demonstrations, racism and equity, local data, and how the GPU can address inequities and policing. The GPU team asks Members to consider the following important questions in preparation for the meeting:
• What are your experiences around race and structural racism?
• How have COVID-19 and the national demonstrations around policing affected you?
• How have these inequities surfaced in light of COVID-19 and the national demonstrations?
• What are some of the critical issues the General Plan needs to cover?
• How can the General Plan begin to address these issues?
• How can the General Plan address policing issues?
FISCAL ANALYSIS
None.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2020-06-30_ATT_June 22, 2020, City Council Staff Report on GPU Engagement
2. 2020-06-22_ATT_Existing GPU Community Engagement Plan
3. 2020-06-22_ATT_Stakeholder Interviews Summary
4. 2020-06-22_ATT_Community Visioning Workshop Summary
5. 2020-06-22_ATT_Socio-economic Profile and Market Analysis Existing Conditions Report
6. 2020-06-22_ATT_Housing Existing Conditions Report
7. 2020-06-22_ATT_GovDelivery GPU Engagement Notice
MOTION(S)
None.